This is just a sampling of the game-based movies that were released over the past year: Transformers: The Game (56% review rating collectively on gamerankings.com, over 800,000 copies sold collectively) Superman Returns: The Videogame (49% review rating collectively on gamerankings.com, over 300,000 copies sold collectively) Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (42% review rating collectively on gamerankings.com, 150,000 copies sold collectively) X-Men: The Official Game (55% review rating collectively on gamerankings.com, over 300,000 copies sold) Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (57% review rating on gamerankings.com, over 460,000 copies sold) Sheesh... Do people really want to step into the boots of Jack Sparrow that badly? Now I know that most of these copies went to children under the age of 13, but really? 460,000 copies? Really? Really? Since the dawn of time, movie-based games have been universally known to be atrocious; the vilest of vile; the crap of the crop; the crap of the crap. I think you know what I mean. Then why do people still buy these games? Obviously most are either dissatisfied or get bored with most of these titles as many copies wind up in the used game bins at the local Gamestop. Most of these titles are over too quickly, contain more bugs than the Amazon rainforest, are chock full of boring and/or repetitive missions, and are overall just not worth the $50-60 price tag. Recently, it seems like we're bombarded with a crappy movie-based game title every week. Also, many of these games can't capture the same look, feel, and imagination of their film counterparts. I don't know about you, but I don't think Harry Potter and his friends spent hours on end running up and down the stairs at Hogwarts in the movie, but in the video game, Harry is the stair master champion of the world. Again, most of these games are purchased by mom, dad, or the grandparents who don't really have an idea of what a fun game is. Hell, half of the time, mom and dad can't even remember what system the little tyke plays with. So when mum and pop roam around the big and scary game store, what do they see? Grand Theft Auto (too much adult-themed content)? Halo 2 (looks too challenging)? Pirates of the Caribbean (Hey, he liked the movie. He should like the video game)? In this particular situation, I blame the sales associate at the store. Instead of recommending a better quality game that's appropriate for the little guy (like GrimGrimoire, Crush, or a handful of Nintendo originals), they just keep their mouth shut, and ring up a game that will probably be resold to them in a couple of months. What do they care? A sale is a sale; no difference. Blame also has to be levied on the movie studios who demand that the companion game be released on or closely around the release date of a movie. The typical Hollywood movie is in production for 18-24 months. The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion was in production for at least three years. By the time that the movie is announced as being in production to the time that a developer starts the initial production on a game is at least a few months. That gives the developer two years at the most to produce a video game from concept to completion. No wonder why there was that lawsuit a year or so ago against EA for worker overtime compensation. Speaking of developers... Would we have Assassin's Creed if Ubisoft didn't make TMNT, King Kong, Surf's Up, or a dozen other licensed games? Maybe. Maybe not. People buy these games and a substantial amount of revenue is derived from making movie-based games. So as long as people keep buying them, developers will keep making them. However, there is a growing trend that is looming over this genre. As I stated before, it seems like we get a movie-based title every week. This is also the year of the sequel for both movies and video games. Pirates sequels, Fantastic Four sequels, Shrek sequels, and many others. Then we have GTA sequels, racing sequels, and sports sequels. Many of these titles are starting to grow stale with many filmgoers and video game enthusiasts alike. It's starting to impact both industries. Movie attendance is down for many of these sequels compared to their previous films. This fall, it will be interesting to see how Madden, Need for Speed, and Metroid do in sales compared to year's past, especially considering the amount of highly anticipated original titles coming out (such as Assassin's Creed, Bioshock, Blue Dragon, etc). I personally can't wait to see how the future Shrek movies and videogames are received. As always, comments are very much appreciated, and I will respond to you. I post this blog every Sunday night/Monday morning. If you have a topic you're interested in and want to discuss, drop me a message. If the topic is used in the blog, I will give you proper credit in the blog either by user name or real name or both (your choice). If you have a well-rounded profile, I will mention a particular blog post, video post, etc. that other readers should check out on your page. For example, the next blog post will be next weekend. Please submit any of your topics or ideas by this Friday evening, 9pm PST for consideration for that week's post. My ultimate goal for the blog is to provide a thoughtful, intelligent response to whatever the topics of the week are, and to hopefully inspire you to come up with your own response to the topic. Again, your comments are appreciated. For next week: Xbox 360 or PS3? This is probably the most debated topic in gaming right now. There are a lot of people who are extremely passionate about one over the other, and there are a lot more people who are regretting purchasing one over the other.