Support NeoGAF

[Hemingwayoffbase]

Men In Black has always been one of my favorite properties. None of the sequels ever came close to the first one, but the animated series that ran in the early 00’s was dope as hell.

There have been several games, including a semi-survival horror game (iirc) on PS2.

My question is this - since Men In Black is a Sony property, why aren’t they putting out a serious AAA in the MIB universe? It could be a great Uncharted-esque third person adventure, or it could be their missing AAA FPS property now that Sony hasn’t put out a good shooter since their ps3 days.

TLDR: gimme more MIB, Sony!

 

[The Pleasure]

Because Will Smith told people to keep this game out their fucking mouth.

 

[Three]

I remember there being a rumour that some first party studio was doing a MIB game but I don't remember which.

 

[KiteGr]

Because half the development budget will go to the license it seems.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

I'm with you OP. First movie was solid but the IP is awesome. I'm hoping that Sony Bend MiB rumor turns out to be true.

 

[Nankatsu]

Because of the title, wouldn't go well for today's times.

 

[Kenneth Haight]

there was….. 25 years ago. I played it.

Men in Black: The Game - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

The IP is dead now that Will Smith made a total twat out of himself for defending his wife that hates him.

 

[midnightAI]

 

[TGO]

there was….. 25 years ago. I played it.

Men in Black: The Game - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

The IP is dead now that Will Smith made a total twat out of himself for defending his wife that hates him.

That was the Resident Evil type one.
I had that, it was alright.

 

[nial]

I remember there being a rumour that some first party studio was doing a MIB game but I don't remember which.

SIE Bend Studio, it was fake.

 

[Beer Baelly]

 

[StueyDuck]

The general concept would be awesome... MiB as a franchise... meh

They beat it into the ground.

Something like that original Xcom FPS demo though or something with a X-Files taste where it's a bit more horror and a bit more detective work would be amazing. Very hard to do well though

 

[March Climber]

I remember there being a rumour that some first party studio was doing a MIB game but I don't remember which.

SIE Bend Studio, it was fake.

A part of me wonders if it was actually in talks but once MiB: International bombed in 2019 they just scrapped everything.

 

[Kenneth Haight]

That was the Resident Evil type one.
I had that, it was alright.

It was actually pretty decent for the time. Pre rendered backgrounds that looked quite good for the hardware back then. I don’t think I ever got further than the arctic level.

 

[brian0057]

It's a story about an American government agency dealing with both legal and illegal immigration comprised of undocumented aliens.
I'm not sure how you could sell that to a studio in this god forsaken epoch.

 

[March Climber]

It's a story about an American World government agency dealing with both legal and illegal immigration comprised of undocumented aliens.
I'm not sure how you could sell that to a studio in this god forsaken epoch.

Fixed. They hinted towards it being a world organization in the original trilogy and then made a movie in 2019 about the European teams.

 

[Yoboman]

Cause nobody gives a shit about Men in Black and the only thing that made it a minor hit to begin with was they filmed it in Will Smith's golden era.

Which was 25 years ago

 

[TGO]

Yeah without Will Smith it's......well look at this shit.
And Will is a shadow of his former self.

 

[hyperbertha]

A movie game? Seriously? Why would anyone spend time or resources on one? It's not even a popular ip...

 

[Pejo]

Good point, OP, but I wouldn't even put MiB in the top 100 licensed IPs that don't have good games.

That said, I would play the hell out of it if one was ever released, even now. Look how long it took Ghostbusters to get an actual decent game, so who knows what the future holds.

 

[SCB3]

That was the Resident Evil type one.
I had that, it was alright.

The fuck it was, it was awful, every screen was a beginners trap, there was platforming sections that you had no idea if you were gonna make it, the tutorial for the game was in the SECOND level and the timers, the timer, the fucking timers!

The locations were pretty cool though, and it served a decent story based on the comics I think

Actually watched a video essay by a small time youtuber the other day actually on this game:



He says it better than me, that first level was a hell that took me weeks as a kid to beat

 

[AV]

Because good games based on existing IP are like rocking horse shit and nobody's cared about Men In Black since 1997

 

[brian0057]

Fixed. They hinted towards it being a world organization in the original trilogy and then made a movie in 2019 about the European teams.

I refuse to consider anything that isn't the original comics, the first movie, and the animated show as canon.

 

[justiceiro]

Sony can barely make movies that are good, why would they invest on games?

 

[ByWatterson]

There's not a great Men In Black anything.

 

[Camreezie]

It would be good if they made it like a ratchet and clank type of game

 

[old-parts]

The last good MIB movie was 12 years ago!

The universe is a good one for making certain types of games out of but Sony or whoever is in charge just isn't interested.

Plus making games from movies is increasingly less common, you've seen the debacle with Marvel/Star wars and all the money poured into those, somebody with heart can pull it off like the recent Robocop game but its not an easy thing to do any more.

 

[lh032]

men in black is not that popular tbh.

 

[Krappadizzle]

There's not a great Men In Black anything.

Do you know how many 5th graders got to have a groovy ass jam to rock to for the big school dance?

 

[SmokedMeat]

Because the movies sucked too.

 

[Unknown?]

