“Existing audience.” No other two words ring sweeter to a Hollywood executive. They are among the reasons such pricey megaproductions as the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “Spider-Man” were given the green light.
Now the two magic words are popping up in the boardrooms of video game publishers, as back catalogs are mined for hits that might make retail waves again.
Very few publishers have the capital to take chances by attempting to launch new franchises or by catering to niche genres–witness SEGA’s commercial failure, “GunGrave.”
“In the wake of the huge success of Rockstar’s ‘Grand Theft Auto’ titles, gaming companies try to cultivate franchises with staying power,” says Peer Schneider, network director for IGN. Take Konami’s “Contra” series, for example. It is as ’80s as you can get. Big men with big guns, starring in a franchise named after a Reagan-era scandal.
Enlisting the help of the original programmers, Konami unleashed the gorgeous, 2-D side-scroller “Contra: Shattered Soldier” on fans in October–and they responded, helping the game rack up almost $5 million in sales by the end of November. SEGA’s “Shinobi” update is actually its first 3-D adventure. “Bringing back ‘Shinobi’ for PS2 was a no-brainer for SEGA,” says Mike Fischer, vice president of entertainment marketing for SEGA.
“SEGA took a big risk by updating its cult “ToeJam & Earl” franchise on the Xbox. But the game has sold a little more than 25,000 units, which equals less than $1 million in sales. “There are so many games on the market that gamers tend to go for the titles they know,” Schneider says. “The older a franchise, the bigger the chance that someone out there has heard of it.”
