Publishers: But we want the profits noooow!
That's the funny thing; some big brands which have been around for a long time like Rainbow Six, Uncharted, The Witcher (
I want to add Burnout, but I think that's dead now ) were not big hits out of the gate, but had fairly low-key beginnings, and it's only because their publishers/developers stuck by them and invested in sequels that they became massive mega-brands. Publishers these days don't seem to want to do that - I mean, I know if they invest $50 million in development and another $40 million in marketing, and then only sell a million copies it's probably a bit of a disappointment, but they have to consider brand growth and potential. If Sony can commission five Killzone sequels (actually fucking nailing it a couple of times), then surely they can commission an Order or Driveclub sequel.