It is weird how quickly people get sick of franchises. A few years ago people were so in love with Mass Effect. One bad ending in 3 and now the tide has turned just like that.
People seem to lose interest in most franchises quickly (it doesn't help when the people making Mass Effect obviously did not give a fuck based on the glitches and shitty ass quality I have seen so far). Other then Nintendo and Blizzard franchises which other franchises are evergreen?
I would say Madden, FIFA and GTA are the only ones I can think of that have really long ass legs. Anything else I missed that is still as relevant as when it first came on the scene?
Call of Duty and Battlefield still sell copies by the truckload even if they're on the decline I suppose.
Counterstrike has been around for almost 20 years and still more popular than ever.
NBA2k is the only other sports title that comes to mind immediately
Civilization is bigger than ever supposedly and that's been out for over 20 years
Also Doom and Wolfenstein are back in a big way.
Metal Gear has been out for what? 30 years? That franchise might be coming to an end though.
Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter still sell in the millions
Elder Scrolls still going strong for 20 years
Far Cry is getting up there in age but I think the last one didn't do so well?
But you're generally right in that there might only be, at most, two dozen properties that people get hyped for consistently.
Edit: completely spaced on Gran Turismo and another vote for Final Fantasy
Kingdom Hearts also gets people going and that's getting up there in age. A lot of the PS2 franchises that carried over are kinda old now.