Vin Diesel's game production company Tigon Studios and developer Starbreeze are hoping that Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena manages to outsell the first Riddick title.
2004's Chronicles of Riddick on Xbox was well received by critics, but its high review scores weren't matched sales-wise.
That was because nobody was interested in the shiny headed actor at the time, according to Tigon boss Ian Stevens.
"The landscape has changed a little bit for us. Pre-orders for Riddick were the hardest I've ever had to deal with. Because nobody cared about Vin Diesel, nobody thought a game attached to a movie - that didn't really have any buzz surrounding it anyway - was really going to be that good," he told CVG in a recent interview.
"It wasn't until the game got out there and was reviewed that people came back around to it. So we sold purely on word of mouth. So we kind of have that out there now and Starbreeze has gone and done another game that's been really well received. So I think that gamers genuinely are going to give us a better shot this time around."
Stevens also said that the game's publisher was at fault for its sales performance.
"I'll be very honest; we had a really tough time at Vivendi that year... We got next to no marketing - it was really a failure on the company's part. I think this time around Atari knows what it's got and the push from them has already been quite significant. We don't have a film with us this time around so that'll be interesting but... I don't know if that hurt us the last time around."
If you've read our previous Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena coverage you'll know we're quite excited about the game, and in particular its new 'Pitch Black' multiplayer mode.
The game's headed to PS3, 360 and PC some time next year. The sooner the better, we reckon.
Yes, they were on different formats initially, but it didn't help that the Xbox version of Riddick was released on the same day as Doom 3 over here - I remember, because I had to make a choice between the two, and went for Doom 3.
Not having a film to base it on this time round probably makes it sound more promising as it says that it's not just another game-to-movie release date rush job.
Not having a film to base it on this time round probably makes it sound more promising as it says that it's not just another game-to-movie release date rush job.
I think you're misunderstanding the situation. This game is actually just a next-gen remake of the original. What the guy was trying to say is they now don't need to rush the game like they did with the original, as the movie it's based on was already released years ago. That's why he also says, on the other hand, that this time they don't have the hype of a movie release to go with the game, so it'll be interesting to see if that makes any difference.
While I'm a big fan of the original, I'm not really interested in a remake unless it's retailed at a budget price. I mean the original still holds up pretty well and online play isn't crucial for me...
I don't care about Vin Diesel eithr. He looks like the child of Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis- a curious mix of blank toughness and gormlessness. He starred in a movie that took the mickey out of himself, The Pacifier. Arnold Schwarzengger had done the same with Kindergarten Cop but at least he had the decency to star in some relatively memorable films first.
I think they pretty much nailed it; I was scared away from buying the game because it was worried about it as a film tie-in. I never realised it was stand-alone.
Almost every film tie-in is awful. There have been so few exceptions. Usually when a game has the title '<movie title>: The Game' or any variation of it, it's inevitably going to be crap. Look out for games which do not use 'The Game' as a suffix. Goldeneye was one, so was Spider-Man 2 and now Escape From Butcher Bay.
Not having a film to base it on this time round probably makes it sound more promising as it says that it's not just another game-to-movie release date rush job.
I think you're misunderstanding the situation. This game is actually just a next-gen remake of the original.
Actually, while it is a remake of the original, it is also going to be an expansion. So there is some new game in there.
I'll probably buy it, since I never played the original (no Xbox) and it looks a fairly big game. Let's just hope it's released a good time so it doesn't get overlooked (again) to buy other new releases.
Riddick:Butcher Bay was not a movie-tie-in, yes it tied in to the universe but had no relation other than these were the events before the movie. Arguably the game was better written than the movie. The game wasn't rushed out last time and was well polished.
This sequel was originally a remake of the classic 2004 title but that thought process has been scrapped and the game is being made "Fresh" apparently.
It sounds like half of didnt even get hands on with the original but still pass of comments about it because you think you know "Movie-Games". Riddick broke that mold.
I had Butcher Bay on the original Xbox, was mightily impressed. Buggered up my game save and never went back to it and seeing as my copy of BB was free, I have no qualms about rebuying it.
Spruced up for HD, expanded and still following the excellent narrative and pace of the original.
Sold.
...and if it does indeed play as well as the original, I'd urge anyone who loves game to buy it, as it still is an absolute corker!
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