Because good games based on existing IP are like rocking horse shit and nobody's cared about Men In Black since 1997

I was just thinking, why doesn't Rock star get the rights to the far more popular Bonanza franchise instead of Red Dead which no one has heard of.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

men in black is not that popular tbh.

This. Men in Black 3 actually made quite a bit of money, but they decided like with Independence Day 2, that they could have blockbuster success without Will Smith.

You take 3 movies

Independence Day Resurgence - 389 million on 165 million dollar budget
Men in Black International - 254 million on 94-110 million dollar budget
Bad Boys For Life - 426 million on 90 million dollars budget

Which of these 3 movies included Will Smith and which of them has a sequel in the works?

MIB International took a bet on Chris Hemsworth over Will Smith and it blew up in their faces. I think maybe Will Smith and Chris Hemsworth might have been a success or Chris Pratt. There could have been some level of handoff to sustain the franchise.

I think the property has SOME value, but it's not a lot.

 

[ByWatterson]

Do you know how many 5th graders got to have a groovy ass jam to rock to for the big school dance?

Oh I was there. And on behalf of all elder millennials, I apologize.

 

[CamHostage]

My question is this - since Men In Black is a Sony property, why aren’t they putting out a serious AAA in the MIB universe?

Sony's PlayStation division never really engaged in that vertical- integration strategy, for better or worse. SCE/SIE never made a Ghostbusters game (arguably Sony's most lucrative cross- market franchise, ) they didn't make Bond movies when Columbia had those distro rights, they didn't make the Jumanji or Zombieland games, not the Bad Boys game, none of the Hotel Transylvania or Surfs Up or Cloudy Meatballs games... never made a Paul Blart Mall Cop game.

I think the PlayStation people always wanted to stand in their own feet. They've made licensed games, but they've been Disney and ESPN and 24 and other stuff outside the Sony walls.

Spider-Man was kind of a fluke that didn't come until a generation after the console they used the Spider-Man font to name the console. (And even then, it supposedly has nothing to do with the movies that scored PlayStation the Spidey rights.

Recently, it has gone the other way, where PlayStation Studios distributes most of its shows/movies through Sony Pictures. (But not all, i think? The movies have all had Columbia participation the TV i believe is not all internal.) And in the meantime, Sony Pictures itself has its own game division, mostly for mobile games but Sony Pictures is doing the new Ghostbusters VR game for Quest and PSVR2.

SONY PICTURES PRESENTS: GAMES | Sony Pictures Entertainment

www.sonypictures.com

 

[mitch1971]

I bet he wishes he could do that in real life.

 

[Gambit2483]

Because KidsWB died with the 90s...

 

[Editaur]

Maybe Sony should of handed Bend's MiB project over to Teyon.

 

[Dane]

Maybe nobody thinks its that much of a popular cult classic like Rambo, Terminator and Robocop which Teyon got, or maybe Sony Pictures is far more restrictive.

 

[IAmRei]

It was actually pretty decent for the time. Pre rendered backgrounds that looked quite good for the hardware back then. I don’t think I ever got further than the arctic level.

i forgot this existed, looks cool imo, fixed camera often my things. thanks for reminding!

 

[CamHostage]

By the way, "Sony" did make a MiB game not too long ago...

 

[Codes 208]

Yeah without Will Smith it's......well look at this shit.
And Will is a shadow of his former self.

Well its not like they couldnt bring his character back and voiced/modeled after someone else.

I vaguely remember the animated series being decent as a kid (but that may because im biased since it was made by the same team that made godzilla the series)

 

[CamHostage]

I remember there being a rumour that some first party studio was doing a MIB game but I don't remember which.

That was Bend Studio (as has been answered a few times, ) makers of Days Gone and Syphon Filter.

...I was rather worried when I heard that rumor going around. I think MiB reinvented for games by Bend could actually be an awesome game and a nice change of pace for the company and tech team (they did make the Vita Uncharted after the military Syphons and the gritty PSP Resistance, but they could have used a "fun" project to brighten up following up on Days Gone and all the studio went through in the meantime), but I was worried what it meant for the team's future and outlook that they might get booked out for a licensed game of an old brand as a favor for the parent company. Seemed like it could have been a bad career turn.

So far as we know, that didn't happen.

 

[mrmustard]

It's too old and not very popular. Spiderman sells more copies on PS just for the name than MIB game on all platforms with marketing.

 

[Robb]

As with most franchises; give it to a great dev who cares about the material and give them the time and budget they need. Then you’ll most likely get a great installment.

I guess that’s yet to happen.

 

[Moses85]

Because Goldeneye is still the King in the Ring

 

[RavageX]

Yeah without Will Smith it's......well look at this shit.
And Will is a shadow of his former self.

You can look at this and tell it isnt worth a damn.

You just KNOW.

 

[RavageX]

Well its not like they couldnt bring his character back and voiced/modeled after someone else.

I vaguely remember the animated series being decent as a kid (but that may because im biased since it was made by the same team that made godzilla the series)

The main thing i remember about the animated series was the intro. Really well done and fit the overall vibe of the source material.

 

[poodaddy]

Deus Ex kind of handles some of what Men in Black handled with the difference that it doesn't focus on aliens, but it does focus on massive conspiracies and shell governments and the officials running things behind the scenes. Plus, it has the benefit of actually being a great IP, which is something that can't be said about MiB.

 

[Darko]

There was only one good movie bro