Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Movie Games Losing Their Appeal to Game Publishers

Posted by Zonk on from the better-late-than-never dept.

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..."

3 of 66 comments (clear)

  1. Deadlines by SafteyMan · · Score: 4, Informative

    I think the biggest problem of making a game based on a movie is releasing the game close to when the movie came out. When the matrix game came out the same day as the movie, you could tell it was just unfinished. There were so many bugs, big and small, and the whole game just felt unfinished.

    1. Re:Deadlines by ZephyrXero · · Score: 4, Informative

      "Publishers are people who burn CDs and slap a logo on the developer's hardwork."

      That's the way it's supposed to work...but unfortunately it doesn't. Most publishers try to own the game they're publishing and make all the decisions for the publisher. There's a new company, 03 entertainment, that actually just publishes and that's it. This is wonderful for independent developers who don't want to sell their souls to EA and the like...

      --
      "A truly wise man realizes he knows nothing."
  2. Businessweek says the Opposite by Swanktastic · · Score: 4, Informative

    Chalk it up as 'journalists never agree on trends.' An article on Businessweek's cover this week says the exact opposite-- Video games and studios are getting much closer, studios looking to buy devs/publishers, devs/publishers looking to make alliances with studios. I read both, and Businessweek is usually more accurate about industry trends than the NY Times. So take it with a grain of salt.

    The question is not really whether movie games are universally good or bad, but whether the publishers are paying the right amount of money for the license. Also, remember that only a small fraction of games are hits, so there's a pretty good chance that a big movie-based game could flop. All the naysayers will point to this and say "See movies and games don't mix-- I told you so" when that is simply the standard operating economics of the industry.