The Hollywood Effect

Everything is a Sequel

Has anyone else ever noticed that media seems to always be ruled by giant, monolithic publishers? The effect is most apparent when everything that comes out from that media seems to be the same or is just another sequel. On Business Insider's list of top grossing video games, only four of the ten games listed aren't numbered sequels, only one of them was not a sequel (direct or indirect), and even that one non-sequel (The Sims) went on to have sequels of its own. On IGN's list of top grossing movies, we have 2 prequels, a movie of an existing property, an original movie, an original movie with two sequels already in the works, and 10 sequels. Call of Duty (often abbreviated CoD), a franchise that is one of the most widely recognized in gaming, currently has quite a few games. The original trilogy of Call of Duty games was followed up by another trilogy titled Modern Warfare. In between installments of those six games were Call of Duty: World at War, and two games in the Black Ops series. At present time, one more game has been announced and is forthcoming: Call of Duty: Ghosts. That's ten games for one franchise! Instead of innovating, why do video game developers and movie makers keep making sequels?

Giant Publishers

The real reasons there seem to be a plethora of sequels and a derth of new intellectual property is cost. According to Wikipedia, "An average development budget for a multiplatform game is $18-28[million], with high-profile games often exceeding more than $40[million]." Since Hollywood is more secretive about costs of production, I can't find figures as informative, but most blockbusters cost multiple millions of dollars. Considering these costs, it makes that there isn't a lot of risk in those industries. Even though the cost for a book's publication don't generally top a million dollars, the effect is still present in books; a writer must first find a literary agent who then  must find a publisher. Television has some of the greatest variety of publishers, since there are hundreds of networks and channels, but those networks and channels must maintain a good relationship with television providers such as Cable and DirectTV. If someone won't or can't work through these established channels, where can they go?

Independent Artists

Ever heard of indie developers, independent film makers, or self-published authors? These artists don't work within the bubble of publishers. Independent game developers are generally respected within the industry and are known for creating games that have a deep, moving message or new innovative game play, and can publish through a variety of virtual stores, such as Desura. Independent film makers also have a similar reputation for meaningful, but short, films that they can either sell as physical media through services such as CreateSpace or they can publish on a digital platform such as Amazon Instant Video (again using CreateSpace). Self-published authors aren't viewed the same way, largely due to the low to nonexistent costs of self-publishing; due to low costs, many subpar writers have flooded the self-published market with poor writing and it makes it difficult to locate any good works.
As popularity of digital distribution of video games, television, movies, and books grows, independent artists will have an easier and easier time getting their content to a growing audience. Hollywood, the games industry, and book publishers may have to change slighlty, but it seems television may be immune due to the prohibitive costs of producing high-quality work in a sustained manner that independent film makers may not be able to handle. So it seems the Hollywood Effect is still going to continue, at least for now.