Revenues from video games are growing faster than those of either the music or movie industries as game developers have gotten ideas substantially from music and movies makers. Video games nowadays are a synthesis of music and movies, a collision of entertainment culture that supplanted Brad Pitt and Carmen Elektra with game players who become the stars. Companies spend millions of dollars developing slick-sounding games with smooth graphics, and then promote them with high-priced trailers which highlight an inexhaustible blend of live action, virtual game play and wicked special effects.
One of Sony's most recent games, The Getaway, is a Hollywood movie come to the game console, with 60 minutes of live action and a virtual recreation of 30 miles of London's streets using digital cameras, something almost unheard of some years ago. This game was thought to appeal to both film and game audiences with the intention of getting into play even those moviegoers who might never have considered buying a video game before. Nowadays, games like John Madden Football and other sports games routinely and digitally encode the movements of real players to boost the game graphics. Those graphics are then put into an event trailer. For The Getaway, the preview features a two-minute story following an ex-gangster's search for his daughter, who was abducted by his old boss. Of course, it's not a gangster flick without the good-guy cop out to bring down the entire crime organization.
Where Sony's trailers were glossy, Nintendo's previews of Eternal Darkness, Metroid Prime and Resident Evil Zero brought the house down with their classic feel. But whether retro, cartoon or live action, it's the power of the new game consoles that has turned this once diminutive industry into a $10 billion juggernaut that is rising more rapidly than either the music or movie industry. In the basement of the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, Nintendo fans applauded with excitement when the trailers of the new Mario (Donkey Kong) and Link (The Legend of Zelda) games hit the screen. It's a enthusiasm and craze not seen in any other media circles, where the journalists, game junkies and media wonks consider themselves as much a part of the design process as the mega-corporations themselves.
Like George Lucas enthralling millions of Star Wars fans simply by releasing a new movie, Nintendo has a cult-like following. In fact, Mario's new game thumped Grand Theft Auto 3 out of its No. 1 mark on the sales charts. Nintendo's confidence, that constant innovation and the highest-quality games are essential in truly serving the players, has energized the company’s success in video gaming for two decades.
One of Sony's most recent games, The Getaway, is a Hollywood movie come to the game console, with 60 minutes of live action and a virtual recreation of 30 miles of London's streets using digital cameras, something almost unheard of some years ago. This game was thought to appeal to both film and game audiences with the intention of getting into play even those moviegoers who might never have considered buying a video game before. Nowadays, games like John Madden Football and other sports games routinely and digitally encode the movements of real players to boost the game graphics. Those graphics are then put into an event trailer. For The Getaway, the preview features a two-minute story following an ex-gangster's search for his daughter, who was abducted by his old boss. Of course, it's not a gangster flick without the good-guy cop out to bring down the entire crime organization.
Where Sony's trailers were glossy, Nintendo's previews of Eternal Darkness, Metroid Prime and Resident Evil Zero brought the house down with their classic feel. But whether retro, cartoon or live action, it's the power of the new game consoles that has turned this once diminutive industry into a $10 billion juggernaut that is rising more rapidly than either the music or movie industry. In the basement of the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, Nintendo fans applauded with excitement when the trailers of the new Mario (Donkey Kong) and Link (The Legend of Zelda) games hit the screen. It's a enthusiasm and craze not seen in any other media circles, where the journalists, game junkies and media wonks consider themselves as much a part of the design process as the mega-corporations themselves.
Like George Lucas enthralling millions of Star Wars fans simply by releasing a new movie, Nintendo has a cult-like following. In fact, Mario's new game thumped Grand Theft Auto 3 out of its No. 1 mark on the sales charts. Nintendo's confidence, that constant innovation and the highest-quality games are essential in truly serving the players, has energized the company’s success in video gaming for two decades.
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