Editing Tie-in

{{short description|Work of fiction}}
{{for|the meaning of the term in U.S. college football|Bids to college bowl games}}

A '''tie-in''' work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a [[film]], [[video game]], [[television series]], [[board game]], [[website]], [[role-playing game]] or [[literary property]]. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original property, and are a form of [[cross-promotion]] used primarily to generate additional income from that property and to promote its visibility.

== Types ==
[[File:Sacoche South Park.jpg|thumb|This pannier bag is a tie-in product from the [[Television program#Seasons/series|TV series]] ''[[South Park]]''.]]
Common tie-in products include literary works, which may be [[novelization]]s of a media property, original [[novel]]s or story collections inspired by the property, or republished previously existing books, such as the novels on which a media property was based, with artwork or photographs from the property. According to publishing industry estimates, about one or two percent of the audience of a film will buy its novelization, making these relatively inexpensively produced works a commercially attractive proposition in the case of [[Blockbuster (entertainment)|blockbuster]] film franchises. Although increasingly also a domain of previously established novelists, tie-in writing has the disadvantages, from the writers' point of view, of modest pay, tight deadlines and no ownership in the intellectual property created.<ref name="NYT 4 January 2015">{{cite news|last1=Alter|first1=Alexandra|title=Popular TV Series and Movies Maintain Relevance as Novels|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/05/business/media/popular-tv-series-and-movies-maintain-relevance-as-novels.html|access-date=18 January 2015|work=The New York Times|date=4 January 2015}}</ref>

Tie-in products may also have a documentary or supplemental character, such as "making-of" books documenting the creation of a media property. Tie-in products also include other types of works based on the media property, such as [[soundtrack]] recordings, video games, or merchandise including toys and clothing.

===Novelizations===
{{main|Novelization}}
A novelization is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, comic strip or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the invention of home video, but continue to find commercial success as part of marketing campaigns for major films. They are often written by accomplished writers based on an early draft of the film's script and on a tight deadline.

===Rebranding of previously published work===
Tie-in books are sometimes reprints of novels rebranded to tie in with their film adaptation. As an example, after [[Roderick Thorp]]'s 1979 novel ''[[Nothing Lasts Forever (Thorp novel)|Nothing Lasts Forever]]'' was adapted into the 1988 film ''[[Die Hard]]'', it was retitled ''Die Hard'' with the film's poster on the cover. The [[Philip K. Dick]] novel ''[[Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?]]'' was similarly republished to tie in with ''[[Blade Runner]]'', the film loosely based on the book.

A tie-in book linked to a film based on [[short fiction]] may be published featuring the adapted story, as well as other stories from the same author; for example, while [[Stephen King]]'s novella "[[Apt Pupil]]" was adapted to [[Apt Pupil (film)|the eponymous film]], King's collection ''[[Different Seasons]]'', which featured the story, was reprinted as ''Apt Pupil: A Novella in Different Seasons''. Similarly, novels were published to tie in with the films ''[[Minority Report (film)|Minority Report]]'' and ''[[Paycheck (film)|Paycheck]]'', featuring Philip K. Dick's original short stories "[[The Minority Report]]" and "[[Paycheck (short story)|Paycheck]]". The official organization linked to writing media tie-ins is the [[International Association of Media Tie-In Writers]].

===Expanded universes===
Tie-in works may also tell new stories in the form of [[sequel]]s, [[prequel]]s and other spin-offs, creating an [[expanded universe]] based on the original work; for example, the many books, comics and video games set in an [[Star Wars expanded universe|expanded universe]] based initially on the first ''[[Star Wars]]'' trilogy. In 2015, the ''[[New York Times]]'' noted the flourishing market for TV series tie-in novels, coinciding with the increasing cultural significance of quality television series. The increasing number of previously established novelists taking on tie-in works has also been credited with these works gaining a "patina of respectability" after having previously been disregarded in literary circles as derivative and mere merchandise.<ref name="NYT 4 January 2015" />

===Video games===
{{Main|Licensed game}}
Some [[video game]]s are tie-in licences for films, television series or books.

Video game movie tie-ins are expensive for a [[Video game developer|game developer]] to license, and the [[game designer]]s have to work within constraints imposed by the [[film studio]], under pressure to finish the game in time for the film's release.<ref name="fox">{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/review-movie-tie-in-games-mostly-disappointing|title=Review: Movie Tie-In Games Mostly Disappointing|work=[[Fox News]] | date=2007-06-01}}</ref> The aim for the publishers is to increase hype and revenue, as the two industries effectively market one another's releases.<ref name="Canada">{{cite web|url=http://www.canada.com/topics/technology/games/story.html?id=2285e0f0-a77a-4536-bec8-6aca99027d7c&k=10775|title=Hollywood and video game industry profit from movie tie-ins|work=Canada.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106053417/http://www.canada.com/topics/technology/games/story.html?id=2285e0f0-a77a-4536-bec8-6aca99027d7c&k=10775|archive-date=2012-11-06}}</ref>

