Saw: The Game -- Coming this Fall from Konami
#1
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Saw: The Game -- Coming this Fall from Konami
http://weblogs.variety.com/the_cut_s...y=saw+the+game
"Saw," one of the highest profile games left orphaned when Brash Entertainment went out of business, has been picked up by Konami.
Sources close to the project have confirmed that Konami has made a deal with Lionsgate, to whom the rights reverted when Brash breached its contract, and developer Zombie Studios. The game will come out this fall along with the sixth "Saw" film (I almost wrote "Saw VI," but that series is getting so long in the tooth I'm wondering if they'll take a cue from the seventh "Star Trek" movie and just drop the numbers).
Konami is an obvious choice to pick up "Saw," since it has experience selling horror with a little franchise called "Silent Hill." But the game almost took a very intriguing twist: no publisher at all.
Or rather, no traditional publisher. Several sources told me that after it got the game rights back from Brash, Lionsgate strongly considered holding onto it and jumping into the videogame business by making "Saw" its first self-published game. Like every other movie studio (some of whom have gotten into videogames, the rest of whom are considering it), Lionsgate was tempted by potential profits in the fast growing videogame biz. But in the end, execs there apparently decided they couldn't properly model sales, or weren't sure they could market a videogame, and went the safer route of licensing it to a new publisher.
The "Saw" game hasn't been shown publicly, as far as I know. But the many Brash ex-employees I interviewed late last year uniformly said that it was looking really good, nothing like the three embarassments the defunct publisher released in its brief year-and-a-half of existence.
Apparently they've got Jigsaw himself, Tobin Bell, doing voice work and the game looks to be a bloody, violent M that's just as hard as the movies' R. I don't know much about gameplay, but I gather that it's based on the puzzles that Jigsaw likes to rig for his victims in the films. I do know it's for PC, PS3 and 360. Which is a bit of a shame, because while I understand that the typical Wii and DS owners aren't exactly the target market, I can't help but think of all the disturbingly awesome things you could do in a "Saw" game with a touch screen or a Wii-mote. (If it's a hit, maybe they'll use the "Dead Space" example and follow it up with a Wii version).
As is common with movie licenses these days, Konami's deal with Lionsgate is long term, meaning that if the first one's a hit, the games could become just as much of a never ending -- and never endingly profitable -- institution as the movies.
Reps for Lionsgate, Konami and Zombie all declined to comment or didn't respond to requests for comment.
(That's a teaser poster Brash made for the game above. Unsurprisingly, whoisjigsaw.com isn't working anymore.)
"Saw," one of the highest profile games left orphaned when Brash Entertainment went out of business, has been picked up by Konami.
Sources close to the project have confirmed that Konami has made a deal with Lionsgate, to whom the rights reverted when Brash breached its contract, and developer Zombie Studios. The game will come out this fall along with the sixth "Saw" film (I almost wrote "Saw VI," but that series is getting so long in the tooth I'm wondering if they'll take a cue from the seventh "Star Trek" movie and just drop the numbers).
Konami is an obvious choice to pick up "Saw," since it has experience selling horror with a little franchise called "Silent Hill." But the game almost took a very intriguing twist: no publisher at all.
Or rather, no traditional publisher. Several sources told me that after it got the game rights back from Brash, Lionsgate strongly considered holding onto it and jumping into the videogame business by making "Saw" its first self-published game. Like every other movie studio (some of whom have gotten into videogames, the rest of whom are considering it), Lionsgate was tempted by potential profits in the fast growing videogame biz. But in the end, execs there apparently decided they couldn't properly model sales, or weren't sure they could market a videogame, and went the safer route of licensing it to a new publisher.
The "Saw" game hasn't been shown publicly, as far as I know. But the many Brash ex-employees I interviewed late last year uniformly said that it was looking really good, nothing like the three embarassments the defunct publisher released in its brief year-and-a-half of existence.
