Is 2023 the Breakthrough Year for Video Game Transmedia in TV and Film?

Among the more noteworthy is HBO39s new series The Last of Us based on the actionadventure PlayStation game of the same name and Universal39s The Super Mario Bros Movie which is set to hit theaters in AprilThe Last of Us is the most anticipated TV series of 2023 according to Whip Media That finding is based on users of Whip Media39s TV Time a tracking app with more than 24 million global users that took stock of how anticipation was building ahead of the series39 January 15 premiere Fan anticipation for The Last of Us eclipses other wellknown 2023 releases including Secret Invasion the new Marvel miniseries coming to DisneyThe show39s premise sounds promising The Last of Us will chronicle a smuggler named Joel played by Pedro Pascal who has the responsibility of leading a teenager through postapocalyptic AmericaThe behindthescenes talent for the show is also noteworthy Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin teamed with Neil Druckmann the creative director of the original game produced by Naughty Dog to write the first season Add in the game39s popularity among gamers and it39s easy to see why expectations are highHollywood will be closely watching to see if fan anticipation translates into actual views The Last of Us after all is set to launch on the heels of 2022 a mixed year for video game IPOn 202239s positive side Halo based on the wildly popular Xbox franchise showed how potent video game IP can be The series set a Paramount viewership record in the 24 hours following its March debut and later went on to become the second most watched original series in Paramount history as of last JuneThe situation was different for Netflix39s Resident Evil series It was the single most anticipated show based on video game IP in 2022 according to Whip Media39s data However that momentum was derailed soon after the show was released due to lackluster audience reaction The series dropped out of Netflix39s Top 10 most viewed shows in its third week It didn39t resonate with fans and failed to honor the spirit of the franchiseWith that as a backdrop it39s clear why all eyes will be on The Last of Us And with each episode reportedly costing north of 10 million HBO is banking on the show becoming a hit A successful first season could end up galvanizing other studios to invest more in bringing wellknown gaming IP to TV and help assuage fears after Resident Evil39s highprofile flopSimilarly The Super Mario Bros Movie will be a bellwether at least in the near future The upcoming computeranimated flick sports a starstudded cast including Chris Pratt Anya TaylorJoy and Seth Rogen The movie ranks among the Top 15 most anticipated movies of 2023 according to Whip MediaA box office smash is exactly what Universal needs from it too with the studio betting big on the iconic Nintendo franchise in 2023 Universal Studios is set to open a new Super Nintendo World amusement park early this year and a strong showing from the movie would drive tourists to make visits in the spring and summerFrom a macro perspective the new Mario flick holds the key to unlocking Nintendo39s IP for transmedia storytelling Nintendo is the de facto Disney of the gaming world If Hollywood is incapable of staying true to its franchises Nintendo would rather not make movies about themquotIf we can39t make something interesting we39ll just call it quitsquot Nintendo designer and producer Shigeru Miyamoto explained in 2018 when asked about making a new quotMarioquot filmOn the other hand a successful run for the new Mario movie could spur Nintendo to make content based on Zelda and other iconic charactersHistory has already shown that merely putting quotMarioquot in the title isn39t enough to guarantee success You only need to look back to 199339s Super Mario Bros to see that the live action flick failed to earn back its budget at the box office Like Resident Evil it was panned by both critics and fans Ultimately the movie39s failure led Nintendo to closely guard its gaming IP for decades and shy away from HollywoodSure the upcoming Mario movie has more going for it than its 1993 predecessor if only due to its star power But like The Last of Us it will need to deliver for fans if it39s going to achieve success If both can do that The Super Mario Bros Movie and The Last of Us just might spearhead the Year of the Video GameThis article was written by Debbie Neveu Senior Vice President of Global Transformation at Whip Media a cloud platform for entertainment licensing content planning and financial operations She can be reached at dneveuwhipmediacomClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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Is 2023 the Breakthrough Year for Video Game Transmedia in TV and Film?

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Is 2023 the Breakthrough Year for Video Game Transmedia in TV and Film?

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