Movie/TV licensed games

[kingpotato]

Is it me or we dont get that many movie or TV licensed games released lately ? (Excluding comic games like Spiderman or the Arkaham series)
I used to play this type of games as a kid on my PS2 since they where the cheapest option, for example Sponge Bob , Shrek , Over the hedge , Monster house etc.

Whats your opinion on the topic ? Have you ever enjoyed any Movie licensed game ?

[DylanC]

I’m a big fan of a few movie licenced games. Namely, Aliens Vs Predator, though The Thing and Star Was: The Old Republic were great, too.

[UleTheVee]

1 hour ago, DylanC said:

I’m a big fan of a few movie licenced games. Namely, Aliens Vs Predator, though The Thing and Star Was: The Old Republic were great, too.

I think he wanted a general opinion on the topic, Dylan XD.

Anyways, I think that Movie Licensed games have actually increased in quality over the years. They have started pretty roughly and started to become a mess as time went on. However, game companies realized that licensed games can be more than just cashgrabs and, thanks to this, we have a licensed game that got nominated for Game of The Year.

[Alyxx]

I enjoy a lot of licensed games to be honest. Some of my favourites are:

007 GoldenEye
Blade Runner
The Lion King
Star Wars: Dark Forces 2
Michael Jackson's Moonwalker
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time
Alien: Isolation
Duck Tales
Chip'n'Dale Rescue Rangers

I could probably list a lot more to be honest.

[killamch89]

13 hours ago, kingpotato said:

Is it me or we dont get that many movie or TV licensed games released lately ? (Excluding comic games like Spiderman or the Arkaham series)
I used to play this type of games as a kid on my PS2 since they where the cheapest option, for example Sponge Bob , Shrek , Over the hedge , Monster house etc.

Whats your opinion on the topic ? Have you ever enjoyed any Movie licensed game ?

Alien Isolation, Spiderman, Van Helsing, Transformers and the Arkham series are the movie-licensed games I have enjoyed. And then there are the 007 games for the N64 as well as other consoles. Speaking of - why hasn't there ever been an Austin Powers game? 😂

[DylanC]

7 hours ago, UleTheVee said:

I think he wanted a general opinion on the topic, Dylan XD.

Anyways, I think that Movie Licensed games have actually increased in quality over the years. They have started pretty roughly and started to become a mess as time went on. However, game companies realized that licensed games can be more than just cashgrabs and, thanks to this, we have a licensed game that got nominated for Game of The Year.

Kingpotato did ask: "Have you ever enjoyed any Movie licensed game ?" So I was just chiming in with some licensed games I enjoyed growing up to get the ball rolling. 🙂

From a more general view of licensed games, the truth is, is that, sadly, as the cost of games has sky-rocketed, the risk of games has increased significantly which has stymied the success/development of mid-tier titles -- which includes the licensed games' realm. In other words, there're less licensed games as development budgets are far more costly, while consumers have also become more savvy (as a result of the financial crisis/an increase in consumption of gaming media etc.)

[UleTheVee]

1 hour ago, DylanC said:

Kingpotato did ask: "Have you ever enjoyed any Movie licensed game ?" So I was just chiming in with some licensed games I enjoyed growing up to get the ball rolling. 🙂

From a more general view of licensed games, the truth is, is that, sadly, as the cost of games has sky-rocketed, the risk of games has increased significantly which has stymied the success/development of mid-tier titles -- which includes the licensed games' realm. In other words, there're less licensed games as development budgets are far more costly, while consumers have also become more savvy (as a result of the financial crisis/an increase in consumption of gaming media etc.)

You still forget that the industry has already adapted to these "Rising Costs" with their DLC, Season Passes, Microtransactions, Pre-orders and God-forsaken Loot Boxes. So that really isn't up for discussion. As for the extinction of the AA / Mid-Tier market. I used to believe that until I saw Travis Strikes Back: No More Heroes, plentyy of games that have become popular that started as indie like Cuphead and Hellblade. Senua's Sacrifice. and such.

But the problem here is, licensed games are not a niche and they are exempt from going through this trouble. As such, more consumers will be bound to buying this game just because of brand recognition alone.

