Okay while I respect everyone's opinion, a reason exists for this.
It's visible in our reboots, and our sequels.
It is visible in our programs and TV shows.
Look at prequels, such as the Star Wars franchise. The prequels are considered trash (with certain in between stuff being considered cool), the sequels are held in a regard equivalent to the originals, reason (my opinion) is because it is so similar to the original (with enough tweeks to be considered new).
Then we have reboots, the new Ghostbusters is a perfect example, I have not seen it but generally have heard the same thing Kate McKinnon was funny, not as good as the original etc. I share the same opinion as many, I would have preferred a sequel instead of a reboot mainly because of the main cast as I enjoyed the original actors greatly (Egons actor being dead is upsetting), However had they followed the general idea of the videogames spawned in between the 2nd film and the reboot they may have had the opportunity to use the old +new cast. As the videogame was about the original cast hiring new recruits, etc.
Friends was around for many years, it's cast remaining the same and few large changes existing. Yes they hooked up with each other, had kids, got married (Ross) etc, but viewership did not decline.
Look at Two and a half men.
Once Charlie Sheen was killed off, things went downhill fast.
I don't condone his actions, but his character did make the show watchable, killing him off was not the smartest idea and it showed.
A similar thing happened with Teen Titans, great show, but then it got canned and revived as Teen Titans Go. Shit show. Seriously, the first episode was them questing for a good damn sandwich, I shit you not.
What do we learn?
Fry's lesson from Futurama.
But that's not why people watch TV. Clever things make people feel stupid, and unexpected things make them feel scared
It was just a matter of knowing the secret of all television: at the end of the episode, everything is back to normal.
We go back to the pagan event, for many it was a big swing and a miss. For me? A large amount of items are in my town, minus certain items of course.
Yet we fall into the same cycle, we know what we like and we rarely stray from it. However and I need to emphasize this, a middle ground exists.
I call it the Pixar Participle.
If the film is good as a standalone, and works within the series, that's Pixar levels of good writing, the animation lends itself to a whole other category, the Easter eggs, the commentary, hidden jokes etc.
However when applied to a game we have a different reality. A standalone event can be done at any moment of the year.
For a holiday event, people tend to want something holiday related.
That's just my Two Tacos and a Soda pop.
