Final Fantasy is the only game I can think of that made a decent movie and that tanked financially and barely resembled any of the games anyway..

Doom no
Tomb Raider no
Alien vs Predator no
Mortal Kombat nooooo sorry it stunk

another wave of bad is on the way starring assassins creed bioshock spore halo sims prince of persia and a half dozen other franchises mining for gold.

instead of
'Why can't this be a movie?'

how about
'Why should this be a movie?'

there is only one game that NEEDS a movie and that's Grim Fandango and Tim Burton should make it.. or Trey Parker and Matt Stone with puppets.

railskins

@lumpi: Sporn makes for a nice target once you hit the Space phase, things to test the weapons out on.

Ugh, and unfortunately, no, I don't think EA's ditched SuckuRom and that deal about limited installs. People say that EA is working their way back up, but the thing that'd people would love for EA to do, ditch SecuRom, just won't happen.

Ashkihyena

The movie could be a documentary about the rise and fall of SPORE creature creators. What drives them to keep creating.

Yea.

And ummmm... the TV show can be a reality show about SPORE creature creators. What drives them to keep - umm. Ugh.

Twisk

@vincehardy: Will it be like Trainspotting?

Anto103

@deadjesterx:
Though they'll have to cut circumcise the scene where they observe the penis-monster planet...

Let's stick with the correct medical terminology..

elementary

Sporn? I don't care.

Anyway, if Spore isn't an example for the PC still playing a leading role in the games scene, I don't know what is.

I just wish they finally dropped their stupid love for SecuROM and their ridiculous idea of limited installs. Otherwise, we have to make a criminal out of our selves while still paying the full price:

[www.techdirt.com]

*Sigh* Are there any stats on how many sales were saved through SecuROM compared to lost ones by angry customers (like me)?

lumpi

Am I alone when I say that the idea of a Spore TV show just screams "Tripping the Rift" from the SciFi channel?

GDW1017

"I not sure how I can see how it would work." -MF

Redundancy cat.... iz redundant

Joghobs

I, for one, think that creating a TV show or a movie based off of a game that will become successful on its own would just be silly.

First of all, there are many games that have been given the Hollywood treatment, only to become a mockery of it's successful counterpart. Super Mario Bros., Doom, Resident Evil, and any Uwe Boll movie in existence (along with others) were just plain sad. And yes, I am including RE because I cannot stand how they, in a sense, butchered everything about the game, and try to put it back together with crazy glue, and attempt to make a profit off of it.

But, there are games-into-movies that have become successful in its own right, like the Pokemon movies, just because it focuses on an audience that would always adore the game, and will continue to see more of it. (Also since they announced that they grossed over half a billion dollars on the Pokemon movies). And I believe Silent Hill was a decent movie, but only to those who can relate to the material, and even though it was kinda a ripoff of Silent Hill 1 & 2 mixed into one. Plus, what about a Halo movie? It could be good, but then it could be god-awful. We don't know, unless a good director helms the project, and does it right.

No good game with a great legacy should be put through the horrors of a half-ass movie conversion, only to become shit to the many fans expecting to see a glorious viewing of epicness on the big screen. That would be criminal!

xAnarChisTx

Yeah, let's just get to to "amazing game" part first. I don't mean amazing selling, I mean an actual great game. I am not sure that is a lock just yet...far from it. Really nice creature creator so far.

jasoncourt

Just an FYI for those who havent picked it up yet, the Spore Creature Creator is amazon's game deal of the day and is 5.99 today.

EDread83

Sweet, a movie/show about penis monsters! Or at least pwn my friends' computers with em.

OiScout

@rob61920: Good (though may be lost in sarcasm) point but I don't think it's been tested enough in our medium to be valid in and of itself. Cartoons and Movies and toys have been shown to be a strong way to build IPs. Games come in at the tail end of that combo and though it's been proven to be somewhat successful, the quality doesn't always carry over. Now start with a quality game (say Final Fantasy for example) and you may or may not agree that it's successful or even retains quality in the transfer to film but as Square Enix keeps making them, I'm inclined to think something is working but these examples (and Uwe Boll's trash) are not enough to really say that games-to-movie synergy is a failure or success.

okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under)

@Maldron:
Well, to be fair, Viva Pinata is pursuing the massive success of Pokemon. Prehaps it is the latter's success that Spore is pursuing.

elementary

@elementary: You know, that's the only way I can see it happen. And I'd actually be interested to see that.

Though they'll have to cut the scene where they observe the penis-monster planet...

deadjesterx

Oh, yay! Spore's pursuing the relative successes of the Viva Pinata franchise! That fills ME with hope, how about you?

Maldron

@Mommar:
So.. a movie that is essentially watching someone else play the video game?

elementary

Not if the central characters were several Gods creating various races and pitting them in intergalactic combat against each other.

