Granted something like that could help, but consider that Super Mario got the show because it was already the biggest thing in the world at that point. The show came as a result of Mario's presence in gaming. It didn't exactly enhance that presence. At the time Mario already owned the gaming industry. The show came out of love for the game, not exactly to help sell games. And The Legend of Zelda was a wildly panned show by both fans and critics alike. So it's unlikely that the show for The Legend of Zelda actually helped the series become more popular. And if you were like me in those days, you never watched them anyway. You just knew what they were. Nintendo had a strong marketing campaign going for them and, at that time, they were also one of the only ways to really game. Mario came packaged with the system during a time when people were unsure if video games were back as a temporary fad or not. Mario would've become huge with or without a show because the timing in which it came allowed for it to.
And Sonic seems to have a loyal fanbase that will simply never leave. But I don't think the show really did a lot to boose Sonic's sales either. Like Mario, its show came out as a result of the success of the games, not exactly to market them more. I'm not saying that those shows didn't cause some strange onlooker to be curious about the game. I'm saying that I think the show was made as a means to appeal to fans of the games... not to get people who didn't play the games to suddenly get interested in them. But I'm not sure how well they're remembered. A lot of people remember the shows themselves, but I do not see that many people speaking of them... fondly. In fact, most people speak of that Zelda one with such disdain they wish it had never been made (it's become a joke). I've yet to come across a Zelda fan who actually liked that show.
And, of course, the most obvious thing here: Gaming has changed so much that it's not just a kids thing anymore. An animated show appeal to all children because it's an animated show. Most children like cartoons. But most children also watched those shows because they'd already played the games. Nowadays, gaming has changed that you have to appeal to adults and not the children inside of the adults. Again, Mario, Sonic and Zelda had shows because of the games. The games had already proved success. And did they help boost the sales of sequels? Maybe but... did they sell any better than what Halo or Gears of War sell now? Well, Mario did... but did Zelda or Sonic? Nope. And the shows were cancelled while they were still getting games that managed to sell a bunch. Take The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It's the bestselling of the series (well, maybe... I'm guessing if you combine Gamecube and Wii sales of Twilight Princess it's different) but the show was a long forgotten memory by that point in time. And some of us even forgot it had a show. And Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess were much bigger than the original game and The Adventures of Link (the games the show would've pushed). And Ocarina of Time even came out on a system with a smaller install base.
One that also came around that people commonly forget is Donkey Kong Country. But again, by the time the show came around, the success of the games was sealed. And that show didn't help increase the sales of the game. When they ran in the United States in 1998, the games were already going out of print. And Donkey Kong Country 3 never saw the same sales that Donkey Kong Country or Donkey Kong Country 2 had seen. And by that time, Nintendo stopped manufacturing the game. The show COULDN'T have helped sales of the Donkey Kong Country games. No matter what.
The other big elephant in the room: Nintendo relies quite heavily on lifetime sales more so than anything else. The reason Nintendo tends to push huge numbers is because the next sequel isn't always right around the corner. When the new Modern Warfare comes out, it only keeps selling until whatever the next Call ot Duty is. It pushes those enormous sales, sure, but they drop off fast. Nintendo games typically keep selling until the console is dead. If anything, Nintendo doesn't exactly need a show.
So with that in mind, would shows and adaptations help Sony's first party sales? I doubt it. It might be good fanservice for those who love the games themselves, but in order to actually appeal beyond the gamers and to actually get people to actually play those games based off that is a hard thing to do. Take God of War. You suggest an anime... I would suggest a mini series similar to Game of Thrones or Spartacus. Why? It's a broader audience, speaks more clearly to adults (because that pesky stereotype that anime is primarily for adolescents isn't going away any time soon) and isn't niche. But again, would it guarantee sales is the big question? And it's really not likely. There's quite a bit to appeal to, but as a rule, video games haven't had the best luck with another medium improving sales in this day and age. Because it's not just a matter of it being out there... it's a matter of that adaptation being good. Game of Thrones on HBO didn't push sales of the books just because it was an original series on HBO. It happens to be so well done, and compelling enough that people WANTED to read the books.
