Cliffy seems to have a tad too much time on his hands since leaving Epic...he's been writing alot about the state of the industry, Sequels, coop, Sony Vs Microsoft vs. handheld vs whatever..Most of it is sound stuff from someone from the inside but some of it sounds a tad bitter over what I assume is him being unhappy with the situation of him leaving epic and state of his industry (wanting more arty games then what he's known for GEARS) or for whatever reason. So alot of what he says is valid but for the most part it's always bit of both true and false.
This post about sequels is a good one and holds mostly true. Core gamers complain about everything, and alot of them want their part 2 JUST like part 1.
I remember when they announced Infamous 2 was going to have a different lead or a redesigned Cole with hair. People FREAKED out, So much infact that Sucker Punch went back to part 1 designed lead aka buzz cut Cole. While I wasn't super in love with the new designed guy with the hair I didn't hate it, or feel the need I needed COLE the exzact way from 1. I was looking forward to change. I felt the same with DMC, I thought after 4 games Devil May Cry did feel stale and needed a fresh coat of paint (not a half step like 4). While I may be in minority (I think it sold bad, so I guess I am) I thought DMC was the best game besides 3. AKA a reboot was what it needed.
I personally like sequels that take risks and do something different. Obviously keep the mechanics that worked but when something is sooo similar to a game I already played I find it boring. Bioshock 2 was soo simular to 1 I found it unnecessary...that's why to me Infinite looks like the true sequels I always wanted.
My point is there are always going to be some core gamers who want the same thing. OVER AND OVER AND OVER (COD and Halo are like this 2 me) but some of us want something new.
But this doesn't just go for videogames. That's movies, music and any genre. Some people will always want the same thing over and over and others like it when they evolve and put turn on it's head. Some wanted the Beatles to always stay the same others love the drug filled sgt. pepper era more. Sometimes change is for the worse, sometimes it's for the better. But the difference is even when changing something is for the bad it's there taking more of a risk than staying the same. And in my eyes taking a risk most of the time is better than playing it safe over and over.