Is this the end for Ratchet and Clank?

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(CNN) -- When does a video game franchise end?
Ratchet, center, is a cat-like creature and the primary hero of the Ratchet & Clank game series.

It's sometimes hard to tell. The immortal Mario the plumber has appeared in more than 200 video games since 1981 and is still going strong.

However, one popular series may be ready to give its fans some closure. Ratchet and Clank have been spanning their fictional universe since 2002 in an effort to defeat evil and save all from certain doom. The franchise, about two intergalactic heroes fighting evil, has sold more than 16 million copies.

Despite that, the game's developers are hinting that the upcoming "Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time" may be the last in the series, an unusual occurrence for an industry in which sequels to best-selling games are often announced far in advance.

Brian Allgeier, the game's creative director, says that "A Crack in Time," the seventh Ratchet & Clank title produced by Insomniac Games, closes a chapter in the series by tying up many loose ends. The game was written with fans in mind and answers their questions while providing more background about the protagonists and their destinies, he said.

"Never say never, but people need that closure," Allgeier said. "We hope to be wrapping things up with a bow."

Wrapping things up? Such talk has spawned much hand-wringing among gamers online.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/10/19/game ... index.html