So I've been feeling this for a while, but never really articulated it or thought about it in depth.

So there are some very long running franchises with many titles in its history, right?

And because or whatever reason:

Exclusivity
Lack of money/time
Bought a title you were more interested in etc

I never got to play them, and now there are so many sequels, you feel almost excluded from the franchise.

So for instance Metal Gear Solid, it's had this patchy exclusive release history and having never owned a PlayStation I've experienced some of it but missed out on large chunks of it.

Now when something is announced I have no attachment in the series.

I could say the same thing about multiple JRPG series.

Dragon Age has had god knows how many titles out. I feel like franchises should work on being more inclusive to new players who haven't played other games in the series.

So maybe story digests, or a playable way to play through or experience key moments in the series history. Like one game/free sampler that has key story beats, mixed with some gameplay, the moment this dude died, the end of the empire etc.

The Sniper wolf boss fight.

Or do what I see from indie games, when a new title in a series comes out, they usually savagely discount the first game. This is how I've gotten into many series I'm unsure of.

I may not have the confidence to drop full price on Bloodstained 2, so I'll buy the first game at a quarter of the price.

That's why I bought Mudrunner for instance then got into Snowrunner.

But why not go further, why not make a big old 3D AAA game, free?

If it released 20 years ago and you're not really making money on it, just let it out there in the wild and then maybe people would get into it.

I'm getting to the point where I've missed so many games, especially AAA ones that I can't muster any enthusiasm for sequels. They're non events for me.

They like a wet fart. Because I can't relate to them, I have no nostalgia for them. I have no investment in the characters or story. And I don't see how I could be interested in these games because I feel like the companies making them haven't done anything to engage or entice me with.

I am, secluded/excluded from them. I can't say I'm that bothered by it, but from a business perspective, isn't outreach a thing?