Videogames vs. The Movies
- Thread starter MovieBob
- Start date
As Bob said, every year I have to hear about how bad Hollywood did at the box office and every year I think about how many movies I actually went to the theatre to see; 2010 one movie! I stood in line and paid money to see exactly one movie this year - Iron Man 2. I saw a number of movies released this year, but I saw them at home.
I can't stand 3D, I already wear glasses all day every day, I don't want to wear extra special glasses to watch a movie; also the extra ticket price isn't helping either. Of the films in regular release there were very few that I felt needed to be seen in a theatre. I own a nice TV and have decent speakers. Did I really miss something not watching The Social Network on the big screen? Which, incidentally came out on DVD a few months after its initial release. If movies are an "event" then they are quickly becoming less of an event for me with each passing year.
Part of the problem is that I live in a city without anything that resembles an independent cinema, the only films which play here are blockbusters. And those blockbusters are not doing a particularly good job of enticing me to fork over my money. Here's to 2011!
I can't stand 3D, I already wear glasses all day every day, I don't want to wear extra special glasses to watch a movie; also the extra ticket price isn't helping either. Of the films in regular release there were very few that I felt needed to be seen in a theatre. I own a nice TV and have decent speakers. Did I really miss something not watching The Social Network on the big screen? Which, incidentally came out on DVD a few months after its initial release. If movies are an "event" then they are quickly becoming less of an event for me with each passing year.
Part of the problem is that I live in a city without anything that resembles an independent cinema, the only films which play here are blockbusters. And those blockbusters are not doing a particularly good job of enticing me to fork over my money. Here's to 2011!
I actually was engaged in a conversation about this topic (while waiting for the midnight showing of The Green Hornet) from a different angle.MovieBob said:
The problem comes down to money. Nowadays videogames (and movies) have massive, massive budgets that need to be balanced on the other end. It comes down to Risk vs. Reward. Before Avatar made money, a lot of it was spent for creation--remember the heavy promotion prior to its theatrical release? Unfortunately you see movies made out of things like Twilight because there's guaranteed money regardless of the quality. There will be a billionth Call of Duty because it'll sell (Low Risk, High Reward). Transformers became big as a movie, so Hollywood continued to unleash Michael Bay on the franchise.
In contrast, a movie such as Black Swan opened in select theaters first, and everywhere else later. I think this is an example of a movie with a higher Risk, but has generated high Reward (opposite case: Scott Pilgrim, which was also a movie of higher Risk...and I won't finish that, both movies are exceptional).
Take a look for a second at movie-based games, these days produced to promote their movie. Produced to replicate the look, feel, and sound of a different medium. In this regard, developers have apparently forgotten E.T. It's another gimmick. Every so often, you might see a movie-based game going the extra mile (like the LotR games bringing in the actual actors, or Rango-the-game using Johnny Depp), but most just suck beyond that possible, temporary sensation of "Hey, I get to play as so-and-so" if that works for you.
Getting back to the crux of the matter, it all traces back to the current economy. Risk isn't looking so good right now. It's simpler, easier, and reward factor is greater by reproducing, rebooting, and remaking popular material. Most of the major game titles released recently have been sequels. Movies see remakes, or re-hashing of basic stories that work on a general population, read: "young, white men with disposable income." It's sad, unoriginal, and boring, but the rest of us aren't worth paying attention to, or telling stories for. We're smaller in numbers, and there would be actual work involved in generating and guaranteeing interest. The people on the creation/production end with the big budgets to produce movies or games can't seem to see without their dollar-green-colored glasses. But on both sides, particularly easier to see in gaming's recent history, the continued injection of more money into the system made this trend inevitable. Once the heavy spending starts, focus settles on making it back + some.
Overall, it's a sensitive topic to attempt to cover, because it does aggro rage on both sides, and here I thought that for its angle it was handled pretty well. I think the article produces an interesting point, and I will admit that despite our lengthy back-and-forth, it didn't occur to my friend and I that the industries in question could reflect the worst in themselves.
If the indiana jones tie-in games are as good as the games listed, we would have our very first GREAT movie game!
Video games and movies in direct competition? what? I'm sorry but how can an interactive and non-interact medium be in direct competition. They both tell stories yes but they're fundamentally different. That is a silly excuse.
On the topic of people ripping off people who rip off people, Yes it would be nice to see more original stories now try and come up with something totally original... and then a company who has to sink a million dollars into it to okay your crazy ass idea. Or on the indie front, try to get a bunch of sometimes resistant team members to get together and actually make your game or make it yourself and then market it well enough to actually get noticed.
