A merger of two worlds.

The line between films and video games is beginning to blur as a generation of game-savvy firm directors sets out to create games that allow them more control. over franchises and a share in enormous video-game profits. Moviegoers thrilled by the King Kong film that opens December 14 will be able to immerse themselves in the King Kong video game released by Ubisoft in November. Both the video game and the firm were directed by Peter Jackson of Lord of the Rings fame. Jackson wanted garners to experience a King Kong "universe" that would otherwise be limited to a two-hour film. And Steven Spielberg, director of War of the Worlds, will help create three games for Electronic Arts that could later be turned into movies. Advanced game consoles and more lifelike graphics enable game designers to do a better job of recreating the took of a movie. Games like King Kong can cost up to $25 million to make. But they are among the most-popular and most-profitable products in the entertainment world. U.S. domestic sates of video games and consoles totaled $10 billion in 2004, compared with movie-ticket sates of $9.4 billion.