Ian Livingstone, one of the most prominent names in the game industry, was recently appointed as Life President of Eidos after the Square Enix takeover. He was awarded an Order of the British Empire for his “Services to the Computer Games Industry” and is working to make gaming more integrated into society as a form of entertainment.
Ian Livingstone (IL) was in Mumbai for the Golden Cursor Animation Awards, and GameGuru.in (GG) had the chance to sit down and have a few words with him. We talked Hitman, Kane & Lynch, and of course Tomb Raider. Here’s the interview:
GG: Can you tell us a bit about the fifth Hitman title. We hear it is in development?
IL: Of course it’s being worked on, but there’s no announcement of the release date yet. We haven’t even announced the game yet. So everything you read about Hitman 5 is purely speculation at this point.
GG: What about the Hitman franchise? Will it keep going for many years? Can it rival the likes of Tomb Raider?
IL: Well, I think different consumers play Tomb Raider. There are different markets. And clearly they are our two most important franchises, so they will of course go forward.
GG: The Kane & Lynch 2 game is in development, but what about the Kane & Lynch movie?
IL: You’ve heard rumors about that, have you? Hell you guys know everything, don’t you? Yes, hopefully there will be a Kane & Lynch movie. They haven’t started production yet, but it’s getting close.
GG: What about the cast? There are talks of Bruce Willis being involved…
IL: Yes, we understand Bruce Willis would be playing… yes. I can’t really talk too much about it. Yeah we’re very excited I general that Hollywood sees the value in the characters that we created. Hollywood originally created their own characters. Then they looked to books to find stories and characters. Then they looked to comics for stories and characters. And now they are looking to games more and more because they see the value and the rise of the popularity of gaming characters. So, it’s great that we’ve had Tomb Raider movies, we’ve had a Hitman movie, there’s going to be a possibility of another Tomb Raider movie. We’re talking about a Kane & Lynch movie. We’re talking also to another company about animation of Mini Ninjas, which is perhaps a television series. All these negotiations are constant. And again it proves the value of how much games have risen within societies as a credible entertainment medium, creating very valuable intellectual property.
GG: Any exclusive Lara Croft games for the Nintendo Wii?
IL: Nothing that we’ve announced, no. But one thing we have to for all our franchises is to look at making experiences applicable to the platform. We can’t just port a game over, across all platforms and hope they are going to be successful. The experience you expect on a PlayStation 3 or on an Xbox 360 is different to what you’d expect on a Wii or a DS. Obviously graphic-intense machines like the 360 and PS3 are looking for a very story-driven, interactive, cinematic, graphic intense experience. Whereas on a Wii you looking more for an experience through the motion controller and the gameplay. So graphics are not so important. On the DS, you’re looking around the functionality of the stylus and for an experience that uses that functionality. So you can’t just port these things across. So we will be looking at specific platforms and specific properties. But we haven’t announced anything yet.
GG: Do you have any plans for educational games?
IL: Eidos has no plans to get into education, no. We’re not an educational company. But wearing a separate hat, I’m also Chair of the Computer Games Skill Council for Skillset, and my role there is to engage with universities and make sure that they are pulling out courses that ensure that the graduates come out with the skill that the industry needs. There are too many generalist courses in the UK, whereby it’s effectively media studies or learning about the history of games or design in games, but not about programming and art and animation. So we’re trying to focus the content of these courses to give graduates that the industry needs. Otherwise these people coming out of University won’t be able to get jobs. They’ll have to be re-trained. Which is ridiculous, because if you think about it, in other industries whether it is medicine or architecture, you get a degree and you can start work tomorrow. These guys coming out of these universities cannot start work tomorrow because they can’t program.
GG: Where do you think the video game industry is heading now? Where does the future of the video game industry lie?
IL: Well, video games… games in general is growing. It is the fastest growing entertainment industry. If you look at the economics of it, game revenues have already surpassed box office receipts of movies; its surpassed music purchased in the stores. It’s a mass market entertainment industry. In the UK, research shows that 64% of people now play games in one form or another. Obviously its not only the console games, it’s women playing puzzle games online, MMOs, mobile games, brain training games, Guitar Hero. There’s something for everybody there now. And games have become as important as music and film, socially, economically, and culturally. And I think games are going to grow in importance; and it’s certainly going to grow economically and the future’s very bright.
GG: What piece of advice would you give to Indian entrepreneurs?
IL: Well, I started off with Games Workshop launching Dungeons & Dragons. Now Dungeons & Dragons was not Games Workshop owned. It was a game established by TSR Hobbies in the United States, and Games Workshop had a three year distribution agreement for Dungeons & Dragons. At the end of that distribution agreement, we either renew it or we lose it. So what I realized was that real value can only be built into a company if you own your own intellectual property. Otherwise you are at the mercy of the whole world. If you don’t own it, you are vulnerable. So we decided very early on, to create our own intellectual property to replace Dungeons & Dragons, when inevitably one day we would lose it. So that’s why we started White Dwarf magazine, our own magazine, to promote our own products. And most importantly, we started Warhammer, as a role playing system and a table-top system to replace Dungeons & Dragons. And then when you own your own content you can determine your own destiny.
So that’s what I’ve carried on with Eidos, creating our own intellectual property. Because that gives you power, strength, and value, not only to make money from that directly through publishing, but also leveraging that IP through merchandising and licensing; whether its films or products, to get incremental revenues, but also widen the values of that franchise. So I’d always recommend to anybody, if they can, as soon as possible, that they should do their own thing, and not just create their IP but to hang onto it. Because that’s where the value would come, if it’s any good. So many companies become work for hire and it’s OK for a job for a bit, but it has no value in that, because they could lose that job tomorrow. If they own their own thing, then they could determine their own future.
GG: Finally, which your favorite video game?
IL: Well, I think that’s impossible to say because it’s like, ‘What’s your favorite meal? What’s your favorite city?’ You like these things for different reasons. I’ve always been a great Championship Manager fan because I support Manchester City. And playing Championship Manager I have this fancy that they are actually going to win something for once. They never do, but you know, you enjoy trying that. So, from a cerebral point of view, I like that challenge. I have a history of playing role playing games as well, so I enjoy Peter Molyneux’s Fable. Fable II, I think was great for an RPG. If I’m traveling then I’ll play something like Professor Layton on my DS. So, I think it’s where you are and how you feel, [that determines what] becomes your favorite game. I love playing Guitar Hero with my kids. So you can’t say which is your favorite. I enjoy all these games for different reasons.