When is a Sequel not a Sequel?

So, when is a sequel not a sequel? When it is the "spiritual successor" to a game. Confused? Spiritual successor is a term which is being thrown around by the marketing gurus for some games being released this year. I am sure it has been used before, but not with so much gusto. Two game releases of note which are picking up on this term are Bioshock (the spiritual successor to System Shock) and Crysis (the spiritual successor to Far Cry). It is so common that wikipedia even has a reference to it.

Wikipedia states that spiritual successor or spiritual sequel means, "A spiritual sequel or spiritual successor is a sequel or successor to a computer or video game, movie, comic or even a stage play. It consists of the same genre, themes, or high-concept, and is often created by the same producer, director, or writer. Since creative teams often change employers but do not retain the rights to their intellectual property, they will often create a new product that is a sequel to their previous works in all ways except for being set in the exact same universe." It seems the reference in Wikipedia to this term has only been added within the last couple of months.

However, isn't this just a means for marketing companies to capitalize on the popularity on the original release without actually saying the game is a direct sequel? Isn't it an easy way to create some interest in the game without actually having to do some of the hard work of explaining what the game is about. It cuts down on the hard yards they have to do in promoting the game and allows people to create a picture of the game in their mind's eye without actually having to explain everything from scratch. Shouldn't gamers be wary of easy marketing terms? Shouldn't each game be promoted and marketed on its own merits rather than relying on previous games in order to create interest? Sequels are no guarantee of the quality of a game. Nor should the use of the term "spiritual successor". Just because the marketing people tell us that the game is similar doesn't mean that the game is of similar standards. Gamers should be wary of the use of marketing terms in game promotion and they should use their inbuilt bullshit detector to cut through the garbage which is marketing speak.

With the number of products being released in to the marketplace it seems that with new technology comes new ways of promoting and talking about games in order to create interest. Spiritual successor is just a way for marketing people to create a mental link in the gamers mind with a new game being released on the market with a previous title in which it is completely different.