Last week, an “Iron Man” game came out aligned with the theatrical release of the “Iron Man” movie.
The movie did fine despite “GTA IV” pulling in $500 million dollars, but not much has been said about the game (though it seems that people are renting it).
Would the “Iron Man” game have generated more buzz away from its movie release but also away from the release of “GTA IV”?
Other movie games planned for this summer are sticking with the standard practice of coming out with the film. The “Speed Racer“ movie and game are out this week, next week is “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” and later on this summer “Kung Fu Panda,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Wall-E“… well, you get the idea. Summer blockbusters typically come with video games in tow.
However, this got us thinking about the new “Batman” movie. In summer 2005, “Batman Begins” had a game published by EA and developed by Eurocom that was released day and date with the film. Then the movie sequel “Dark Knight” was officially announced in August 2006 and hits theaters on July 18. Yet so far, we haven’t heard anything about a “Batman” game for July.
Last May, IGN reported a rumor that EA tapped Pandemic Studios to create a new Batman title based on the “Dark Knight” movie. Not much else was known. On April 2, 2008, IGN confirmed the rumor but the information was then immediately taken down. Multiplayer reached out to Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, but representatives would not comment on the status of the game.
Also, “Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull,” which enters theaters on May 22 does not have a scheduled movie-based game. We asked Lucasarts why there isn’t a “Crystal Skull” game but received no response before press time. In 2005, an “Indiana Jones” game for next-gen consoles was announced, but no release date has been given. Meanwhile, “LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures” hits retail on June 3, but does not include the storyline from “Crystal Skull.”
Maybe the people behind the “Dark Knight” and the “Indiana Jones” games (as well as 2006’s “Superman Returns” game) know something we don’t.
Could licensed games benefit by not coming out day and date with the film?
Are movie-based games still relevant to gamers when the it comes out much later than the film, and perhaps tied to a DVD release?
Or does the game really miss out by not being released with the movie?
May 9th, 2008 at 10:08 am
I think movie tie-in games could benefit a LOT from being released well after the movie comes out. There’s a few reasons why…
1) Production Times: AAA titles can take up to 3 or 4 years easily, sometimes longer…just ask Silicon Knights. Movies, on the other hand, can sometimes be much shorter. Trying to tie the video game to an arbitrary date that coincides with Hollywood’s production and release schedule often means that licensed properties lack some of the polish that a big AAA title should have.
2) Retail Sales Estimates: Sometimes, blockbusters bomb. By lengthening your production schedule on the video game, you can better match the resources with the demand. A lot of people were surprised by Iron Man’s success, I know I was. Knowing what a huge movie it’s been though might have allowed the team working on the game to allocate more resources to development and production of physical copies in anticipation of the demand. On the other hand, had it done terribly, they could’ve pulled back a bit and conserved their budget so that they could ship a smaller number of games…thus avoiding an “ET” moment.
3) Oversaturation: Sometimes, you can just get sick of something… After a summer filled with blockbuster after blockbuster, wouldn’t it be nice to go into the holiday season with something to look forward to? Rather than coming out day and date with the film, if the game came out a few months later it would have a different feel and allow more freedom. Without having the movie out at the *same time* people might be more forgiving of the little differences between the two. They might also relish the chance to revisit the experience with that property, instead of groaning because they’re seeing commercials for the movie, commercials for the game, slurpees with the characters on them, cereal promotions, etc… Letting the movie hype die down before ramping up the video game hype might be a good thing, because it would give people a chance to catch their breath.
May 9th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
I think Warner and Lucasfilm are happy with their Lego interpretations filling the void. The brand is still there on shelves and in homes and that will draw people to the film, or so they hope.
I refer games based in the universe to ones based on the movies. Chronicles of Riddick anyone? I much prefer this to strait up movie games. ugh. they make me feel dirty.