In 1993, Mario was already on top of the world. Nintendo was dominating the gaming market, with Mario, Luigi, and all the Mushroom Kingdom’s residents leading the charge. It was only natural that someone would suggest making a movie. But what ended up following that decision was, in the director’s own words, “a mess.” For all the failings of 1993’s live-action Super Mario Bros., it was only the beginning as video game movies have seemingly struggled ever since.
With the release of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, the longest running video game movie series to date has come to an end. But the sixth Resident Evil film also caps off the recent string of high-profile adaptations, from Angry Birds, to Warcraft and Assassin’s Creed. Looking at 2016, along with the over two decades of films that preceded it, it’s hard to argue that anyone has really hit the mark when it comes to video game movies.
As Ubisoft continues to gear up for a Splinter Cell film, and even more video game movies toil away behind the scenes in Hollywood, where do we go next? What will it take for video game adaptations to not only make money, but also to be great films? That’s the central question for the eighth episode of the The Game Café, the weekly podcast from all of us here at Gamespresso. We discuss what video game movies need to do to succeed, as well as touch on some of last week’s biggest news stories, like Final Fantasy’s 30th anniversary, a new partnership between Marvel and Square Enix, and a tantalizing tease from BioWare.
You can find the episode on iTunes, Google Play Music, Stitcher, or right here:
What do you think of video game movies? Were you hoping 2016 would have been the year that finally saw them get the respect they deserve? Let us know in the comments. If you like the show, feel free to check out last week’s episode where we looked at what makes a good horror game and the state of the genre going forward. And if you want even more, please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Until next week, thanks for listening.