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PAX 07: The licensed games panel
There's nothing more indicative of gamer culture than the fact that a bunch of us got together at a fan event, with games to be played right over in the exhibition hall, to talk about business. We can't help it! We love sales numbers and such.Vlad Ceraldi and Steve Bocska from Hothead, Steve Bowler from Midway, and David Freeman from Sabertooth Games held a panel to talk about licensed games yesterday at PAX. All of these individuals have unique qualifications to talk about the subject: the two Hothead representatives, in addition to working on Penny Arcade Adventures now, previously worked on last generation's Simpsons games. Bowler worked on NBA Ballers and is now on John Woo Presents Stranglehold, and Freeman juggles licenses in his work with Sabertooth's Universal Fighting System card game.
WB comes to PSP
SCi and Eidos are about to have their release schedule look like a day at Six Flags since they acquired the rights to 11 Warner Bros franchises. If you like toons than you may be happy to know they have access to Looney Tunes and Hanna Barbera proprieties as well as Batman. Those into teen soap operas may want to stop cutting themselves and perk up at the inclusion of The OC license. The rights to all these franchises didn't come cheap though as it's reported to cost upwards of $80 million. It looks like Lara Croft will have to hold off on that boob job she was planning until Eidos recoups some earnings from this deal. The best news though is that all games are scheduled for PSP. So soon you may be throwing a batarang with Batman, racing the road runner, working for Spacely or cheating on whoever that guy is on The OC. Let's just hope that unlike most licensed games, Eidos isn't relying on the license selling the games and will back them up with quality gameplay. [Via Games Radar]
Indiana Jones Das Spiel
This German language Indiana Jones GC 06 trailer (showcasing ILM's "Euphoria" physics) is so charmingly retro it makes me want to spend 7 years shooting a shot for shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark in my backyard. Oh right, some kid already did that.
La Cosa Nostra costs EA $800 mil
The Financial Times reports that delays to The Godfather have cost EA a cool $800 million in stock value. Meanwhile, pricing pressures due to the launch of our beloved console have resulted in a $10 price cut for the Xbox and PS2 discs releasing this Tuesday. I appreciate EA taking forever and a day to spruce up the 360 edition if that's what it takes (even if Coppola thinks it's crap). But by the time we see a next-gen version of Vito late this year, this thing of their's will have been played more times than an FBI wire tap. If it's not the...uh...Godfather of video games, the corporate dons at EA could wake up with the financial equivalent of a bloody horse head.
Should the Sopranos video game be whacked?
I couldn't watch the season premiere of everyone's favorite New Jersey family drama last night without wondering what the fanook happened to the Sopranos video game that THQ was supposedly working on last May. Now that EA's take on the Godfather is closing in on a release date, Tony and the Bada Bing crew would appear due for a console adaptation. Despite the superior quality of the show, David Chase and HBO haven't exactly been snobbish with this license, hawking Sopranos-branded cookbooks and pool cues as if they owed money to the mob. On the plus side, that could mean Chase won't reflexively look down on video games as an art form like Francis Ford Coppola apparently does. It also means we could end up with a Max Payne-ish Tony doing slow-mo dodge rolls on his way to the pork store. To truly be worth while, a Sopranos game would have to not only have the total cooperation of the writers and cast, but also capture the psychological depth and richness of the best show on TV. What that means for the gameplay, I'm not sure—something leaning towards strategy as opposed to mission-based runs to Satriale's. I'm going to assume we haven't heard anything about this project because the creative geniuses behind it are waiting until they can devote their full attention toward whacking gamers with a whole new level of licensed next-gen experience. Anything less, and I'd prefer Tony sleeps with the fishes when it comes to the 360. What's the best way to turn the Sopranos into a console game? And while we're strip-mining HBO for material, who should buy the rights to Deadwood?
