Sega is hoping that there are a lot of gamers out there who want to see their retro IPs turned into movies. The company is now looking to develop its classic video game franchises, including "Shinobi," "Golden Axe," "Altered Beast," "Virtua Fighter" and "Crazy Taxi," into feature films, television shows, and digital series, they announced through its production arm, Stories International.
Stories International is a joint venture between Sega and Japanese advertising agency Hakuhodo DY Group. The subsidiary controls 40 Sega intellectual properties, including the aforementioned game franchises, as well as "Streets of Rage" and "Rise of Nightmares."
The group tapped Evan Cholfin, formerly of Break Media, as head of development and production for the company's film, television, and digital division. At Stories, Cholfin will concentrate on adapting Sega's video game properties into live action and animated movies, TV series, and other digital entertainment.
Stories said it is "looking to partner with the major studios, A-list producers, and filmmakers to adapt these properties."
Sega's most well-known property, "Sonic the Hedgehog," is currently being used in the animated series, "Sonic Boom." The company's "The House of the Dead" franchise was previously (and terribly, I might add) adapted for an Uwe Boll-directed feature in 2003.
Other game publishers have toiled for years to adapt their video game properties into feature films, including Ubisoft's "Assassin's Creed" and "Splinter Cell;" Sony Computer Entertainment's "Uncharted" and "Shadow of the Colossus;" Konami's "Metal Gear Solid;" and EA's "Mass Effect" and "Dead Space."
While I have much love for many of these old-school franchises, I just don't see there being much interest in these IPs in today's almost oversaturated market. Cholfin and Sega have their work cut out for them if any of these properties are to see the light of day on large or small screen.