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Nintendo holds key to franchise longevity, profitability
As noted earlier, a list published by UK newspaper The Independent reveals what many already assume; Nintendo's Mario is the best-selling franchise of all time. Coupled with the second best-selling franchise Pokémon (also a Nintendo property), the two series, which have sold a combined 348 million games worldwide, account for nearly 34% of the total sales of the top-twenty best-selling franchises; which include two additional Nintendo IPs ranked in the top ten, Donkey Kong and Zelda. So what's Nintendo's secret?Cross-culture appeal, spin-offs (e.g., racers, sports titles, puzzlers), brand saturation (e.g., apparel, card games, TV shows), and E-ratings all appear part of a profitable formula built for the long haul.
Better on PSP
Sony requires any game ported to the PSP to have extra content not found in other versions of that same title, but that's not what this post is about. A strange thing has happened to game franchises on the PSP, sometimes their best showing is on the portable. Can a franchise that you loathe be loved on the PSP? Well it has happened to me ...twice already. Syphon Filter is a gaming series that I just couldn't stand on the Playstation or Playstation 2. I disliked the graphics, animation and gameplay of every version I tried. Even fams of Syphon Filter seemed to hate the last one that came out on PS2. So when a Syphon Filter game was announced on PSP, I was as interested in it as I was about castration. When reviews started to pour out that stating the game was incredible I lost respect for every reviewer that enjoyed it. Then one day while adding games to my Gamefly Q I decided to put Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror on the list. I didn't do it because I expected to enjoy the game, but rather so I could validate my hatred for the franchise. Continued after the jump...
EA's Larry Probst on Wii and PSP development
Newsweek's N'Gai Croal has posted two parts of his three-part interview with Larry Probst, CEO of EA. (Part three is due Friday.) Among a few other topics, Probst discusses publishing the same game on multiple platform, and how that strategy fits with -- or doesn't match -- the Wii and PSP.Probst says that EA doesn't plan any original titles for the PSP; the company will continue making portable versions of its established franchises for that hand-held. The Wii should get 12 or 13 EA games next year, with two or three of them being original Wii titles. (Probst mentions that a Wii-specific version of The Sims fits that original category.)While any EA support for Nintendo's console is good for gamers, two or three Wii-specific titles seems like a low target for the world's biggest publisher. Madden on the Wii takes a legitimate shot at using motion controls with an old franchise; we hope that EA can pull this off for all of its established titles. But wouldn't the Wii market be best served by shipping five or six original games in the year and skipping the ports? Or is that approach at the expense of EA's business model?Read:Loot: The Larry Probst Interview: Part ILoot: The Larry Probst Interview: Part II
Red Steel 2 semi-confirmed
Sorta kinda maybe. Everyone's favorite overly-hyped-shooter-with-glitchy-aiming-mechanisms-and-unintuitive-combat seems to be gearing up for another go. Ubisoft's Paris division has posted a big digital "Help Wanted" ad on the internet, whose transcript shall be withheld to save the reader from silly BabelFish translation errors. In any case, it asks for a game designer for the "continuation of the Red Steel franchise". There is no direct confirmation that the sequel will be on the Wii, but come on. It's pretty damn obvious.One must wonder if the world really wants this. If they can iron out the bugs, improve level design, and add more realistic melee combat, maybe they'll have a winner. If not, we'll always have Super Smash Bros. Brawl to fall back on, right?
Why gamers buy sequels
2old2play editorializes about sequels and why gamers keep buying them. Last year, EA released one all-new game among 25 sequels, which saved the company significant development costs on new titles. But the article makes an interesting guess about why gamers support a marketplace of sequels -- complicated controls.Some gamers like adapting skills from the previous generation to the next version of the game, rather than re-learning everything. We often overlook the value in that familiarity; many gamers don't have time to start over with all-new titles. (We, of course, spend all day playing games.)We always go back to the chicken-and-egg question of sequels -- are publishers producing sequels because gamers buy them, or are gamers buying them because they dominate the release lineup? [Via digg]
Film and TV tie-in MMOs on the way
MMO platform startup Multiverse recently announced that movie-makers James Cameron and Jon Landau have joined its board of directors, and this has some interesting implications for the future of MMOs and other entertainment media. While movie tie-in games are ten a penny, and franchised MMOs lurk around every corner, Cameron has a more ambitious project up his sleeve.The plan? Before releasing an upcoming sci-fi flick, Cameron intends to create a tie-in MMO that will get players hooked on the film's setting--think advergame, franchise and viral promotion rolled into one. Similarly, Multiverse is in talks with a TV network to create a related MMO that will help viewers get closer to their favourite characters.The numbers look appealing; Multiverse's low-cost approach means that franchises and developers who have been shying away from the MMO bandwagon can jump without sacrificing millions of dollars on an experiment. However, this could have its downsides--we may end up seeing an endless parade of cookie-cutter MMOs that equate IP with instant revenue without much thought for gameplay or originality.Hopefully this won't happen; it's up to Multiverse, and Cameron's novel tie-in, to set the scene for the future. Their MMOs will be competing with standalone franchised products, and it will be a battle for player revenue well worth witnessing. However, the big question is: when will Uwe Boll get wind of this?
Franchises: to MMOG or not to MMOG?
What are the merits of making major intellectual properties, such as Star Trek or Harry Potter, into MMORPGs? This issue is being debated over at MMORPG.com, and there are some compelling arguments. From an investor's point of view, having an established fan base and well-trodden publicity channels means that the MMO comes with instant appeal.However, the more high-profile the franchise, the more players expect out of it. Not everyone can be Captain Kirk or Harry Potter, and yet everyone wants to fulfil their daydreams. Worlds brought to life primarily in books might not turn out quite how fans expect them to; worlds visualised in movies have missing depth which needs addressing.Fundamentally, as Dana Massey points out, it comes down to whether fans love the franchise because of its story, or because of its world. Harry Potter fans are caught up in Harry's story; Star Trek fans have an entire universe to play with. When checking out a new MMO's setting, ask yourself: do I care about this because of the famous characters, or because of the world?[via Wonderland]
