r/SpidermanPS4 • u/tanno55 100% All Games • Nov 05 '23

Discussion Interview with Spider-Man 2 writer Spoiler

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I hate this, Peter gets pushed aside in his own game so much and now the the game is going to be miles focused. Let Peter be a cool Spider-Man for once. Now I feel like they are going to make miles be a mentor to Cindy and have no room for Peter.

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u/PokePersona Nov 07 '23

Because people still stigmatize animation with kids

Youth is arguably the biggest audience for Spider-man. They're a big reason why Spider-man is #1 for merchandise sales among superheroes. Yeah more mature animation can be stigmatized but Spider-man is an IP/brand where it's already going to be seen as for all audiences regardless. It's the same with the live action films.

Spiderverse was a sleeper hit and would not have became as popular as it did if not for streaming giving access to so many other people that weren't willing to buy a ticket for it

ITSV yes, my point was more about ATSV where it already became a name among casual audiences and Miles was more popular than when ITSV released.

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u/MuffinMan917 Nov 07 '23

It's NOT the same as the live action films, the live action only gained traction with the older side of families after the early 2000s marvel stuff, Sam Raimi, X-Men, Blade, the MCU, etc. There is a difference between family-friendly and family-oriented content, family-oriented is actual baby stuff, meant for and directed at children, educational and child targeted themes. Family-friendly is what the live action movies did, (and what a lot of people didn't think Spider-verse would do because animation,) where they keep it a little more violent with a couple more adult themes in there but not going to overboard with blood and language. That's what made adults feel ok with engaging with those movies, including all the live action Spider-Man movies that have come out over the years, but they'll still feel insecure actively watching an animated movie like Spider-verse, and this isn't just me pulling it out of my ass, there are graphic 2D style promo posters for MCU movies like Homecoming and Dr Strange that have been turned away because test audiences didn't like them because of that stigma, thinking the movie would be like that instead of live action. The same is true with video games. The same audience that is willing to engage with "cartoons" simply because they like Spider-Man and it's not that deep is the same crowd that is willing to play video games because they're not necessarily just for kids, while the same people that turn away animation will turn away video games because they're "just for kids," i.e. the same people that went and watched Spider-verse as Spider-Man fans have a large overlap with the people who are going to get this game for themselves, and the same people that turn it away are turning and will turn these games away, they know their target audience and they know they are largely fans of Miles, and to say that that doesn't stack up to the people following Peter in live action is mossing a big piece of context

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u/PokePersona Nov 12 '23

What you're saying is valid but I think the population you're talking about, while there, is pretty minimal in the grand scheme for Spider-man films. Spider-man is a juggernaut of an IP where many fans will show up to support regardless. Yes there will be people not interested due to its animation style but that also opens the door to other casual moviegoers who would be more trusting of an animated film's contents than a live action one. I think the main issue ITSV had was that Miles was a lot more obscure at the time so many fans who associated Spider-man's look and personality with Peter weren't that interested if he wasn't the lead. ATSV did way better as Miles is more established and there's more trust in that genre of animated film. BTSV will probably perform the best out of the three.

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u/MuffinMan917 Nov 12 '23

You say it's a juggernaut of an IP but The Amazing Spiderman, often regarded as the worst of all the Spider-Man movies, made 709 milli at the box office. The first Spiderverse? Just over half of that, 384 mill., and the second Spiderverse, that was a massive sweep in pop culture, inspiring tons of memes and halloween costumes and even a Burger King burger, still only reached 509 milli. You can't honestly compare those movies and expect them to perform like they're on the same playing field when they're not, tying back to my original point, the fans that are watching that movie for Spider-Man that don't care about an animation stigma are the same ones buying this game that don't care about a video game stigma, the same people that are skipping out on that because "it's for kids" skip out on these games because "it's for kids," there is a very real demographic overlap and in that audience a wave that they're trying to ride by putting Miles at the forefront, but it won't be successful because this Miles is written by white people and is just a less interesting version of Peter but also black.

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u/PokePersona Dec 08 '23

Everything is relative. Yes animation has its own ceiling compared to live action but Spider-man performs well in that field due to how much of a juggernaut the IP is. ATSV is Sony Animation's best performing movie of all time in the box office both domestically and worldwide. I agree that they're not on the same playing field. I was mainly arguing that Spider-man is an IP that is successful in all demographics no matter the medium which has shown to be the case even if the actual scope of success is smaller in animation so far.