Hollywood is hoping to capitalize on the mega-success of games. Halo 2 generated $125 million in sales on its first day of availability compared to $40.4 million in opening day box office receipts for Spider-Man 2.

Hardcore videogamers tend to be tough critics of entertainment tied to their favorite game characters, and some videogame-based films of the past have been perceived by fans as simply advertisements for the games rather than well-crafted, stand-alone entertainment. On the other hand, the fact that films and videogames have different strengths and points of view means they can complement each other, if done right, compounding fans’ interest in the property.

“You have to stay true to the franchise and speak to the fans first,” says Brennan, who adds that there’s a fine balance between not alienating the fans and still appealing to a mass market. “You can include little scenes for fans that the average viewer wouldn’t get,” he suggests, such as revealing a secret from the game or including an obscure character that would strike a chord with gamers.

Charla and Mika of Backbone Entertainment recommend working with experts in each medium and letting them do their own thing. With Death, Jr., “We wanted the videogame and the comic each to be their own and the best they could be,” Charla says. One indication of how different the two media are: Charla says the first three-comic series based on Death, Jr. totals 128 pages, but he estimates that all the content translates to about four minutes of full-motion video in the game. Conversely, all the action in the game translates to roughly one page worth of panels in the comicbook.

Over the last 10 years, Backbone has developed more than 200 titles and is best known for creating games tied to well-known franchises such as Disney characters. “The better games we made were when we had freedom,” says Mika. “The license holders were much happier when they gave us that freedom.”

That lesson translated to Backbone’s efforts to extend Death, Jr. As Charla says, “We wanted to give [our partners] the freedom to do what they do.”

Karen Raugust is a Minneapolis-based freelance business writer specializing in animation, publishing, licensing and art. She is the author of The Licensing Business Handbook (EPM Communications).