The Cut Scene - Video Game Blog by Variety

Xbox Live getting its first exclusive content

Xbox Live Video Marketplace already has feature films, TV shows, and Internet shorts, but everything there has always aired somewhere else first.

But later this year it’ll be getting its first premiere. Safran Digital, the division of producer Peter Safran’s company that does… guess what?... has struck a deal with Microsoft to premiere some short form programming on Xbox Live later this year.

They’re not yet ready to talk about what the content will be or who’s making it, though I would expect some of Safran’s clients like Nia Vardolos, “Epic/Date Movie” guys Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, or P. Diddy might be involved.

Jake Zim, the former Fox Atomic exec who is now COO of Safran Digital (and, I should admit, someone I know outside of journalistic reporting) would only say that the content will be under 10 minutes and in the kind of genres we can expect the young men who primarily populate Xbox Live to most consume, like comedy and horror. And no, none of it will be stuff that’s actually about video games. Perhaps that’s a little too on the nose.

There are lots of places to premiere content online, of course, and Zim said Safran Digital will be making deals with several of them. But he likes premiering some content on Xbox Live because it’s an easy way to get onto the TV and it’s much easier to get your content featured and found.

“Xbox Live is actually programmed carefully,” he noted. “You’re not going to get lost in a deep sea like on the Internet.”

Up to now, all of the content on Xbox Live has been pay-per-download, with the exception of some sponsored promotions. But the Safran Digital stuff may be advertiser-supported, though it’s not yet clear exactly how that will work. Microsoft execs have previously told me they’re looking at more options to allow free video downloads via advertising, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more of that even before Safran Digital’s stuff debuts.

Scott Nocas, Xbox Live’s programming marketing manager (fun title) says this is just the first programming deal he expects the company to make. And why not? You’ve got a captive audience of young men – just the types who are spending less time consuming movies and TV – so why not program to them?

In fact, way back when the Xbox 360 was launching in late 2005, I wrote about how the console’s Internet connection would let it become, essentially, a cable box for gamers. It’s coming true. Which means Microsoft – and, maybe one day soon, Sony -- is becoming a more and more powerful arbiter of what content gets put in front of a very sought-after demo.

Where the studios stand on video games

Following my story about Paramount getting into video games today, I've had a few questions about just what the status is of various studios in the space. The short answer is that, as I wrote, Paramount and Warner Bros. are the only studios that publish video games. But Disney has a corporate sibling that's a video game publisher, as does Sony, which seems to confuse some people. So here's a short summary of where they all stand:

-Disney: Walt Disney Studios isn't in videogames at all, but the Walt Disney Company owns Disney Interactive Studios (and I'm switching to acronyms now to avoid saying "Disney" anymore). DIS is tight with its corporate siblings and publishes a lot of games based on Disney movies and ABC/Disney TV group shows (which includes those on ABC, Disney Channel, etc.) DIS also publishes some  games not based on existing Disney properties, like "Spectrobes," "Turok," and the upcoming "Pure."

-Fox: Licenses it properties to videogame publishers. It used to have a videogame division, but it sold that to Vivendi in 2003.

-Lionsgate: Licenses its properties to videogame publishers.

-MGM: Licenses its properties to videogame publishers.

-Paramount: Has traditionally licensed out all its properties. Just starting to get into publishing itself.

-Sony Pictures: Its corporate sibling is Sony Computer Entertainment, maker of the Playstation consoles and maker of games for them. Sony Pictures used to own Sony Online Entertainment, but that vidgame division very recently moved under the control of SCE as part of a corporate re-org. Despite its close corporate relationship with one of the industry's biggest videogame players, Sony Pictures licenses out its properties to various different videogame publishers. There is now special relationship with SCE.

-Universal: Licenses out all its properties.

-Warner Bros.: In 2004 established Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, which has been growing and handling more and more of Warner. Bros.' properties in the videogame space. WBIE owns developer Monolith and is considering buying more developers. It also oversees licensing to other publishers for some Warner. Bros properties that it doesn't handle. Warner's homevideo unit distributes WBIE games at retail and also handles those duties in the U.S. for Eidos and Codemasters. In addition, WB recently bought British developer/publisher Traveller's Tales. It's not yet entirely clear to what extent Traveller's Tales will work with WBIE and to what extent it will operate independently. Oh, and Warner owns a 10% stake in Eidos.

