While publishers may unleash the PR hounds over some games, apparently they aren't so concerned when it comes to movie tie-in titles. MCV spoke with several company representatives behind this year's movie-licensed cash-ins, revealing the opinion that megaplex titles are enjoyed by fans of the film and reviews don't really matter.
Activision Blizzard's head of marketing, David Tyler, notes that many licensed titles are targeted at kids, who really don't pay attention to scores. He believes success or failure depends on how fun a game is, and that game ratings are largely the concern of an older target audience. Meaning, if there was a movie tie-in game for The Bucket List, chances are, the publisher would make sure it's amazing.
Reader Comments (22)
Posted: Feb 20th 2009 5:39PM False said
Some movie tie-ins are better than others. EA and Activision have put out good ones (Kung Fu Panda and the Harry Potter titles), but Sega needs to never do a movie tie-in again. Ever.
Posted: Feb 20th 2009 5:41PM Roto13 said
Enter the Matrix will always be the example that comes to mind for me whenever I hear people talking about games selling without actually having to be good. The game was undeniable crap and it sold really well.
Posted: Feb 20th 2009 6:14PM (Unverified) said
It didn't have to be finished.
The developers of the game thought to themselves, ''Well, if it's got a big name like 'The Matrix' on it, it will sell by itself. Finished or not.''
Sad, but true.
Reply
The developers of the game thought to themselves, ''Well, if it's got a big name like 'The Matrix' on it, it will sell by itself. Finished or not.''
Sad, but true.
Posted: Feb 20th 2009 5:45PM (Unverified) said
I think Iron Man is a pretty cool guy eh, sells copies and doesn't afraid of Metacritic score.
Posted: Feb 20th 2009 5:49PM (Unverified) said
I think Tony Stark is a pretty cool guy. Ehs a drunk womanizing arms dealer who DOESNT AFRAID OF ANYTHING
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Posted: Feb 20th 2009 5:57PM TheDarkWayne said
or Ezekiel stane or anything listed during the 5 nightmares arc
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Posted: Feb 20th 2009 5:59PM (Unverified) said
It's attitude like these that fload the market with crappy games, if you made them good games maybe parents will play with their kids giving you a slightly bigger market
Posted: Feb 20th 2009 6:00PM FernandoRocker said
Well... I remember than in the NES and SNES era, movies and tv show games used to be great, like Ducktales, Chip & Dale, The Lion King, Mickey Mouse games, Tiny Toons...
Good times.
Good times.
Posted: Feb 20th 2009 6:05PM jynxycat said
It's hard to think outside of gaming blogs and forums when you think about the average video game consumer. The people who post on such sites aren't not the ones buying this game, and Activision knows it.
Brand name games like Ironman, Harry Potter, Barbie whatever, etc. all sell very well to just some random kid on the street, and make a load of money.
Once you work for a company that produces such throwaway titles, it becomes blatantly obvious they're in it for the easy money, not the quality.
And you know what ? They make it.
Brand name games like Ironman, Harry Potter, Barbie whatever, etc. all sell very well to just some random kid on the street, and make a load of money.
Once you work for a company that produces such throwaway titles, it becomes blatantly obvious they're in it for the easy money, not the quality.
And you know what ? They make it.
Posted: Feb 20th 2009 6:58PM El Stefio said
I'd love them to go back in time to 1983 and say that to Atari.
Posted: Feb 20th 2009 8:16PM (Unverified) said
Great for the quick cash-in, but when another marvel game is announced, it's welcomed with, "this is going to be shit" comments, and doesn't leave much to be desired.. They better hope the movies supply doesn't run dry.
Posted: Feb 20th 2009 9:03PM (Unverified) said
Because it sold so well I guess
Posted: Feb 21st 2009 1:42AM WiredKnight said
This is why you don't have your marketing people talk about the quality of your games.
Did they ever stop to think that how fun a game is has a lot to do with how well its made?
Did they ever stop to think that how fun a game is has a lot to do with how well its made?
Posted: Feb 21st 2009 5:03AM Mognet T said
From the quality of most licensed games, I couldve guessed that they werent shooting for quality...
...here's to hoping the Watchmen game sets itself apart from the pack.
...here's to hoping the Watchmen game sets itself apart from the pack.






