It's easy to let a series of failures cast a shadow over real potential.
一朝被蛇咬，便很容易三年怕井繩。
That's exactly what has happened when it comes to movie adaptations of popular video games. Our industry has been burned too many times by critical and commercial disasters without enough success stories to dull the pain. When it comes to video game films, no approach seems to really click. The campy approach failed (see Super Mario Bros.), the serious approach failed (see Silent Hill and Final Fantasy:The Spirits Within), and a heavy emphasis on action scenes hasn't been wildly successful either (see Max Payne and Need for Speed).
Even Disney, the studio with the best track record when it comes to launching billion-dollar properties, couldn't get Prince of Persia to work. Currently, 2001's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is the strongest domestic earner with a $131.2 million cume. Yet if video game adaptations were truly living up to their potential, we already would have seen one of them hit $131 million during the opening weekend alone, just like our best superhero films do.
當(dāng)流行的視頻游戲做電影改編時(shí)正會(huì)發(fā)生這種事。我們的行業(yè)遭受了多次重大商業(yè)性災(zāi)難的蹂躪，但卻沒(méi)有足夠的成功案例來(lái)減輕痛苦。當(dāng)涉及視頻游戲電影時(shí)，似乎沒(méi)有百試不爽的靈丹妙藥。裝模作樣的方法失敗了（見(jiàn)《超級(jí)馬力兄弟》），嚴(yán)肅的方法也失敗了（見(jiàn)《寂靜嶺》與《最終幻想：靈魂深處》），大玩動(dòng)作場(chǎng)面也一直未見(jiàn)多大成功（見(jiàn)《馬克思·佩恩》與《極品飛車》）。即使是有著發(fā)行十億美元作品的最佳業(yè)績(jī)記錄的工作室迪士尼，也無(wú)法令《波斯王子：時(shí)之刃》成功。目前，2001年的《古墓麗影》以1.312億美元高居（北美）國(guó)內(nèi)影片累積票房榜首。然而，如果視頻游戲改編能真正挖掘其所有潛能，我們?cè)缭摽吹狡渲兄粌H在首周便能打破1.31億美元票房，就像我們最好的超級(jí)英雄大片那樣。
It's not that crazy to compare the potential of video game adaptations to superhero films. After all, both genres have one big thing in common: they have massive established fan bases made up of the same key demographics that can help a film deliver huge numbers globally. It's also important to remember that
superhero films only started to become really common after 2000’s X-Men. Up until that point, the major successful characters were Batman and Superman. Today the genre has gained so much mainstream appeal that Disney can confidently launch lesser-known properties such as Ant-Man with great results. Why can't video game adaptations connect in such a way?
2016 is poised to be a turning point for the genre. There are some very highprofile adaptations that could turn into blockbusters, starting a big rush to adapt more titles.
拿視頻游戲改編與超級(jí)英雄電影相提并論并非那么不著邊際。畢竟，這兩種類型都有一大共同點(diǎn)：他們有相同關(guān)鍵人群構(gòu)成的大量現(xiàn)成粉絲基礎(chǔ)，這有助于電影帶來(lái)全球性的巨額票房。同樣重要的是記住，超級(jí)英雄電影僅是在2000年《X戰(zhàn)警》之后才變得真正普及。直到那時(shí)，真正成功的角色只有蝙蝠俠與超人。今天這一類型已經(jīng)擁有主流的票房號(hào)召力，迪士尼完全可以自信滿滿地推出《蟻人》這類不太出名的影片并取得不俗業(yè)績(jī)。那么視頻游戲改編為什么就不能如法炮制呢？
Families could turn Angry Birds into a viable film franchise
家庭能將《憤怒的小鳥(niǎo)》轉(zhuǎn)變成一部可行的電影系列
It's easy to dismiss an adaptation of such a mindless game, and many on the Internet have already done just that. Perhaps the game's huge mobile presence makes it difficult for some to imagine a leap to the big screen. Whatever the case may be, it's hard to be snarky when you look at the sales figures: according to
video game market research company DFC Intelligence, the Angry Birds property has amassed over 3 billion downloads worldwide across all titles and platforms. Yes, that's billion, not million. If Sony, the film's distributor, can hit even a small percentage of the game's audience, then they'll be in great shape. The May 20, 2016, release date is a clear vote of confidence on Sony's part.
