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game cash cows are sequels. It certainly seems to be the case this year. People were and are clamoring for such games as HL2, Doom 3, Halo 2, etc

I probably don't understand the term "cash cow" enough, but isn't it generally something where its creation cost is far far less than the loads of cash it will bring in? And the creation cost is low typically because the product is already in motion or it's something new that's reusing many existing elements?

When I think "cash cow", I think of Austin Powers 2, which was exactly the same as Austin Powers 1 but with different words and a few different people. Its analogy in the gaming world seems to be a sequel that uses the same engine as the original but with different maps and maybe a few new guns / characters / enemies (ie: Thief 1 & 2?).

I don't see Doom 3 and HL2 falling into this potentially vastly incorrect definition of "cash cow". Sure, they are riding on the reputation of their predecessors, but they are entirely new creations; new engines, plots, physics, etc. It's not like some Commander Keen trick where sequel after sequel are built on the same codebase. If ID and Valve cash in on Doom 3 and HL2, I think they deserve it. ... Not that you were saying otherwise.
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FireFox31
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