Can game developers expand out of the game business?

An interesting article from Kotaku today, discusses Ubisoft's intention to get into the film business and try to expand its offerings beyond video games.

"Our goal is to create a studio that will be very high quality, our goal is to try to get to the level of quality of Peter Jackson's Weta studio," Ubisoft's CEO Yves Guillemot said in an interview. "We have been working to train people, to recruit highly talented people and we are in test mode at the moment. We are going to make sure that we get to the level of Weta. We have a long way to go but in getting to that level will help us to actually be one of the studios where everybody has to go."

Peter Jackson, best known for The Lord of the Rings trilogy and as director of King Kong, is currently working in collaboration with Bungie to create a new game set in the Halo universe. The game is currently titled Halo: Chronicles, but no release date has been given.

Guillemot sounds ambitious and I applaud him for trying to do more with his business, I can't help but wonder if video game developers have any place in other forms of entertainment. Can they really create a stellar sitcom or a blockbuster hit at the theaters? Are they capable of publishing sci-fi novels?

With the way things are going in all of those industries, I don't think it's too far-fetched at all.

Video game developers producing movies and television shows? Sounds a little ridiculous at first glance, doesn't it? But if you consider the implications and the fact that a video game developer is practically the same as any film studio in Hollywood, it makes much more sense.

I don't see any reason why a company like Ubisoft can't create a business that expands into other areas of entertainment. From a purely practical sense, the company has more than enough cash to start out and with some smart investments, it shouldn't have too much trouble creating a television show and publishing some interesting novels. And with a nice idea and some technical prowess to back it up, there's no reason to suggest that it can't make a blockbuster hit at the box office.

After all, what's really stopping it? The video game industry is waxing the floor with the movie industry lately and although it hasn't yet caught up, it looks like it could quite soon. With the success of games like GTA IV and even Halo, more people are willing to spend their hard-earned cash on video games than yet another crappy film. And who can blame them? Movies are becoming more derivative each year and there are few examples of films that actually break the mold in any way.

Due to that fact, now seems like the perfect time for Ubisoft to jump into the mix. If it can come up with something that offers a unique storyline and a compelling group of characters, it shouldn't have too much trouble performing about as well as any other movie in theaters today. In fact, if the company plays its card correctly, it might be able to make the series into a major powerhouse across each industry -- film, TV, video games, and maybe even books.

But I digress. Ubisoft's decision to expand into other forms of entertainment strikes me as something that should have happened years ago. With the growing popularity of video games, it's the perfect time to bring popular titles to other forms of entertainment. And although most video game-to-movie franchises haven't performed as well as some have hoped, that's mainly due to the fact that the movie industry locked the developers out in many cases and created an adaptation that they believed would be better for moviegoers. They were wrong.

And with upcoming movies like Halo, Assassin's Creed, BioShock, and many more, it's only a matter of time before we truly figure out that the movie industry knows nothing about video games.

If Ubisoft wants to be a success in other industries, it needs to maintain creative control over the entire process and ensure that its most cherished franchises are not being ruined by execs from other companies that have no idea what the average person is really looking for.

As long as Ubisoft can stay true to what it has created and assure its current customers that the future of the company will not sell out to industry insiders, it should do just fine.

Years ago, major movie studios cornered the market with titles that made people actually want to head down to the theaters. Today, major studios are out of touch with reality and continue wasting our time with titles that provide no real value or simply don't offer a modicum of what we're looking for in a film: good acting and compelling storylines.

And that's precisely why Ubisoft can capitalize. As GTA IV has shown, it's possible to create games that can mimic the film industry and maybe even do it much better. If the company can bring that kind of experience to the theaters, it shouldn't have too much trouble breaking in and making a name for itself. But as I mentioned above, its success is contingent upon its willingness to stay true to the video game formula and not stray too far from it.

With the right vision, cash in the bank, and the desire to stay true to its roots, I think Ubisoft can become a powerhouse in any entertianment industry and companies like EA and Take-Two may have something to worry about.

I applaud Ubisoft for jumping into new industries and look forward to the day when video game developers show movie studios how entertainment is really created.

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[finucane]

Seems like a natural thing to progress to. Perhaps a lot of different types of content companies are seeing the success that Marvel has had with creating their own production company, and are seeing that great success can be had with niche audiences.

[TheGearbox]

They need to work on the quality of their games first. They maybe one of the top developers now, but their games seem to be budget grade B at best. It seems more apparent that they are willing to just play the numbers game instead of the quality game, you know, releasing the mediocre game along with the mediocre movie and trying to generate profits off of nitwit consumers who don't know any better. If you step back and look at some of the largest profitable games, they are games that are polished and done correctly. Hopefully Ubisoft doesn't go the route of EA and just go big on numbers. Their profits might go up, but they would just be another joke to the industry.

[techmulticast]

Gaming is about participation with imagination. Whereas watching movies are mostly about 'downloading' the infor with imagination first, then if one feel like it, they can give an afterthought / analzye abt its contents or messages after the show.
Games can also convey messages or stories but it does it via the real time interaction/participation of the gamer. I have to think and resolve problems during the game play, else it will be game over / again....it is stressful during play but relaxing+fullfilling when mission is accomplished.
I go to movies when I feel lazy, tired, basically I do not want to think or participate....... it is all about sitting there, enjoying the effects or sceneries or silliness.

Therefore I felt that the mentality of a gamer is quite different from a movie goer. Hence the approach in making them / requirements are likely to be quite different too.

I felt a gaming studio should concentrate on making interactive games. They can get movie studio to make great cinematic trailer or in-game footages or even make a movie to show the aftermath or prelude to the games. Both set of talents can defintely compliment each another.
If they think they can mix them together right away now.... I have my doubt. Current game engines and hardwares are producing very beautiful and realistic stuff. However it will need to up several notches to match what one see in movies with real human actors/props/locations. Moreover game is about interaction, game play must also be smooth and without lag/freeze....to fullfill both mentioned requirement means lots and lots of computing power.

I agree, there is no harm, trying to see what they can learn from movie maker. My guess is that they will have a culture shock. When Pixar work with Disney, I read they have a quite culture shock. Note that their customers are quite samiliar.....juz seat there and watch. Now imagine what happen when you try to mix it up, when both set of customers are of 2 different mind sets.

Well Everything is possible, part of the 'ingredient' is time. Unless a miracle happened, I felt it will a very long time.

And if Ubisoft is thinking of producing 3D animation movies, it will also not be easy too. The 3D model used for gaming and movies are quite different. Once again, because gaming is more about smooth interaction, rendering speed should not be very slow. While 3D movies model can rendering for hours or days. If they want to get into 3D movies maybe hiring or 'taking over' a studio might be more efficient.