The wild world of video-game adaptions

Everybody loves a good TV series. From Breaking Bad to Narcos, we have entered what some are terming ‘The Golden Age of Television’. A far cry from the power of the cinema, today’s audiences are flocking to the small screen for high-powered adaptions featuring immaculately-plotted storyarcs, nuanced characters, and the budget to match.

With more of us than ever tuning into watch The Crown, The Handmaid’s Tale and The Walking Dead, it’s no surprise that the industry is cottoning onto just how lucrative these shows can be. Though video-game adaptions of films are commonplace- and Hollywood has been known to make films based on wildly successful video games like Lara Croft, Assassin’s Creed and Prince of Persia- indeed, though they face consistent problems on the big screen, they remain extremely popular among cinemagoers- one lesser-known area of gaming is one where they make video-game adaptions of popular TV shows and films.

Video-game adaptions traditionally haven’t been too well received- with clunkers like American Idol: The Game, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, which was widely panned, and The Office video game. There was even a Dallas video game, whose bad graphics really do need to be seen to be experienced. Similarly, there have also been some excellent adaptions. The Simpsons: Hit and Run was celebrated by both critics and gamers- who doesn’t enjoy a good old-fashioned Grand Theft Auto-style race around Springfield?- whilst several Star Wars games- and, oddly, The Walking Dead comic-book adaption- show just how good the genre can be, combining compelling storylines with inventive graphics and a good dollop of well-executed action.

However, advances in technology mean that studios are now able to release games that look, interact and feel better than many of their predecessors. Curve Digital is currently creating the first console game for Gaumont’s Netflix hit Narcos, due to be released in Spring 2019, signaling the start of a hopeful new era in video gaming, where gamers can enjoy their favourite TV shows in a whole new way. And while cult shows like Breaking Bad and Peaky Blinders haven’t had anything announced yet, a success for Narcos would surely pave the way for- hopefully- future collaboration between TV shows and video game studios.

The future of gaming is looking brighter than ever. With better graphics, bigger studios and better budgets than ever behind TV-to-video-game adaptions, hopefully we’ll be seeing more of the same in the future!

Here’s to Spring 2019.