Comments on: Need products that had a shelf life and were thus a huge deal when ending (like Halo 3)

Question: Need products that had a shelf life and were thus a huge deal when ending (like Halo 3)

faunafrailty — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 16:32:06 -0800

I need examples of products that have/had a shelf-life/end date/end-of-series, like Halo 3. It could be the end of a trilogy or just a product that, for whatever reason, the manufacturer decided to produce a series of it for a limited time.

This is a little nebulous but I'm not looking for a product that is always in limited editions (like Beanie Babies or Threadless T-Shirts or couture fashion).

Rather, I'm looking for something a bit more epic where it was known the product or item always had a limited life because it was a series or trilogy or just a weird quirk of the business. When it comes to the end, it's a huge deal for fans. Halo 3 is the main example. The last Harry Potter book is another example.

Extra love and kudos from me if you can think of non-movie and non-book examples.

By: TheOnlyCoolTim

TheOnlyCoolTim — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 17:01:56 -0800

In television, the science fiction show Babylon 5 was planned from the beginning with a five year run, although they thought they would be canceled, compressed the core story into four years, and then got to do the fifth year anyway and it was a bit weaker.

I believe this has become more common in TV, but I don't watch much...

By: erikgrande

erikgrande — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 17:08:14 -0800

The Matrix? Shiner Beer is producing a different "limited edition, commemorative brew" for each of the five years leading up to the brewery's 100th anniversary. Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle? The Star Wars movies, maybe. Stephen King's Dark Tower series? I apologize for the question marks; I think I know what you mean, but I don't think I'm hitting it. The original Star Trek tv series had a five year mission.

By: nakedsushi

nakedsushi — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 17:35:04 -0800

The game publisher Atlus is notrious for publishing only a small number of copies of a game. These days, whenever Atlus publishes a game, people tend to buy it right away or face high ebay prices in the future.

Examples of Atlus games:
- Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
- Digital Devil Saga 1
- Persona 2: Eternal Punishment

By: moift

moift — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 17:49:47 -0800

Sufjan Stevens is writing an album for each of the fifty states, for a non-book, non-movie example.

Googling "planned trilogy/quadrilogy/whateverilogy" gets lots and lots of this stuff.

By: moift

moift — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 17:51:55 -0800

NB: "lots and lots" == 9, in the case of quadrilogy.

By: mediareport

mediareport — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 18:17:13 -0800

Neil Gaiman's Sandman and Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan were comic book series that were begun with an end point in mind - they 75 and 60 issues, respectively, both authors talked as if they'd had the overall arc in mind when they start, and both endings were sad moments for fans. Ellis used to talk about his "5-year plan" for Transmet.

By: T.D. Strange

T.D. Strange — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 18:50:50 -0800

The McRib sandwich at McDonalds?

By: edgeways

edgeways — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 19:33:41 -0800

Would model year cars (or anything like that that changes from year to year whether they need to or not) fit your criteria? IF not that broad I know they make limited edition vehicles specifically for a given time and place.

By: Flunkie

Flunkie — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 21:12:19 -0800

The fourth "Friday the 13th" movie was entitled "The Final Chapter".

Unfortunately, the fifth was entitled "A New Beginning".

They're up to number 11 now.

By: drezdn

drezdn — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 21:28:53 -0800

The Prisoner TV show? Though I don't think it was a big deal when it was over.

By: transient

transient — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 21:35:11 -0800

The HBO show The Wire was planned as a 5-season show, with a theme for each season.

By: Lentrohamsanin

Lentrohamsanin — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 07:15:38 -0800

The US state quarters program? Although interest in that seemed to fizzle out after a few years.

The Prisoner TV show? Though I don't think it was a big deal when it was over.

Well, there was and is quite a bit of controversy about the ending.

By: fogster

fogster — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 09:34:28 -0800

Star Wars?

There are lots of examples of shows that were really popular but got the boot. Arrested Development anyone? What was that space show where the people spoke Chinese that got cut?

Vanilla Coke. I was distraught until they recently brought it back.

Computers pre-loaded with Windows XP? (Technically still available, but I challenge you to find one.)

The Lincoln Town Car? They're talking about ending production in a year or two, despite it being an incredibly popular car. Actually, the original Beetle, too, I think.

By: SlyBevel

SlyBevel — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 11:45:06 -0800

In the financial markets, there's Triple Witching Day/Hour, where three kinds of derivatives all expire on the same day, which causes a frenzy of trading.