Ghostbusters game will be made, delayed til 2009

By now, you’ve probably heard that the Ghostbusters game has been delayed, or is in development limbo. Honestly, I don’t get excited about too many games, but I’ve been looking forward to this one since I was five years old. So this news really crossed my streams. Who is responsible? Not Walter Peck, but Activision Blizzard. That’s right, the WoW gods tried to kill Ghostbusters!

Oh, the irony; Ghostbusters doomed to wander in development limbo like the very ghosts gamers would have sought to trap. Has the hunter become that which he would have hunted? NO! There is still hope!

When Vivendi Games merged with Activision Blizzard, some of Sierra’s working titles (Sierra is a subsidiary of Vivendi) were automatically picked up for development by ActiBliz. Unfortunately, Ghostbusters was absent from this list, and speculation grew that even after so much promotion and fanfare it would never be released.

This would have been a Staypuft Marshmallow Man-sized mistake, and Sony Pictures, who owns the rights to the Ghostbusters franchise, seemed to realize this. They declared that the game has not been canceled and will be made. Together with ActiBliz, they are taking their time to:

“…evaluate various options surrounding the release of the ‘Ghostbusters’ video game.”

Translation: How to make the most money.

“…this has presented [Sony] with an opportunity to reevaluate the game release marketing strategy to potentially coincide with the 25th anniversary of the original film in 2009.”

Translation: How do we make the most money and avoid incurring a wrath greater than that of even Gozer: Ghostbusters fans.

While the plan is to release the game in 2009, no publisher has been announced. ActiBliz and Sony are still talking to other publishers about picking up the game. Thankfully, there is nothing to suggest that the original cast members are not still tied to the project. Meaning we’ll still have Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, and others reprising their roles from the film. This also means another year or so to work out any glitches. How about making it so you can run over people and then catch their ghosts? Ugh. That didn’t sound right. Forgive me, Ghostbusters.

Unlike some other movie franchises that need rebooting or redoing every ten to twenty years (you know who you are), Ghostbusters has yet to receive such treatment. Is it lack of interest, or did they just get it right the first time? All I know is that I still see people dressed as Ghostbusters for Halloween and Comic-Con. Perhaps it’s because the original film still has something to teach:

• Never shout, “Get her!” when attempting to catch a ghost.
• Living in a firehouse is AWESOME, and should be a life goal.
• The EPA is for ghosts roaming our cities, and against locking them up in containment units where they belong.
• If someone asks you if you’re a god you say, “YES!”
• There’s always a chance you’ll survive if you cross the streams, but don’t cross the streams.