In My Honest Opinion: Kill Cash Cows
It's our stupid faults!
| 12 Nov 2006
As a journalist for the 'entertainment sector' by trade, I work my way through copious amounts of games and books, and I will happily admit that my film collection is starting to become obscenely bloated.
So like the majority of the game buying public, when a title is announced based on a particular favoured TV programme/film of mine, my ears do tend to prick up. Not first and foremost because of the potentially wonderful gameplay experience, but for the simple fact that we're almost certainly bound to be offered up a load of old tripe.
Titles based on movies are nothing new of course. Way back when, a much-criticised title for the Atari 2600 based on the 'E.T.' film almost single handedly caused the ultimate destruction of the then fledgling gaming industry. You need only dig a few metres into a landfill in Alamogordo, Mexico to see over two million unsold cartridges.
However, it seems a resurgence of sorts has recently appeared. In the last six months we've seen the likes of 'Reservoir Dogs', 'The Godfather', 'Scarface', 'Open Season', and 'Pirates of the Caribbean' hit our home consoles, all sharing one common denominator. They're all pathetic games.
Yet despite the frankly sub-par gaming experiences which each has to offer, we still go out in our droves and shell out our cash on these tie-ins purely on the back of an established name.
So who's to blame? The publishers for sullying the name of our favourite shows/films? Or is it us for happily handing over our money, despite the prior knowledge that these games are almost always half-baked rip-offs of the current flavour of the month? Obvious isn't it? It's our stupid faults! Either stop buying this tripe, or we'll soon be looking at another games industry crash.
So like the majority of the game buying public, when a title is announced based on a particular favoured TV programme/film of mine, my ears do tend to prick up. Not first and foremost because of the potentially wonderful gameplay experience, but for the simple fact that we're almost certainly bound to be offered up a load of old tripe.
Titles based on movies are nothing new of course. Way back when, a much-criticised title for the Atari 2600 based on the 'E.T.' film almost single handedly caused the ultimate destruction of the then fledgling gaming industry. You need only dig a few metres into a landfill in Alamogordo, Mexico to see over two million unsold cartridges.
However, it seems a resurgence of sorts has recently appeared. In the last six months we've seen the likes of 'Reservoir Dogs', 'The Godfather', 'Scarface', 'Open Season', and 'Pirates of the Caribbean' hit our home consoles, all sharing one common denominator. They're all pathetic games.
Yet despite the frankly sub-par gaming experiences which each has to offer, we still go out in our droves and shell out our cash on these tie-ins purely on the back of an established name.
So who's to blame? The publishers for sullying the name of our favourite shows/films? Or is it us for happily handing over our money, despite the prior knowledge that these games are almost always half-baked rip-offs of the current flavour of the month? Obvious isn't it? It's our stupid faults! Either stop buying this tripe, or we'll soon be looking at another games industry crash.