WEBVTT - The Value of Videogame IP in Post-'Minecraft' Hollywood 0:00:07.240 --> 0:00:10.440 Welcome to another episode of Strictly Business, the podcast in 0:00:10.480 --> 0:00:12.640 which we speak with some of the brightest minds working 0:00:12.720 --> 0:00:16.440 in the media business today. I'm Andrew Wallenstein with Variety 0:00:16.520 --> 0:00:21.160 Intelligence Platform. Lots of interesting developments in the video game 0:00:21.200 --> 0:00:24.400 business lately, which makes the timing of this month's special 0:00:24.440 --> 0:00:27.960 report from Variety Intelligence Platform on the state of the 0:00:28.000 --> 0:00:32.320 industry especially good timing. On this episode, we'll talk with 0:00:32.400 --> 0:00:36.000 the author of the report, my colleague Corey Erickson, who 0:00:36.040 --> 0:00:38.720 will tackle all the biggest issues currently at play in 0:00:38.760 --> 0:00:53.120 the world of video games. Stick around and we are 0:00:53.159 --> 0:00:56.560 back with Corey Erickson, author of a new report from 0:00:56.640 --> 0:01:00.800 Variety Intelligence Platform on the state of the industry. Corey 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:02.200 plenty to get to. 0:01:02.680 --> 0:01:02.800 Uh. 0:01:03.000 --> 0:01:05.040 Given there's been a lot of activity in the past 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:08.360 few months, I would say we'd be remiss in not 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:12.440 starting with some pretty earth shattering news that came in 0:01:12.480 --> 0:01:15.640 a few weeks ago with the move of Grand Theft 0:01:15.760 --> 0:01:18.839 Auto six. Why does this matter so much? 0:01:19.480 --> 0:01:21.600 This matters so much because this is a game that 0:01:21.680 --> 0:01:24.360 has essentially been in the works for over a decade, 0:01:24.400 --> 0:01:28.000 you know, from inception to this home stretch last year 0:01:28.040 --> 0:01:30.960 of the game's production. It comes from Rockstar, a label 0:01:31.000 --> 0:01:33.960 to Take two Interactive and the last iteration of the game. 0:01:34.000 --> 0:01:37.080 Grand Theft Auto five, despite being released in twenty thirteen, 0:01:37.319 --> 0:01:40.240 is still going strong through its Grand Theft Auto Online mode. 0:01:40.280 --> 0:01:43.160 You know, this is a game that is one of 0:01:43.200 --> 0:01:47.520 the biggest live services. It's up there with Fortnite, Roadblocks Minecraft, 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:51.120 but it's also as much of a Triple A single 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:57.000 player experience. So this game alone encapsulates, you know, pretty 0:01:57.080 --> 0:02:01.040 much every corner of the Triple A console market at 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:04.680 a time when the Triple A industry isn't doing so well. 0:02:04.720 --> 0:02:07.760 There's been a tremendous amount of layoffs over the past 0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:11.040 two years. Last year alone was more than fourteen thousand, 0:02:11.480 --> 0:02:15.080 and it's get taking longer and getting a lot more 0:02:15.120 --> 0:02:18.880 expensive to maintain, you know, a fresh pipeline of Triple 0:02:18.919 --> 0:02:23.600 A games, while also you know, the price points of 0:02:23.639 --> 0:02:26.480 these games are going up, you know, even further than 0:02:26.480 --> 0:02:29.800 they have before. We know, Nintendo Switch To is coming 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:33.880 out in June, and you know their flagship Mario Kart 0:02:33.880 --> 0:02:36.000 title for that has gone up to eighty dollars as 0:02:36.000 --> 0:02:38.640 a price point, which is sort of a new normal 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:41.519 for the industry after going up to seventy dollars four 0:02:41.560 --> 0:02:44.400 years ago, So all the speculation about Grand Theft out 0:02:44.400 --> 0:02:47.640 of six, you know what it's going to cost, that 0:02:47.840 --> 0:02:51.080 still has to be figured out, and the triple A 0:02:51.360 --> 0:02:54.400 causal industry is sort of hinging on. You know, this 0:02:54.480 --> 0:02:57.120 game finally coming out and you know, bringing some more 0:02:57.280 --> 0:02:59.840 energy and hopefully investment back into that space. 