The wording for The Taken King (Year 2, v2.0) makes me think Destiny will progress much like most MMOs, i.e. major updates that significantly impact gameplay/content availability, but keeps the core game. However, I keep seeing people talking about their hopes with what will happen with "Destiny 2" over here.

To those people: what if there isn't a Destiny 2? What if this is all we get?
To everyone else: why would you like this? Why wouldn't you?

The wording for The Taken King (Year 2, v2.0) makes me think Destiny will progress much like most MMOs, i.e. major updates that significantly impact gameplay/content availability, but keeps the core game. However, I keep seeing people talking about their hopes with what will happen with "Destiny 2" over here.

To those people: what if there isn't a Destiny 2? What if this is all we get?
To everyone else: why would you like this? Why wouldn't you?

Well, because Destiny 2 has been in development for a while, and will most likely (hope, hope) not be tethered and held back by last-gen (with how much it hurt Destiny 1, I would expect things to be leaps and bounds better, as they were at one point).

If all we get is the last-gen-slave Destiny 1, well... At least it's a very fun game it its own right.

The year one vs year two thing can be overlooked. The bump to the 2.0 version number seems significant to me. Whether there is no actual Destiny 2 product is good or bad depends on if the game (and really the story) gets a lot better or not. Here's hoping. :)

The wording for The Taken King (Year 2, v2.0) makes me think Destiny will progress much like most MMOs, i.e. major updates that significantly impact gameplay/content availability, but keeps the core game. However, I keep seeing people talking about their hopes with what will happen with "Destiny 2" over here.

To those people: what if there isn't a Destiny 2? What if this is all we get?
To everyone else: why would you like this? Why wouldn't you?

I don't think there will be a Destiny 2, with the exception that they rename it so they can ditch last gen. My hope is that the core feel of the game stays the same. It really has a good mix of CoD and Halo in terms of the controls. I'd hate for them to change the jump or grenade throw like they did in each Halo iteration.

I also like the idea of continuing the same characters, armors, and weapons as well. It's cool to keep some legacy stuff and have it still be good. Personally I have preferred the new stuff each release over the old, but alot of that has to do with reforging. Some might argue that we'll just use jellyhorn 4eva. That's probably true but with the ability to nerf/buff weapons and the potential for them to simply make something equally as cool and powerful in the future, I think it will one day fall from the #1 spot.

Another issue I'd have with a new game is not being able to replay the old Destiny 1 content. This is really big for MP maps. I'd just rather have all the maps available through the year 10 release :)

I hope they just keep improving and adding. More stuff, newer enemy types, better AI, harder difficulties/bosses that aren't just bullet sponges, more exploration and challenges.

If not, what does it mean to say "that's all you get"?

Why wouldn't Bungie keep doing what they have been doing-- keep adding content, and every so often, packaging everything for one $60 price?

If not, what does it mean to say "that's all you get"?

Why wouldn't Bungie keep doing what they have been doing-- keep adding content, and every so often, packaging everything for one $60 price?

Because I don't want to play the same game for ten years. That's stupid. You can get a new Mario level every day, but it's still Mario and eventually you're going to get sick of it.

A straight up sequel is a way to give us a new game to play.

I actually don't know enough to make an informed decision on this issue.

I just think releasing a Destiny 2 is the expectation because it's a console game. Can you realistically expect to keep Destiny going for ten years, without releasing a new retail game, in this world of every year Call of Duty/Battlefield/whatever? I have my doubts. People want the new thing, and if there is never a Destiny 2, a lot of people will always see Destiny as that old busted game, no matter how many expansions and changes it's gone through.

And there is that leaked contract from a few years back that I feel like stated actual sequel releases, but I didn't really look at it that closely at the time, and haven't looked at it since, so I could be wrong about that.

A new release let's you separate yourself from some decisions you've made. You can change the way the loot system works, the perks, etc. While they could do this now, I imagine it's much easier to do and have people accept it with a new release. Imagine if you can't take Year 1 weapons into Year 2. Not even that you can't upgrade them to the new attack level, you just plain can't use them anymore. Everyone would be pissed. Now, imagine Destiny 2 comes out, and the same thing is true. While some would be disappointed, I don't think it would be an issue for most people. It's a new game, of course you can't take your old stuff into it with you.

How hard would it be to keep Destiny updated without an actual new release? Think about things like graphics. A new game release would probably mean a better looking game. Can you do this without making it a whole new game? You can probably tweak things, but how many improvements can you make without potentially breaking something? I don't actually know, and I'm not sure how big of a deal it would be to have no graphical improvements. Destiny is beautiful now, and will be in a few years still, but in five years (or ten!), if we're still playing on the same engine, and it still looks the same, people will probably be disappointed.

Like I said, I don't know enough about the issue. I've never played MMOs; I don't know how these issues affect something like World of Warcraft.

But for whatever reason, I always just assumed there would be an actual Destiny 2. I'm not sure I'd care if there wasn't, as long as good content keeps coming. But it'd have to be substantial. The Taken King sounds like it will be, but who knows? Even if it is, I'm not sure it's enough. If we get the release schedule and amount of content we've seen so far, I'm not sure people will care to play for ten years.

