Getting in the Game

“There has been a decline in the theatrical DVD market … Now [people] are looking for something else to do with their DVD player.” — Mitch Powers, Cannery Games

DVD interactive games were an idea a decade in the making. It began with David Long recording horror movie clips for a round of “Who Can Guess First?” at an annual Halloween party in 1992. It was such a hit, Long began developing a game, but soon realized his ideas and VHS technology wouldn’t merge. In 2000 he got his first DVD player and realized technology had caught up. Long created a company, Screenlife LLC, which released Scene It? in October 2002.

Success encourages imitation and three years later there are more than 60 DVD games vying for attention. Mitch Powers, vice president of Cannery Games, believes that the public is ready for them.

“There has been a decline in the theatrical DVD market,” Powers told TDmonthly Magazine. “Now [people] are looking for something else to do with their DVD player.”

There are two main types of DVD games: a contest pitting competitors against each other, or an adventure where players becomepart of the storyline. Compared to traditional board games, DVD games are faster paced and more social. “Everyone sees the clips at the same time, and wants to shout out the answer,” said David Long, co-founder and CEO of Screenlife. “We capitalize on the game show feel.”

Games such as Screenlife’s Scene It? and Hasbro’s Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture and Shout About Music are made up of question-and-answer activities that lend themselves to a variety of versions. The familiarity of following a similar format works for these companies; they can have “something for everyone” where “word of mouth spurs sales” according to Long. A couple that plays Scene It? Music at a dinner party may decide to buy Scene It? Harry Potter Edition for the kids or Scene It? Turner Classic Movies Edition for their parents.

Brian Johnson, president of B1 Games, also relies on his customers gravitating toward the familiar. He bases his games around familiar properties, such as the TV shows “24,” “The Amazing Race” and “American Chopper” and the comic book/film series “X-Men.” All will be released as DVD interactive games in the first quarter of 2006 with Pressman Toy, their distribution partner.

“We like to say we build an amazing game around the property … our game is not about an existing engine,” explained Johnson. “A true interactive experience is about game play, not trivia. For example, with "24" it isn’t about season one or season two; it’s about you stopping a terrorist threat.”

These kinds of games have a built-in audience. “The core audience of the property becomes the core market for the interactive DVD,” said Andrew Steiner, head of licensing and marketing for B1 Games. “However, the games will transcend the show's core audience and will appeal to a much wider market."

Although many games are based around an entertainment property, some appeal to other niches, such as b Equal’s The Bible DVD Game. Other games, such as The Madagascar DVD Game and Who Rules?, have reached an on-the-go audience because they don’t require a game board.

Long predicted that “increasing numbers of old standards will be adding a DVD element.” Several companies developed bingo games, and Hasbro released the classic Candy Land as a DVD interactive.

The social interaction encouraged by DVD games is also propelling their popularity. “Kids always seemed to be in the other room,” said Johnson. “This brings families back together.

But how are the products selling at the retail level? Jean Bitting, assistant manager of K B Toys at the Schuylkill Mall in Frackville, Pa., feels the DVD games are about as popular with consumers as last holiday season. "Of course last year was the first year they came out and everyone wanted one, but now they are coming down in price."

Bitting's store carries several different brands of DVD games but the original remains the most popular, perhaps because of TV advertising. "The ones people come into the store asking for are Scene It? and Scene It? Disney."

But once they get used to the DVD playing style, who's to say they won't crave more DVD game varieties? There are certainly enough out there for them to choose from.

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