Activision Considers Selling Video Game Cutscenes

This is a great idea... as long as it doesn't come at the cost of cut-scenes in-game. If they release it stand-alone and not available in the game its ****ty, but the cut-scenes are that good and deff better than a lot of the hollywood trash atm (piranha... (excluding kelly brooks!))

If ppl want to see the cut-scenes put together as a decent film I can think of worse ways to spend time, I'd probs go see it if I didn't have the game and it looked good..
 
Last edited:
Moron said:
"If we were to take that hour, or hour an a half, and take it out of the game and we were to go to our audiences, who we have their credit card information a direct relationship, and say to them 'Would you like to have the StarCraft movie?'
Click to expand...
(Highlighted concerning part as someone mentioned on a previous page)

Wait... Just so I'm not misunderstanding...

They are speaking about taking cut scenes that would normally have been in game, and removing them from the gaming experience? They'd then patch them together and sell them for the cost of a game itself?
Christ, half of games these days are so damn short that the cut scenes are pretty much needed to pad it out. To charge an extra $30 for them?

I can't believe people see this as an acceptable move.
Activision can go to hell.
 
Cybergangster said:
That said, Kotick's comments and Activision's business model both incense me so much as a consumer that they are the first publisher who's games I go out of my way to avoid paying them for. Assassin's Creed II is their only game I purchased in the last 12 months... and that was 2nd hand from an online auction. I'm sure I'm not the only gamer he's put off of his company.
Click to expand...

You must be doing well avoiding Activision games if the only one you've bought is Assassin's Creed 2.....Activision don't even make or publish it :confused:
 
Bumhug said:
Yes you are misunderstanding. The idea is to sell cutscenes as movies, not remove them from games.
Click to expand...

Unless they are adding a considerable amount they are still just ripping people off (not that they won't try to even if they did). Seriously how hard is it to put a 'Cinematic Mode' on which lets you view a cutscene you've unlocked or play them all 1 after the other. Games used to do that for free.

But then its really upto the retards who jump at the chance to give Kotick there money no matter what they sell.
 
Evilsod said:
But then its really upto the retards who jump at the chance to give Kotick there money no matter what they sell.
Click to expand...

And therein lies the core of the problem - it's blatantly obvious there are literally millions of morons just gagging to throw their money at this kind of thing, because everyone else is doing it and therefore it must be worth it. The Halo Effect :(
 
Not wanting to sound like an activision fanboy, or trying to defend Kotick, the guy is a grade A *******.

But the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference is where investors go and have a look at communications and entertainment companies who then try and get some investment. Obviously Kotick is there to try and get some money into the company so he is obviously going to overhype things.

Blizzard have done this before, they released all the cutscenes on DVD, ok it was 8 years ago but they have only really released WoW during that 8 year period and you can count the cutscenes in that on one hand. It is very possible that once the Starcraft 2 trilogy is out they will release the cutscenes in a fancy box with few special features. Kotick knowing sweet fa about games thinks this is going to be some kind of movie, when really its only going to be aimed at a hardcore audience.

Koticks a clueless idiot when it comes to gaming, he is a money man and as much hatred as there is for him you cant fault the guy for being good at his job. Clearly taking cutscenes from games and turning them into movies wouldnt work, the majority of action takes place in the gameplay not the cutscenes and there would be massive plot holes. Lets say Starcraft 2 in total all 3 games has 90 minutes of cutscenes, taking them out of the game would make no sense at all, as majority of events are played out in game. Even with the first Starcraft game you would struggle to turn the events of that into a movie and include everything

So what Kotick has said is a load of ********, more than likely he is talking about Blizzard Entertainment DVD Collection Volume 2, he just doesnt understand what it is.

The same thing happend with Vivendi a couple years ago, they came out an announced that every new Blizzard game would be an mmog. Some suit didnt fully understand what was going on, what Blizzard were planning was every game would be online only which is exactly what happend with Starcraft 2 (which funily enough people blamed Activision for)
 
Hmm seems afew things confused in this thread. From what i read i got:

Kotick wants to take (key word here) cinematics out of the game and string them together as an additional feature, so that they are no longer in the retail game they will be a seperate product all together ( release a game then release movie+/-dlc )

Not removing in-game cutscene which afaik use the in-game engine for a quicktime event or sorts.

./Negative
One can only hope he drums up , at some point, another 'crazy' idea and get lots of investment and it falls massively, lossing all the investers money. And he goes into a different career path, not getting such power again.