[DylanC]

13 minutes ago, UleTheVee said:

You still forget that the industry has already adapted to these "Rising Costs" with their DLC, Season Passes, Microtransactions, Pre-orders and God-forsaken Loot Boxes. So that really isn't up for discussion. As for the extinction of the AA / Mid-Tier market. I used to believe that until I saw Travis Strikes Back: No More Heroes, plentyy of games that have become popular that started as indie like Cuphead and Hellblade. Senua's Sacrifice. and such.

But the problem here is, licensed games are not a niche and they are exempt from going through this trouble. As such, more consumers will be bound to buying this game just because of brand recognition alone.

The notion that gaming costs have risen over the years is just a fact.

Yours and my expectations for games has gone up over the years/generations since you and I started gaming, but the price of games has pretty much stayed the same. So, the complexity of making a modern game that will be profitable and successful is MUCH harder these days. That's just a fact.

Look at it this way. The price of a chocolate bar has gone up significantly since we were kids. They're around three/four times the price of what we used to pay growing up. However, our EXPECTATIONS for a chocolate bar has stayed mostly the same.

Our EXPECTATIONS for games on the other hand have changed DRASTICALLY. But the price of games have, for the most part, stayed mostly the same since the NES days. And because of this, it's cultivated a very risky environment for publishers and developers to create games in, to the point where entire teams live and die by the success of just ONE GAME. In other words, the middle ground has eroded to the point where the environment can only mostly sustain indies and big AAA games. Something's gotta give, right?

Sure, DLC, Microtransactions, loot boxes etc. are a way to recoup some money for these companies (and sometimes they can be executed in an egregious and exploitative way), but those are not the answer, really.

I'd consider Hellblade, Spider-Man (which was funded by Sony) and Cuphead (which was part funded by Microsoft, right?) exceptions to the rule rather than the status quo. Essentially, Hellblade was a massive risk for Ninja Theory, but thankfully it paid off. 

Back to licensed games, and it's still a risky proposition for publishers/developers. Plus, the well has been somewhat poisoned by the raft of poorly executed cash grabs from last generation. 

Still, I hold out hope that some great licensed video games are around the corner for us... it's just a much harder environment for them to be made in than it was 5/10 years ago.

 

[killamch89]

36 minutes ago, DylanC said:

The notion that gaming costs have risen over the years is just a fact.

Yours and my expectations for games has gone up over the years/generations since you and I started gaming, but the price of games has pretty much stayed the same. So, the complexity of making a modern game that will be profitable and successful is MUCH harder these days. That's just a fact.

Look at it this way. The price of a chocolate bar has gone up significantly since we were kids. They're around three/four times the price of what we used to pay growing up. However, our EXPECTATIONS for a chocolate bar has stayed mostly the same.

Our EXPECTATIONS for games on the other hand have changed DRASTICALLY. But the price of games have, for the most part, stayed mostly the same since the NES days. And because of this, it's cultivated a very risky environment for publishers and developers to create games in, to the point where entire teams live and die by the success of just ONE GAME. In other words, the middle ground has eroded to the point where the environment can only mostly sustain indies and big AAA games. Something's gotta give, right?

Sure, DLC, Microtransactions, loot boxes etc. are a way to recoup some money for these companies (and sometimes they can be executed in an egregious and exploitative way), but those are not the answer, really.

I'd consider Hellblade, Spider-Man (which was funded by Sony) and Cuphead (which was part funded by Microsoft, right?) exceptions to the rule rather than the status quo. Essentially, Hellblade was a massive risk for Ninja Theory, but thankfully it paid off. 

Back to licensed games, and it's still a risky proposition for publishers/developers. Plus, the well has been somewhat poisoned by the raft of poorly executed cash grabs from last generation. 

Still, I hold out hope that some great licensed video games are around the corner for us... it's just a much harder environment for them to be made in than it was 5/10 years ago.

 

7

Gamers nowadays would not necessarily be interested in these types of games anymore because they already how the game is likely going to end and most times, the game can only have a limited number of locations unless it is a loose interpretation of the movie it is based on. And yes, these genre of games tend to be very lackluster in terms of content and overall gameplay.

[kingpotato]

11 hours ago, UleTheVee said:

I think he wanted a general opinion on the topic, Dylan XD.

