“IP Incubator” Seeks to Bring Video Games Into Other Media
A new business venture called Radar Group is aiming to bring video game IPs into other areas of the media world. Led by 3d Realms founder Scott Miller and Jim Perkins, another industry veteran, they hope to spread video game ideas and stories into books, television, films and toys. I’m sure some of you are scratching your heads thinking: “don’t they already do this?”. I can recall reading novelizations of video games like Ninja Gaiden and Bionic Commando as a kid. My local Gamestop has Halo 3 toys and magnets and of course it’s hard to ignore the plethora of video game films that have been made. Video games have even already conquered the world of television (mostly children’s) with Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario World, Megaman, Captain N, Sonic the Hedgehog and Mutant League Football all having been turned into cartoons. I suppose their thought is that the market isn’t quite being exploited to its maximum potential. While I would love to see some dedicated people work with video game films to place them in the hands of directors and studios who would craft on-screen tales that would make fans weep with pleasure instead of regret, I doubt there’s much room for video games in television. A good majority of video games are scifi/fantasy in nature and those are two genres of television that are relatively iffy. Both genres require large budgets and generally appeal to more niche audiences whereas ‘real world’ shows like Law and Order, various sitcoms and teen dramas can be appreciated by a much larger portion of the general populace.