./Positive
Or the movie companies see how much money is to be made releasing blockbusters/movies digitally and go on to release blockbusters digitally aswell as theatrically on release. Increasing revenue and decreasing causal pirating in one swoop.

my 2c anyhoo :)
 
i for one wont be buying a new game for $60 only to find all the cut scenes have been removed for me to buy for another $30.

Is activison turning into the Ryan air of gaming ?
 
pfffffft, wont win them any fans, and i dont know anyone that likes buying recycled crap
although i would buy the cutscenes for the final fantasy games in a heartbeat, but the chances are slim, square enix are not cheap, and they have pride and decency, bugga :(
 
Don't understand the criticism here to be honest, he said he'd copy the cut scenes out of a game and sell them as a movie.

In what way is that a problem, if you own and play the game you'll see the cut scenes anyway, they're not taking them out completely and charging just to see them, it's just a copy that's merged together and packaged up in a DVD, hardly essential viewing for someone who already owns the game.

If you really like SC2 then you might pay for it, but i doubt most people would. As long as they don't remove content with the intention of selling it separately then i don't see the problem.
 
What really gets me is he not only thinks we're dumb enough to buy the cutscenes from a game as a digital film which costs nearly as much as the game did, but that having done that we would flock to the cinema to take the opportunity to pay for the same content a third time?????

Here's an idea for you Mr Kotick..

Include a DVD of the cutscenes as a bonus DVD for special editions *with* the game, and charge $10 extra for the special edition. Not $20-$30.
 
I really don't think he's suggesting taking content out of future new titles to be sold/packaged differently.

I think he's just suggesting if you took the cutscenes out of one of the quality games, like the intro videos for WoW for example, that the level of quality, and design, creativity, basically coolness of them would make for a great film.

Its like someone called Cameron 5 years ago saying to an investor panel

"If I took Fern Gulley, changed it around abit and packaged it up differently, IN 3D, wooo, then I could make a killing and fool people into watching the same film for the 9th time, don't worry we'll fire a couple arrows at the camera so 3D really pops"

AS much of a rip off as Avatar is, it isn't actually Fern Gulley, they didn't remaster it with 3D, its just a way to sell the idea, give the guys you're talking to a general idea of what you're talking about.

He's talking about a general idea, he can't say "I think we can take FILM 1 we released in normal cinema's last year, repackage it and deliver it directly to consumers at home when we release Film 2", simply because they haven't made a film 1. The closest thing he can compare it to is the cutscenes.

Thats how I understood it anyway, largely because, I'd personally pay a bit more for a game that had a WOW type intro(because they are cool, Lotro's intro is pretty badass, and cutscenes in things like C&C were fantastic) and added 50 times more content I'd pay more for a game that offered more, I've paid to see animated films, I'd potentially pay to see a film the guys behind some of the awesome stories and cutscenes in games make, if its good.
 
Nico_Joey said:
Hmm seems afew things confused in this thread.
Click to expand...

Indeed. What Kotick was saying:
* Games would be released, they would include cutscenes.
* You would also be able to by a DVD containing the cutscenes of that game, to be enjoyed separately.

The game would be played normally, no extra product needed. But also, those who wanted to could pay a second time for product they already have, for the benefit of being able to play them without having to load up the game to watch them.
 
I don't see how this is going to make more money than making a film and releasing it at the cinema.

With video games, you're exclusively making your money off gamers, if you release it at the cinema any gamer that would have bought it is going to see it, plus average joes who don't play games that see a cool movie to watch will also go.

How many people will watch a WoW movie (for example)if it was released only to those who bought the game or watch/download things on their pc?
How many will go if you release it at the cinema? A lot more I am sure inc those who don't play.
Why the hell would I pay to see cutscene smashed together when since the dawn of gaming most developers have and still do let you go back and watch them individually?
No.

Oh right, it's done in-engine so they can hash out loads and loads of pap once the core work is done.
 
doofski said:
i for one wont be buying a new game for $60 only to find all the cut scenes have been removed for me to buy for another $30.

Is activison turning into the Ryan air of gaming ?
Click to expand...

Are you a bit slow?

It's an additional separate thing. Not taking the cinematic cut scenes out and making you pay to see them. It's a money making exercise, if you do not want it, do not buy it. Why all the childish hate? It will get released and perhaps have some filler stuff added to make it play in one big "movie" style and make sense and then eventually will cost next to nothing as sales die down.

It might turn out to be great, sometimes you WANT some additional cinematics from something you did in the game just to streamline the story out into one visual representation

How it ends up, how much it will cost and whether it will be worth it is all up in the air...but it's something extra, takes nothing away from you so less whine!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom