Star Wars, Star Trek, and Gaming

[Jhaelen]

Remind me - which game has a mechanic that has you turn into an NPC if you don't behave nicely? Hint: it isn't a Trek game

Hmm, perhaps D&D?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Star Trek, from 2009, the first in the "Kelvin timeline".

We should note, however, that Trek's not really intended as a movie franchise. It is designed first and foremost as a TV property. And if we want to compare incomes, we should probably talk about how much money the 550+ hours of TV Trek has pulled in over the years.

Agreed. I was just curious as to whether it was one of the older ones, in which case, you’d really have to account for inflationary effects.

 

[Umbran]

Agreed. I was just curious as to whether it was one of the older ones, in which case, you’d really have to account for inflationary effects.

You'd also have to account for the fact that opening weekend beign teh big thing is a fairly recent phenomenon. Back in the 70s and 80s, opening weekend was not seen as a major indicator.

 

[Umbran]

Hmm, perhaps D&D?

I was, of course, referring to turning to the Dark Side in Star Wars games. Talk about your restrictive rules - can't even force choke people! What's up with that?

 

[Eltab]

The fundamental conceit of Star Trek - what if the better angels of human nature were in the ascendant? - doesn't mesh well with "beat 'em up and steal their stuff".

I liked playing Star Fleet Battles way back when (until the rulebook got too thick to fit in a 5" ring binder), but the General War was what happened when everything broke down and went horribly wrong, not a natural outgrowth of the arc of history.

 

[Eltab]

Talk about your restrictive rules

And the guy who is the ultimate mastermind getting other people to do the hard work for him, is the Dark Lord of the Sith.

That's a crummy role model for us who want to, Octavian-like, shut down these destructive and dangerous Galactic Civil Wars.

 

[Erekose]

Certainly! I mean, in Trek, that stun setting comes in handy- the sci-fi equivalent of “winging” someone in a western or cop drama. SW doesn’t really have that.

Hmm ... I have a distinct memory of stormtroopers taking Leia down in Episode IV by setting their blasters to stun. Mind you, it never happens again in any other SW film!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Hmm ... I have a distinct memory of stormtroopers taking Leia down in Episode IV by setting their blasters to stun. Mind you, it never happens again in any other SW film!

Could be. Don’t remember.

 

[Jester David]

Agreed. I was just curious as to whether it was one of the older ones, in which case, you’d really have to account for inflationary effects.

I checked The Motion Picture and Wrath of Khan and adjusted for inflation, and the 2009 one was still the one with the biggest box office.
The 2009 made $450,415,047.40
ST:tMP made $283,877,783.98
ST:tWoK made $204,884,219.98
ST:tVH made $250,804,620.16
All adjusted for inflation.

In contrast, Solo is sitting at $179,993,024 after a single week. And Deadpool 2 is $502,989,378 after two weeks. Star Trek has never been a huge cinematic moneymaker.

Star Trek, from 2009, the first in the "Kelvin timeline".

We should note, however, that Trek's not really intended as a movie franchise. It is designed first and foremost as a TV property. And if we want to compare incomes, we should probably talk about how much money the 550+ hours of TV Trek has pulled in over the years.

I imagine that would be tied to advertising and syndication costs. But movies also get a fair amount from being aired on TV as well as media sales.
No idea what the numbers are.

But Star Wars is an exceptional phenomena. There's no shame in Star Trek being slightly less popular in terms of ticket sales, merchandise, and money.

 

[delericho]

Hmm ... I have a distinct memory of stormtroopers taking Leia down in Episode IV by setting their blasters to stun. Mind you, it never happens again in any other SW film!

Leia stuns Poe in "The Last Jedi".