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.
當流行的視頻游戲做電影改編時正會發生這種事。我們的行業遭受了多次重大商業性災難的蹂躪，但卻沒有足夠的成功案例來減輕痛苦。當涉及視頻游戲電影時，似乎沒有百試不爽的靈丹妙藥。裝模作樣的方法失敗了（見《超級馬力兄弟》），嚴肅的方法也失敗了（見《寂靜嶺》與《最終幻想：靈魂深處》），大玩動作場面也一直未見多大成功（見《馬克思·佩恩》與《極品飛車》）。即使是有著發行十億美元作品的最佳業績記錄的工作室迪士尼，也無法令《波斯王子：時之刃》成功。目前，2001年的《古墓麗影》以1.312億美元高居（北美）國內影片累積票房榜首。然而，如果視頻游戲改編能真正挖掘其所有潛能，我們早該看到其中之一僅在首周便能打破1.31億美元票房，就像我們最好的超級英雄大片那樣。
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：他們有相同關鍵人群構成的大量現成粉絲基礎，這有助于電影帶來全球性的巨額票房。同樣重要的是記住，超級英雄電影僅是在2000年《X戰警》之后才變得真正普及。直到那時，真正成功的角色只有蝙蝠俠與超人。今天這一類型已經擁有主流的票房號召力，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績。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》轉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.
不去理會這個無腦游戲的改編是很容易的，許多人在互聯網上已經這樣做了。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。無論是哪種可能的情況，當你看到銷售數字時很難繼續刻薄：根據視頻游戲市場研究公司DFC的情報，《憤怒的小鳥》作品在所有游戲和平臺的全球累積下載量超過30億。是的，是數十億，而不是數百萬。如果電影發行方索尼能打動其中甚至很小比例的游戲用戶，那么他們就可以穩坐釣魚船。2016年5月20日的電影發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.
環球影業將于2016年6月10日發行《魔獸世界》，挺進奇幻電影世界，這是一部風靡的《魔獸世界》角色扮演游戲系列改編劇。自游戲2004年推出以來已有1億用戶創建了《魔獸世界》賬號。雖然這數字沒有達到《憤怒的
小鳥》那種級別，這當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。環球影業2015年全球票房合計將輕松突破60億美元——沒有工作室能達到這個記錄——大量的成功源于其營銷團隊火力全開的結果。《五十度灰》、《完美音調2》、《小黃人大眼萌》、《速7》、《侏羅紀世界》和《沖出康普頓》的宣發活
動助力這些影片打破預期。沒有理由不相信環球影業不會拿出2015年學到的所有法寶來挖掘出《魔獸世界》的最大潛能。
Will Assassin's Creed succeed in a coveted December release spot?
《刺客信條》會在夢寐以求的12月發行點成功嗎？
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8000萬冊的銷量，《刺客信條》系列有著海量的潛力，而20世紀福克斯顯然也鄭重應對。工作室聘請了2015年莎士比亞改編劇《麥克白》的幕后核心團隊——導演賈斯汀·庫澤爾、明星邁克爾·法斯賓德與瑪麗昂·歌迪亞——來著手應對這個關鍵項目。擁有這樣的陣容，很可能那些不熟悉游戲的觀眾也會給《刺客信條》一次機會。電影從2016年8月7日的上映日推后至2016年12月21日，我們也沒理由因此而擔心。發行日的改變并不總是死亡之吻。
2016 Is only the beginning ...
2016年僅僅是個開始??
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，那么未來將無可限量。如果實施到位，上述任意電影都能帶來獲利豐厚的系列電影，而當涉及到可用的內容時，這還只是個開頭。這里希望從現在起的10至15年內，視頻游戲如《螞人》發行一般，在全球票房上贏得強烈反響。