Many cannot imagine their lives without good-old video games. In the last ten years, the video gaming industry has grown tremendously fueled by technologically-advanced games and impressive gaming gear. Today, video games are everywhere, in almost every household. While gamers rarely think about the history of video games, it is important we briefly examine how everything started. To do so, we have to go back to the late 1950s.
The very first game called OXO was crafted in 1952 by A.S. Douglas who at the time worked on his doctoral dissertation at Cambridge. The OXO game is a very simple game reminiscent of a tic-tac-toe game. Six years after OXO was born, William Higinbotham created the very first video game.
William Higinbotham’s Tennis for Two was also simple, as back in the day technology was very limited. When discussing the history of video games, we have to mention Steve Russell and his iconic Spacewar! game.
The space-themed game was crafted for the Programmed Data Processor-1 which back in the day, was the most advanced computer. Spacewar! was also the very first game accessible on multiple computers. In 1967, Ralph Baer and his team created the multi-program gaming system called The Brown Box.
The device enabled playing video games on television. A couple of years later, the very first home video gaming console called Odyssey was introduced by Magnavox.
In the following years, the video gaming industry introduced quite a few iconic games, such as Atari’s legendary Pong, Space Invaders, Pay-Man, Donkey Kong, and Flight Simulator. Older folks definitely remember legendary Nintendo games Metroid, Legend of Zelda, and Super Mario Bros that are still around and very popular.
Some of these games, alongside newer releases, inspired movie production companies, so over the years, we enjoyed quite a few amazing video game movie adaptations. Further, we take a look at the best movies inspired by video games released in the last three decades.
Sonic The Hedgehog – 2020
The iconic Sonic the Hedgehog video game was released in 1991 by Sega. Over the years, several games in the series were released by Sonic Team, SIMS Co., Sumo Digital, Gameloft, and BioWare. Sonic The Hedgehog movie hit the industry in 2020.
The movie is directed by Jeff Fowler and written by Josh Miller and Pat Casey. It stars Jim Carrey, Neal McDonough, Adam Pally, Natasha Rothwell, Tika Sumpter, Ben Schwartz, and James Marsden.
The plot revolves around a blue hedgehog that has a superpower. More specifically, beloved Sonic the Hedgehog can run at supersonic speeds. Longclaw the Owl that takes care of Sonic gives him a bag full of special rings that open doors to other planets. Sonic decides to travel to Earth using one of the special rings and a series of misadventures occurs.
Tomb Raider – 2018
Published by Eidos Interactive and Microsoft Studios, Tomb Raider is one of the most video game series. The very first Tomb Raider game was released by Eidos Interactive in 1996. The iconic game follows a young and ambitious archaeologist Lara Croft.
In the original game, Lara was hired by a wealthy businesswoman to uncover the Scion of Atlantic’s long-lost artifact. The Tomb Raider movie released in 2018 stars Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, Dominic West as Richard Croft, Walton Goggins as Mathias Vogel, Daniel Wu as Lu Re, and Kristin Scott Thomas as Ana Miller.
The movie plot does not share many similarities with the original Tomb Raider game but is based on the newer Tomb Raider game from 2013. The movie starts with Lara Croft working as a bike courier. Soon after we learn that her father Richard Croft is missing.
Lara is convinced her father is still alive. As she searches for answers, she stumbles upon her father’s research into the Yamatai Queen Himiko. In his video message prerecorded for Lara, Richard advises her to destroy all the evidence of Himiko. Lara as curious as she is, ignores his message. Without revealing too much, Tomb Raider is a great choice for all fans of adventure movies.
Super Mario Bros – 1993
In the video gaming industry, there is no more beloved and iconic character than Super Mario Bros. The original Super Mario Bros game was released in 1983 by Nintendo. The developer introduced quite a few Mario Bros games in the following years. We even met Mario’s brother Luigi in one of the games.
The Super Mario Bros movie was released in 1993. Directed by Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel, the movie stars Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Samantha Mathis, Dennis Hopper, Fiona Shaw, and Fisher Stevens.
In the movie, Luigi and Mario who both work as plumbers in New York City leave everything behind as they travel outside Earth to another dimension. There, a stunning princess is held hostage by King Koopa. As expected, their journey does not go as planned.
If you are a fan of video games, Werewolves Within from 2021, Pokémon Detective Pikachu released in 2019, Monster Hunter from 2020, Warcraft from 2016, and Rampage released in 2018 are excellent video game movie adaptations.