I'm not saying that's the only problem, but I think a lot of this whole "ripping off" business is people seeing what they want to see and they want something to rip on.
On the topic of people ripping off people who rip off people, Yes it would be nice to see more original stories now try and come up with something totally original... and then a company who has to sink a million dollars into it to okay your crazy ass idea. Or on the indie front, try to get a bunch of sometimes resistant team members to get together and actually make your game or make it yourself and then market it well enough to actually get noticed.
I'm not saying that's the only problem, but I think a lot of this whole "ripping off" business is people seeing what they want to see and they want something to rip on.
I've said this before, and I'll say it again. The liberal critique of the lack of diversity in media industries falls completely flat. It's true, if these industries were owned by the government, then yes, we would expect them to fairly represent the country's demographics. However, I'm afraid their catering to the white male population is a result of capitalism, not chauvinism. That's just the demographic that has the money.
The free market is not a moral entity, and you cannot expect it to make altruistic decisions. If a company sacrifices profits to do something morally righteous, they lose money and are overtaken by the less scrupulous companies. If the media was more focused on business ethics, and the population more caring, unethical businesses would be called out and boycotted. However, this is clearly not the case (see: Activision). Consumers don't care, and therefore there is no reason for companies to behave themselves.
The free market is not a moral entity, and you cannot expect it to make altruistic decisions. If a company sacrifices profits to do something morally righteous, they lose money and are overtaken by the less scrupulous companies. If the media was more focused on business ethics, and the population more caring, unethical businesses would be called out and boycotted. However, this is clearly not the case (see: Activision). Consumers don't care, and therefore there is no reason for companies to behave themselves.
The thing about indie ganes was dead on. I do feel like indie games fall into three categories; platformer, sidescroller, and puzzler. You may get a different play on a shmup every now and then. Big budget games are usually some game based on killing something to achieve your goal. I don't blame the developers that much but I will blame the movie companies a bit more. A movie with a great plot has a better chance to sell because movies can reach a further audience. While games have a limited audience now there are people that don't fall into that stereotype but you get it. I blame the consumers more. No one takes chances anymore, its all about the next COD, GoW, (insert big action game here). Why did the Dreamcast eventually fail? Despite the other reasons to me it was also the great games were the ones that were usually very creative. Take Jet Grind Radio, which you would think would sell but it wasn't that big action filled game. We could throw Shenmue in there but it was far too little action, too much literal thinking for people to get it. I still remember in Shenmue II where I had to keep going to the barbershop because the guy told me to not move, although my screen kept telling me to press A(which is something that will always stick out to me). So my concluding statement is this its the consumers. Everyone seems to be so tired of these yearly churned CODS yet they break sales records. This can go to almost all the arts. People say Hip-Hop is dead or Rock is dead or whatever but its the people who make the choice of buying the same recycled crap over and over instead of expanding their horizons
Am I the only one who enjoyed this article? Some people take criticism of their opinions far too personally. I've been critiquing both industries for years not knowing how similar their problems really are. Thanks for pointing that out Bob.
Why does everyone group these guys all into huge, faceless groups? I mean, Games, Hollywood, who cares? They're all just individual companies and producers, right? So why is it everyone feels SO compelled to just smash them into one, giant demographic group. Maybe I'm nuts but, from where I stand, this is just racism only for ideals. I practice martial arts and I'm fairly active member of that respective community. However, if some douchebag on the other side of the country, who just happens to practice Tae Kwon Do, decides to say something douchbagish to the press why should I have to even deal with it? I would blame human nature but, honestly, this seems to only happen in Western/American culture. This whole thing just sounds like a church gossip group only on a much larger scale and the sad truth is that the groups who actually matter and are worth listening too probably will never say anything at all :-/
???Donald L said:
Bwuh? Most anime lovers I know really like video games. Wait no, ALL anime lovers I know really like video games. And since when does the average Hollywood goer hate japanese cartoons?
maybe movie sales are down so much because it costs over $40 to go to a movie (with a girlfriend/wife/dog, for tickets and popcorn) that its not worth the money unless you're guaranteed a good show. People aren't taking chances on movies because it's getting ridiculous to go see a movie and having it suck. lower your scam prices and maybe people will start going out more.
I agree. Most of the people (at least in western cultures) who are into "foreign" media are probably videophiles to begin with. If not then it's likely that they will never have seen any Japanimation to begin with. I've yet to meet anyone that watches nothing but anime.Crono Maniac said: