What qualities make a game a spin off?

[IceBrand]

Is it different gameplay, style, atmosphere? A different protagonist? I got this tutorial topic while listening to a podcast from Gamexplain. Games with different gameplay like Zelda 2 are considered canon but games such as Federation Force are considered spin offs. Why is that?

[EricaofRenais]

Spin offs at least to me mean that you play as some one other then the main protagonist or can play as some one else. Hyrule Warriors is a spin off because you can play as characters other then Link, and there are no "dungeons" in it either. Zelda 2 is considered a sequel because it has the same Link as Zelda 1 and while the game play is very different it still has dungeons and you can only play as Link. I haven't played Federation Force yet, but from the videos of it I have seen Samus is not in the game at all and the game focuses on other characters and the game play looks different then most Metroid games. I also think that story plays a part in deciding if it is a spin off or a sequel, if the story is continued in a game and the lead characters from the first game are talked about/even have a minor role then it is a sequel, other wise it is a spin off.

[Azure Sen]

I think the definition of what a spin-off is varies from series to series. For example, in the MegaTen series many of the spin-off games are established as taking place in alternate universes, and characters appearing across multiple games, even in the case of sequels, is usually reserved for either demonic antagonists or characters with some sort of power that allows them to exist outside the physical world. There's no real "face" or main protagonist of the series, so the absence of a consistent main character doesn't really matter when it comes to spin-offs.

Edited October 8, 2016 by AzureSen

[Anacybele]

Personally, I define a spin-off as simply a game that uses characters and maybe some other elements from a series, but deviates away from the main aspects. So for Mario, if it moves away from platforming and the typical Mario goes on a big adventure thing, it's a spinoff. For Pokemon, if it moves away from traveling a region and catching Pokemon to build up a team and conquer gyms and stuff, it's a spinoff. For Zelda, if it goes away from Link's usual quests to tackle dungeons and stuff, it's a spinoff. And so on.

[Magical Glace]

I normally view it as being dependent on the gameplay, ie Pikmin 3DS and Paper Mario are spin offs.

How different the gameplay needs to be is another story.

But when in doubt, check what creators have said on the matter.

[Zera]

I don't think Pikmin 3DS will be a spinoff. There will be Captain Olimar, various colors of Pikmin, exploration, enemies, puzzles, strategy, etc. It looks like they're trying to transition Pikmin gameplay to a 2D perspective, rather than having different gameplay. As such, it is still a main Pikmin game. This is also why Zelda II is considered a main Zelda game - it did a lot of things differently, but it was still very much Zelda. And besides, Zelda didn't have an established "formula" by then...

[Tamanoir]

In Tales of Tempest's case, it was because the game was so bad it got demoted...

Otherwise, the most obvious spin-off are the like of Mario Party, Smash Bros and Mario Sports (Hyrule (or anything) Warriors also counts.) : when you put a bunch of famous characters for 1 or more franchise together.

[Emeraldfox]

If/When people hate the entry and whine about it hard enough