Movies have fairly firm release dates. Games, on the other hand, well... Making video games based on movies tied to Hollywood release dates isn't exactly ideal then.
UK-based developer Rebellion has worked on game versions of big time movies: Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem and Miami Vice: The Game. According to Rebellion's founders, brothers Chris and Jason Kingsley, the time to make games is still much longer than the time to make movies.
Compounding the problem is that rising movie budgets and studios pinning so much on the success of games means that it takes time to draw up contracts. "What we're seeing is that the time it takes to reach an agreement has crept up quite a lot in the last few years," Chris told industry publication Develop. What used to be months has turned into years. "That time spent negotiating you don't have at the end of the project," Chris added, "because the endpoint doesn't move."
A fix could be begin work two or three years before the movie. Another is flat out shelving the picture until the game is done. "Movies, once they're green-lit, can be on the shelves within twelve months," said Jason. "It's not that difficult to do that." It's a matter of which is more important to the studios: the movie or the game that's rushed out with it?
Interview: Rebellion's Kingsley brothers [Develop via GameBizBlog] [Pic]