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:03.080 So it moves out of twenty five into twenty six. 0:03:03.200 --> 0:03:05.640 What does this mean for the business in twenty five 0:03:05.720 --> 0:03:08.840 because you know, this was by all accounts going to 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:12.639 be the Titanic for a dated reference for the video 0:03:12.720 --> 0:03:15.160 game business, or maybe Avenger is a better example. This 0:03:15.240 --> 0:03:17.560 was going to be the biggest best seller. So what 0:03:17.680 --> 0:03:21.400 happens to twenty twenty five in terms of results for 0:03:21.480 --> 0:03:23.560 the business lacking this massive hit. 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:27.359 Well, the immediate upside is, you know, the sheer reality 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:29.920 that now some publishers can breathe a bit easy and 0:03:30.040 --> 0:03:32.800 schedule games for the fall that was you know, the 0:03:32.840 --> 0:03:35.600 expected timeline for GTA six. So with that gone now 0:03:35.640 --> 0:03:37.840 it does get a little bit easier to schedule what 0:03:38.000 --> 0:03:40.480 you know there is to schedule. But from a wider 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:42.880 market standpoint, you know, this was a game that was 0:03:42.920 --> 0:03:46.120 expected to bring in like two to three billion within 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:49.480 its launch yer, and that's now two to three billion, 0:03:49.600 --> 0:03:53.200 you know, off analyst expectations for how well you know, 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:55.960 the global video game industry and especially consoles would do 0:03:56.000 --> 0:03:59.560 this year. They're still switched To of course, and Take 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:02.280 two have four titles planned to launch on switch To, 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:05.640 which you know is showing some more third party expansion 0:04:05.720 --> 0:04:08.920 into that side of the console industry. But all in all, 0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:11.520 you know, this is going to be yet another year 0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:15.240 where hopes of you know, a Triple A comeback are 0:04:15.280 --> 0:04:19.560 being lessened slightly in light of the fact that GTA 0:04:19.680 --> 0:04:23.520 six is you know, now another year away. It's such 0:04:23.520 --> 0:04:25.960 a big title too, that it was undoubtedly going to 0:04:25.960 --> 0:04:31.080 help sell you know, xboxes and PS fives, especially the 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:33.080 PS five Pro. You know, if there's one game that 0:04:33.160 --> 0:04:36.440 was going to be a use case for expensing that 0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:39.880 much on you know, a newer PS five model, it 0:04:39.880 --> 0:04:42.559 would have been GTA six. So without a year away, 0:04:42.880 --> 0:04:44.599 it's going to be a bit harder to sell you know, 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:45.719 the more high end consoles. 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:50.479 Speaking of which, the other big shoe to drop, although 0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:54.200 this dropped as expected, was switched To did come out 0:04:54.240 --> 0:04:58.320 this year, the going to come out sorry, and so 0:04:58.400 --> 0:05:02.720 in terms of the the emergence of that product, talk 0:05:02.760 --> 0:05:04.960 about why that is such a big deal. 0:05:05.720 --> 0:05:07.960 That's a big deal because the Switch in and of 0:05:08.000 --> 0:05:12.440 itself was such, you know, a significant redefining moment for 0:05:12.440 --> 0:05:15.560 a Nintendo after they hit a snag with the WU 0:05:15.960 --> 0:05:18.520 in the wake of the Nintendo We success in the 0:05:18.560 --> 0:05:21.800 two thousands, so Switch launched in twenty seventeen really helps 0:05:21.839 --> 0:05:24.640 them get back on track. It's both a home and 0:05:24.760 --> 0:05:27.320 handheld console, so they were able to sort of tackle too, 0:05:28.640 --> 0:05:31.040 aspects of the market that they've always been pretty strong in. 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:34.679 And since then it's you know, been a top selling console. 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:38.120 I believe it's the number three overall in lifetime sales. 