Mommar

it worked with viva pinata didn't it

rob61920

@vincehardy: Wow...just wow.

@Taurus_McGee: Yeah, as much as I play The Sims and TS2, I'll definitly pass on that, and I'm sure that I'll be playing Spore quite a bit, but I'll also pass on that movie as well.

Ashkihyena

@elementary: if Pixar did the Spore movie, it would be the best thing EVER

excel_excel

There was a place for Monster's Inc. so I think a Spore movie might work but they may have an issue of scale to deal with. I don't mean the size of characters either but in terms of time and scope, the Spore universe is about as epic as it gets.

okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under)

@Anto103: A Pac Man movie is already in development.

[www.mcvuk.com]

vincehardy

@Ashkihyena: Sims movie? Eww - pass.

Spore is going to be such a deeply personal game since it's everyone's own unique creation raised from single-cell dudes to intergalactic conquerors that I don't know how you'd make a movie that would relate to everyone's own unique creatures...

Taurus_McGee

This game does not have a single character to market. You're going to have to think way outside the box to make this work as a movie.

How about a Pixar flick done in the vein of a National Geographic film?

March of the Humpasauri?

elementary

Haha Will Wright is so full of shit that he pretty much just made it his gimmick.

ydraliskos

I've always thought Will Wright was quite the visionary, and although that is his quote, could this be an idea put forth by EA to just sell the hell out of Spore and they're getting Will to help? Or is it his concept and he wants to take the Spore universe to new places that other video games have not/have not done with success?

sarcasmOD

THIS SUMMER..

BEN AFFLECK, MORGAN FREEMAN, NICOLE KIDMAN..

man voice: - Who do you think you are? GOD?
other man voice: - Yes! I am!

SPORE!

CockroachMan

"I not sure how I can see how it would work"
Exactly. This sounds like a terrible idea. A pipe dream even. Ahem...Fail.

The bigger the lie, the more they beleive!

So now we have a Sims movie and a Spore film, is Pacman next?

Anto103

Wow, am I ever out of the loop not caring about Spore... did I miss something? Does he mean like the Viva Pinata cartoon or something? How exactly does this become non-interactive entertainment?

rezlow

@Ashkihyena: But yeah, I agree, like with the Sims, I don't think it'd work at all.

Ashkihyena

Well, I think a Spore movie/TV show would work a whole hell of a lot better then a Sims one (which I've heard that EA is actually considering (!!)).

Ashkihyena

So is spore coming only to pc?

Moopman133

Some games that have no stories can actually pull of a movie or TV show. For example the Animal Crossing movie was quite enjoyable, they just need to release it in English. We'll just have to wait and see what they come up with though.

DranzerKire

"Isn't releasing an amazing game enough? "

Nope! You have to squeeeeeeze the cows tits till its all dry, splotchy and callused...

That's the EA way!

NeVeRMoRe666

@Ashkihyena: At this point I think Activision has probably surpassed them. At least EA is making an attempt to create original IPs once again.

deadjesterx

@elementary: You make an excellent point, there. I feel humbled.

Maldron

I can't wait for when they announce their new Spore Babies show.

Div

There are bigger mysteries, I think. The pulling off of creating a show based on a user created content game isn't so difficult. Obviously, they'll create some and use those. Viva Pinata is a show based around a pet/farm sim, but they came up with a cute storyline out of nowhere to make the show work.

Maybe Spore will even have user created content voted into the show. That would be cool.

karasu is my homeboy

@NeoAkira: Pretty much that, EA is after all, one of the more evil corporations out there, though Activision is slowly gaining on them.

Ashkihyena

Considering the fact that this guy came out with the Sims, the most milked franchise in the history of video games, is anyone really surprised?

Although I think this is more EA's idea than his.

NeoAkira

How will parents groups react to all the penises.

Quilt

@railskins: Well, it could be worse, Uwe Boll could be directing all of those upcoming movies...I feel dirty for saying that.

Ashkihyena

In comes the franchise whoring.

Although the idea could work well if put to REAL work.

Ashurahori

@Moopman133: ...Did you read the article, good sir? Perhaps you did, only to skip over the sentence that said "We already know that EA is planning on releasing Spore and Spore-related titles on just about everything on the market that can play video games, including the iPhone and cell phones..." That would be the very first sentence, in fact. There is a PC version, a Mac version, a Wii version, an iPhone and cell phone version, and a DS version.

sarcasmOD

@deadjesterx: Yeah, I think for me, that point came when they dropped Ghostbusters as publisher, fing Activision.

Though well, EA still has its own problems, they milk the franchises and of course, theres no getting around SecuRom, unless they by some miracle decide to drop it, which alot of us wish they'd do.

Ashkihyena

Wait, if they make a show about spore, would they pick the alien species from the player created creatures and vehicles and buildings?

Because how cool would it be to see your creature show up, and you nick in the credits?

