Broadcaster's commercial division Worldwide wants to turn key IPs into DS, Wii, iPhone and online games, MCV can reveal
After spending years sat on the fence, the BBC is returning to games in a big way, MCV can exclusively reveal.
Via its commercial arm BBC Worldwide, the broadcaster is courting both publishers and developers to turn Doctor Who, Top Gear, In The Night Garden and many, many more into games for all audiences.
No stone will go unturned: the BBC wants to see its brands on iPhone and Facebook as much as it wants to see them on DS and Wii.
“We are open to conversations with anybody in games about all kinds of business models to see how we can extract more value,” said Neil Ross Russell, MD of children’s and licensing.
“Outside of Disney we have the most well-known line-up of children’s characters around the world.”
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It’s a big about-turn for the broadcaster. The BBC closed its Multimedia division in 2005 after sales crashed in its boxed product business, subsequently aborting an attempt to get a PS2 game of spy thriller Spooks
off the ground.
“We’ve been reactive to the market in the last few years,” explained Dave Anderson, head of multimedia development at BBC Worldwide.
“There were a few opportunistic licensing deals, but we were largely aggregating and holding on to our properties to wait and see how the market developed.”
The new effort will push key kids’ IPs towards games for DS and Wii, while more long-running brands find their feet on all sorts of platforms.
But the move goes beyond just licensing out properties.
Said Ross Russell: “What we’re trying to do is build the brands here – this is not about opportunistic licensing. If we wanted to do that we would have done more with these key brands over the last few years.”
As part of the move, BBC Worldwide has hired former EA and Yahoo exec Robert Nashak as EVP of digital entertainment. More details on his appointment will follow tomorrow.
MCV will reveal more on BBC's new strategy to fund new titles based on its properties and work closer with games publishers and developers next week.
Comments
BBC Back!
Am I the only one to remember the 1980's BBC / Acornsoft Dr. Who game - their last major (failed) effort?
I was at the press launch!!
Scary
I remember the Doctor Who "Destiny of The Doctors" game based on the Quake engine they tried to put out around '97 (I was working there at the time); my God, the worst piece of crap I've ever seen. Hope they do better this time.
BBC
They've actually got a bit of a bad track record, which they do concede and are honest about (full quotes in the lengthy interview next week). Remember FightBox? Or the Spooks game for PS2? Exactly.
But Dave and Neil are very switched on, which should mean their new plan is a winner - there is some very special ideas in the works, and the set of IPs they can have access for is quite the treasure trove.
3, 2, 1, ACTIVATE!
And don't forget the Robot Wars game which, inexplicably, was one of the first games I bought for PS2. It wasn't as good as I might have hoped.
BBC gets back into games
Well at least that's improved the possibility of a Chucklevision game then.
BBC Back!
Well with such classics as FightBox and Ace Lightning under their belts, I'm looking forward to this venture!!!
But the BBC Haven't had the greatest of experiences in the industry, remember the scandal of a lot of their Spectrum games being sprite swaps (they stole the actual same code) of well known other titles? Though in all fairness that was them relying too much on a certain Harry S. Price.
DW Wii game?!?
If so, I hope it's available and usable here in the USA.
Where would you pitch?
I think I have some good ideas for interactive TV, mobile and home pc stuff. Who do you think you would approach to try and put across a vision?
i want top gear
I want to race helicopters versus bmw or whatever nonsense... would be awesome!
RE: i want top gear
Yeah there are a few good top gear things you could do like ghost racing against the celebrity lap times round the top gear track, smart car football, tons of lads minigames from what they get up to. That license would be a goldmine to get.
Here's hoping!
I'm hoping that the Doctor Who game will be well made, with great models and an engaging story line for children and adults alike. Or at least adults, I admit I don't care too much if it's suitable for little kids, I'd like something that I'll enjoy playing.
OH MY GOODNESS, imagine how much fun it would be to have some of the Classic Doctors in there too? Might be a way to get people who enjoy Nine, Ten, and probably Eleven interested in the older Doctors.
(I'd love to see some stuff with Two and... Yetis. And Jamie! And Zoe!!)
Doctor Who Game
They need to be very very careful with the Doctor Who franchise. They cant just release a bonehead shoot em up and slap the logo on the front, because that's just not what the show is about.
The best genres to try to use this license with would be episodic point-and-clicks (like Telltale's Sam and Max games) or an RPG. I sure wouldnt mind creating my OWN Doctor, customising the interior of my own Tardis, and having my OWN adventures.
They dropped the ball once with that frankly atrocious Top Trumps game - lets hope they learnt from their mistakes.
Oh, and I totally agree with featuring some classic Doctors. Many of the actors still do audio work with Big Finish, so it wouldnt exactly be hard to get them on board.
double standards
Is it me or is it odd that media companies that love a good news story like 'games responsible for mass killing' are now turning to gaming.. It seems they don't mind making a quick bit of cash whilst it suits them whilst turning the knife if it makes a good story...
well at least we are all clear on their views on gaming in society now...
What about a Doctor Who Online Video Game with everyone in the w
I've got a idea for the best online video game ever. Doctor Who. Anyone interrested in my idea I have? I have the whole game planed out. Tired of World of Warcraft and shooter games? Tired of the same ol same ol ? My game is different. Think about it everyone Time Lords going everywhere in time and space with alot more to do. An how my plan works for the game links everyone in the world with thier plan to be how they are and want to be.
TopGear game
an (official) TopGear game is a brilliant idea — but why no PS3/360 versions?!?
the best parts of the show for this format are obviously:
- the races between the three hosts, driving different vehicles across country;
- followed by battling it out between a German 4x4s (Touerag/Cayenne/similar) against fully armed military chopper;
- or Italian sports cars against British tanks;
- then there's the affordably priced pram soccer match;
- not forgetting the caravan/london bus smashups.
you couldn't pretend to put a real simulator in a game like this, (consider the fact GT5 is years behind schedule, plays like rubbish, and cost a mint to make). however, they could throw in an extras segment on the PS3 bluray version with an archive of reviews of all the cars from the show, then mix that into a Buzz-type trivia game.
all in all I'm excited to see what they come up with.
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MCV is the leading trade news and community site for all professionals working within the UK and international video games market. It reaches everyone from store manager to CEO, covering the entire industry. MCV is published by Intent Media, which specialises in entertainment, leisure and technology markets