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Movie conversions doing brisk business on the iPhone

Is the dreaded license tie-in changing for the better?

Movie conversions doing brisk business on the iPhone

Film-to-game conversions are uniquely consistent in the quality of their gameplay - inasmuch as they’re consistently awful. It seems the film companies demand coverage in all forms of media, and games are just one of those disposable stepping stones on the road to box office success.

We’ve heard it said by developers that film licenses suffer from excessive micro-management, with too many executives without any knowledge of the games industry making decisions on content and gameplay.

But Paramount currently has two film tie-ins in the games section of the top paid apps list on iTunes, and both seem to be doing pretty good business.

Iron Man: Aerial Assault and Shooter have broken the merchandising mould somewhat, and appear to be more about working gameplay than ruthless product placement.

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Of course, neither game is particularly tied in with a big movie release, which could help in getting the film company to loosen its reigns a bit when it comes to design. They’re also placed at a surprisingly low pricing tier, which seems much more reasonable considering they’re as much a promotion as a money making product.

The iPhone isn’t exactly littered with licenses yet, but with any luck the film companies might learn from Paramount’s opening gambit and finally - after all these long years - learn a thing or two about making their film-to-game tie-ins more than just unplayable marketing gimmicks.

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Spanner Spencer
Spanner Spencer
Yes. Spanner's his real name, and he's already heard that joke you just thought of. Although Spanner's not very good, he's quite fast, and that seems to be enough to keep him in a regular supply of free games and away from the depressing world of real work.