0:05:38.520 --> 0:05:41.080 So even though you know, eight years in the life 0:05:41.160 --> 0:05:44.920 cycle is winding down in favor of the Switch to model, 0:05:46.120 --> 0:05:48.880 it's ending on a pretty high note. Because it was 0:05:48.880 --> 0:05:51.720 also at a cheaper price point, the Switch was able 0:05:51.720 --> 0:05:53.640 to become sort of, you know, a companion console to 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:58.080 PS five and Xbox owners, so it was able to 0:05:58.120 --> 0:06:00.960 sort of evade the very tight comp petition between those 0:06:00.960 --> 0:06:04.279 two brands by sort of releasing midway through their last 0:06:04.320 --> 0:06:08.039 console cycles, as you know, an alternative, easier to afford option. 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:11.800 That however, the Switch to is going to sell for 0:06:11.960 --> 0:06:13.719 four fifty, which was a little bit of a point 0:06:13.760 --> 0:06:16.480 of controversy. People weren't sure if that was in light 0:06:16.960 --> 0:06:19.680 of you know, this complicated tariff situation with the current 0:06:19.720 --> 0:06:24.440 presidential administration, and you know, obviously Mario Kart going up 0:06:24.440 --> 0:06:26.800 to eighty dollars. This is going to be a more 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:29.960 expensive life cycle for the switch To. So we'll see 0:06:29.960 --> 0:06:33.279 if they can really power through that and maintain the 0:06:33.320 --> 0:06:34.760 strength they built on the switch. 0:06:35.160 --> 0:06:38.480 It was interesting to see the name of the switch 0:06:38.960 --> 0:06:43.719 emerging in all the coverage of the Trump administration tariffs 0:06:43.760 --> 0:06:46.760 in the video game industry in general being impacted by 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:50.560 the tariffs. So walk us through what the impact is 0:06:50.600 --> 0:06:53.120 for switch To and the industry at large. 0:06:53.760 --> 0:06:57.560 The impact is, you know the fact that many most 0:06:57.600 --> 0:07:00.520 of these consoles, you know, they are put together as 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:04.760 in places like Taiwan. You know, they all depend on 0:07:04.760 --> 0:07:08.159 semi conductor chips, which was able to power through you know, 0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:12.120 a year's long shortage in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic. 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:14.640 So you know, to get back on track with semiconductors. 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:18.119 Only for this to happen is certainly no help. That said, 0:07:18.160 --> 0:07:20.240 you know, switched To their sticking with the four to 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:22.320 fifty price point. There was a little bit of concern 0:07:22.400 --> 0:07:25.520 when they backed away from immediate pre orders that they 0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:28.080 might raise it even higher, but they stuck to the 0:07:28.120 --> 0:07:31.720 price they announced, and we'll see, you know, how consistently 0:07:31.760 --> 0:07:34.200 they priced new games at eighty dollars like they are 0:07:34.200 --> 0:07:38.600 with this Mario Kart World launch title. What's been a 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:42.040 more i think distressing impact for gamers in the industry 0:07:42.080 --> 0:07:45.040 alike is the fact that Xbox actually raised the price 0:07:45.080 --> 0:07:48.080 of its consoles in the wake of this tariff situation, 0:07:48.160 --> 0:07:51.960 which is pretty unprecedented, especially when you look at how 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:55.800 Xbox Series and PlayStation five launched in twenty twenty, so 0:07:55.840 --> 0:07:59.360 that's four or five years into their life cycles. That 0:07:59.480 --> 0:08:02.480 one brand is actually making its systems more expensive. So 0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:04.320 that paints a pretty clear picture of how, you know, 0:08:04.400 --> 0:08:08.160 dependent some of these companies are for overseas production of 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:12.680 their systems. Lots of gaming accessories too, are made overseas, 0:08:12.720 --> 0:08:15.160 so that's another aspect of the market that it's likely 0:08:15.200 --> 0:08:16.640 to be affected by tariffs. 