License games

[The NZA]

For years, these games were shit.

Companies like Aklaim, THQ etc would buy up all the properties like Simpsons and such, then churn out a slew of multi-platform games in time for the holidays. This shit goes back to ET.

 

In more recent times, theyve gotten better. 007 (golden eye) was one of the first ones that, while years late, was really an outstanding game on its own, with a single player that followed the film rather well and a great multiplayer. Comic book ones were shit for a long, long time, until Spider-Man for the playstation/Dreamcast (were not counting the capcom fighters - theyre fun but its not the same). While the Spidey movie ports are still mediocre, this paved the way for things like X-Men Legends and Ultimate Alliance

 

But now, games are costing more to make. Wiki says something like 10% or less of the games control 80% or more (i could be off here, but not by much) control the revenue, so more and more, you got companies lining up to bite the GTA engine and slap it onto any franchise they can. Scarface, Godfather (though i hear that one was good), to a lesser extent, the Sopranos, etc. I just played the Shield one the other day.

 

To me, these games deserve their own genre, because theyre basically a hash of pre-existing systems, usually thrown together and resulting in a mediocre total product that gets by on name recognition. Reviews often'll read "if you love everything aobut this series and will be very forgiving of its faults to control its characters...you might like it" and such. I mean, even i had a hard time with the Ghost in the Shell PS2 one.

 

Which ones are the exceptions? Are any so good that youll give them a go without knowing the backstory/having love already for the cast? I openly admit to liking games like Wolverine's Revenge that simply arent good, arent well designed, but voiceovers, costumes, some comic plot elements etc allow me to look past, but others surely wont.

[Reverend Jax]

Well, let's not say all licensed games were shit until Goldeneye. Capcom's line of Disney games for the NES, particularly Duck Tales, were superb. But generally, you are right. I think alot of companies know that a licensed game will sell enough in name recognition to pay for a low budget production, but have learned that a solid game with a hot license will become golden. The game industry has a much better quality to financial success correlation that the movie industry and about a googleplex times better than the music industry. Quality matters alot more then in those other two industries. I wll not mention the book (graphic or not) industry either.

[The NZA]

Good argument, and id argue that comics is along the same line, but its a niche market and this one rivals movies.

 

Also, i cant argue bout the Disney titles...i was never crazy for the franchise, but theyve been more hit than miss. I was just playing Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse on a genesis emulator the other day.

 

Still, with movie ports, its usually more bad than good, im generally surprised when one gets a review that the word "medicore" isnt in at least twice.

[Reverend Jax]

Well, movie games are often more a part of the movie's marketing campaign than an effort to make big bucks in the gaming market. They often have limiting production time because the game has to come out before the movie to build up awareness of opening weekend (which usually determines a movie's whole box office take), which is why it seemed so odd to most that Goldeneye came out 3 years after the movie.