Paramount gets into the game

Big news exclusively in today's Daily Variety: Paramount is getting into videogame publishing.

There have been vague rumors about this in the past and wild speculation when an executive said the studio is "very excited" about the space. But we've got confirmed what the interest is and how they're implementing it.

In short, Paramount is going to start publishing and co-publishing games based on its movie properties. It will still do licenses, but it's going to start spending some of its own money and getting more involved in production. I don't know yet what the games will be, but there's a slate in the works and the first few will come out later this year. My sense is that Paramount is leaning more towards casual, mobile, or handheld games given the lower risk, but they say they're looking at everything.

That makes it only the second film studio, along with Warner Bros., to be in the game publishing business. However I know that that several others are considering it, both because they see how much faster the videogame business is growing than film and TV and because they want to try and ensure that there won't be crappy games based on their films. Of course Disney and Sony aren't looking at it though, since they both have sister companies in the videogame biz.

Want all the details on Paramount's entry into the videogame biz? Just click here.

New GTA IV trailer

GTA IV has a new trailer and I've got to say, it's pretty kick ass. What I like is that -- with the exception of the final shot on the rooftops -- it doesn't just try to rip off a standard movie trailer, which is what most videogame trailers do. It's a really interesting, non-standard music choice, and I think it captures the diversity (I hope) of the game characters and setting really well, rather than trying to encapsulate a narrative. That's what most games trailers do and it's especially annoying given that the narrative is often less deep in the game than in the trailer.

Here it is. If you're under 17, you shouldn't be watching:

Bioshock MMO, mobile, or movie; Civilization MMO; everything online... Take-Two muses

As part of its presentation to analysts today, Take-Two Interactive presented a few "potential untapped opprtunities" in markets it hasn't yet entered, including MMO's and mobile, as well as licensing to "traditional" media or, I assume, producing itself.

On a slide that was part of its presentation, which I copied above, it even named some potential names, noting that "Bioshock" and "Civilization" could both make great MMOs and that "Bioshock" and "Carnival Games" could work as mobile games.

These are only possiblities, of course, and not reason for fanboys to start clearing space on their hard drives or buying a powerful new phone. Given the way analyst presentations work, I take it as more Take-Two demonstrating to those in attendance that it can move into these markets if/when it is ready, because it has properties that would translate well. It's not a hint that the "Bioshock" MMO is actually in development.

As for the "Bioshock" movie, that should be a big "duh" to Cut Scene readers. As I wrote last month, "Take-Two has been bombarded with  requests from producers and studios interested in obtaining the rights, agents interested in representing them, etc." The only question is which big name is going to get the rights. And whether Take-Two will try to get commercially/creatively involved itself, possibly investing its own money.

Also of note: Executive Chairman Strauss Zelnick said that online play is becoming increasingly important. "Not all of our games have been multi-player," he noted. "Going forward, the bulk of them will be."

My immediate thought? I can't wait to play "Bioshock 2" online multi-player next year. I want to be the Big Daddy.

Condemned 2 aka CSI: Horror-fest

Leigh Alexander has our review of "Condemned 2: Bloodshot" and reports that it's a disconcerting mix of grizzly horror and CSI-style forensics. My favorite detail: "To keep his gun hand steady, Ethan must continue swilling alcohol salvaged from dirty alleyways and abandoned buildings."

Joe Lieberman is really gonna love this one!

Here's the intro to Leigh's review:

“Condemned 2: Bloodshot” will strike some players as a pulse-pounding, mind-challenging delight; for others, it will be a nausea-inducing nightmare. Investigator Ethan Thomas’ sophomore outing unevenly combines innovative CSI-style forensics with a bloody barrage of alcohol-induced, unsettlingly visceral violence. Ultimately, the game can’t seem to decide whether it’s a gritty cop story or a cult supernatural horror-fest; as a result, it won’t fully appeal to fans of either genre.

And you can read the whole thing right here.