不去理會(huì)這個(gè)無(wú)腦游戲的改編是很容易的，許多人在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上已經(jīng)這樣做了。或許游戲龐大的手游存在令一些人難以想象其在大銀幕上的飛躍。無(wú)論是哪種可能的情況，當(dāng)你看到銷售數(shù)字時(shí)很難繼續(xù)刻薄：根據(jù)視頻游戲市場(chǎng)研究公司DFC的情報(bào)，《憤怒的小鳥(niǎo)》作品在所有游戲和平臺(tái)的全球累積下載量超過(guò)30億。是的，是數(shù)十億，而不是數(shù)百萬(wàn)。如果電影發(fā)行方索尼能打動(dòng)其中甚至很小比例的游戲用戶，那么他們就可以穩(wěn)坐釣魚(yú)船。2016年5月20日的電影發(fā)行日是索尼方面投下的毫不含糊的信任票。
Warcraft Is not to be underestimated
《魔獸世界》不可低估
Universal is jumping into the world of fantasy films on June 10, 2016, with Warcraft, an adaptation of the popular World of Warcraft role-playing game series. Over 100 million people have created WoW accounts since its launch in 2004. While that may not be Angry Birds-level big, it's certainly enough to make any studio exec drool. WoW is in good hands. Universal's 2015 global tally will easily pass $6 billion--a mark no other studio has ever hit--and a lot of that success is the result of a marketing team that's firing on all cylinders. The
campaigns for Fifty Shades of Grey, Pitch Perfect 2, Minions, Furious 7, Jurassic World, and Straight Outta Compton helped those titles shatter expectations. There's no reason to think that Universal won't use what they've learned in 2015 to help Warcraft maximize its potential.
環(huán)球影業(yè)將于2016年6月10日發(fā)行《魔獸世界》，挺進(jìn)奇幻電影世界，這是一部風(fēng)靡的《魔獸世界》角色扮演游戲系列改編劇。自游戲2004年推出以來(lái)已有1億用戶創(chuàng)建了《魔獸世界》賬號(hào)。雖然這數(shù)字沒(méi)有達(dá)到《憤怒的
小鳥(niǎo)》那種級(jí)別，這當(dāng)然足夠令許多工作室高管們垂涎欲滴。《魔獸世界》正在很好的掌控之中。環(huán)球影業(yè)2015年全球票房合計(jì)將輕松突破60億美元——沒(méi)有工作室能達(dá)到這個(gè)記錄——大量的成功源于其營(yíng)銷團(tuán)隊(duì)火力全開(kāi)的結(jié)果。《五十度灰》、《完美音調(diào)2》、《小黃人大眼萌》、《速7》、《侏羅紀(jì)世界》和《沖出康普頓》的宣發(fā)活
動(dòng)助力這些影片打破預(yù)期。沒(méi)有理由不相信環(huán)球影業(yè)不會(huì)拿出2015年學(xué)到的所有法寶來(lái)挖掘出《魔獸世界》的最大潛能。
Will Assassin's Creed succeed in a coveted December release spot?
《刺客信條》會(huì)在夢(mèng)寐以求的12月發(fā)行點(diǎn)成功嗎？
With over 80 million units sold, the Assassin's Creed franchise comes with tons of potential, and 20th Century Fox is clearly taking the property seriously. The studio hired the core team behind the 2015 adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth--director Justin Kurzel and stars Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard--to tackle this crucial project. With that kind of pedigree, it's likely that moviegoers who aren't familiar with the games will give Assassin's Creed a chance. There's no reason to be concerned about the film moving from an August 7,
2016, release date to a December 21, 2016, release. Release date changes are not always a kiss of death.
擁有超過(guò)8000萬(wàn)冊(cè)的銷量，《刺客信條》系列有著海量的潛力，而20世紀(jì)福克斯顯然也鄭重應(yīng)對(duì)。工作室聘請(qǐng)了2015年莎士比亞改編劇《麥克白》的幕后核心團(tuán)隊(duì)——導(dǎo)演賈斯汀·庫(kù)澤爾、明星邁克爾·法斯賓德與瑪麗昂·歌迪亞——來(lái)著手應(yīng)對(duì)這個(gè)關(guān)鍵項(xiàng)目。擁有這樣的陣容，很可能那些不熟悉游戲的觀眾也會(huì)給《刺客信條》一次機(jī)會(huì)。電影從2016年8月7日的上映日推后至2016年12月21日，我們也沒(méi)理由因此而擔(dān)心。發(fā)行日的改變并不總是死亡之吻。
2016 Is only the beginning ...
2016年僅僅是個(gè)開(kāi)始??
If Hollywood can finally crack the formula to make successful video game adaptations, then the sky’s the limit. If properly executed, any of the films mentioned above can result in lucrative franchises, and that will only scratch the surface when it comes to available content. Here’s hoping that 10 to 15 years from now the video game equivalent of Ant-Man is released and greeted with a strong reception at the global box office.
如果好萊塢能最終打造出成功改編視頻游戲的公式，那么未來(lái)將無(wú)可限量。如果實(shí)施到位，上述任意電影都能帶來(lái)獲利豐厚的系列電影，而當(dāng)涉及到可用的內(nèi)容時(shí)，這還只是個(gè)開(kāi)頭。這里希望從現(xiàn)在起的10至15年內(nèi)，視頻游戲如《螞人》發(fā)行一般，在全球票房上贏得強(qiáng)烈反響。