Morphing Video Games into Movies

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Meanwhile, he's greenlighting movies, books, and collectibles to help build buzz for Dead Space and 15 other new games in the months ahead. One of the most closely watched projects is Spore, a new title from Will Wright, creator of the megapopular Sims world-building franchise. Wright's game, due out later this year, will let players guide evolution in their own worlds, moving from amoeba-like beings to sophisticated creatures that go on to colonize other planets.

The idea is to repeat the success of companies such as Marvel Entertainment (MVL) and Hasbro (HAS), which used their base of fans to transform from marginal companies into Hollywood players. After licensing Spider-Man to Sony Pictures for a string of hit movies, Marvel has created its own studio, with Iron Man and other films set for release this summer. The Hasbro-backed Transformers movie grossed more than $400 million in 2007 global box-office sales, which in turn boosted company sales of movie-related toys and games.

The Dead Space team, led by Schofield, is pioneering the IP-cubed strategy. The group spends much of its time these days in a 20-by-10-foot room, filled with Dead Space posters and game consoles, on the fourth floor of a building on EA's Redwood City campus. One recent March day, the team is attempting to polish things up for the game's Halloween launch, but technology glitches keep interfering. Producers Rich Briggs and Chuck Beaver try to cue up a scene to show off an "awesome monster" only to see the game crash time and again.

UNFOLDING LIKE A FILM

As the two kneel over the console, Schofield talks about how EA's early collaboration with comic book writers and artists and movie creators helped improve the game's story. "The brainstorming sessions have given everyone great ideas and made us think about things we wouldn't have even considered, like 'what does that [boulder] weigh?'" he says.

He stops as the screen comes to life. Turns out Briggs had tried to boot up an older version of the game. In short order, the hero, Clarkson, is creeping along the ship's bridge, his shadow falling on the gleaming deck. Without warning, an army of monsters attacks. After a nail-biting few minutes of battle, the new megamonster shows up before the screen fades to black.

Dead Space is clearly not for the faint of heart. There's gore and violence. One weapon, called the Ripper, is used like a flying chainsaw to cut off the limbs of attacking beasts. Yet the game does lend itself to other media. The story unfolds much like a movie, and it eliminates the common industry practice of interspersing video explanations and tips at the end of each level. Instead, users must try to figure out what happened on the ship by uncovering clues and piecing together bits of information.

Comic books and videos will help fill in the necessary background. The six-issue comic book series will be a "prequel" that tells readers about the six weeks that precede the video game's beginning. EA commissioned a couple of rising stars in the world of independent comics to create the series—writer Antony Johnston and artist Ben Templesmith. This summer EA will begin offering free Dead Space videos, or "Webisodes," that can be uploaded to YouTube and other Web pages. And shortly before the game launches, Starz Media subsidiary Film Roman will premiere an 85-minute animated horror feature on cable and direct-to-DVD markets. "We're being empowered to build a business instead of just building a game," Schofield says.

Film Roman President Scott Greenberg says developing the movie hand-in-hand with EA elevates both the game and the film. "The game is evolving as our movie is evolving," says Greenberg. "To me, this is the future."

Clearly, Riccitiello hopes to be in the vanguard. One sign of his ambition is the lobby of EA's headquarters. There, a giant screen hangs from the ceiling, showing clips of the company's hit games. It's not hard to imagine that, one day soon, the screen will feature trailers for the movie version of Dead Space starring, say, Will Smith or Vin Diesel. "We're pretty excited about the opportunity," says Riccitiello, "but it's early days."

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Edwards is a correspondent in BusinessWeek's Silicon Valley bureau. Matt Vella is a writer for BusinessWeek.com in New York.