Weekly Opinion - Double pack - Movie Tie-ins

As Summer approaches, so too comes the glut of Summer movies. And along with Summer movies (and really, any movie that's connected to a comic, book, or something for kids, so it doesn't have to happen during Summer), so too comes the glut of game tie-ins.

I've been told of a few that don't suck, but as a general rule, I avoid them like the plague. There's a reason for that.

If you LOVE [Blank] - The Movie, You'll LOVE [Blank] - The Movie - The Game!

What I titled above is pretty much one of the main reasons why I hate movie tie-ins. The majority are put out to capitalize on all the free publicity that the movie generates. Game companies can generally slap a title like Spider-Man on a game, add a 1, 2, or 3 as it needs to so it fits with the movie, have some general plot points the movie has, and ship it out. Even if the game blows, hordes of people will buy it.

These games tend to be loaded down with bugs and gameplay issues. But the developers and companies behind it all don't truly care. They put it out as quickly as possible to make money, money, money. And if you think about it, most movies are just out for the money nowadays too.
I'm Batman

Interestingly, there was one movie that didn't have a game tie-in that I expected would. Batman: The Dark Knight did not have any such game. As we all know by now, The Dark Knight was pretty much a license to print money. Surely a game, even an astoundingly crappy one, would've been expected.

According to The Escapist, who link to an article from Kotaku Australia, there was an attempt, but it never came to fruition. I suggest reading both, as they talk about it far better than I ever could (and check out their sites, especially The Escapist. Quite good guys there).

Final Thoughts

I'm keeping this brief due to a headache, and that this is mostly opinion instead of fact. Movie tie-ins blow. There are a few diamonds in the rough, but generally there is just the rough. Until such time as developers and the movie industry that demands games decide that they want to put out a game that's good instead of just advertisement for the movie, and until such time as the hordes of Walmart shoppers stop buying this crap, there will always be shelf space for such games.