Top 10 Lists: The Top 10 Greatest New Franchises of the Past Ten Years

Both game publishers and developers generally like to stick to their gaming properties that generate a lot of money for little risk; especially in times of a slow economy. Occasionally, however, companies envision themselves creating that next great new franchise, that ace in the hole, the jewel in the crown, the apple of the gaming world's eye, etc. to draw in new demographics or to simply mix their game line-up... well... up. The risky business of creating a new game to build a franchise around can hold great rewards and remain with us today, while others simply fizzle out or fail miserably. This list, albeit a non-definitive list, exhibits the former-- the best new franchises of the past decade. The properties shown give the first entry of their respective franchises listed. Let's dive in, shall we?

We begin this list with a franchise from a man who needs no introduction, Shigeru Miyamoto (creator of Mario, Donkey Kong, and Zelda, to name a few), and when Mr. Miyamoto announces that he's in the process of creating a new property, the entire gaming world listens. An idea grown from Mr. Miyamoto's own garden and passion for gardening, Pikmin, introduced the minature creatures that bear the series' title. Leading these resourceful flower-like creatures is Captain Olimar (no doubt meant to resemble Mario as further evidenced by Pikmin 2's inclusion of partner Louie), an astronaut whose spaceship, Dolphin, crashed upon the mysterious pikmin"planet's surface. Together, Captain Olimar and the pikmin help each other out. Captain Olimar helps lead his pikmin troops away from dangerous obstacles and also into battle against agitated enemies, while the pikmin assist Olimar in finding his scattered ship parts. By blending RTS and strategy elements and disguising them under a bizarre yet endearing exterior, Shigeru Miyamoto's Pikmin fseries created yet another prized property in Nintendo's stable of franchises.

Combining unique, cel-shaded, comic book-esque visuals, innovative gameplay, comical dialogue, and a quirky story, Capcom-owned Clover Studios created a series that not only redefined games as an artform, but forever etched the phrase "Henshin-A-Go-Go-Baby!" into many gamers' minds (and Hulk Davidson's mad singing skills). Viewtiful Joe features three VFX powers which allow him to alter the time (the film reels) to his adavntage. "Slow" allows Joe to beat Father Time at his own game by slowing down everything, Joe included, to dodge enemy attacks, inflict more "pow" into his punches and kicks, and jump higher. Can't get to that floating platform? Use "Slow" to send that platform dropping your way. "Mach Speed" allows Joe to move like The Flash. On fire? Run those flames into smoke! Finally, "Zoom" gives Joe the ability to perform a spin attack capable of hitting enemies or objects on either side of him. I could go on and on about the sheer "viewtifulness" of Viewtiful Joe, but once you've experienced "viewty" for the first time, you'll never want to lose it.

Known as "Animal Forest" on the other side of the Pacific, cult classic, "Animal Crossing" introduced open-minded gamers with a plethora of activities to do, animals to meet, and Tom Nook to monopolize the entire world! This game allowed the player so things to do: catch all the bugs/fish, clean up the town, pay off your debt to Nook (or when you wake up you'll find Mr. Resetti's decapitated head at the foot of your bed! j/k), perform tasks for your fellow townspeople, attend every event, complete your catalog, visit a friend's town, fill up the museum with artifacts, etc. The list of activities to occupy yourself with are tremendous! Additionally, the DS sequel, "Animal Crossing: Wild World", lets players visit one another on Nintendo's WI-FI network to add an extra dimension to this already deep franchise. Some may complain that this series may seem more like a chore than a game, but where else can you get yelled at by a mole wearing a construction hat?

Not only did Insomniac Studios create one franchise, Spyro, before giving the rights away to Universal, but they also introduced the world to a heroic lombax and witty metallic robot. You guessed it-- Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty. ...Wait a minute! That's not it! Why it's none other than the platform gaming meshed with third-person gunplay nirvana of the Ratchet and Clank series. Giving the player a full arsenal of weapons to eventually acquire, varying gameplay, inventive level design, humorous banter between characters, added RPG elements allowing players to upgrade their weapons with repeated use (R&C:GC), online deathmatches (R&C:UYA), and a love it or hate it action-oriented gameplay (R:D), Ratchet and Clank remains the premier duo for PS2 platforming bliss (sorry, Jak and Daxter).

Life... or something like it. That's the general tagline of Will Wright's "The Sims". Start off with the bare essentials, get a job, expand your house, get married, have a baby, trap your sims in an enclosed room and burn them to the ground!! HA, HA, HA...ha?! Regardless of some players' style of playing "The Sims", what made this game and the endless expansion packs and console versions that followed different from the real world? Perhaps the ability to make your sim have the life you can only dream of... or the life that you don't want. An example of this would be when you come home after a bad day at the office, you can find some solistice in knowing that no matter how terrible your day was, the sim who hadn't eaten all day and is sleeping on the hard laminate floor in a puddle of his own urine had a worse one. Nonetheless, the fact still remains that this gem of a franchise has greatly helped the EA juggernaut to continue its dominance in the game industry (for better or worse). Not only is it the best-selling PC game of all time, but "The Sims" has also attracted non-gamers into the gaming market. Hardcore gamers, casual gamers, and non-gamers alike can discover something that interests them in Will Wright's and Maxis' neighborhood.

