E3: Hollywood Flocks To Attract Gamers

[Jazzy]

The world of the computer game could be coming to a TV screen or cinema near you.

Blockbuster hits from the gaming world are becoming increasingly popular as the inspirations for mainstream films and TV shows.

And that merging media landscape had prompted Hollywood to flock to the E3 gaming trade fair taking place on their doorstep in Los Angeles.

Best-selling games like Need For Speed and Assassin's Creed are already in production as movies.

And Halo, the highly successful Xbox game, is being turned into a live action TV series by director Steven Spielberg.

Phil Spencer, vice president of Microsoft Studios, told Sky News: "We said 'If we're really going to do something epic with this on television, let's find one of the best storytellers on the planet, somebody who knows gaming and loves Halo'.

"Bringing Steven Spielberg on as a producer for this was a great opportunity to show that Halo is an intellectual property as big as anything out there today in entertainment."

Movies inspired by games are not a new phenomenon - as Lara Croft and Super Mario could testify - but the aim now is to attract a whole new audience to gaming-originated entertainment.

Devices like the Xbox allow owners to watch live television and there is a desire among the makers to provide a whole entertainment package.

Todd Martens, entertainment writer at the Los Angeles Times, said: "I think what you're seeing this year that is different is both Sony and Microsoft really talking up how each of their consoles is going to have exclusive and original programming and trying to get people to buy the consoles because of that original content."

It all comes as no surprise to veterans of the business. And Jason Kingsley, who developed Aliens Vs Predator into a movie, says it makes commercial sense.

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Do you think Halo would make a good movie or TV show? Would you watch it?

 

[Evil Eye]

Just about anything can make a good (or at least entertaining) movie.
I haven't actually played Halo, but this might be interesting.