0:08:17.600 --> 0:08:19.800 And by the way, you know, there used to be 0:08:20.080 --> 0:08:23.240 it felt to me more buzz around the notion of 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:27.560 cloud based gaming, So could we potentially be moving into 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:29.760 an era where that becomes more viable. 0:08:30.400 --> 0:08:34.880 It's certainly something to pay attention to. You know, does 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:38.360 this become a bood for cloud gaming. It's hard to say, 0:08:38.440 --> 0:08:41.320 just because there's still no definitive clear leader there. I mean, 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:43.960 Amazon has its Luna product, but that's not a product 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:47.080 they've ever pursued all that aggressively. Some a lot of 0:08:47.080 --> 0:08:49.480 the online games they develop, you know, they released to 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:53.079 Steam for instance, instead of you know, making anything exclusive 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:58.200 to Luna. Obviously, Google Stadia was around for a few years, 0:08:58.200 --> 0:09:00.920 but that winded down in twenty twenty two. If there's 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:04.640 one company I am very curious to see, you know, 0:09:04.840 --> 0:09:08.200 how their own gaming operation does in light of all this, 0:09:08.320 --> 0:09:11.160 in light of things getting you know, more expensive elsewhere, 0:09:11.200 --> 0:09:13.800 it would be Netflix, just because that is a company 0:09:13.840 --> 0:09:17.320 with three hundred million built in subscribers. If you know, 0:09:17.640 --> 0:09:21.480 one in six Netflix subscribers engages with their games at all, 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:25.280 that's as many subscribers as PlayStation plus as for instance. 0:09:25.320 --> 0:09:27.480 So you know, they're company that I think is well 0:09:27.640 --> 0:09:31.080 positioned to potentially see a boost in the cloud side 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:33.720 of gaming as they work on you know, further integrating 0:09:33.760 --> 0:09:38.400 gaming into you know, their web apps, just as much 0:09:38.400 --> 0:09:39.840 as you know, their mobile apps. 0:09:40.440 --> 0:09:42.560 And yet I feel like from what I've heard about 0:09:42.640 --> 0:09:45.280 Netflix to date in the gaming business, it's been kind 0:09:45.280 --> 0:09:49.480 of a mixed bag changes of leadership, perhaps pivots, and 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:53.200 strategic direction. How would you grade what you've seen so far? 0:09:54.000 --> 0:09:56.000 I've seen so far as Netflix still has a lot 0:09:56.040 --> 0:09:59.080 to prove. They got into games in twenty twenty one, 0:09:59.400 --> 0:10:02.920 first through you know, their mobile games app. They've managed 0:10:02.960 --> 0:10:05.280 to integrate those games a little bit better into you know, 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:07.560 the core Netflix app, so it's not all dependent on 0:10:07.840 --> 0:10:11.440 you know, switching apps on your phone. And they're they're 0:10:11.440 --> 0:10:15.640 sticking to a strategy where game releases are tied pretty 0:10:15.679 --> 0:10:19.960 tightly to their movie and TV releases. For instance, this 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:23.320 new Black Mirror season, they made a game called Thronglets, 0:10:23.320 --> 0:10:25.400 which is sort of, you know, an offshoot of one 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:27.839 episode that in and of itself, was a bit of 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:31.600 a sequel to the Bandersnatch interactive experience they did some 0:10:31.720 --> 0:10:35.800 years ago. So they're they're keeping strong there. They haven't 0:10:35.800 --> 0:10:38.480 been able to evade the situation with layoffs and studio 0:10:38.520 --> 0:10:40.720 closures that you've seen through the more traditional side of 0:10:40.720 --> 0:10:43.360 the industry. They did, you know, have a Triple A 0:10:43.520 --> 0:10:47.560 team working on a multiplayer shooter, and that you know, 0:10:47.760 --> 0:10:50.760 was sort of canceled and leadership shuffled around in light 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:56.160 of you know, wanting to not spend too much money 0:10:56.240 --> 0:10:58.600 on a gaming experience they weren't even sure was going 0:10:58.640 --> 0:11:03.800 to