Alright everyone. If you're not going to keep this discussion respectful and friendly, then you might as well not have it at all. There's been enough name calling and mud slinging on both sides, and it has to stop. Show each other the proper amount of respect, and this thread can develop into something better than what it currently is. Thank you.
This whole arguement, as Chupperson has earlier stated, completely depends on what definition of "sequel" you are using.
se·quel
n.
1. Something that follows; a continuation.
2. A literary, dramatic, or cinematic work whose narrative continues that of a preexisting work.
Most people stick with the second definition, as it is what is used in the mainstream, but someone seeking to be right by using the raw definition would call for the first definition.
If you don't
clearly specify what you mean when you use "sequel" this won't get very far. What you're calling a "sequel," as can be seen in this quote:
we're talking about whether things are sequels or not, not when they happened.
is very confusing. To most people, "when they happened" will most certainly define whether or not a game is a sequel. If you don't make a distinction as to when a game takes place (Or even if it takes place in the same "time-line") you run the risk of completely ignoring prequels, interquels, or "spiritual successors."
To use an example that most are familiar with: Star Wars
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was the first movie released.
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back was a sequel to the first movie.
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was released much later than Episode IV, and is a prequel.
I think the problem here is that you, Wii, by the your accounts in this thread would consider Episode I to be a sequel to Episode IV. Both movies share the same setting, races, and even some of the same characters; they are related indefinitely, but if you disregard
when the movie takes place in the "story-line," you would incorrectly classify the movie.
Furthermore, there are assorted books about un/related characters, planets, and settings that are given the Star Wars name. This are what most people would call "Spin-offs," and not sequels.
Interquels have to do specifically with when said work is created
and when it takes place in its "universe's" time-line.
There are also sub-classifications that further complicate matters, for example,
direct sequels. However, this still does not account for ingorning prequels and other types of "successors," as for one to be a direct sequel, one must first be a sequel.
