Why 2023 Was One Of The Best Years For Video Game Movies And TV Shows Ever

We’ve come a long way, people. There was a time when you had to really make excuses for video game adaptations being as terrible as they once were.

I mean, I’m old enough to remember all of the old Nintendo cartoons, and the original Super Mario Bros. movie (which I hated back in ‘93, but I’ll defend to my dying breath today). And, while I was just happy to have anything based off of some of my favorite characters back in my youth, even I could admit that they were all pretty damn bad.

But, 2023 was a banner year for video game adaptations. Now, it almost seems like video game movies and TV shows are finally getting the respect that I always knew they deserved. Here are just a few such examples of that.

For A Time, The Super Mario Bros. Movie Was On Track To Being The Highest Grossing Film Of The Year

A lot of critics didn’t love The Super Mario Bros. Movie (we ourselves didn’t give it the highest recommendation). But you know what? Many fans (myself included) didn’t care. I LOVED The Super Mario Bros. Movie!

And the box office is more proof that people showed up for it. For a time, The Super Mario Bros. Movie was on track to being the highest grossing movie of the year. Barbie tied with it for a time, but then eventually surpassed it. That said, do you have any idea how massive that is that The Super Mario Bros. Movie made THAT much money?

The writing was on the wall that video game flicks were now ready to make major bank at the box office. Just look at how well the Sonic movies do. But, the fact that Super Mario beat DC and Marvel at the 2023 domestic box office is just mind blowing, given the humble beginnings that video game adaptations have come from.

And, with The Legend of Zelda being the next Nintendo cinematic release (that we know of), and with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (which we know a thing or two about) likely going to be another seismic success, there really seems to be no stopping video game movies now. But, that’s just from Nintendo and Sega. That’s not even talking about what Sony is bringing to the table.

Gran Turismo Made In-Roads To Bringing Lesser Known PlayStation Titles To The Big Screen

A lot of people tend to forget that 2016’s Ratchet & Clank movie exists, and for good reason. While it wasn’t terrible, it was rather forgettable, and so it kind of gets lost when discussing some of the best video game movies.

So, when Sony decided that they were going to go full throttle with PlayStation Productions, it was wise to start off with Uncharted as their first major movie, and it did well at the box office, raking in $407.1 million dollars worldwide.

Now, while 2023’s Gran Turismo: Based On A True Story didn’t make quite as much money as Uncharted (It only made $121 million dollars worldwide in comparison), it also didn’t cost as much to make, as Uncharted’s price tag was double that of Gran Turismo’s

What impresses me the most about this though is Sony’s willingness to diversify their properties. Rather than going with something major like a God of War, or a Horizon: Zero Dawn movie as a follow-up to Uncharted, they instead decided to scale back and make something more affordable, and from a lesser-known Sony property. This gives me hope for Sony, especially when it comes to what they’re doing on the small screen as well.

The Last Of Us Television Series Brought Prestige And Acclaim To A Video Game Story

Can we all just take a minute and marvel at the fact that for a time, pretty much EVERYBODY was talking about a television series based off of a video game? That show, of course, was The Last of Us, which was so popular that a Season 2 of the post-apocalyptic series seemed all but inevitable.

What is major about this for me, though, is that the first season plucked LIBERALLY from the video game, even including some scenes that were shot-for-shot from the popular title.

With The Last of Us, we got a series that leaned HARD into the story’s narrative. But, to be honest, that's not too impressive, since the source material’s story was arguably already movie-quality. What IS impressive though is what Sony did with one of their other titles this year…

Twisted Metal Did The Source Material Justice

Honestly, the Peacock series, Twisted Metal could have been terrible, or even worse, boring. It's not that the GAMES are boring, but they are pretty one-dimensional. Drive around. Blow other cars up. Wash, rinse, repeat.

But, the show, which is a comedy, manages to take the premise and stretch it out into a really enjoyable show starring the likes of Anthony Mackie, Neve Campbell, and Samoa Joe's body (but Will Arnett's voice).

And what's so cool about this is just HOW different this is from The Last Of Us. Twisted Metal is a clear indication that video game adaptations are not just any one thing, and it was a pleasure getting invested in this world.

Castlevania: Nocturne And Onimusha Are Further Proof That Netflix Is A Great Home For Animated Video Game Adaptations

And lastly, I just want to talk about how Netflix has been killing it lately when it comes to video game adaptations. I've already talked about my feelings on Castlevania: Nocturne, which I both loved and also had issues with, but we also got Onimusha closer to the end of the year, and that, too, is a worthy series. So much so that I'm hoping that we get a Strider series next, since I love Strider!

This is actually a new feeling for me--WANTING video game adaptations, rather than just watching whatever comes my way--and a major reason for this new feeling is because we're finally getting some quality video game adaptations, and a lot of them are coming from Netflix.

So, yeah. What a year! For more news on all things video game adaptation-related, be sure to swing by here often!