matter to the core subscriber base. They've indicated an 0:11:03.800 --> 0:11:08.040 interest more so and really you know, interactive experiences that 0:11:08.080 --> 0:11:11.719 are also very accessible for Netflix subscribers. They outline sort 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:15.079 of their vision at GDC in March, and they seem 0:11:15.080 --> 0:11:17.280 really interested in trying to find, you know, new ways 0:11:17.320 --> 0:11:20.600 to engage you know, groups of people sometimes even like 0:11:20.679 --> 0:11:23.360 in the same physical space, you know, all playing a 0:11:23.440 --> 0:11:26.679 game on their phones together. So they're looking more to 0:11:26.720 --> 0:11:29.480 innovate on that front, so that way they're not sort 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:32.360 of falling into the trap of spending so much on 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:34.200 TRIPAA titles that take years to make. 0:11:35.120 --> 0:11:37.480 We're gonna take a quick break, but we'll be back 0:11:37.559 --> 0:11:40.079 right more with Corey Erickson on the state of the 0:11:40.160 --> 0:11:52.800 video game industry, and we are back with a discussion 0:11:52.840 --> 0:11:57.760 on all things video games with variety intelligence platforms. Corey Ericsson, 0:11:58.160 --> 0:12:02.360 he's the analyst to pend the latest I believe the 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:05.640 third or is it fourth edition of this video game 0:12:05.679 --> 0:12:06.520 Industry report. 0:12:06.920 --> 0:12:08.120 I believe this is the third. 0:12:08.600 --> 0:12:12.640 Okay, well, make sure to check it out. And the 0:12:12.640 --> 0:12:15.840 big focus this year, probably a little different from what 0:12:15.920 --> 0:12:19.280 we did in previous years, was really looking at the 0:12:19.320 --> 0:12:24.959 intellectual property impact the video game business, which also this 0:12:25.040 --> 0:12:28.839 report was so well timed because it was on the 0:12:28.920 --> 0:12:33.280 heels of the very successful release of a Minecraft movie. 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:36.560 Put the performance of that movie, which last I checked, 0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:38.080 I don't we up to a billion yet? It seemed 0:12:38.080 --> 0:12:40.720 like it was at nine hundred million most weeks ago. There. 0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:45.240 Yeah, it's still got a bit of a ways to go. Yeah, 0:12:45.280 --> 0:12:51.400 so it's a nine to eleven million worldwide, so hopefully 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:53.360 it can get to a billion. But if it does, 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:56.720 you know, that's still Oppenheimer numbers for video game IP 0:12:57.720 --> 0:12:59.880 and so far the only video game IP that has 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:02.280 on over a billion is the Super Mario Bro This 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:05.319 movie in twenty twenty three, which has a sequel out 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:08.400 next year. So we're seeing a pattern, I think, or 0:13:08.400 --> 0:13:11.760 a pattern is starting to emerge that the games most 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:14.160 likely to perform that strongly at the box office are 0:13:14.200 --> 0:13:17.560 also you know, the few games that have sold hundreds 0:13:17.600 --> 0:13:21.199 of millions of units, you know, across their lifetime because 0:13:21.200 --> 0:13:25.680 that belongs to i'd say a pretty small club. We 0:13:25.679 --> 0:13:29.360 can pull up the numbers here, but you know, if 0:13:29.360 --> 0:13:33.320 you actually look at what are by far the biggest 0:13:33.960 --> 0:13:38.160 gaming properties by overall lifetime sales, Mario is at the top. 0:13:38.400 --> 0:13:43.000 It's sold abound nine hundred million units to day through 0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:46.520 you know, decades of releases at this point, and Minecraft 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:48.960 is you know, more around the three hundred million number. 