Bungie's newest IP, Destiny, certainly has received its fair share of interest from gamers, but Bungie believes that the game has the potential to reach a level of mainstream popularity that other big media franchises are capable of.
Pete Parsons, COO of Bungie, discussed the game with GamesIndustry International, and how Bungie believes the game, which is scheduled for a decade long arc, will be as popular as other beloved franchises:
"We like to tell big stories and we want people to put the Destiny universe on the same shelf they put Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter or Star Wars; we've already seen they do that with Halo. We were extremely proud of what we achieved with Halo... I'm pretty convinced we are going to do it again with Destiny in a way that maybe even Halo never achieved before...What excites me is a number of years ago we talked with Activision and Activision believed in that vision, and that's why we like this partnership so much; these guys know big entertainment as well. They prove it over and over again."
While it may be difficult for Bungie to make Destiny a billion dollar franchise like the examples Parsons listed, if any developer is capable of reaching that level of popularity it will be Bungie. One way to expand the fandom for the game would be through other media like novels or movies, but Parsons stated that, while the company isn't opposed to the idea, no expanded universe tie-ins are scheduled currently:
"If they happen in a way that's exciting and helps propel the universe forward, I think that's great. But it's not the ambition and it's not something we set out to do. The thing we set out to do is to build an entertainment universe that people want to be a part of and continue to invest in. And we didn't think of entertainment in the Halo world either - it was never something that we set out to do. Now, do we think it's exciting if we can help increase people's experience and investment in that universe? Yeah I think that's great. We have a number of talented friends who do more than make games and if there's an opportunity there that helps better the universe or propel it forward, that's awesome."
Parsons also stated that, while Bungie's focus with Destiny is bringing players together, the game is not an MMO, but rather a new type of multiplayer game:
"So when you think about the public space, we think less about MMO attributes and more about stringing together storytelling. Here are a whole bunch of people moving from one place to another but for a moment in time we all come together and say 'hey should we take down the enemies together?' I could just sit there and people watch. I don't need to join in, or I can join and get a reward for it. So for us, it's about how do we bring people together? How do we move social more to the center of what we've done? And I would argue we've been trying to do that for a long time, but the technology and learning wasn't there."
Look out for more Destiny news, including release date announcements, as the year draws to a close.