Slashdot Mirror
NYT on Big Media Games Interest
The New York Times (registration required) has an article entitled Blockbuster With a Joystick, discussing the recent interest big media companies have had in game developers. From the article "What is driving the flurry is Hollywood's newfound respect for the profits earned by video game makers. Until recently, movie studios were happy to license their films to game developers...But as the profit margin on video games has remained around a healthy 25 percent - three times that of the average motion picture - the interest of companies like Disney has increased."
One part of TFA that made me wince: "'There will naturally be culture clashes if they try to move these cultures together," said Neil Young, the executive in charge of production at Electronic Arts. "There is not a culture of fear in our industry. We are not afraid to fail.' The big media companies - where fear of failure is almost a job requirement - ...."
Either fear of failure is not so troublesome for media companies as the article supposes -- for Disney, the media company around which much speculation revolves -- or there are some poor sap Imagineers living in hellish, oft-reinforced fear under their Mouse ears. Disney has had plenty of flops, total flops! They put out an incredible amount of content, much of which goes almost nowhere. I'm not Disney-bashing -- obviously, from this they have had their historic success and let's all share a moment of profound respect for a cultural empire which has defined a mythology much of the world loves.
I just don't look at Disney's output and think "fear of failure." I look at this article, and think "fear of mediocrity leads to overwriting." Entertainment and gaming, not so different methinks.
BG
Post gave us a nice link, from the RSS feed. If you had navigated to that article otherwise though, you would have been asked to log in and/or register.
BG
So in other words a huge media conglomerates might be interested buying a huge game publishers so they don't have to worry about accquiring the rights to big game franchises to make crappy movies from them.
Not that I have a problem with this. I just hate huge media congloms talk as if there's going to be tremendous cinergy between a huge movie studio and game studio. There is potential there in theory. Video games are a mix of all kinds of media( gameplay, music, video). Having a great game is made even better if the cut scenes have a great story and and a cinematic element to it. But in practice film makers, making a movie from a game, and game makers, making a game from a movie, are usually content with resting on the popularity of the big name they've accquired and just making a mediocre game or movie.
All I'm saying is that movie makers should worry about making a good movie first and game makers should worry about making a good game first before they attempt to cross over any elements between the two.
-Shawn "If the Name Don't Rhyme It Ain't Mine" Conn