0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:51.600 Grand Theft Auto is also a very high performer in 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:54.000 that regard, and there's never been any kind of Grand 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:56.920 Theft Auto adaptation to date. So if there's going to 0:13:56.920 --> 0:13:59.400 be any kind of ramifications of a Minecraft movie doing 0:13:59.400 --> 0:14:02.440 so well, it is going to be studios obviously, you know, 0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:05.640 salivating for the chance to take some ip, whether it's 0:14:05.640 --> 0:14:08.800 Grand Theft Auto, whether it's called Duty or even Fortnite 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:11.000 in roadblocks and try to figure out a way to 0:14:11.000 --> 0:14:14.080 do movies around those if it means, you know, they 0:14:14.200 --> 0:14:17.079 could potentially bring out that big of an audience. Because 0:14:17.080 --> 0:14:21.640 with the Minecraft movie, the reviews were not great. Track 0:14:22.120 --> 0:14:27.080 tracking wasn't was also you know, below the expectations were 0:14:27.160 --> 0:14:29.920 below what the performance actually ended up being, you know, 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:32.280 in the week's leading up to the release. So this 0:14:32.440 --> 0:14:36.800 was really a case where the IP just completely was 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:40.800 its own thing and the filmmakers were able to sort 0:14:40.840 --> 0:14:42.960 of make a film that was more of a tribute 0:14:43.000 --> 0:14:46.440 to the IP than you know trying to do you know, 0:14:46.480 --> 0:14:48.520 the Last of Us effect and create like a very 0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:52.280 tight story driven experience around it. So it'll be interesting 0:14:52.280 --> 0:14:54.360 to see how other studios, if they can get the 0:14:54.400 --> 0:14:56.480 gaming companies to work with them in the first place, 0:14:56.760 --> 0:14:58.960 are going to tackle sort of you know, the remaining 0:14:59.040 --> 0:15:00.520 few that have yet to crossover. 0:15:01.680 --> 0:15:06.200 Yeah, and in terms of what is to still come 0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:10.720 on the heels of Minecraft movie, in this report, you 0:15:11.520 --> 0:15:15.080 pinpoint some of the projects that are worth noting. So 0:15:15.200 --> 0:15:17.320 what's going to be on your radar in terms of 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:19.520 the next big IP adaptations. 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:23.280 Well, right now, the second season of the Last of 0:15:23.320 --> 0:15:26.560 Us is currently airing. It's got a couple of episodes left, 0:15:26.600 --> 0:15:29.320 a shorter season this time than season one, and twenty 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:33.560 twenty three, HBO downgraded it from nine episodes to seven episodes, 0:15:33.600 --> 0:15:36.200 which is you know, in line with other top shows 0:15:36.240 --> 0:15:38.560 on HBO and Max. A similar thing happened with House 0:15:38.600 --> 0:15:42.760 at the Dragon, So on the show's side, there is 0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:45.240 you know a cost effect that they have to take 0:15:45.280 --> 0:15:46.880 into account that I think is you know, going to 0:15:46.920 --> 0:15:51.320 make it difficult for these adaptations to have big episode orders. 0:15:51.440 --> 0:15:57.120 I believe Peacock's Twisted Metal, which also has a second 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:01.120 season due later this summer, that that is somewhere between 0:16:01.120 --> 0:16:03.880 like ten to twelve episodes, although they're they're they're they're 0:16:03.880 --> 0:16:07.840 shorter episodes, but that's a PlayStation ip that actually hasn't 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:10.080 been seen for some time on the gaming side, So 0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:12.200 the fact that they've you know, been able to sustain 0:16:12.280 --> 0:16:14.720 enough interest in that on a service like Peacock to 0:16:14.800 --> 0:16:18.440 justify a second season, I think does speak to, you know, 0:16:18.720 --> 0:16:21.440 the strength of some games that have been around for 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:24.480 a while, you know, still having some audience that can 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:28.440 be attracted to them. Going a bit further, Uh, it's 0:16:28.480 --> 0:16:30.280 going to get busy on the film side again. In 0:16:30.360 --> 0:16:33.960 Q four there's a sequels to Mortal Kombat and Five 0:16:34.080 --> 0:16:38.680 Nights at Freddy's Mortal Kombat two should be interesting because 0:16:38.760 --> 0:16:41.520 that was actually one of the films from Warner Brothers 0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:45.040 that was helping to bring people back to theaters in 0:16:45.080 --> 0:16:47.360 the first half of twenty twenty one. So if you 0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:49.680 look at, you know, the global box office for that 0:16:49.720 --> 0:16:51.520 it doesn't seem that impressive, but that was at a 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:55.600 time when you know, theaters were still down, they were 0:16:55.640 --> 0:16:59.360 blocking off you know, every other row, So that film 0:16:59.440 --> 0:17:01.720 did have enough interest and it's good to see how 0:17:01.760 --> 0:17:03.200 a sequel is now going to do in a much 0:17:03.240 --> 0:17:06.240 healthier film climate. But of course Five Nights at Freddy's, 0:17:06.240 --> 0:17:08.280 as we know, was a big deal in December twenty 0:17:08.280 --> 0:17:10.720 twenty three. You know, that made a little bit under 0:17:10.720 --> 0:17:14.280 three hundred million, but off a typical, you know, modest 0:17:14.359 --> 0:17:18.000 Blumhouse budget, so a very profitable film, uh with a 0:17:18.000 --> 0:17:20.879 really young fan based behind it too. And this time 0:17:21.160 --> 0:17:23.040 the sequel is going to be exclusive to theaters. It's 0:17:23.040 --> 0:17:25.120 not going to do the day and day with Peacock 0:17:25.240 --> 0:17:27.520 like the first one did, which is, you know, another 0:17:27.560 --> 0:17:29.679 testament to how well that film did in theaters that 0:17:29.800 --> 0:17:32.439 you could also watch it at home at Peacock for 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:35.399 free basically if you were a subscriber, and it still 0:17:35.440 --> 0:17:38.760 brought lots of people out to theaters. So it's good 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:41.600 to see if these franchises can actually sustain themselves as 0:17:41.640 --> 0:17:44.080 other film franchises have, because you know, if you look 0:17:44.119 --> 0:17:47.600 at the macroview of you know, film franchises with billion 0:17:47.640 --> 0:17:51.320 dollar films to count. There's still no gaming IP there. 0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:51.520 You know. 0:17:51.600 --> 0:17:54.560 The closest shot would be Mario next year. If that 0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:56.200 film does as well as the first one, then that'll 0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:58.000 be the first gaming IP to account more than one 0:17:58.160 --> 0:18:01.200 billion dollar success at the box office. But otherwise there's 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:02.960 still a pretty long road to go there. 0:18:03.280 --> 0:18:07.160 And that movie is dated for April third, twenty twenty six, 0:18:08.119 --> 0:18:11.320 next year. Also, I see Resident Evil, which you mentioned 0:18:11.720 --> 0:18:16.000 September eighteenth, twenty twenty six, and yeah, as you cite it, also, 0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:18.919 you know, still more to come in twenty twenty seven. 0:18:20.440 --> 0:18:24.399 I just wonder though, whether the momentum we're seeing in 0:18:24.520 --> 0:18:29.320 terms of this genre and its heat could one day 0:18:29.440 --> 0:18:33.359 we mirror the arc of the superhero movies in the 0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:39.439 sense that running so strong for so long, and yet 0:18:39.920 --> 0:18:43.280 you could argue, as many have that by sort of 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:47.640 over exhausting just the sheer volume of content from that genre, 0:18:48.160 --> 0:18:50.960 you kind of kill the golden goose. 