Night At The Museum 2

The summer season is the time for cinematic blockbusters, and films targeted specifically towards children often lend themselves perfectly to the medium of video games.

Among the kids’ flicks coming out over the next few months, Night At The Museum 2 is going to be a particular highlight, as the star-studded cast and impressive legacy of the original film is certain to draw customers towards any related products.

Retailers would be well-advised, then, to stock Majesco’s Night At The Museum 2, the official game of the movie. Following the exploits of its silver screen counterpart, the game tells the tale of unfortunate museum guard Larry Daley as he is once again troubled by exhibits that come to life.

After his favourite exhibits are shipped to the archives at the Smithsonian, Larry is warned that various evil men from the past, such as Napoleon, Al Capone and Pharaoh Kahmunrah are plotting to take over the museum, and then the world. Larry recruits his old friends and a range of new characters to help restore the Smithsonian before dawn.

It’s an entertaining premise that should prove to satisfy fans both in the cinemas and on consoles, thanks largely to its big screen cast of Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Ricky Gervais and Steve Coogan. With such household names behind its source material, Majesco is understandably excited about this particular release.

“This is the video game of the sequel to the 50th biggest worldwide grossing movie of all time,” says Majesco’s marketing manager international John Merchant. “There wasn’t a video game out for the first movie so we naturally expect this one to explode in the charts.

“The game has really high production values and is rammed full of the excitement, magic and adventure of the movie – and it launches the same day as the film, so we can really capitalise on that huge opening awareness.”

BELONGS IN A MUSEUM
Players take on the role of Larry, portrayed in the film by Ben Stiller. Adding some star quality to the game, Stiller also lends his likeness and voice to Majesco’s adventure, ensuring fans get an authentic experience.

The object of the game is to explore the various areas of the museum in order to collect the pieces of the Magic Tablet of Ankmenrah. Not only will this prove to be the key to the villains’ undoing, it will also unlock additional levels and help to solve in-game puzzles.

If Larry gets stuck at any point, he has a number of options to help him progress. As a museum guard, he has access to his trusty key chain and flashlight, which will prove to be invaluable tools.

He can also call upon the exhibits for their help, from historical figures like Teddy Roosevelt and Amelia Earhart to dinosaurs and polar bears. There is even a hint system for younger games who are having trouble with the trickier mysteries of the museum.

Whilst drawing from the film for its content, Night At The Museum 2 takes its inspiration from the real-life Smithsonian, making the game an educational experience as well as an entertaining one. As they explore the museum, players will be able to access trivia questions, factoids and even in-game audio tours based on the Smithsonian’s exhibits.

MAKING AN EXHIBITION
Despite only being the second film in the series, Night At The Museum 2 already has a substantial level of hype building around it, promising to be one of the strongest family films this summer. Subsequently, retailers will be sure to want to cater for fans of the movie, with Majesco confident about the game’s potential sales performance.

“Hopefully retailers will be seeing a queue of people, all with the game in their hands,” says Merchant. “The DVD of the first movie has just gone back into the Top Ten in the DVD retail charts, proving the evergreen pulling power of this franchise. We’re working closely with all of retail to ensure they have everything they need to have maximum visibility, including all the normal run of POS.”

Naturally, promoting the game will be tied in with marketing plans for the associated movie.

Nevertheless, Merchant reveals that Majesco is pulling out all the stops to maximise exposure for Night At The Museum 2, dedicating an unprecedented amount of resources to this title.

“We’re committing Majesco Europe’s largest spend to date on a six-week 30-second cinema campaign in over 500 cinemas, as well as a four-week TV campaign targeting kids on channels such as Jetix, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon,” he says.

The publisher’s PR company has been working solidly with the kids, games and lifestyle press to secure plenty of exposure and the film’s other partners will also help to promote the game. Fox UK reportedly have some “jaw-dropping” plans of their own in place and Majesco has even teamed up with Gameloft, who is releasing the mobile phone game.

“Everybody wants to be a part of this juggernaut, says Merchant. “Fox’s PR campaign is about to kick into overdrive, so the franchise will be everywhere and anywhere by the time the game is released.”