INTERACTIVE BLOCKBUSTERS

WRITTEN BY: ANURAG SAHOO

Movies have co-existed with us since the last century and it has been part of our society and many times influenced certain actions of our society. Today movies means big business and it involves lots of money. As we travel through various technological advancement phases, new forms of entertainment were innovated. Among these one of the striking forces are VIDEO GAMES. In my previous post, PASSIONATE ABOUT GAMING I had mentioned about some distinct video game titles which has made some impact on the entertainment sector. In this post I am going to discuss about how some video games are source of inspiration for movies and how some video games are themselves nothing sort of a blockbuster movie.

In MID MAY 2010, WALT DISNEY is going to release PRINCE OF PERSIA THE SANDS OF TIME which will be produced by JERRY BRUCKHEIMER of THE PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN and TRANSFORMERS fame. This movie is based on PRINCE OF PERSIA game in which a young Persian prince who has a dagger which allows him to set the course of time saves his kingdom from an evil villain from invasion.

Nowadays, video games in terms of storyline are no less than movies. Take for example the critically acclaimed ASSASIN’S CREED in which a bartender’s mind is read by his ancestral DNA in which his ancestor Altair’s exploits is followed. ALTAIR used to be an assassin during the CRUSADES in the MIDDLE AGES. He assassinates 9 targets who were involved in the creation of a war between SALAHADIN and KING RICHARD. The game takes place in JERUSALEM, ACRA and DAMASCUS which were in reality the mainstay of the CRUSADES. Such advanced storyline can inspire any movie studio to spin off a blockbuster movie. Another great example is MODERN WARFARE 2 which was made with a budget of 40-50 million dollars and is expecting a revenue of 1 billion dollars. This game takes place in a modern world war setting in which US and RUSSIA fight against each other in urban settings and also nuclear bombs destroying the INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION to disrupt communications. Games like sabouteur which focuses on 2^nd world war in a sandbox free world environment or FARCRY 2 in which the player takes on revolutionary forces and armies of a battle ravaged AFRICAN NATION also add to the believe that many times games can be a source of inspiration for MOVIES. And how can we forget the phenomenal HALO by MICROSOFT GAMES. A movie project was planned by PETER JACKSON of THE LORD OF THE RINGS and KING KONG fame but it was called off due to the requirement of heavy budget.

So these are some instances which showcases that even video games can be profitable businesses and can be an inspiring source for BLOCKBUSTERS. Hence we can put it this way that video games are nothing but INTERACTIVE BLOCKBUSTERS.