Movie Games Losing Their Appeal to Game Publishers
The New York Times (registration required) has an article on the relationship between games and movies, as regards movie tie-in games. While efforts like Spider-Man 2 or Escape from Butcher Bay prove that quality games based on movie properties are possible, game developers and publishers are beginning to realize the inherent dangers involved in attempting to capture a movie as a game. From the article: "Another factor adding to the risk is that the development process for most major games is now 18 to 24 months, longer than that of many movies. The long development time puts publishers under pressure to make their picks when a film is just a script. And still, not all games come out on time for a movie's release..."
These guys are slow on the uptake. I think the rest of us had it figured out about the same time E.T. kiled Atari.
I was really disappointed when Super Mario Brothers wasn't included in Columbia House's Dennis Hopper Collection DVD set. His performance as King Koopa was _marvelous_.