about movie based games

[Kire]

I posted this elsewhere so i thought I'd post it here.

Having worked on multiple games for movies, I'll tell you that developers DO give a ****...the problem comes from the fact that you must ABSOLUTELY have that game out by the time it comes out in theatres, there's absolutely no option. You lose an astronomic amount of sales if you're not out in time and that's all the publisher ultimately cares about.

Usually the problem is when someone has a great idea to make the game better, the answer is "we don't have time for that," and believe it or not, I've seen people work really damn hard and crazy hours to get something out the door that a hardcore gamer would scoff at...but they're not the target audience. The target audience are those who are excited about or have just seen said movie and wants more of it, so We care the most about first impressions and making "little Johnny" happy.

Throw on top of that you have Hollywood types pulling rank saying "so and so wouldn't be doing that" rather than care if the game is actually FUN. You already get this with producers, but it's even doubly so on such titles.

So yeah, it's not that devs don't care, it's that publishers above all want a decent game out that's playable ("decent" being playable and first impression pretty) much more than a game that would sell less than half the copies when a game comes out after the movie is out in theatres.

[Thutmose]

Re: about movie based games

Replace "developers" with "teachers," "game" with "student," and "sales" with "standardized test scores."

I understand exactly how you feel.

[DarkwingChuck]

Re: about movie based games

I was hoping Superman Returns the game would turn out well after it got delayed to come out with the DVD instead of the movie's release. Then maybe the rush to come out with the movie wouldn't be so mandated. But turned out neither the movie or the game were very good.

[marcus]

Re: about movie based games

I prefer games based on licenses, not film. Chronicles of Riddick was based on a movie license but not a film so the devs could put as much work into it as they wanted. Compare the Transformers PS2 game to the movie based Transformers games based on the movies.

Avatar did something different by breaking away from the movie's story and I hear Cameron actually had some direct influence on it. It ended up being mediocre but still.

Hollywood and games have always been a poor combination (Jaws for the NES *shudder*) and it would be nice if more creative freedom was allowed.

[Thutmose]

Re: about movie based games

Hollywood and games have always been a poor combination (Jaws for the NES *shudder*) and it would be nice if more creative freedom was allowed.

I got a copy of ET for my Atari 2600. It blew my mind.

[John Mora]

Re: about movie based games

Maybe I don't see the point of playing through a story I already saw in a movie.

[Perversion]

Re: about movie based games

You guys are probably sick of hearing me say this, because I say it every time the opportunity presents itself, but Thutmose is still new, so I'm posting it partially for his benefit:

I know the Atari 2600 E.T. is generally considered to be one of the worst games of all time (landfill in the desert, etc), but I actually quite enjoyed the game, and played the hell out of it when it first came out. It was infinitely better than the shoddy version of Pac-Man. Now THAT is a horrible game, and I think that's a pretty undisputed fact.

[Toaster]

Re: about movie based games

I prefer games based on licenses, not film.

The only games I played that were tied into a movie were good because of this.

Most movie-based videogames are ****ing awful, and I stay away from them. The only ones that really broke this rule were King Kong, and Riddick. Both of which came out AFTER the film. Granted, they lost on initial sales from the Carnival Games crowd... they were decently well made.

[Kefka Jr.]

Re: about movie based games

My friends got me Speed Racer: The Videogame for Christmas, because they know I love the movie. I was like, REALY FUNNY ASSHOLES.

And then I played it.

It's waaayyy better than Mario Kart Wii.

[Red Dragon]

Re: about movie based games

The only ones that really broke this rule were King Kong, and Riddick.

Spiderman 2 as well. Not sure when that came out, before or after the movie.

That game was great for the time.

[Alzar]

Re: about movie based games

Well I bet its something like

game based on movie that is a bad game
sales 500,000 units

game based on movie that is a pretty good game
sales 501,000 units

mainly that...there isn't much actual incentive to make a good game other than pride of developers

[Perversion]

Re: about movie based games

Film tie-ins in videogame form exist in such a vast wasteland....


I think it mainly boils down to the same thing that "smart" kids' films vs "dumbed down" kids' films does: it seems that a lot of kid/family films throw in a bunch of spectacle, a few clever references for the parents, and some happy resolution, and call it a day. In reading reviews for these types of films (as I really never choose to watch them), it's reiterated over and over how they treat children as ADD-riddled, and cannot trust them to watch something with a slower pace and that does not "talk down" to them.

Same with licensed games. Sure, there's no REAL incentive to make a better game, but by rehashing the same platformer/shooter-lite/cartoon fighter/etc, kids are being conditioned to just accept these types of repetitive, monotonous games as the norm, instead of embracing the medium to perhaps do something different, and hopefully open those same kids' views to accept and enjoy new types of gaming experiences that may translate down the line to continued healthy growth for the industry, instead of these same kids moving on to more "mature" rehashes of the same things, and probably exiting the gaming community because they are bored of doing the same things over and over again.


I find it interesting when customers come into work with their kids, and they'll say something about playing the Atari or the NES, and remember the good times with those older systems, and are just now getting back into gaming with a Wii or a PS3 (rarely ever a 360). I'm always tempted to ask them when and why they stopped playing video games, to kind of gauge the reasons for "normal" people to have given up at some point.

[Dallas Alvis II]

Re: about movie based games

I agree with Bloody Mary.

[Thutmose]

Re: about movie based games

I know the Atari 2600 E.T. is generally considered to be one of the worst games of all time (landfill in the desert, etc), but I actually quite enjoyed the game, and played the hell out of it when it first came out.

So the person with a bloody girl for his avatar is a masochist. Big surprise. >_>

Maybe it's because I'm a bit younger than you, and so I have different expectations from a game, but I couldn't find one thing redeemable about E.T. I had more fun with C64 BASIC - and I don't even know BASIC.

Though I can't disagree with you about Atari 2600's Pac-Man.

I generally stay away from movie-based games. I've never played one that wouldn't have been better off as a licensed, or non-preexisting-IP-based, title.

Movie-based games have highly inelastic demand, given the standard market price for the game. It doesn't matter if the game is good, the demand curve is still going to be vertical. See the below chart (it's not based on market data, but should help illustrate my opinion).

Note: This graph assumes constant standard market price.

As you can see, to make the most profit, all the producers need to do is make the game passable/mediocre. Once they pass the line of optimal profit/quality ratio, in an effort to make a better game, their costs are going to increase and profit will diminish, as demand will never rise above a certain point for movie-based games regardless of quality.

This doesn't hold true for non-movie-based games, however; as non-movie-based games naturally appeal to a much wider audience. For these kinds of games, the cap on the demand is higher (given standard market price), and an investment in greater quality is more likely to translate into greater profit (but not guaranteed).

That's my theory, anyway. And the same theory applies to American education - but, that's off topic.

[Duel]

Re: about movie based games

I don't like movie based games.

I think they suck.

There are exceptions.

But for the most part.

They suck.