Rainbow 6, Padres 2 -- plus stats, stats, and more stats

My friend Justin astutely pointed out that "Rainbow 6 Vegas 2" is one of the most unfriendly-to-non-gamers titles we've ever seen. What the hell is an average person supposed to make of that? How would the uninitiated understand that the first number refers to the name of the squad, but the second number refers to the game's place in the franchise? It sounds more like the final score of a baseball game than a videogame title.

As I pointed out in my review today, "Rainbow Six Vegas 2" barely even qualifies as a new game. It's basically an expansion pack to the first "Rainbow Six Vegas," with all of the original's many great qualities and its few basic flaws.

According to reports, the game has already shipped over 1 million units, so a solid expansion pack is apparently worth $60 to a lot of gamers. It's also possible that plenty of people who didn't buy the first one will start with the second, since it's essentially the same game anyway.

One change I found interesting is how this franchise went from stats heavy in the first game to stats obsessed in the second. There are literally four different stats: marksman, close quarters, assault and experience points (plus, for those playing on Xbox 360, achievement points). Literally every kill gets you points in at least one category. The screen is constantly popping up "+3" or "+5" messages. And you can't go more than 10 minutes, max, without finding you leveled up or ranked up or something in one of the categories.

It's weird, since of course the basic concept of "scores" in games has pretty much gone out the window (save for "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band"). But now instead of "scores" we have "stats," which is somehow more meaningful, I suppose. I guess it's great for those who like to get constant validation. Every time you play "Rainbow Six Vegas Two," you're sure to get an ego boost for "achieving" something or other.

(The screen above, for instance, shows the player simultaneously getting "kill using explosive" points and "experience points" for taking down an enemy.)

Here's an excerpt from my review:

At its basest formulation, a videogame franchise with annual sequels is a lot like a car with a new model every fall. So it is with “Rainbow Six Vegas 2,” which takes last year’s hit squad-based shooter, makes a few minor improvements, and offers essentially a big expansion pack of what was a tightly designed game with a few notable flaws. As such, it should enjoy solid sales amongst hard core fans of the original eager for more and some new fans who want to start with the souped up version, but won’t turn as many heads as its predecessor.

And you can read the whole thing here.

Midway CEO David Zucker canned after Sumner Redstone stacks up huge losses

This one isn't exactly a surprise to those following Midway lately: CEO David Zucker was shown the door today after years of big losses and no revenue growth. (Read the whole story here.)

Sumner Redstone, who owns 87% of Midway, can't be happy with the returns he has seen since buying the company in 2004. His daughter Shari, who took over as chairman late last year in a little noticed corporate coup, didn't mince words in a statement announcing Zucker's departure. None of that "David has done a great job but has achieved his goals and wants to spend more time with his family" claptrap we usually get when someone gets fired. As far as press releases go, this is pretty much as harsh as statements go in my experience:

"Dynamic new leadership is needed to bring Midway to its full potential,” said Shari Redstone, Chair of the Board. “I believe that Midway has the resources and creative capability to once again be competitive with the best in the videogame business. The Board is confident that a new CEO will be selected who can fully utilize the opportunities presented by this next-generation console cycle to renew Midway’s position as a major player in the videogame industry.”

Here are some rough stats I calculated that show just how badly Midway has done for Redstone since he acquired it:

-Midway's net losses since 2004: about $300 million

-Revenue growth from 2004 through 2007: -3%

-Increase in net loss from 2004 through 2007: +399%

-Change in Midway stock value from the day Redstone took over through today: -79%

-Loss in equity value for Sumner Redstone: Over $500 million (this is a very conservative estimate given that Redstone's exact stock ownership has fluctuated over the years)

While the company has done OK with franchises like "Mortal Kombat" and "NBA Ballers," it has been plagued by delays and seen some significant disappointments, most recently "John Woo Presents Stranglehold" and "Unreal Tournament III."

Probably not what Sumner Redstone had in mind when he took control of Midway in April 2004 and said "Midway is clearly a second-tier producer, but it has the potential to be in the first tier, and that's what attracted me to the company. You're going to see an enormous infusion of talent in the very near future."

I should note, by the way, that in all my interviews with him, Zucker always seemed like a smart guy. I would suspect he has an interesting story to tell about what went wrong at Midway, though who knows if we'll ever heard it.

