When I was a sprout coding games in BASIC on my TRS-80, there seemed to be a lifestyle distinction between movies and videogames: socially inept geeks like myself played videogames, guys who could get dates took them to movies.
If that distinction remained, GTA IV vs Iron Man pretty much obliterated it. The two are now entertainment options, vying for your limited mindspace. And they serve distinct needs in that spectrum. Blue Ocean Strategies talks about expanding your competitive set to include other "options", not just obvious direct competitors. Should publishers of killer franchise titles (Halo, GTA, Sims, Anything Wii) and franchises-to-be (Spore? Star Wars: Force Unleashed?, etc.) consider movie release dates in their own release schedules?
When Ben Stiller's Heartbreak Kid tanked the film industry cited Halo 3 as a culprit, but c'mon, would any self-respecting HALO 3 player be caught riding that Ben Stiller crap sled? Waa Waaaaaah.
This past week, when bleary-eyed gamers finally let drop their game controllers from their sweaty paws, they had probably already thrown their significant other a bone: "hey, though I'm gonna play GTA IV for 26 hours straight, let's take a break for a movie together. Some quality "us" time." And guess what film they probably took them too?
Iron Man and GTA IV - like chocolate and peanut butter.
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