Gamasutra reported that earlier today, while speaking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference in Newport Beach, CA, ActivisionBlizzard CEO, Bobby Kotick hinted that movies produced by the talent behind video game cutscenes may soon produce full length movies and distribute them electronically.
...Kotick noted that July's StarCraft II has about an hour's worth of cutscenes that are created with the title's in-game engine.
He theorized, "If we were to take that hour, or hour and a half, take it out of the game, and we were to go to our audiences for whom we have their credit card information as well as a direct relationship and ask, 'Would you like to have the StarCraft movie?', my guess is that ... you'd have the biggest opening weekend of any film ever."
Kotick noted that unlike film studios that are stuck with a model that requires costly theatrical distribution that cuts in on margins, Activision Blizzard could go directly to its consumers via online. The CEO mentioned a possible $20 or $30 price tag for such a film, but at this early stage, it's all speculative.
But it still seems that such an initiative is inevitable for the publisher. "Within the next five years, you are likely to see us do that. That may be in partnership with somebody, it may be alone," he said.
"But there will be a time where we capitalize on the relationship that we have with our audience, and deliver them something that is really extraordinary and let them consume it directly through us instead of theatrical distribution," Kotick added.
Citing some unspecified research at Activision, the CEO said that if the company were to distribute a movie directly to consumers' homes, "an extremely high percentage [of consumers] would then go to the theater then watch it again. That's the nature of our consumer -- a very enthusiast consumer."
Kotick has clearly been thinking about this convergence between games and film, but not in the "Hollywood + Games" context that most game companies adopt. The CEO is thinking more about relying less on outside Hollywood-related entities like movie studios, film distributors, external intellectual properties and Hollywood actors, and doing as much as possible to build Activision Blizzard and its properties internally -- essentially keeping the profits within Activision's walls.
Sadly, from the above quotes, the sole motivation for such an undertaking seems to be money. The competitive advantage Kotick references is really mass exploitation of an entire community's passion for a fantastic franchise. While many fans, including those at StarCraft Legacy, would be thrilled at the announcement of a StarCraft movie, its quality would need to be unparalleled and the creators passion evident, anything less would prove to be a major disappointment.
It's necessary to point out that Activision Blizzard is a business and its primary function as such is to make a profit. Kotick epitomizes that aim and his quotes on the subject often damn him in the eyes of the general gaming populace. He is often characterized as blunt, ruthless, and driven not by a desire to create amazing games, but to rather to solidify Activision Blizzard as the number one entertainment company. Yet Blizzard has so far been able to remain unsullied by that characterization. Seemingly protected by an operating agreement, Mike Morhaime, the CEO of Blizzard Entertainment, or its ace reputation, the company has yet to sellout its founding ideals. His responsibility is to the shareholders, Blizzard's is to its fans. Should a StarCraft, or any other Blizzard franchise, be adapted to film, it is likely that Blizzard will do everything it can to ensure it is done its way.
A few of weeks ago we reported that the Museum of Contemporary Art in Taiwan was hosting an exhibit, Fights, Flights & Frights Inside the Storm, of over 700 Blizzard art pieces from the Diablo, StarCraft, and Warcraft series. Recently, a Flickr user, ddsnet uploaded several pictures from the event, including these that may foreshadow some of what is to come in Heart of the Swarm:
Make sure to check out the rest of ddsnet's pictures of the art from all of your favorite franchises. The exhibit runs until October 10th.
Kotaku has reported on a new art exhibition of Blizzard art being hosted at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Taiwan. This is the first time Blizzard has ever exhibited art from their game franchises overseas. The exhibition of over 700 pieces of art is titled Fights, Flights & Frights Inside the Storm and it will run until October 10th.
Blizzard has released BlizzCon's video promo and has announced other details about the event. Those who attend BlizzCon 2010 will be receiving an in-game World of Warcraft murloc pet that resembles Deathwing and a special Murloc Marine portrait with in-game sea-themed decals for their StarCraft II units.
"Death will rise from the tide!" Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain once warned -- and at BlizzCon 2010, the band's dire musical prophecy will finally come to pass. Everyone who attends this year's BlizzCon or purchases the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket will receive an exclusive set of murlocalyptic in-game items for World of Warcraft and StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. World of Warcraft players will be joined by Deathy, a murloc companion decked out as Deathwing and doing his best to strike fear into the hearts of Azeroth's crustacean population. You'll also be able to display your tidal pride in StarCraft II with a Murloc Marine character portrait and a pair of deep-sea decals to emblazon on your units, each with a different terran, protoss, and zerg design.
Click here for more details regarding BlizzCon 2010.
Details regarding the Blizzcon 2010 fan contests have been released. The Fan Art Contest, Original Song Contest and Movie Contest will allow for fans at Blizzcon 2010 to show off their creativity and put their skills to the test. They will not only put forth their best efforts to impress other Blizzcon attendees, but they will also have a chance to win great prizes. For the Fan Art Contest, artists will be submitting high resolution jpeg pictures under 5 megabytes in size and have a chance at having their artwork being displayed at Blizzcon 2010. Song composers will be creating original songs under two minutes in length about any of the Blizzard universes and have a chance to play them live on stage at the event. Machinima film makers will be able to submit World of Warcraft or StarCraft II movies under three minutes in length and have a chance to have them shown at the event. The deadline for all three contests is September 27th and all contest winners will win a BlizzCon Virtual Ticket.
Fan Art Contest Awards
First Place: Wacom Cintiq 21UX and one Blizzcon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online
Second Place: NVIDIA video card, one copy of Adobe Photoshop CS5, and one Blizzcon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online
Third Place: One copy of Adobe Photoshop CS5 and one Blizzcon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online
Original Song Contest Awards
First Place: $2,000, one Echoes of War: The Music of Blizzard Entertainment boxed set signed by Blizzard Entertainment composers, and one Blizzcon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online
Second Place: $1,000, one Echoes of War: The Music of Blizzard Entertainment boxed set signed by Blizzard Entertainment composers, and one Blizzcon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online
Third Place: $500, one Echoes of War: The Music of Blizzard Entertainment boxed set signed by Blizzard Entertainment composers, and one Blizzcon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online
Movie Contest Awards
Grand Prize: $5,000, one Blizzcon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online, and an "Oswald" award statue
First Place: $3,000, one Blizzcon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online, and an "Oswald" award statue
Second Place: $2,000, one Blizzcon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online, and an "Oswald" award statue
Third Place: $1,000, one Blizzcon Virtual Ticket to watch the event live online, and an "Oswald" award statue
