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In an interview by N'Gai Croal, Midway's Chief Marketing Officer Steve Allison talks about the collaborative process between filmmakers and gamemakers, and how new IP's fit into the mix. He says that big names can add marketability to existing ideas (surprise).
For example, our concept testing process tells us that "Max Payne on steroids" is on its own an exceptional game idea...A game concept like that truly aligns itself with the core tenets of John Woo's Hong Kong action films and having Chow Yun Fat reprise the role of Tequila also makes tons of sense. When you add those to the original game concept, it's a much more powerful idea. Stranglehold is the first proof of concept on this and it looks like everything is aligning well for us on the title.If products like Stranglehold really are a collaboration and not just a form of name licensing, we can expect big things in the future of Hollywood-inspired titles. Oh, it's a completely problematic system since it emulates a disappointing Hollywood paradigm (starting with an idea and adding the names after), but it will make tons of money.
The Art of the Deal: Midway's Steve Allison on Working With Hollywood to Make Videogames [levelup]
