Brash Entertainment closes down

Despite a reported $400 million in pledged financing and some industry veterans at the helm, Brash Entertainment is no more.

Brash closed down on Friday (November 14, 2008) just 18 months after it promised sweeping changes in the way movie-based games are done. The company’s strategy hinged heavily on converting TV and movie licenses into games. GameStop’s recent Christmas shopping hint book [Gamestop] features Brash’s The Tale of Despereaux, based on an upcoming children’s film.

Games based on popular films often make a lot of money whether they’re any good or not. Looking at some of the games Brash brought to market shows they might have chosen wrong on licenses:

• Jumper:Griffin’s Story told the story of a relatively minor character in an underwhelming sci-fi flick.
• Space Chimps was based on an animated film that didn’t connect with audiences.
• Brash’s true license heavyweights, a game based on the gory Saw film series and one about hit FOX series Prison Break, weren’t slated to release until 2009.

After Brash’s earliest games failed, investors got nervous. Games take at least twice as long to make as movies, putting licensed games on a somewhat unfair development clock. That is the one of the reasons most film-to-game translations don’t do well. Brash was unable to break that cycle of mediocrity despite leadership including Larry Shapiro, former head of Creative Artists Agency’s video game department.

The development came as no surprise to industry insiders since Brash staffers began leaving the company Spring 2008. Variety reports the remaining skeleton crew will attempt to sell any potentially profitable licenses the company acquired.

Read [Los Angeles Times] Also Read [Neon Cube] Also Read [Variety]