Licensed video games were popular for a time. Atari, NES, and SEGA Genesis featured numerous games from various Intellectual Properties (IPs). Over time, less licensed video games were made being reserved for Mobile Shovelware titles. Now, there seems to be a resurgence in licensed video games. Children can enjoy games based on Peppa Pig, PAW Patrol, and Bluey. Adults can play Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Baldur’s Gate III, and Robocop: Rogue City.

Licensed video games tend to be terrible, unplayable messes. This is not always the case. One might think of Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Ghostbusters: The Video Game, and the Marvel Spider-Man games for Playstation. But for every Arkham game made four Superman 64 games enter the market. In the early days of video games, this could be understood. The medium was new programmers were experimenting, often to disastrous results. Today, there should be no real excuse for terribly licensed video games but they exist for several reasons.

Licensed Video Games are Expensive

When we say expensive, that does not mean a company offers millions of dollars to create a property. This could happen but not always. They’re expensive because game companies must share a percentage of the profit with copywrite holders. Media IPs are not the only licenses some games need to pay. Marvel’s Spider-Man features the Chrysler Building in New York City. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Spider-Man 2 do not feature the building as Sony refused to purchase a license. As such, the games feature some generic buildings where the Chrysler Building once stood.

There is another reason why licensed games are expensive. Copywrite holders are protective of their IP. They will want to check in from time to time to make sure the game meets their vision of their property. This could mean the developers are told what changes are to be made to the game currently being made. This is problematic for developers for two reasons.

First, if a developer refuses to follow the direction of copywrite holders, the game could be stopped. Any expenses spent on making the game are lost. The second is making these changes can be expensive. Consider the wages alone spent on making something that has to be completely overhauled for nothing. While some smart companies can take the old assets to make a new game, this can still be costly.

Time Is Not on the Developer’s Side

One of the worst parts of any business is the idea of the “time crunch.” Employees work sixty to eighty hours a week with little to no extra compensation to release games by a specific period. The time crunch is often worse when a license is involved as IP holders want the licensed video game released before or at the same time as the movie. After all, profitability is more important than performance.

Catwoman had employees working from 11 am to 1 am seven days a week for six months to make the very rigid release day. While a movie is being produced, changes are eventually made. This led to shareholders telling Argonaut Games to make changes to the video game and still release it by the unchangeable due date. The shareholders did not care about the rigors of making a licensed video game. They just sought a profit. This led Catwoman to become a failure.

Story Bored

Sometimes, game companies work on a movie tie-in but the plot of the video game and the movie are completely different. Take Van Helsing as an example. The movie’s plot focuses on Van Helsing, an amnesiac warrior for the Catholic church, being sent into Transylvania to take on Dracula. Near the end of the film, Van Helsing is revealed to be the archangel Gabriel. This scene felt out of place as it never really came up again in the movie.

The movie received a game tie-in for the Xbox, Playstation 2, and Gameboy Advance. I own a copy of the Xbox version and decided to give it a play. While marveling at the game’s ability to be a poor Devil May Cry clone, one cut scene stood out to me. Dracula and Van Helsing are conversing about the past. Here, Dracula reveals the two once fought together in the Knights of the Holy Order. Dracula fell in love, deserted the army, and was killed by Gabriel. The game never mentions Van Helsing being the archangel. The movie never mentions the two fighting together.

Why did this happen? A game company may only be given details about a movie and its plot. This leads the developers to try and fill in the blanks while making the game. Other times, scenes are cut from the movie or the game which leads to a difference in plot points. These changes in detail can add to licensed video games being subpar.

Did We Need a Video Game?

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Some games never should have been made. This is especially true in the area of licensed games. This is because the license does not lend itself to a game. As an example, I previously wrote an article about Burger King’s shameless meme tie-in Sneak King and how it became the third best-selling game for the X-Box. You sneak up on people and offer them fast food. How did this get made into a video game?

Another good example is a game that almost killed the gaming industry: E.T. The movie grossed 792.9 million dollars in theaters but how could one properly make a game tie-in to the film? The movie has nothing in it worthy of a video game. Elliot and E.T. would not work as a racing title. You cannot make a platformer out of the movie. A first-person shooter is an amusing idea but would fail to capture the spirit of E.T.

Garfield has a similar problem. Garfield: Caught in the Act was a decent platforming game but the character has seen more failure than success. In recent years, Garfield has been in clone video games. Garfield has two Mario Kart-styled games and a Mario Party-esque game. Cloning successful franchises can only go so far. Could you imagine fighting Jon, Odie, and Liz in a Souls-like game? Some properties should never be made into a game.

Gamers can rejoice that terrible licensed video games are typically released on mobile phones. Game companies are far more creative than they once were. Fewer licensed video games are released on PC and console as games are becoming more cinematic. This means fewer shareholders focused on movie tie-ins and more original masterpieces focused on gameplay and story. But could someone make me a Garf-Souls game?

About the Author

Andrew Crowe is not good at writing biographical material. He is an avid mental health advocate. He is a graduate of three schools holding degrees in Computer Science, Human Services, and Human Development. He co-hosts “What Makes a Good Game?” with friend Cosmironic.

Andrew likes some of the worst things in life. He enjoys b-movies, bad licensed video games, and music almost no one enjoys. He streams at least three days a week on Twitch. He is the husband of a talented writer, Corinne, and a father. Both are viewed as his most important titles.

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