Why no Hunger Games video game?

[JD]

I was thinking after seeing Catching Fire, that it's kind of surprising they haven't done any kind of a PS3\4/X-Box 360/One game based on the franchise. It seems to me like the concept is pretty obvious for a video game series, either based directly on the series plot or even just on the Hunger Games concept. After the success of the reboot of Tomb Raider, it seems like this would be the perfect way to get another female main character into video games.

 

[Mr Light]

Since the only action in the first two movies involves fighting a total of a dozen villains, it wouldn't make for a very long video game... but the full out civil war of the last book should make for a good game where the first two movies could be the opening couple stages.

 

[Trekker4747]

Video game companies have finally learned movie tie-ins rarely work?

 

[Harvey]

Wouldn't a game that involved children killing other children in a contest of senseless violence provoke certain parental groups?

 

[JD]

I guess that does make sense. I tend to forget just how young the Tributes are.

 

[Kelthaz]

Since the only action in the first two movies involves fighting a total of a dozen villains, it wouldn't make for a very long video game... but the full out civil war of the last book should make for a good game where the first two movies could be the opening couple stages.

Hey, if they can make a Home Improvement or Alf game anything is possible.

 

[Trekker4747]

Wouldn't a game that involved children killing other children in a contest of senseless violence provoke certain parental groups?

Videos games are made for more than children.

 

[Harvey]

Videos games are made for more than children.

Three things:

(1) Parental groups attack videogames that aren't intended for children all the time.

(2) It stands to reason that a Hunger Games videogame would be aimed at young adults, since that's the target audience of the books and movies.

(3) The studio would likely take a potential backlash into consideration when deciding whether to license their IP for a videogame.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Video game companies have finally learned movie tie-ins rarely work?

Rarely work regarding the quality of the game or from a profit perspective? Because it's the latter that matters.

 

[Harvey]

^^
A fair point. I think most would agree that tie-in videogames rarely succeed creatively, but I have no idea if they're financially lucrative or not.

 

[Fist McStrongpunch]

I dunno. Why isn't there a Hunger Games breakfast cereal?

 

[JD]

I really think there's a big difference between a video based on a popular action franchise and a breakfast cereal.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

As was already mentioned, a video game about kids killing each other is way too provocative.

Film tie-in games are usually made by established development studios and published by established publishing companies. Such companies are going to be fairly conservative by nature. A game about kids brutally murdering each other isn't gonna get past the contract negotiation stage. Granted, it's kind of hypocritical since it's apparently okay for a movie to show it, but not a game, but that's just how it is.

 

[Kelthaz]

How about a Saturday morning cartoon? They turned Rambo and Robocop into kid shows, so don't say it can't be done. I'd love to see how they can adapt kids killing kids into a family friendly cartoon.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Well, they did it with The Toxic Avenger, so I guess anything's possible.

 

[Morpheus 02]

Trekker4747 -- there are games where people have sex, right? (i'm not a gamer so i don't know). If the answer is yes, do any of them show underage kids having sex? if they did, they would be protested against, and banned if they weren't removed altogether.

They could solve it with the Hunger Games game by having all the characters be young adults as opposed to teens & pre-teens.

They have 74 years of games, and 12 characters per year to build on.

They could also make it in a parallel universe where you could have the Tribute winners of those years fight against each other. "all Star Hunger games"...slightly different than Catching Fire, where you get to choose the winner from among 15-30 candidates.


Seems like a missed opportunity. Might not be as big as Halo, but could certainly make a few million.

 

[JD]

The aging up idea did cross my mind, and it doesn't seem like anything that would completely ruin the story's transition to a game.

 

[Base_Delta_Zero]

Even seeing a child in a video game is generally rare. How many games can you name where the goal is to murder children? How about games that even allow for the rare child to be targeted by the player and doesn't just auto-safety all of your weapons? (And no, Bioshock gene-spliced, monster-eyed little sisters that die during fade to black on an evil run don't count.)

Games might be for more than children, but can you honestly say there's a legit market chomping at the bit to delve into the fantasy of murdering children as blood sport?

You just know someone pitched it during the marketing meetings, they talked about it for five minutes and then someone sane realized they were talking about how to turn child murder into a video game and they moved on to the Official Katniss Nerf Archery Set.

 

[Mr Light]

How bout nobody dies in the game they just fall down holding their stomachs and groaning?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Trekker4747 -- there are games where people have sex, right? (i'm not a gamer so i don't know). If the answer is yes, do any of them show underage kids having sex? if they did, they would be protested against, and banned if they weren't removed altogether.

Note that I am speaking solely of the US here.

Yes, there are games with sex. However, sex is never shown in any kind of explicit detail because that would get you an Adults Only rating, which no retail store will carry.

Underage kids having sex? Nope! Don't think I've ever seen a game in the US where that happened, or was even implied. Few games have kids in them to begin with, though.

The video game market is far more sheepish about sex than violence. You can show all the brutal deaths you want, but no nipples or genitals, much less actual sex. If a game came out that had underage sex, it would be quite a scandal and it would be pulled from the market in a hurry.

They could solve it with the Hunger Games game by having all the characters be young adults as opposed to teens & pre-teens.

Sure, aging up would work.

They have 74 years of games, and 12 characters per year to build on.

They wouldn't spread it out like that. Most likely, they'd make a fighting game akin to Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. That seems the most logical choice given the material.

They could also make it in a parallel universe where you could have the Tribute winners of those years fight against each other. "all Star Hunger games"...slightly different than Catching Fire, where you get to choose the winner from among 15-30 candidates.

Heh, you probably wouldn't even need to lampshade it with the parallel universe talk. People will accept all kinds of weird stuff in video games without explanation. "Wasn't this character dead? Oh well, it doesn't matter! On with the fighting!"

Seems like a missed opportunity. Might not be as big as Halo, but could certainly make a few million.

Here's one person's take on how a game based on HG could work. I mean, it's Kotaku, but what can you do?