The gaming industry has always gone hand in hand with movies, and there have been numerous seminal titles over the years that have helped boost offerings on the big screen. GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo 64 and the Die Hard trilogy for PlayStation are just two examples of particularly memorable games.
Consoles still provide a great outlet for movie franchises to order tie-ins, but they may not be the best place for these games anymore. Indeed, the mobile gaming market has proven to be an easier and more fruitful sector for crossovers, and it has led to great success for some franchises.
Gaming an Integral Part of the Hollywood Marketing Model
For Hollywood blockbusters, it has always been imperative for them to branch out into merchandise and games to reach the largest audience possible. Movies need to hit domestic targets to give them a better chance of achieving their box office aims around the world, so there’s always a heavy focus on marketing to Americans first. Production companies usually look at what sectors of the gaming industry are hot and then commission official games in those areas.
A prime example of this strategy in recent times has been the influx of games released in the online casino sector. The industry is just starting to blow up in the USA, with New Jersey leading the way in terms of gambling figures and revenue. This is highlighted by the vast number of NJ online casinos trying to market themselves to players. There are countless US-based sites, along with well-known international brands like 888casino attempting to appeal to players with attractive offers such as deposit matches and free spins.
If you log onto any of these sites, you’ll find numerous games that are designed to market movies. These include the likes of Gladiator, Mad Max Fury Road, Robocop, and Beetlejuice. Online casinos grew alongside the bustling mobile sector and have become an integral part of gaming on smartphones and tablets. Slot games don’t take as long as console offerings to make, so it’s easy for movie franchises to get a tie-in released in time.
Mobile Games Provide a Different Way to Enjoy the Themes
Releasing a movie-related game onto mobile is a good marketing ploy for film studios, as it has two benefits. People can discover the game, enjoy it, and then decide to watch the movie. Or they can love the movie and then play the game to experience its themes in another way. Either way, the notoriety of the franchise is boosted.
Some franchises have become world-renowned thanks to their clever marketing in mobile games rather than the quality of their content. For example, the recent Terminator movies have mostly been met with negative reviews, but they have garnered mass interest thanks to mobile titles like Terminator Genisys: Future War. TV series like The Walking Dead have used the same ploy. The ratings on the flagship show have declined in recent years, but there is still a lot of interest in the wider franchise thanks to titles like The Walking Dead: Our World on mobile.
Console games are taking longer to make on modern devices, and they require a heavy amount of investment. It’s a big decision to make a game about a movie, which may or may not be a hit. Creating mobile offerings and casino slots is less of a gamble for studios, but they have proven to be a winning pathway towards the boosting of franchises in recent times.
Also read: Activision Blizzard generates more revenue from Mobile Games than PC and consoles combined
