E3: Let's all go to the movies!

By Ross Miller

The good folks at SIG Financial Group remind us that E3 is chock full of games based on movies, all set for release by the 2006 (and all of them set to capitalize on their film counterparts by launching nearly simultaneously). Here's some of what we'll be seeing:

  • Cars
  • The Da Vinci Code
  • Over the Hedge
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
  • Superman Returns
  • X-Men: The Last Stand

Their prediction is that Cars, because of its connection with the highly successful Pixar studios, "is shaping up to be the likely blockbuster kids game of the summer." They also feel that
Superman Returns could be very lucrative, given that it is the ideal movie-based game: "one that appeals to all ages developed on a movie that appeals to all ages." In order to appeal to some more experienced gamers,
the title will have to be good to knock Superman 64 out of our memory faster than a speeding bullet.

One of the most telling lines is the group's advice to investors attending E3. They note that one should not be discouraged if the game demos do not play well, that "these titles will likely depend on box office performance ... how good the game is does not matter ultimately." And that is a sad truth. Barring Chronicles of Riddick, can you think of one game based off a movie that surpassed its inspiration, either in quality or in sales?

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