These are fair points. Mario maker IMO wouldn't be a phenomena without the original Mario so I don't consider it a counter example. But DOTA is fair enough. I f

These are fair points. Mario maker IMO wouldn't be a phenomena without the original Mario so I don't consider it a counter example. But DOTA is fair enough. I forgot that one. I would say that franchising/sequels reflect the fact that if you have content which is just barely sub-viral you can pump money into marketing to get virality to get more money. Basically a controlled fission reaction instead of an explosion.