So Game of Thrones has HBO. Your favorite graphic novel has... things like The Dark Knight. Things that appeal BEYOND the intended audience. In the case of Game of Thrones, you don't have to read the book to love the show. With The Dark Knight you don't have to be a fan of Batman to like it. But video games have had a shakey recent history when it comes to other mediums. Take Uncharted. Sure, it could easily make a good movie, but look at the track record of video game adaptations. The one that seems to be looked upon the most fondly is Mortal Kombat and the one that made the most money is Tomb Raider... and the only franchise that has survived in theaters is Resident Evil. None of these adaptations caused people to want to go out and play the games. Many people who saw them didn't play video games either.
That's not to say none of them could work in other ways. Jak and Daxter, for example, has the best shot of anything to be a fantastic show. It's lighthearted, humorous and would easily appeal to a kids sensibilities. But again, this would be coming after the games themselves have already been big successes at this point. It wouldn't help the sales at all. InFamous is a no brainer--MAKE IT A GRAPHIC NOVEL! Not an anime. A Graphic Novel. The game pretty much speaks to that audience as it is. You publish two different versions. One where Cole is good and other where he's evil. There's your marketing gimmick right there!
The point is this, though: Crossing over mediums hasn't really had a track record of helping games sell. Because the end result is usually a pretty bad adaptation or it just happens to come when the game doesn't need it. Do you honestly think Super Mario Bros. would've sold less had there been no show? Do you honestly think that Sonic would've declined in popularity had there been no show? And do you honestly think that terrible Zelda show actually helped increase sales of the game? I honestly don't think so. And I can't really see it working out here either. I could see them perhaps picking up new fans, but that wouldn't mean they'd be interested in the games in the slightest. And many watching would already have either played or owned the games to begin with.
Until someone finds a good way to cross mediums it's not going to benefit the sale of the video games themselves. It's likely the sale of the video game would benefit that other medium more so. We're slowly approaching where it could work in the future... that being that at some point there will be more gamers to appeal to, but as it stands, a lot of what comes on television or out in theaters doesn't exactly have the gamer in mind. When a movie is released the concern is movie goers. When a television show is released, the concern is people who watch television. If a play is done the concern is people who enjoy the stage. When a graphic novel is made the concern is people who enjoy reading graphic novels.
Graphic Novels actually serve other mediums really well and their increasing popularity is much more ripe and in sync with video games than any other medium out there--they share a much more similar audience. Granted, so does anime, but consider that there's a portion of the audience that anime alienates. Much like graphic novels. Anime certainly appeals to those who like games like Final Fantasy or other JRPGs and you can easily capture that audience. In fact, in Japan the Tales series, Wild Arms and Final Fantasy all have animes (the Tales of the Abyss and Valkyria Chronicles animes follow the video games to a tee... even having the dialog be word for word the same). I like the idea of animes but they are NOT going to help sell Westernized games. Games like God of War, Twisted Metal and Infamous are not going to benefit from an anime. This is especially true given that anime hasn't exactly been able to escape the perception that it's primarily for teenagers and people in their early twenties (again, it's a perception, go to any convention and you see people of all kinds of ages). Those games want to be broader than that audience. Meaning that should they have a show or something.
As much as the idea is fantastic, it's not something I can see that would help sales of the game. At least not right out of the gate. Part of the reason Nintendo succeeded earlier on wasn't because they had those shows. For one they had a lack of competition for a while before Sega jumped in (and the competition they DID have was pitiful) and two, Mario was already everywere. Super Mario Bros. came with the system. Mario was the first game that many of us played when the gaming medium came back after the video game crash of '83. He introduced himself and became a part of our culture and lives. He didn't need a television show to obtain the glory he did. All it was was a matter of timing.
Being a gamer is about getting your hands on any damn game you can find and playing the hell out of it! It means experiencing the good, the bad and the ugly. It means playing the 360, the Wii and PS3. It's not about that Hardcore and Casual bullshit, it's about your passion for the medium itself!