The game that single-handedly turned the box that Bill Gates built, Microsoft's XBOX, into a console war contender originated from a little-known game development studio, Bungie. Who knew that a glitchy and downright uninteresting demo shown at E3 2000 could later become the XBOX's killer app and most popular franchise? Millions of Halo players probably didn't, but with the XBOX launch in early November 2001, the most incredible first-person shooter since the N64 days of Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, Halo, garnered great reviews and exhilarating gameplay all featuring protagonist, Master Chief. What a difference a year makes! Halo 2 only further hit home to gamers that this series wasn't a one-hit wonder or fluke. The exceptionally-crafted XBOX Live allowed players to take their dual-wielding online to frag friends and be cursed out by twelve year-olds. While not the best first-person shooter of all time, Halo definitely deserves to be placed among this list of great game franchises.

Who hasn't dreamed of Link taking on Samus Aran in the Mushroom Kingdom or having a three-on-one against Jigglypuff? Nintendo used these hypothetical battle ideas to create Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64 in 1999. Players could now find out the answers to these questions themselves by actually duking it out with their favorite Nintendo icons. While not a traditional fighting game, SSB proved that there was a lot of fun and depth to be had with this user-friendly game. After all, the pick-and-play attitude has always been Nintendo's philosophy. Why stop now? If gamers loved the idea of SSB and played the original to death, the Gamecube sequel would make them want to become reincarnated so they could come back to life just to play this one to death. More arenas, more characters, more unlockable features, more options, an new adventure mode, all-star mode, mission mode, trophies detailing Nintendo's illustrious history, and beautiful music thrown in as icing on the cake, and you've got a 2001 Gamecube release that no Nintendo fan or gamer in general should be without. Besides, who doesn't want to beat up on Pikachu?

There were two Grand Theft Auto games for the original Playstation that featured a top-down perspective, but they never really gained the notoriety that its newer brother, Grand Theft Auto III, did. [Insert main character name here] going around [Insert place here] wasting hookers and cops and executing other acts of unprovoked violence is what some gamers dismiss GTA as. Sure, some teenie-boppers with negligent parents DO get their hands on a copy and perform these feats and only these feats. However, there IS a game under all of this questionable content. GTA III gave players the freedom to choose when and how they wanted to complete various missions inside the expansive confines of an urban playground that the developers essentially tell you to let loose in. Perhaps the continued public controversy surrounding consequent sequels led to most of the series' sales, but nonetheless, one must accept that the GTA franchise's success must make it one of the decade's best.

Shinji Mikami's "Resident Evil" first popularized the survival horror genre of video games in 1996. Playing as Jill Valentine, the player was thrusted into the role of a S.T.A.R.S. operative investigating a labyrinthine mansion full of the flesh-tearing undead, zombified dogs, blood-thirsty sharks, and gargantuan tarantulas. Who could forget the first time that dog crashes through the window ready for a taste of human flesh? Or how about the most frightening of terrors-- Barry Burton? The original was eventually remade on the Gamecube and will soon be released on the Nintendo DS as well with multi-player.The game's sequel essentially kept with Capcom's philosophy on franchises which is if it ain't broke, don't fix it... or change much of anything for that matter. Resident Evil: Nemesis brought the horrorific badass that was none other than Nemesis. Resident Evil 4 once again broke major ground by completely altering gamers' perceptions of what a Resident Evil game and survival-horror games could be. No more did the camera switch angles between your character's movement. The camera was now over the main character's shoulder. All of the foundations and controls were thrown out and renovated splendidly. Aiming no longer showed itself as a bother nor was backtracking which plagued RE4's predecessors. Truthfully, any franchise that can reinvent itself after popularizing a genre in a single decade must be near the top of my list. Just a fair warning from the series' creator and Barry Burton when playing this important gaming franchise, "don't pee your pants", or you might become a Jill sandwich!

Huh. Not even the undead, a viewtiful superhero, an all-star stable of loveable characters, or the act of mercilessly beating up hookers can stop Pikachu! A phenomenom unlike anything the gaming world has ever viewed before, Pokemon (or Pocket Monsters as known in Japan) single-handedly turned Pikachu into a household name and millions of children and gamers alike into wanting to catch 'em all, and they did. With the release of Pokemon Red and Blue in 1998, Pokemania hit the Western Hemisphere with an impact as forceful as a headbutt from a Blastoise. A television series, a line of toys, clothes, backpacks, coloring books, stamps, trading card games, stuffed animals, and other Pokemon merchandise were gobbled up by children everywhere. However, some felt as if Pokemon was simply a fad, a passing craze like Beanie Babies. Over seven years later, the Pokemon fever has died down considerably, but the games still pour out and sell well. The main Pokemon series (Red, Blue, Gold, Silver, etc.) continues to have a loyal and rabid following spawning tournaments and special events all across the world (there's even a Pokemon-themed amusement park in Japan!). The simple premise of catching them all is so simple, yet the rock-paper-scissor-esque battles couldn't have more complexity to them. What Pokemon should I use next? Should I stick to my Charmander, or will my opponent bring out a Pokemon with rock or water type moves? This level of strategy and the great following that Pokemon continues to have makes this series the best of the past decade.

List by SuperPhillip (12/27/2005)