While Midway's board (basically, Sumner and Shari and those they approve of) search for a new CEO, the company has appointed senior VP of worldwide studios Matt Booty as interim CEO. Wondering about his gamer credentials? The photo on the right is the one he uses for his corporate bio on the Midway website.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot on buying the Tom Clancy name forever

My story about Ubisoft buying the Tom Clancy license in perpetuity for videogames, as well as any other media based on those videogame properties, is already online, so I recommend getting all the details by reading it.

However, my interview with Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot (right) about the deal produced a lot more interesting information than I could fit in the article. So Cut Scene readers get the extended version, with everything of interest Guillemot had to say (and then some):

-[Explaining the deal] We just acquired the name "Tom Clancy" for videogames movies and books and all ancillary products can be done based on those games. This gives us the opportunity to create, at the same time as the game, linear entertainment for it that can be launched at the same time time as the game.

-[What does this do for Ubisoft?] It allows us to be more of an entertainment companies. We're not just creating games, we're creating stories, books and characters.

-[When asked for more information about the terms of the deal] We used to just have the videogame rights for Tom Clancy for a certain amount of time. Now we have the game rights in perpetuity, royalty free. We bought them outright. [Guillemot then confirmed that Ubisoft paid a lump sum for the rights, though he wouldn't comment on the cost, though he did note that it's a "substantial" deal for his company.]

-[Explaining the benefits for Ubisoft] We're extending the videogame rights forever and getting complete freedom to complete all other projects. We don't have the rights for a "Rainbow 6" movie, however. Those aren't part of this deal. We do have it for any new properties we create... We'll make products within the limit of our know-how and ability to perform. We will also work with partners [to make licensed products]... That will vary depending on the power of any project. The goal each time is to make sure that the experience comes in many formats.

-[What can we expect to see as a result of this deal] At the moment there is nothing in development... What we have to do now in videogames, because next-gen consoles are more powerful, is create games that will be as well defined and expressive as a CGI movie. All this helps us create better characters, backgrounds, and stories and improve the emotions we have in games... Step by step we have to learn how to give more emotions to our consumers. This will help us get closer and closer to creating movies or Internet products that will entertain... A  year ago we started to create Ubisoft Digital Arts in Montreal so we can have  a group capable of creating animations and movies in the future.

-[What about working with Hollywood on live action movies?] We are open to that because we don't have that kind of know how... In the future we plan to work on them at the same time as games... This is a substantial deal when you look at the power of the brand already in games and books and in past movies. The four [Clancy] movies [grossed] more than $1 billion.

-[How important is this to you?] It's a big event for us. Creating the Clancy name in the videogame industry 10 years ago was a major step for us. We think this is the same thing.

Rock Band download store... finally

How in the world did MTV/Harmonix manage to sell 6 million "Rock Band" track downloads so far? I ask not because the game isn't awesome (it is) or because there aren't some great songs to download (there are), but because the the downloads are so damned hard to find.

Until today, there was no way to access the downloadable tracks from the game. On Xbox 360, you had to go to the console menu, click on "game store," click "more" or "other" (something like that), click the "music" category, then click on  "rock band," then scroll through the available song titles . OK, that's not exactly the process, but it was definitely at least four clicks and a major, confusing pain in the ass.

Then when you find the songs, the information scrolls very slowly on the right before you finally find the name of the artist and whether it was a cover. Basically, it's a nightmare. The fact that people went through that six million times is amazing to me, and definitely a testament to how great "Rock Band" is.

That number's going to get a whole lot bigger now that MTV/Harmonix has finally released an update with a really well designed music store accessible from the game's main menu. Wired's Game/Life blog (from whom I stole the above screenshot) has a great rundown. Suffice it to say it's easy to navigate, has album art, difficult ratings, previews... it basically looks kind of like what we've come to expect from music download services like iTunes and Rhapsody.

It's a shame it took Harmonix this long to launch the store (albeit understandable given the crazy tight schedule for "Rock Band's" release) but at least they knew what they needed to do and got it right.

(This is also, it's worth noting, way better in design and depth of content than what "Guitar Hero III" offers.)