Editor's note: Game franchises that need to die or make a triumphant come back are fairly common topics on Bitmob, but Benjamin's made something of a themed feature out of the idea. And I have to agree with both of his calls; I'm definitely ready for another good snowboarding game. -Demian

The game business is like other entertainment industries when it comes to making money and exploiting franchises. Some games are manufactured to be blockbusters. Others achieve cult success almost by accident. In either case, publishers try to capitalize by delivering consumers more of the same, whether in the form of sequels, spin-offs, or tie-ins. Unfortunately, by cashing-in on this success, the creative teams who produce these games and the gamers who play them can sometimes forget what made the original so enjoyable in the first place.

Other games don't quite achieve the level of success they deserve -- or, at least, don't meet their projected sales figures. Whether they're critical darlings that bomb on the NPD sales charts or once-golden series that have burnt out, fans of these games shouldn't hold their breath to see them born anew.

Enter: Back Off / Come Back, a feature looking at franchises that need to give it a rest, and ones I wish would rise from the dead. What once-beloved game series now feels diluted and stale to you? What game do you think is overdue for a sequel or a revival? I already have a handful of ideas myself, starting with the over-saturated Katmari Damacy series and the neglected-as-of-late SSX series....

Katamari Damacy

In 2004, the original Katamari Damacy took everyone by surprise. You assumed the role of the Prince, a tiny, cosmic being tasked with rolling up in any and every object he could find into a giant ball, which would then become a celestial body. With its weird premise and art style, simple objective, and accessible gameplay, Katamari was a game like no other. The title's unique brand of music, art, and humor proved appealing to both "casual" gamers and the hardcore set alike.

While creator Keita Takahashi reportedly wasn't interested in turning the game into a series, he nevertheless directed a sequel, We Love Katamari, as a thank you to fans who supported the first game. Takahashi subsequently left Katamari behind to focus on an even stranger downloadable title, Noby Noby Boy.

Publisher Namco Bandai, however, has since released six more Katamari titles without Takahashi. Though Katamari Damacy and We Love Katamari were designed specifically to take advantage of the PlayStation 2's symmetrical DualShock controller layout, various Katamari titles and spin-offs have appeared on PSP, Xbox 360, iPhone, DSi, and mobile phones -- none of which provide symmetrical dual analog sticks as input. While it's clearly possible to roll a ball around using other control schemes, guiding the Prince never felt quite as natural as it did on PS2.

Even now, with the game finally returning to the DualShock by way of a PS3 retail title, I can't help but wonder why. Why should I care? Playing the demo for Katamari Forever, it's clear that the game still retains some of its simplistic charm and silliness. While the title is essentially a compilation of scenarios culled from past Katamari games, it does have some new play types, graphics filters, and remixed music. Unfortunately, none of it makes the experience feel as fresh or as charming as it did in the first two Takahashi-directed titles.

I love Katamari. You love Katamari. Everybody loves Katamari.

However, we've had a new Katamari game every year since the original debuted in 2004. Katamari is overexposed and played out. Namco should back off of the series for a couple of years, preferably not returning to it until they can get some creative input from Takahashi.

SSX

Imagine, if you will, a Tokyo-located snowboarding hill littered with ramps, obstacles, breakable glass ceilings, suspended metal pipes, twisty rails, pinball bumpers, and some sort of magical wind machine that propels riders 100 feet into the air.

Now imagine riding down this hill with seven other riders, punching them out if they get too close, and speeding by using the boost you accumulated from performing a pirouette followed by a midair backflip onto your snowboard. Oh, also: clever shortcuts, great electronica music, Oliver Platt as a fat guy with a mullet and zebra-stripe pants, and a theme song by Run-D.M.C.

That's what playing SSX Tricky was like.

The pinnacle of the SSX series, SSX Tricky was about loud, bold characters racing down crazy mountains and performing impossible tricks along the way. It was a carefully-designed, arcadey racing game, and there hasn't been one quite like it since it was developed by EA Canada and published under the EA Sports BIG brand in 2001.

Two years later, we got SSX3. Where Tricky had individualized, memorable courses, SSX3 has several sections of a single mountain, separated by event type. Perhaps inspired by Grand Theft Auto's "open-world" style of game design, SSX3 sacrificed a bit of Tricky's wackiness in favor of seamlessness and coherency. And indeed, it's possible to ride from the peak of the game's mountain all the way down to the city below.

To be fair, SSX3 was still a great game. It was just a different game. And the series continued to inch away from the arcade fun of Tricky as it progressed.

The novelty of the character-specific "Uber" tricks was gone; instead, characters had access to several generic super moves. Soundtrack picks shifted from turntablism and big beat acts such as Mix Master Mike and BT to teen-friendly pop-punk and mainstream hip hop groups such as Yellowcard and Black Eyed Peas. In SSX On Tour, developer-designed characters with unique personalities took a backseat to Tony Hawk-style create-a-characters. Skiers also joined the snowboarders.

The most recent in the series, SSX Blur, was released for Wii in 2007. It featured a "for kids" cartoony redesign and waggle controls.

I don't think it's too late (or too early) for SSX to make a comeback. While extreme sports games are trending towards Skate-esque levels of realism, there must be room for less complex titles. See also: Gran Turismo and Forza; Burnout Paradise and Wipeout HD.

In fact, why not take the Wipeout HD route completely? Let's have a downloadable SSX game with overhauled tracks based on the original designs from SSX and SSX Tricky. Implement custom soundtracks into the general sound design (bass drops out when a player goes off a jump, treble quiets when the player enters a tunnel, that sort of thing). And most importantly, include online play -- something that hasn't been attempted in the SSX series since SSX3 tried it with the mishandled PS2 Network Adapter.

I know I'd love it. In the end, all I really want to do is listen to Peaktime by Rasmus, do a backflip off a 100-foot jump, and punch my friend in the face as I unleash my Uber-boost.