A regular SpotAnime Soapbox hot topic, videogames and Hollywood are once again in the news together; this time by way of an interview with blockbuster Producer Jerry Bruckheimer. There’s been the general consensus Hollywood and games don’t mix – either movie-licensed tie-ins make terrible videogames; or vice versa, where game properties haven’t been able to strike box-office gold, let alone attendance-worthy quality.

So in Bruckheimer, here’s a man who is currently tackling both sides of the problem. With Pirates of the Caribbean, he’s using licensing to make a film property more profitable, but he doesn’t seem to want to get his hands dirty to fix the problem with quality:

THR: There are a lot of retro games like “The Godfather” and “Scarface: The World Is Yours.” Why do you think these are so popular?

Bruckheimer: I think it always depends on the game. If the game is not engaging for a kid or an adult, they’re not going to buy it. The fact is those are really popular titles — those are two amazing movies — so it’s another way for the studio to create additional revenue for something they made many years ago. That’s another way for them to get back their investment or make profit on what they invested in 20 years ago.

THR: What impact could these have on a studio’s library? Francis Ford Coppola reportedly wasn’t happy with “The Godfather” video game. Could games affect relationships with filmmakers?

Bruckheimer: Hopefully, the studio will involve the filmmaker in the game and that would alleviate that kind of problem. If the game had values that the filmmaker thought would enhance his movie, then it’s a different issue. I don’t know what happened with Paramount and “The Godfather.”

Bruckheimer is a rare breed, a superstar who is just too damn busy making money to be able to roll up his sleeves and tackle a subject like the quality of movie-licensed videogames. He hires people to look after these tasks, watches the bottom line, makes sure everything is ready for a simultaneous release date and then watches the receipts fly in. But it does underline an existing problem, that Hollywood isn’t interested in making games just yet.

Let’s take for example Peter Jackson. Jackson was rumored to have hand-picked Rayman creator Michel Ancel after playing his underappreciated Beyond Good and Evil. This means the game adaptation of the film was placed in the capable hands of Ancel, an experienced game designer. He had access to film assets for textures and creature models, and the game’s progress was overseen personally by Jackson. And still, it was received as a beautiful, at times engaging, but overall too short. A good effort; not one for the annals of videogames, though. It’s surely a case study for tie-ins done good, or better, but not right.

Then let’s take a look at Tigon Studios’ handling of the Riddick game. Here is an example of a new studio selecting a relatively unknown European developer, Starbreeze, with some good tech and taking a chance. The difference here is Vin Diesel, the founder of Tigon, whose mission statement states:

“Tigon Studios will develop original games as well as be actively involved in the development process of video games based on motion pictures featuring Vin Diesel as the lead actor.”

In a June 2004 interview with GMR magazine, he was asked about his specific involvement with the game’s creation:

GMR: Besides providing Riddick’s voice and likeness for Butcher Bay, how else have you been involved in the game’s design?

Vin Diesel: Because it was important that the game ties in closely with Pitch Black, I was involved in all aspects of the story, from the direction and the writing of the dialogue to the character design.

Here is an actor who not only created a company to handle his own game tie-ins, but who also isn’t afraid to become deeply involved in the project to ensure its quality. And it helps that he’s also a self-proclaimed gamer, so he’s able to emphasize on more than just gloss.

Back to Bruckheimer – movies are his life. In multi-platform speak, the film is his main SKU. The games, books, action figures, Slurpee cups, etc. all help with the bottom line, but they’re not what he does best. He’s a producer, and even though his Prince of Persia movie might not win Best Picture, there’s no doubt it will be very presentable to the masses. But he’ll never make a great game, until he stops viewing games as merely an extra revenue stream to the main product.

And that might be the problem with Hollywood in general. It has to start viewing games as something which demands as much care and attention as it does to filmmaking. It needs more people like Vin Diesel who recognize the importance of quality as much as drop dates. It might just take the current generation of gamers to become the future studio executives and stars to make this transition, which according to a report in Variety, is well under way.

In the interview with Bruckheimer, he was asked if “video games will ever replace the theatrical experience”. His response made it completely clear he doesn’t understand their importance:

Bruckheimer: You mean movies would be gone and it would just be video games? Well, if you put consoles in theaters, it’s a possibility. It’s another way of having entertainment. But I think as far as having the experience of going to a film, that will never go away. I think people want to get out of their houses. Kids are not going to take their girlfriend to the living room with their parents sitting there and watch a movie or play a video game in front of their folks. They might go in their room, but they’re not going to take their girlfriend to their room because their parents will get very upset. So I think gaming is something that kids play together. They play online, but it’s not the same experience as going to a movie.

What he should have said was, and I’ll answer for him in closing: No, video games will never replace movies, but they don’t need to. I think the opportunity is there for them to compliment eachother equally. We should get to a point where the quality and spectacle of a Pirates of the Caribbean game is just as important as the film. We’re seeing gaming events just as big as any Summer blockbuster now, and there’s no reason why the two can’t share that space going forward.