Video Game Reviews to Determine Payout

Originally announced at E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the plan to base royalty fees off of video game reviews, rather than pure profit margin, has left many developers chanting unfair.

Its no surprise to most gamers that video games based on their movie counterparts are rarely up to snuff. In fact, many of them are downright horrible, often rushed out of the gates before bugs can be worked out and a quality product reaches consumer hands. Developers don’t feel that critics do many games justice, but what he may fail to realize is that unlike film critics, video game critics are participants, rather than just viewers.

Atari’s CEO, Bruno Bonnell, has been the most vocal, pointing out the recent Enter the Matrix game, coinciding with the trilogy of sci-fi movies released last year. “We sold four million copies. That’s $250 million worldwide. That’s what a big major motion picture makes. And Warner Bros. would penalize us because we didn’t achieve 70% (in average critic score)? Are they joking?”

They’re not and this gamer, who also happens to be a critic, agrees that this incentive may help to curb the slew of bad games, especially those based on movies. Unfortunately, this does nothing from preventing the bad movies from being made in the first place. It would be unheard of to pay the director, actors and writers based on the critics of the world, but just as I see it helping the quality of gaming, it would easily make movie-makers rethink their plots. Maybe The Cat in the Hat would’ve never happened.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter