Peter Suciu

Battle of the Blockbusters Coming?
April 7, 2008

A question that comes up from time to time is: “Why did movies go widescreen?” The aspect ratio of early motion pictures was essentially based on the technology of the era, and for movie houses the screen maintained the perspective of a stage play. Of course, all this changed when TV started to keep people at home instead of going to the movies. To draw in the crowds moviemakers tried new gimmicks, and over time the widescreen thing stuck. TV, meanwhile, stayed the traditional 4:3 ratio that is only now being supplanted by 16:9 sets. 

OK, that’s a rough overview of widescreen vs. full screen — and you may ask why I’m mentioning it. What does it have to do with games?  

Well, there could be another showdown coming, and this time it could be the battle of the potential blockbusters. Grand Theft Auto IV, the latest in the extremely popular car jacking series, arrives in stores on April 29, just three days before the big-screen debut of “Iron Man,” which is poised to be this summer’s first blockbuster film. 

Hot games show up year round. Madden NFL is a good example, and the game’s annual release in August has never made so much as a noticeable dent in the Hollywood box office.  

But this showdown between GTA and “Iron Man” is a bit different. Not only is it drawing noticeable attention from the media, including Entertainment Weekly, it is stirring some debate in the numerous gaming forums as well — where, to no surprise, the consensus is that GTA is the better choice. Said one poster on Joystiq, “I would rather play the game adaptation of Jumper than go watch Robert Downey Jr. ‘act’ for two hours.” 

But the question remains on whether GTA will actually have any impact on the “Iron Man” bottom line? It is very easy to see there might be very little impact whatsoever. The movie will take a mere few hours out of the weekend, so gamers should have plenty of time to pull heists, car jack, beat up hookers … and play the new game (that was a joke).  

And while all the “expert analysis” is on how GTA might hurt “Iron Man,” has no one thought that the alcoholic super hero (and I mean the character of Tony Stark, not troubled actor Robert Downey Jr.) could do some pounding instead? I’m not saying that “Iron Man” will hurt GTA; in fact, I see both doing reasonably well. However, “Iron Man” isn’t “Spiderman,” and as the “first” summer release (showing up four weeks before Memorial Day) probably won’t be this year’s top-grossing movie.  

But “Iron Man” could be one more factor in why this might not be the best timing for GTA IV. The series has traditionally been released in the fall, and it will be interesting to see whether gamers will want to hunker down to play a game as the weather finally turns nice. And while the game will most certainly ship with a Mature rating, the audience for GTA has included a lot of teens. Parents who may willing let their teens play the violent game might put a foot down and say, “Get some fresh air first.”

There are also other films on the way, summer vacations and other factors that could slow sales. Additionally GTA IV lacks a holiday, so without a Christmas tree in sight, the game probably won’t be gift-ready for several months. So instead of it being a fast seller, we might see this as slow but steady game — and even one that picks up in sales towards the end of summer.  

Finally, GTA IV faces some vehicular competition it can’t car jack — namely Mario Kart Wii, which beats the gangster driven game to the finish line by arriving on April 27. This is going to be an interesting showdown.

Posted by Peter Suciu on April 7, 2008 | Comments (0)