If you were asked to name some of the most enduring and iconic media franchises of all time, Lord of the Rings is one that should instantly come to mind; Tolkien’s Middle-Earth series is not only a touchstone in high fantasy, but in all popular culture, and that’s something that should be better reflected in […]

Lord of the Rings needs to be ‘one of the biggest gaming franchises in the world,’ Embracer interim COO Matthew Karch said in a recent speech to investors that also dealt with restructuring the company itself.

  • Kupo_Knight@kbin.social
    8·
    2 years ago

    I’d disagree, it doesn’t need to be a gaming franchise at all. It didn’t need to be films either, as much as I enjoyed them, not everything has to be franchised out and milked for all it’s worth.

    Wouldn’t it be nice if we could admire works of art and appreciate them for what they are instead of having vultures circle above looking to extract the very marrow of what makes it special.

    • GrossGhost@kbin.social
      7·
      2 years ago

      Pretty sure this is why the Tolkien estate has historically been so tight fisted with the property. We all knew this would happen.

    • Norin_was_taken@kbin.social
      2·
      2 years ago

      I would dislike corporate LotR a lot less if the IP were in the public domain.

      As it is right now, corporate ownership of Tolkien’s work just puts a bad taste in my mouth because the people selling it really want you to believe that their product is a “real” addition to the work of someone dead for decades. Meanwhile everything else is fan fiction and illegitimate.

      When a story belongs to everyone though, then anyone can tell it however they please and choose to ignore or disregard the additions of other people.

    • LiveLaughLoveRevenge@kbin.social
      2·
      2 years ago

      I also recall an author (can’t remember the name) saying that Tolkien in fantasy was like mt Fuji in pictures of Japan. So iconic that it’s either in everything, or not having it be part of the picture seems intentional.

      My point is that there could be effort made to develop new IP, new stories - and that if the effort was to be made to put a great game behind those stories, then even better!

      LOTR just takes the air out of other fantasy IP, and there is always the risk that they just phone in the game dev bc they think being LOTR will be enough to sell it.