The Video Games That Become Movies

The technical term is “cross-platform“, and it applies both to games which have made the leap from one console to another as well as just about any form of media which has been adapted from one medium to another. It’s not a new concept, even if the jargon is new.

Often in the past, when individuals harangued one another to read a certain book, it would be seen as somewhat humorous to respond with the quip “Nah, I’ll just wait until the movie comes out“. This doesn’t happen so much with video games, though. The quipping, that is, because games are increasingly crossing platform.

OK, so there are some games which will never make a good movie. PacMan would lack a certain something in terms of story development, it’s true. It is also hard to imagine anyone particularly wanting to spend the price of a good meal and two hours of their life watching “Space Invaders: The Movie“, but others have made the move and been successful in doing so. One which springs immediately to mind is Tomb Raider. Additionally, stalwarts such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat have been released to mixed reviews.

One reason often advanced for this is that video games are becoming increasingly filmic in terms of their look and feel, but the truth is that some of the most filmic games – Grand Theft Auto and Saints Row among them – have not been cross-platformed and many argue against it ever happening. A good video game stands and falls on its own, many argue, but obviously there are those who disagree.