If video games can outsell Hollywood's biggest blockbusters, what could be the best way to ensure a movie's success? An accompanying video game, of course.
"Ghostbusters," however, isn't just another movie and neither is the game. It's a franchise with a long history and a supportive fanbase behind it. Its success isn't hinged on whether it will be one or not, but rather of how much it will be a success.
The new movie, directed by Paul Feig, will mark the return of the Ghostbusters franchise to the big screen since the 80s. On the same hand, the new game will also mark the return of the franchise to major consoles since 2009's Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
Though the past game featured the voices of the original cast of the "Ghostbusters" movie – Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson – it's not too clear if the 2016 video game will also feature the brand new cast of the 2016 reboot that includes Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones.
Reports of a video game to be released side-by-side the upcoming film are based on an interview with Sony Global Consumer Products SVP Mark Caplan, who revealed that the video game will be launched for both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
The "Ghostbusters" reboot is slated to debut on July 15 and the video game around the same timeframe. In 2009, Ghostbusters: The Video Game was released by Atari and developed by studio Terminal Reality. This coming year, Activision is said to be behind the next game, and this wouldn't be their first video game tied in with a Hollywood release.
In the past, Activision has worked on a "Transformers" game when the movie franchise was still hot, and is also working on the upcoming "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" game, which is titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan.
The first video game was a hit in 2009 and it helped to renew interest in "Ghostbusters." Sony has been prepping since then and it's getting ready for a huge rollout for merchandising related to the film. Besides a video game, there's already an existing Ghostbuster line for Lego Dimensions, and more are coming as the debut date nears.
Photo : Gareth Simpson | Flickr
