SEED did that years ago. Though with the exception of Gundam Unicorn I'd say the Gundam franchise hasn't exactly been flourishing the last decade as far as the shows go.
What? This is one of the most ridiculous things, I've ever heard about Gundam. I can understand that some people can dislike Seed, but "killing franchise"? Really?
Seed is the thing, that made Gundam as 21st century anime. Seed along with 00 brought a lot of refreshing into series, while keeping most important parts in. It is rather enjoyable for younger funs, who don't really familiar with UC timeline. I know a lot of people who became Gundam fans thanks to Seed. Well, I'm started with Seed myself and it really got me in. I watched almost every Gundam series (and I liked almost all of them with exceptions being Wing and Unicorn) and, of them all, only Zeta could beat Seed/Destiny in every way. Of course Seed, like any other Gundam has its own problems, like plot in some ways, but that doesn't really matter for me. These FABULOUS PLOTS of Unicorn and Wing didn't really impress me.
Maybe Seed made franchise less likeable for oldfags, but it's defently not "killing".
I tried to watch first ep of Age long time ago and immediately dropped it. But I recently have decided to give Age a second chance. And it was worth it. Second generation is simply awesome. First is not that good, but it's pretty much watchable. I've just started third gen and it's kinda weird, but Cap Ash as good as ever. My only issue is that I think that I just hate Kio. Gonna finish Age soon. It's defently worth watching.