Apparently they've got Jigsaw himself, Tobin Bell, doing voice work and the game looks to be a bloody, violent M that's just as hard as the movies' R. I don't know much about gameplay, but I gather that it's based on the puzzles that Jigsaw likes to rig for his victims in the films. I do know it's for PC, PS3 and 360. Which is a bit of a shame, because while I understand that the typical Wii and DS owners aren't exactly the target market, I can't help but think of all the disturbingly awesome things you could do in a "Saw" game with a touch screen or a Wii-mote. (If it's a hit, maybe they'll use the "Dead Space" example and follow it up with a Wii version).
As is common with movie licenses these days, Konami's deal with Lionsgate is long term, meaning that if the first one's a hit, the games could become just as much of a never ending -- and never endingly profitable -- institution as the movies.
Reps for Lionsgate, Konami and Zombie all declined to comment or didn't respond to requests for comment.
(That's a teaser poster Brash made for the game above. Unsurprisingly, whoisjigsaw.com isn't working anymore.)
#4
Re: Saw: The Game -- Coming this Fall from Konami
This game has potential to be good. One thing they should have is a make your own deathtrap puzzle and put it online and have other players try to find a way to escape.
#6
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Saw: The Game -- Coming this Fall from Konami
Lets not be too optimistic here. Based on the history of movie to video games and also on the fact that the Saw movies are pretty boring and slow, I'm going to guess that this is going to be a failure.
#7
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Saw: The Game -- Coming this Fall from Konami
I suspect it'll be in the discount bins by the time Saw VII comes out.
#8
DVD Talk Godfather
#9
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Saw: The Game -- Coming this Fall from Konami
I think a really good game could be made out of escaping the traps/puzzles. My concerns are that 1) the puzzle part will be dumbed down and 2) they will force in an action element throughout the game to 'fill' it, one that won't mesh with the concept.
Now if they can add a bit of a investigation feel to it, along the lines of the forensic/crime scene parts of the Condemned games, and pair that with the trap escaping fun, they might have something.
Now if they can add a bit of a investigation feel to it, along the lines of the forensic/crime scene parts of the Condemned games, and pair that with the trap escaping fun, they might have something.
Last edited by DRG; 02-09-09 at 09:15 AM.
#10
Moderator
Re: Saw: The Game -- Coming this Fall from Konami
I'm not sure that the traps in the films would translate well to a video game. Most of them are based around one of two things:
1. Maim yourself horribly or die
2. Kill somebody else or die
For a video game player, these are easy choices to make.
1. Maim yourself horribly or die
2. Kill somebody else or die
For a video game player, these are easy choices to make.
#12
Banned by request
Re: Saw: The Game -- Coming this Fall from Konami
I like the comment that ex-employees of the developer said the game looked really good, unlike everything else they ever made. Mark my words, this will not be good.
#14
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Saw: The Game -- Coming this Fall from Konami
I'm still waiting for Daniel Plainview Bowling (Wii).
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Re: Saw: The Game -- Coming this Fall from Konami
I don't see how a truly faithful Saw video game could work. Video games are censored far more than movies. Remember Manhunt 2's brutality being heavily censored, and Manhunt isn't even as brutal as the Saw movies.
#16
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Re: Saw: The Game -- Coming this Fall from Konami
You probably won't be ripping balls off with pliers.
#17
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Re: Saw: The Game -- Coming this Fall from Konami
If this came out for NES it would have been a side scrolling action game where you play Danny Glover's cop character from the first movie and pig men attack you and you shoot them while jumping over pits of needles. And the ending would have been a building with jigsaw in it exploding and your face with a thought bubble asking if he got away.
Last edited by kaze0; 02-11-09 at 05:45 PM.
#18
Banned by request
Re: Saw: The Game -- Coming this Fall from Konami
Or it would be a side scroller where you're outside and large birds keep attacking you. Then you go inside a building, where it becomes first person, and keep walking into dead ends until Jigsaw appears out of nowhere and kills you before you can do anything.
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Re: Saw: The Game -- Coming this Fall from Konami
Saw that this finally released at Best Buy today and was really tempted to pick it up. There are no official reviews out there but the user reviews coming in seem to really like this with a Silent Hill/Condemned vibe that works well within the Saw setting.
Anybody else pick it up or tempted?
Anybody else pick it up or tempted?