Film license video games have a reputation for being of poor quality;<ref>{{cite journal |journal= Amiga Power |date=May 1995 |author= Stuart Campbell |url= http://worldofstuart.excellentcontent.com/world/ap/movies.htm | title = Ready For Your Close-Up }}</ref> for example, ''[[Amiga Power]]'' awarding [[Psygnosis]]'s three film licenses (''Dracula'', ''Cliffhanger'' and ''Last Action Hero'', all reviewed in June 1994) 36% ''in total''; that magazine being cynical towards licensed games in general, with ''[[The Blues Brothers (video game)|The Blues Brothers]]'' being one of the few exceptions. One of the first movie tie-in games, Atari's ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (video game)|E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]'' (1982) was deemed so bad it was cited as one cause of the [[Video game crash of 1983|video game industry crash]].<ref name="washington">{{cite news |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071901865.html |title=Movie and Game Studios Getting the Total Picture |access-date=2007-11-01 |last=Musgrove |first=Mike |date=10 July 2006 |work=washingtonpost.com}}</ref> Such poor quality is often due to game developers forced to rush the product in order to meet the film's release date,<ref name="washington" /> or due to issues with adapting the original work's plot into an interactive form, such as in the case of the [[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (video game)|game]]s based on the last two films of the ''[[Harry Potter (film series)|Harry Potter]]'' film series, where one reviewer criticised some of the game's missions and side-quests as being unrelated to the film's storyline.<ref name="hp7review">{{cite web|url= http://ps3.ign.com/articles/113/1134912p1.html |title= Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Video Game Review - PlayStation 3 Review at IGN |work= [[IGN]]|date= 8 December 2010 |access-date=7 May 2012}}</ref>

Video tie-in licences for novels tend to be [[adventure games]]. ''[[The Hobbit (1982 video game)|The Hobbit]]'' (1982) and ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (video game)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' are [[text adventure]]s, whilst ''[[I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (video game)|I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream]]'' (1995) is a [[point-and-click adventure]] and ''[[Neuromancer (video game)|Neuromancer]]'' (1988) is a [[graphic adventure]]. Action games based on novels are less common (''[[William Shatner's TekWar]]'' (1995), a [[first-person shooter]]). Novel tie-ins were published less frequently after the 1990s, with developers only taking risks with stories that had already been licensed for films.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Why-Are-Books-Never-Made-Into-Games-6706.html|title=Why Are Books Never Made Into Games?|author=Rich Knight|date=2007-10-08|access-date=2009-03-01|work=Blend Games}}</ref>

== Revenue and structure ==

Tie-ins are considered an important part of the revenue-stream for any major media release, and both planning and licensing for such works often begins at the very earliest stages of creating such a property. Tie-ins provide both an important way of generating additional income from a property, and a way of satisfying the desires of fans who enthusiastically support a popular media property.

The lineage of tie-in works can be quite convoluted; for example, a novelization might be done of a video game, which was based on a television series, based on a film, based on a comic book which was the original media property. In several cases, a novelization has been released based on a movie which was in turn adapted from an original novel. In such cases, it is not uncommon to see the novelization and a film release of the original novel side by side on the same shelf.{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}}

These tie-ins can be considered as forms of "free advertising", as they create more exposure for the media property. Tie-ins need not have a direct association with the property; for example, a particular pizza company can offer coupons that are associated with the ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' films, but that specific pizza company itself does not necessarily have to appear in the films. By this association, however, the pizza company is exposed to a bigger audience. If a media property does well, the tie-ins gain that positive exposure as well.<ref>Wasko, Janet, Mark Phillips, and Chris Purdie. 1993. "Hollywood Meets Madison Avenue: The Commercialization of US Films". Media, Culture & Society 15(2): 271-293.</ref>

== Early examples ==
===Film===
The American [[fan magazine]] ''[[Photoplay]]'', first published in 1911, originally presented [[short stories]] based on popular films of the era. It later adopted a more traditional nonfiction format.

===Comics===
''[[The Adventures of Superman (novel)|The Adventures of Superman]]'' by [[George Lowther (writer)|George Lowther]] (illustrated by original [[Superman]] artist [[Joe Shuster]]) was published in 1942.

===Television===
Some early examples of TV tie-in books are ''Leave It to Beaver'' (1960), ''Here's Beaver!'' (1961), and ''Beaver and Wally'' (1961) by [[Beverly Cleary]].

==See also==
* [[Cross media marketing]]
* [[Media franchise]]
* [[Merchandising]]
* [[Expanded universe]]
* [[Toyetic]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary-inline|tie-in}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060615113436/http://iamtw.org/index.html The International Association of Media Tie-in Writers]
* [[Edward Jay Epstein]] for [[Slate.com]]: ''[http://www.slate.com/id/2119701/ The Midas Formula. How to create a billion-dollar movie franchise.]''
* Meredith Schwartz: ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20070403035313/http://www.giftsanddec.com/article/CA6297976.html See You in the Funny Pages — Comic books enter the gift market: are pop culture gifts coming of age?]''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090411102609/http://www.ysrnry.co.uk/articles/completeguidetofilmtvlicences.htm The YS Complete Guide To Film And TV Licences] from ''[[Your Sinclair]]'' issue 60, December 1990; at The Your Sinclair the Rock 'n' Roll Years

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[[Category:Works based on works| ]]
[[Category:Marketing techniques]]