And yea, there was a signifigantly different Guild Wars 2.

One could argue that WoW has changed so much since launch that it's an entirely different game than vanilla anyways. The original lands have been completely redone (in the Cataclysm expansion), character models have been updated, leveling talents work a bit different, etc...

I would like to be able to keep my character for a very very long time in Destiny.

1. Current gen-only support
2. Character/content renewal
3. Lessons learned, applied to blank slate
4. Restart purchase cycle

They found reasons to offer Collector's Editions (or whatever) for an expansion. And a ton of people bought it. Think of what a new release of D2 would bring. I'd put my money on Fall, 2017.

I would like to be able to keep my character for a very very long time in Destiny.

Bungie's stated intent from the beginning has been that you'll be able to.

And I remember that now. My mind has been elsewhere lately, I think.

They found reasons to offer Collector's Editions (or whatever) for an expansion. And a ton of people bought it. Think of what a new release of D2 would bring. I'd put my money on Fall, 2017.

I definitely have though Destiny might not come out until 2017, but with the regular release of content they seem to want to have out, it would not surprise me in the least if they release Destiny 2 next year, following the release of the next two expansions. Of course we'll have to hear about it immediately after Comet drops for them to have enough time to market it as a new game, but I would not be surprised.

They found reasons to offer Collector's Editions (or whatever) for an expansion. And a ton of people bought it. Think of what a new release of D2 would bring. I'd put my money on Fall, 2017.

I definitely have though Destiny might not come out until 2017, but with the regular release of content they seem to want to have out, it would not surprise me in the least if they release Destiny 2 next year, following the release of the next two expansions. Of course we'll have to hear about it immediately after Comet drops for them to have enough time to market it as a new game, but I would not be surprised.

Is it possible that TTK is Comet? I pushed the prediction to 2017 specifically because DLC content has so far been successful - meaning, less pressure to deliver The Next Big Thing.

They found reasons to offer Collector's Editions (or whatever) for an expansion. And a ton of people bought it. Think of what a new release of D2 would bring. I'd put my money on Fall, 2017.

I definitely have though Destiny might not come out until 2017, but with the regular release of content they seem to want to have out, it would not surprise me in the least if they release Destiny 2 next year, following the release of the next two expansions. Of course we'll have to hear about it immediately after Comet drops for them to have enough time to market it as a new game, but I would not be surprised.

Is it possible that TTK is Comet? I pushed the prediction to 2017 specifically because DLC content has so far been successful - meaning, less pressure to deliver The Next Big Thing.

Sorry, I'm still in the habit of calling TTK the Comet from time to time. So I meant they'd have to announce Destiny 2 right after TTK to have enough time for marketing if it comes out next year.

If all we get is the last-gen-slave Destiny 1, well... At least it's a very fun game it its own right.

I totally agree. It would be a strange goal to develop Destiny over a 10 year period with a scope defined by hardware released in 2005. The plan for Destiny was to challenge gamers' preconceptions of what a new brand of interactive IP might look like. And so the very necessary decision to include last gen seemed only to be a temporary access point to introduce gamers to a technologically ambitious franchise. Even if the core gameplay and progression philosophy remain the same - once current gen is the baseline limitation, we can hope for larger battles and public events, bigger environments, and deeper raids. I'd be thrilled if "Destiny 2" was fundamentally the same, but on a larger scale (with a larger party size).

If not, what does it mean to say "that's all you get"?

Why wouldn't Bungie keep doing what they have been doing-- keep adding content, and every so often, packaging everything for one $60 price?

Because I don't want to play the same game for ten years. That's stupid. You can get a new Mario level every day, but it's still Mario and eventually you're going to get sick of it.

A straight up sequel is a way to give us a new game to play.

Okay, perhaps I'm approaching this the wrong way.

What, in your mind, would distinguish a "true sequel" from a package that would contain everything we've gotten so far, plus an amount of new material comparable to what was delivered with the first installment of vanilla Destiny, all on current-gen hardware only, with enforced network compatibility across all versions?

I think you're stuck on the semantics of "sequel" vs "expansion" and it doesn't help the analysis.

I think above all Bungie wants to go ahead without making anyone start over and without separating the player base any more than they are already (PS3, PS4, Xbone, Xbox 360, with/without expansion). The aggressive pricing on including TTK with all prior content is to ensure as many people as possible have all the up-to-date content going forward.

So would four new planets, or four new patrol zones on the same planets, plus five or six strikes and a raid not be a "sequel" if it doesn't say "Destiny 2" on the box?

If you're looking for a big change in the basic gameplay, such as we saw between the Halo sequels, I really, really doubt you're going to get it. I for one, do NOT want to lose access to the old content as we gain new stuff, or have to quit one game and start up another to access an old area. Destiny already has all the shooter features that people whined about Halo not having for years, except for prone position and glancing and a cover mechanic, and I think they've just decided not to include those.