Mass Effect 5

I recently read one critic compare Mass Effect 2 to, in relation to it's predecessor, The Empire Strikes Back. To me however, saying that seems to anticipate that the upcoming ME3 will be..... not as good.

Anyway, I recently read that whilst Mass Effect was originally planned as a trilogy, apparently EA are keen to expand the franchise and keep it going. Hardly surprising as franchises are the pretty much the lifeblood of games these days. However with this news, I can see some untapped potential.
This year I sat down and watched Babylon 5 - a long time coming true but well worth it in the end. And like most people, I was significantly impressed with how it was planned out from the very beginning and how things established earlier on become more important much later. It got me thinking, has anyone ever tried something of this multitude in a video game series?
Think about it: How awesome would be to keep using the same saved game over the one series, where the choices you made in the first game can ultimately effect the fifth and final game? You could even choose to keep the same character all the way through or change to someone else who has to deal with the decisions the first character made. The Quest for Glory series did it before with keeping the same character over a series, but with the processing power we have today, it may be possible to make decisions that can have much longer-lasting effects.

Sadly, as ambitious as the idea may seem, it may never happen: Bioware doesn't seem at all interested in going beyond a trilogy. And besides, who on earth actually SETS OUT to make a new game franchise in this day and age?