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 Jesse
Divnich, Electronic Entertainment Design and Research
The
big title this summer will likely be Star Wars: The Force Unleashed,
which is one of the few games that will target all the major market segments.
There is the long anticipated Wii-and-Lightsaber combination.
All
eyes are also on Wii Fit. It's not so much on whether it will be a
success, but whether other publishers can generate revenue off this new device.
It will be interesting to see if the Wii Fit will ultimately be looked
at as exercise equipment, or an entertainment peripheral that also has fitness
benefits.
The casual market gets bored of games pretty quickly; especially
those that cling to the new "diet craze" for three months and then
[the device is] tossed in the basement to collect dust. The core gaming market
would purchase [Wii Fit] more for entertainment [and] would likely make
follow-up purchases of third-party titles.
Metal
Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Haze and SOCOM
U.S. Navy SEALs: Confrontation are essential to Sony this summer to drive
PS3 hardware [sales]. These three games will also test Sony's ability to expand
its multi-player popularity to a competitive level against Xbox Live.
Konami's Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Saints
Row 2 could be this summer's sleeper hit, or completely disappoint in
sales. THQ's strategy was to release a Saints Row title during a
"non-Grand Theft Auto" year. Unfortunately, Rockstar delayed GTA
IV until April 2008. Now THQ is in a difficult scenario. I am curious to
see if this sandbox action genre will follow a similar path to that in the
first-person shooter genre, in which there is always demand for a good FPS.
It is
not that the other industries in the leisure sector need to fear the video game
industry, but, rather, they need to fear the economic climate change. Game publishers
and console manufacturers are doing an excellent job at spotting this trend and
capturing these new markets.
This
is not suggesting that blockbuster movies this summer need to worry about
box-office revenue; consumers will find the time and money to view those
"must see" summer flicks. It is likely that mediocre titles will
suffer the most -- B-rated actors in C-rated movies just won't survive during
these tough economic times.
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Really it kind of makes sense. As a gamer myself I don't see a lot of movies, but for instance even with planning to get wii fit as soon as I can I'd like to see ironman before it leaves theaters. Not saying I'm joe average america or anything but really he's got a point. This debate is mostly moot for now and is going to stay that way till some major shifts in media occur.
Also, Michael, didn't you just prove the point of the article in your second paragraph, stating "As a gamer myself I don't see a lot of movies, but for instance even with planning to get Wii Fit as soon as I can I'd like to see Ironman before it leaves theaters." You've obviously chosen that you'd rather spend the little time you've got playing video games, and then hope that you have time later on to catch a movie (if you do at all). There may not be a significant impact as of yet, in terms of video games summer revenue overcoming Hollywood summer blockbusters, but you have just stated what the article is all about. Time is finite, and Hollywood wants all the time it can get so viewers can spend it in a theater, but just as you've said, you'd rather spend it playing Wii Fit or something else, and then eventually (if you do) see Ironman in theater (or DVD rental, on-demand, etc...) But do you see the point? You are part of this "analysis" that felt just brushed upon rather than the depth I'm used to from this site (examples being the RPG retrospective and the Dragonquest retrospective).
This debate should be looked at further because this is the first summer where there are multiple AAA titles coming out compared to the past where it has usually been a barren wasteland. Look at all the titles I listed on top of the titles each analyst listed. Surely there is more to be said than just a few sentences per each question, right?
With movies there are genres where for me, it's a no brainer that I'll enjoy it, for games as well. I find myself being more "cavalier" with my movie choices than my game choices only because even if I don't like the movie I rented, there is likely some enjoyment in watching it. With games however, I find that I am way picky about things. If a game rubs me the wrong way them it's done in 5 minutes (ahem Jenga for the Wii = POS).
So for me, as of right now, I watch WAY more movies than I play games.