Not insanely cool I guess, but cool enough.

MinkOWar

"I not sure how I can see how it would work."

I not sure either

mascot1063

Planting...seeds? To spread Spore?

Isn't that a paradoxical statement?

urutapu

Maybe the movies will feature some of the penis monsters. I found some other websites already making videos with them attacking other monsters.

ShadowFFVI

Actually, the Sims would make for an entertainingly Dadaist sitcom. Picture it: all the dialogue would be in Simlish, with laugh tracks blaring to illuminate the jokes we can't understand. Then everything would be derailed midscene by the hand of God metaphorically descending to box one of the characters into four doorless walls, wherein he dies weeping of exhaustion and starvation while standing in his own pee. Meanwhile, the wife is having a random lesbian love affair with the maid, and the teenage son is gorging himself on the chocolate-making machine Grandpa earned before he died of old age and was reincarnated as a zombie. And don't forget little Sally, the alien abductee, who dreams of becoming a vampire, but first she's gotta learn to stop electrocuting herself on the dishwasher.....

Comedy gold.

janai

@MinkOWar: That'd still be pretty cool, but the idea just I don't think would work, its kinda like that Sims movie that I mentioned earlier, while they're both great games, translating them to movies or TV would be kinda impossible to do.

Ashkihyena

@Ashkihyena:
I don't expect that they would trust randomly chosen creatures... They could pick community favourites though. It would have to be hand-picked for quality and such, and I assume they would not be working directly from the game engine to render, they would have to animate manually as well.

MinkOWar

Am I the only one who interpreted the quote as meaning they plan on using TV, movies, etc. to *advertise* the game?

Arkageon

Sorry, final point popped into my head upon clicking submit...

Basically, it could be a TV show with community created content. Of course, if they're not doing something like this, I'd think they're missing out on a substantial marketing gimmick.

MinkOWar

That would be pretty cool, but then I don't see it happening due to the amount of Sporn and Copyrighted characters that the Creature Creator created.

Ashkihyena

They should regularly feature user-created creatures on the TV show as guest characters or something.

Blah8

@Arkageon: The Viva Pinata tv show was created to advertise the game.

This is how we all see this quote being.

karasu is my homeboy

I would ignore a show based off Spore.
I would not read books or comics based off the game.
I would walk by without a glance for standard merchandise toys made in bulk.
I would watch another movie instead of Spore.
I would not take the etc., even while on XTC.

I will play the game for hours on end.
I will create and destroy all creatures great and small.
I will know to what friend's plants, armadas to send.
I will produce buildings of every size, even one like a cricket ball.

I will, in short, enjoy your game Mr. Will Wright.
I will not care for anything else produced.
I might be lying however if you make a Build-A-Bear version for our Spore creature designs.

Kenofthedead

@sarcasmOD: Yeah i read that but i was wondering if anyone knew the specifics on the consoles, namely Xbox 360.

Moopman133

@janai: I would watch that.

@caster: Or that. They have "Evolution of the Penisaurs" on Discovery and then "The Penisaur Civil War" on History and "The Penisaur Galactic Empire" on Sci-Fi.

Evil Tortie's Mom

@railskins: The Tomb Raider movies weren't decent but the Final Fantasy one was?

Uh...logic would like to speak with you.

karasu is my homeboy

ENOUGH MOVIES ABOUT VIDEO GAMES AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGG

They always suck anyway

GodKiller1

Maybe everyone should film 30 seconds of the film, upload it and it can be cut into a 7 hour movie ... about many shapes of a penis.

proust

i would SO LOVE a spore TV show! just think it could be a parody of nature shows! i would love to see peoples creatures explained in that style.

for more advanced creatures they could even do history profiles like you would see on the history channel about how each civilzation advanced and fought wars.

IT WOULD BE TOTALY COOL

caster

i think someone is getting a little too ahead of themselves falling for their own hype that they paid for.

remember, if you pay for the headlines don't believe em.

BallPtPenTheif

isn't there suppose to be a wii version of spore, I'd much rather have that than a spore movie or tv show

malmario

I'm unsure as to how a Spore TV show or movie would work.

Unless they're going to take story submissions from other players and turn them into TV episodes. Then that could be hella cool!

a_pink_poodle

Instead of a TV show, maybe they could do downloadable episodes that would pull your created creatures out of your game files and use those as the characters?

Guero

LOL! Thats just hilarious.

Cheroro

sorry wasn't done

[www.rottentomatoes.com]

[www.rottentomatoes.com]

FF reviewed twice as well as the 'best' TR film (still poorly at 44%) yet made less than half at the box office.. one reviewer summed it up best about FF.

"The story is well written and incredibly smart, but probably a bit too spiritual for western audiences."

it was a bit of a mish mosh but still the best crack at a game movie yet imo...

railskins

@karasu is my homeboy:

[www.rottentomatoes.com]

railskins