Yearly franchise titles - Good or bad?

[napoleon]

I wondered if there are any gamers out there who religiously purchase the latest edition of long-running franchises (and here I am mainly talking about sports games such as PES and FOOTBALL MANAGER etc) which has a new game every year?

Sometimes they merely contain minor gameplay tweaks and updated player listings which, perhaps, could easily be released as a data-disc or downloadable content instead.

Any views from ardent fans would be much appreciated!

[Flynners]

Assasin's Creed seems to be maintaining a great standard over the last three years, AC3 is out in October and is meant to re-examine almost all the gameplay elements. Ubisoft can afford the manpower to balance the production of these games though, I'm guessing AC3 was in production long before Revelations was released. As far as sports games are concerned, with the advent of DLC's annual releases with some tweaks seems like a cash in.

[Bickle]

Call of Duty usually bang out a game every year, and the quality seems pretty consistent (if not extraordinary). AC is probably the best example of high standards every year, so I'm inclined to say it is a good thing.

[DarthBane]

I don't mind the yearly FIFA title and my brother loves the WWE games. Do they still make PES?