New industry, old ideas.
[Whoa, what a giant interlude.]
Today I ran across an announcement that Harvey Birdman will soon “hatch” on various console platforms. Nothing new here, at first sight. Especially since not too long ago Midway purchased the license for Aqua Teen Hunger Force, another Adult Swim program. But the Harvey Birdman thing is one of the first steps of Capcom’s larger journey deeper into Hollywood. Moving a bunch of staff over to Los Angeles and having hired someone by the illustrious name of Germaine Gioia, the former VP of licensing at THQ (also in LA), it seems that Capcom is serious. Unlike my usual banter about media companies moving into game space, here we have the reverse.
Their explanation leaves little to the imagination: “The reason behind this initiative is the rising costs for game development on next-gen platforms, which can reach between $10-12 million per title, Gioia said. With development costs that high, Capcom wants to reach as broad an audience as possible–and movie tie-ins are one way of doing this.”
Sigh. I’ll give them credit for being so frank about it, but basically they seem to be convinced that the future of the game industry lies in reproducing more tired licenses. I suppose everyone is trying to copy the sudden success of a title like the Simpsons Hit & Run, which came as an exception in a long line of crappy licensed titles. But mostly we’re looking at more of the same mediocrity. N’est-ce pas?
Of course, Capcom is quick to add that they won’t abandon their core titles (read: more sequels). But the harmonizing intentions are creepy: “I think it is becoming clear that the very largest successful publishers are delivering more and more of a balance to the marketplace,” Gioia said. “They need [not only] their own intellectual property and good solid original development but [also] licensed product that can reach across cultures.”
Balance? Reach across cultures? With an awesome stable that includes Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, and Street Fighter (for crying out loud) Capcom doesn’t need to making crappy cartoon-based games. Their movie-franchises tend to suck not generate much at the box office anyway, so I’m a little puzzled as to why Hollywood seems like a great step.