Anyways, I think that Movie Licensed games have actually increased in quality over the years. They have started pretty roughly and started to become a mess as time went on. However, game companies realized that licensed games can be more than just cashgrabs and, thanks to this, we have a licensed game that got nominated for Game of The Year.

Dylan's kind of opinion is what I wanted, opinion on other AA Movie/cartoons licensed games members of the forum used to enjoy.  (not comics like the PS4 Spiderman)

[kingpotato]

3 hours ago, Alyxx said:

I enjoy a lot of licensed games to be honest. Some of my favourites are:

007 GoldenEye
Blade Runner
The Lion King
Star Wars: Dark Forces 2
Michael Jackson's Moonwalker
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time
Alien: Isolation
Duck Tales
Chip'n'Dale Rescue Rangers

I could probably list a lot more to be honest.

Oh my god I totally forgot about Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, I used to enjoy that game a lot, moonwalking while doing the "hehehe" sounds. 😄

[kingpotato]

2 hours ago, killamch89 said:

Alien Isolation, Spiderman, Van Helsing, Transformers and the Arkham series are the movie-licensed games I have enjoyed. And then there are the 007 games for the N64 as well as other consoles. Speaking of - why hasn't there ever been an Austin Powers game? 😂

So true, I've never seen an Austin powers game, although by the time the movie was made the Mature videogame market wasnt that big like today so thats probably the reason, Sad.

[kingpotato]

1 hour ago, DylanC said:

The notion that gaming costs have risen over the years is just a fact.

Yours and my expectations for games has gone up over the years/generations since you and I started gaming, but the price of games has pretty much stayed the same. So, the complexity of making a modern game that will be profitable and successful is MUCH harder these days. That's just a fact.

Look at it this way. The price of a chocolate bar has gone up significantly since we were kids. They're around three/four times the price of what we used to pay growing up. However, our EXPECTATIONS for a chocolate bar has stayed mostly the same.

Our EXPECTATIONS for games on the other hand have changed DRASTICALLY. But the price of games have, for the most part, stayed mostly the same since the NES days. And because of this, it's cultivated a very risky environment for publishers and developers to create games in, to the point where entire teams live and die by the success of just ONE GAME. In other words, the middle ground has eroded to the point where the environment can only mostly sustain indies and big AAA games. Something's gotta give, right?

Sure, DLC, Microtransactions, loot boxes etc. are a way to recoup some money for these companies (and sometimes they can be executed in an egregious and exploitative way), but those are not the answer, really.

I'd consider Hellblade, Spider-Man (which was funded by Sony) and Cuphead (which was part funded by Microsoft, right?) exceptions to the rule rather than the status quo. Essentially, Hellblade was a massive risk for Ninja Theory, but thankfully it paid off. 

Back to licensed games, and it's still a risky proposition for publishers/developers. Plus, the well has been somewhat poisoned by the raft of poorly executed cash grabs from last generation. 

Still, I hold out hope that some great licensed video games are around the corner for us... it's just a much harder environment for them to be made in than it was 5/10 years ago.

 

I agree our expectations for Videogame quality have gone up with time, in the past any developer could make any licensed game good or bad and people will still buy it just because of the character on it, but now days we know what to expect from a videogame and people will rather spend their money on a game from a good developer and with good reviews rather than the character on the cover. Sorry guys I didnt want to make this a Video game industry financial discussion.

[DylanC]

1 minute ago, kingpotato said:

I agree our expectations for Videogame quality have gone up with time, in the past any developer could make any licensed game good or bad and people will still buy it just because of the character on it, but now days we know what to expect from a videogame and people will rather spend their money on a game from a good developer and with good reviews rather than the character on the cover. Sorry guys I didnt want to make this a Video game industry financial discussion.

I wholeheartedly agree with you 🙂

I'll stop with the financial mumbo jumbo now! lol 😉

[UleTheVee]

5 minutes ago, DylanC said:

I wholeheartedly agree with you 🙂

I'll stop with the financial mumbo jumbo now! lol 😉

I'll just end with this.

Nobody asked for any of this. The expectations rose because the companies who made the games wanted them to, not because the consumer did.

And to be quite frank. That's something that even Jim Sterling has said. That this whole "Rising Cost" thing has happened because developers wanted it to happen.