Okay, here’s the deal, I think we need to fix a serious and woefully overlooked problem in the gaming industry: The tragic world of TV Show-based games. So here’s my proposition to game developers everywhere. If you’re going to insist on making games based on “popular” TV shows then why not pick the ones that have a potential of translating well into the game world?
I love seeing Gordon Ramsay yell at people who will forever be better cooks than me. I do not, however, care to play a Hell’s Kitchen game to experience it for myself. I’m perfectly content with watching the the Las Vegas forensics team use their powers of deduction to find that different shade of red in a pool of blood and immediately associate it with car paint. I don’t really care to do that for myself. And I’m not afraid to admit that I have a man-crush on Mike Rowe and will watch anything he’s in but I’m still not shelling out any amount of money to play the Deadliest Catch video game.
What are the developers thinking? Some TV shows are great fodder for highly profitable video games if given the right amount of effort. If you focus on a single character’s abilities and story then you can make a brilliant Heroes game. And who here doesn’t want to be able to use a sonic screwdriver as Dr. Who? All who agree that they would enjoy a sandbox version of the town of Eureka whilst playing with crazy gadgets say “Aye”. Hell, even a Dexter game could be pulled off with the sneaking around to get the right kill and such. Okay, maybe that last one was a bit of a stretch but I think my point has been made.
It’s a market that has yet to grow into its full potential and I’m hopeful that they might take a page from the “Movie-Game” book and learn from their mistakes. Then again maybe that isn’t the best book to learn from.
(Robot Chicken party game on the Wii anyone?)
Does the large amount of low-quality video games based on branded TV shows drive you nuts? What TV shows could make for some good games?
