If you were the unlucky soul who watched the Need for Speed film and wonder why video game movies still can’t get it right after all this time, you’re not the only one. Commercial success is a given but there isn’t a single video game (except perhaps Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children) which has bucked the trend and been a critical success. Given that there’s not one but six films planned for Ubisoft’s franchises, including Assassin’s Creed, Watch Dogs, Splinter Cell and many more, you have to wonder if the same mistakes won’t be repeated again.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot doesn’t believe this will be the case. Posting on the Ubisoft Blog, he said, “The best way to [make sure a video game movie doesn’t fall flat] is to make sure you control what is important in movie creation. It’s the scenario and the cast and the director. And if you are capable of negotiating with those guys in the movie production studios, making sure they are on the same page as you, that they understand the IP – what is strong, what makes it interesting for the gamers – then you can create something that will match people’s expectations.”
Oddly enough, Ubisoft believes the content from these movies can also be used in future titles. “For example, if you do a movie and you have lots of special effects, lots of creations of worlds and characters, you can pick that up and put that in your game. So, the games become richer, more alive, and more cinematic.”
What are your thoughts on that? Let us know in the comments.