0:18:51.480 --> 0:18:55.840 Well, I think the industry is viewing gaming IP as 0:18:56.240 --> 0:18:59.600 supplemental to you know, the core IP at any given studio, 0:18:59.600 --> 0:19:02.320 because they haven't given up on superhero movies at all. 0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:04.880 You know, this is this year, We've got three MCU 0:19:04.960 --> 0:19:08.520 movies instead of just one last year, and next year 0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:12.200 an actual Avengers branded film will be back, so that 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:15.199 train hasn't stopped by any means. However, the studio is 0:19:15.280 --> 0:19:19.679 recognized they can't solely depend on Superhero IP anymore. There 0:19:19.680 --> 0:19:21.600 have been enough failures over the past few years to 0:19:21.640 --> 0:19:24.280 really drive that point home, especially with some of those 0:19:24.280 --> 0:19:27.320 movies getting really expensive. So gaming IP is a way 0:19:27.359 --> 0:19:30.760 to I think, supplement the slates in a way that 0:19:31.000 --> 0:19:33.840 you know isn't going to go super over budget, but 0:19:33.920 --> 0:19:35.679 is also going to have some built in fan interest. 0:19:36.040 --> 0:19:39.280 Resident Evil, which you mentioned that in twenty twenty six, 0:19:39.400 --> 0:19:43.000 is particularly interesting because that's the second attempt to reboot 0:19:43.960 --> 0:19:47.720 Sony's film series Resident Evil. They had six modestly successful 0:19:47.720 --> 0:19:51.360 films with Miya Jovovich from you know, the two thousands 0:19:51.400 --> 0:19:54.520 to the twenty tens, but then an attempt to reboot 0:19:54.560 --> 0:19:57.200 it with this Welcome to Raccoon City film in twenty 0:19:57.240 --> 0:19:59.199 twenty one, which is supposed to be you know, a 0:19:59.240 --> 0:20:02.160 closer out oftion to the first two games, that didn't 0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:03.920 really get off the ground at all. So now they're 0:20:03.920 --> 0:20:07.800 rebooting it once again, but going with a sort of 0:20:07.920 --> 0:20:11.639 newer director Zach Kreiger, who has some hype on the 0:20:11.680 --> 0:20:14.439 horror side with twenty twenty two S Barbarian, which was, 0:20:14.480 --> 0:20:17.720 you know, a pretty modest summer success for twentieth century 0:20:17.760 --> 0:20:20.400 at the time. So he is the kind of director 0:20:20.440 --> 0:20:23.320 where you're seeing studio shifter attitudes where they're not just 0:20:23.320 --> 0:20:24.959 assuming an IP is going to work on its own, 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:28.040 they're actually really looking out at the talent pool in 0:20:28.080 --> 0:20:31.040 Hollywood and being like this director has a very similar 0:20:31.080 --> 0:20:34.520 approach to why people like this game, we should find 0:20:34.560 --> 0:20:37.000 a way to you know, bring these together here. And 0:20:37.040 --> 0:20:39.879 he also has a horror film called Weapons Out the 0:20:39.880 --> 0:20:42.120 Summer for Warner Brothers, so if that film does well, 0:20:42.480 --> 0:20:46.159 that'll even you know, better boost Resident Evil's chances of 0:20:46.200 --> 0:20:49.240 success for Sony next year. It's also worth mentioning too, 0:20:49.320 --> 0:20:52.120 that the second season of Fallout is actually returning as 0:20:52.119 --> 0:20:55.159 soon as this December. Everyone was expecting that more for 0:20:55.240 --> 0:20:57.399 twenty twenty six, just because you know, that's a hefty 0:20:57.840 --> 0:21:00.439 budgeted show, has to spend a lot of time and 0:21:00.520 --> 0:21:04.600 post it's a post apocalyptic environment. But Amazon recently announced 0:21:04.640 --> 0:21:07.639 that that would be going in December instead, so you 0:21:07.640 --> 0:21:11.440 can see even Amazon, which you could argue is in 0:21:11.520 --> 0:21:14.080 a position to take its sweet time with all of 0:21:14.080 --> 0:21:17.200 its shows because it's Amazon. They saw how well Fallout 0:21:17.200 --> 0:21:19.520 did last year and said, you know, we got to 0:21:19.560 --> 0:21:20.560 get this out asap. 0:21:21.760 --> 0:21:27.080 Another Franchi I said, maybe isn't necessarily readily associated with gaming, 0:21:27.240 --> 0:21:31.920 Harry Potter. How has gaming played a role in rejuvenating 0:21:32.000 --> 0:21:35.280 interest in that? 0:21:35.280 --> 0:21:39.399 That comes down to twenty twenty three's Hogwarts Legacy. That 0:21:39.560 --> 0:21:41.760 was a game that was in development for Warner Brothers 0:21:41.760 --> 0:21:44.000 for a pretty long time from a studio that actually 0:21:44.119 --> 0:21:47.640 used to be owned by Disney until you know, Disney, 0:21:47.680 --> 0:21:50.320 through Bob Buyger's leadership at the time, sort of divested 0:21:50.640 --> 0:21:53.560 all of its video gaming operations because there just wasn't 0:21:53.760 --> 0:21:57.080 enough interest within the company in that space. So that 0:21:57.200 --> 0:22:00.199 studio Avalanche, they went over to Warner Brothers and it 0:22:00.240 --> 0:22:02.280