If you’ve been in a bookstore or the juniors department of any department store in the last few years, it will be hard to believe there is any marketing avenue the people behind the “Twilight” juggernaut have not exploited. There is one gapping hole in this extremely popular fantasy world, however. There’s no real “Twilight” video game. (There is a ‘Scene It’ game, but that’s it.)
“Given how hot a property it is, ‘Twilight’ could easily present a seven-figure exploitation opportunity,” analyst Nick Gibson told British games trade paper MCV. ”Especially if publishers look at taking it beyond retail gaming and considers network gaming.”
So why aren’t Edward and Bella coming to a video game console near you? The last few years have made it clear that girls play video games too, and, as Gibson points out that, “the brand’s appeal could actually extend significantly beyond the expected teen girl market and into the 20 to 30 year old female market, which has a very substantial crossover into gaming.”
Though there was a rumor a game was in the works last year, it’s possible that the right’s holders just don’t know what their missing by not turning the property into a game. If that’s true, they are in the minority in the film business, which has turned to video game spin offs more and more frequently in the past few years. They wouldn’t be alone in missing out – the Batman film “The Dark Knight” seems like an obvious video game choice, but its video game spin off was canceled in 2008. Newsweek estimated the potential profits lost in that move at over $100 million. With the third and forth movies of the “Twilight” series still to come and interest in the fantasy world it depicts still growing who knows how much potential a “Twilight” game might have. What do you think? Would you play a “Twilight” game?
