First movie based game?

[COMTARI]

What was the first movie based video game? Was it Tron for the intellivision...Krull, E.T., or Raiders of the Lost Ark by Atari...or Empire Strikes Back by Parker Bros..or something else?

[Tempest]

Tron (arcade) would be my guess.

 

Tempest

[Cassidy Nolen]

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=9509

 

Shark Jaws was released right as Jaws was at its height. The machine was "produced" by Horror games, a spin off of Atari (much like Kee Games). It would technically be the first I imagine. This was 2 years before the VCS.

 

I know Flash Gordon is an older movie than Tron, but I don't know that the game was released before the others.

 

Cassidy

[NovaXpress]

Shark Jaws was not a licensed property, just an attempt to steal some name recognition. Death Race wasn't an official license either. And if those are close enough to count, then Star Fire would qualify along with countless others.

 

Empire Strikes Back was released in spring of 1982. This was followed by Tron (arcade and home) in the summer with Raiders being the third actual movie adaptation in the late fall. Flash Gordon was a 1983 release.

[Tempest]

Empire Strikes Back was released in spring of 1982. This was followed by Tron (arcade and home) in the summer with Raiders being the third actual movie adaptation in the late fall. Flash Gordon was a 1983 release.

998379[/snapback]

 

Was Jedi Arena before or after Empire Strikes back?

 

Tempest

[NovaXpress]

Jedi Arena was fall 82, it might have beat Raiders to the shelves.

 

Parker released Empire first in early spring, quickly followed by Frogger. In the fall they released Spidey, Reactor, Sky Skipper, and Jedi Arena at the same time.

[A.J. Franzman]

Shark Jaws was not a licensed property, just an attempt to steal some name recognition. Death Race wasn't an official license either. And if those are close enough to count, then Star Fire would qualify along with countless others.

998379[/snapback]

COMTARI didn't write "licensed", he wrote "movie based". So yes, as the question was posed, they qualify. Which was the first then?

[NE146]

If you're counting 1982 games don't forget China Syndrome

[NovaXpress]

If you want to be that loose then maybe Spacewar qualifies, I'm sure it was "inspired" by one sci-fi flick or another.

 

In what sense was Shark Jaws based on Jaws, other than the rip-off font that was used? Aside from a shark, that game has nothing in common with the plot of the movie. Star Fire is clearly "based" on Star Wars. It's too hard to set a definition unless you concentrate on licensed titles.

[raskar42]

What was the first movie based video game?  Was it Tron for the intellivision...Krull, E.T., or Raiders of the Lost Ark by Atari...or  Empire Strikes Back by Parker Bros..or something else?

998326[/snapback]

 

 

you're asking about games for the 2600, right?

 

In what sense was Shark Jaws based on Jaws, other than the rip-off font that was used? Aside from a shark, that game has nothing in common with the plot of the movie.

998419[/snapback]

 

 

Jaws fever was in full swing, it definately capitalized on it.

Edited January 11, 2006 by raskar42

[Cassidy Nolen]

Nova,

 

Given the limitations of non-processor based games, its amazing there WAS any "plot" to a game. Most literature I have ever seen quotes this as the FIRST video game/movie media tie-in.

 

These were made to sit outside of the movie theaters so people leaving would pump in a quarter to extend the "frenzy" about the movie. If there was ever a movie tie-in, I think that would qualify. You are correct it is unlicensed, as is the reason Atari used Horror games to hide who made the machine (not unlike the multi-arcade boards being produced today).

 

May not be what you consider a based game but that's what I've seen.

 

Cassidy

[Mike OC]

Nova,

 

Given the limitations of non-processor based games, its amazing there WAS any "plot" to a game.  Most literature I have ever seen quotes this as the FIRST video game/movie media tie-in. 

 

These were made to sit outside of the movie theaters so people leaving would pump in a quarter to extend the "frenzy" about the movie.  If there was ever a movie tie-in, I think that would qualify.  You are correct it is unlicensed, as is the reason Atari used Horror games to hide who made the machine (not unlike the multi-arcade boards being produced today). 

 

May not be what you consider a based game but that's what I've seen.

 

Cassidy

998429[/snapback]

 

Wasn't the game actually featured in a scene in the movie? The scene where the Mayor and Broady are walking along the boardwalk having a discussion, the game is being played in the background. The camera cuts to a close up for a few seconds and then returns to the two walking.

[Cassidy Nolen]

That was Killer Shark

 

http://www.mameworld.net/movies/

 

You can also see that beautiful Computer Space in there

 

 

 

Cassidy

 

 

Off topic: Wonder what ever happened to the white one from Soylent Green?

[NovaXpress]

Killer Shark was before the movie, Shark Jaws afterwards. Those 2 had pretty much the same gameplay, didn't they? That's more evidence that the gameplay of SG wasn't movie-based at all. Just the logo and the presence of a shark, which had been done before. I understand what you're saying about the marketing tie-in being as relevant as an official license. Looks like two categories of movie-based games should be considered then. You would agree that Star Fire and Death Race would qualify as "unofficial movie-based" as well.

 

Was that Computer Space a real cab or one they just painted white? Being a movie prop, it was probably broken down for parts or stolen by a gaffer.

Edited January 11, 2006 by NovaXpress

[A.J. Franzman]

What was the first movie based video game?  Was it Tron for the intellivision...Krull, E.T., or Raiders of the Lost Ark by Atari...or  Empire Strikes Back by Parker Bros..or something else?

998326[/snapback]

you're asking about games for the 2600, right?

998428[/snapback]

Since he mentioned Intellivision, I would say not. Whether he meant to include arcade machines is not clear. In any case I would say this thread belongs more in Classic Gaming General or Arcade Coin-ops, unless COMTARI comes back and says that he was only referring to VCS games.

Edited January 11, 2006 by A.J. Franzman

[A.J. Franzman]

If you want to be that loose then maybe Spacewar qualifies, I'm sure it was "inspired" by one sci-fi flick or another.

998419[/snapback]

Unless someone can come up with a specific film, I disagree. Being based on a genre (whether from cinema, television or literature) is not the same as being based on a specific work. If anything, I would say it's based on episodes of the original Star Trek TV series featuring space battles, just going by the design of one of the ships plus the gameplay.

Edited January 11, 2006 by A.J. Franzman

[NovaXpress]

It's hard to stick to one system when discussing classic gaming history.

 

What is for sure is that the first official movie-license was ESB and it happened to occur on the 2600.

 

The first intentional movie-tie-in could have been Shark Jaws.

 

The first instance of any pop-culture game license I can find is The Fonz, followed by 2600 Superman.

Edited January 11, 2006 by NovaXpress

[ZylonBane]

Umm, Death Race 2000, anyone? Came out in 1976, same year as Fonz.

 

There's also Shark, released in 1975, same year as Jaws.

Edited January 11, 2006 by ZylonBane

[NovaXpress]

Ah, but the game is Death Race, not Death Race 2000. Not an official license, which makes it a theft like Shark Jaws.

 

Your point about the Shark game is exactly why I don't like to count un-official tie-ins. It's hard to draw the line. There had been similar games before the movie. The only thing notable about Shark Jaws was the way that it stole the Jaws logo.

[Atariboy2600]

What about Atari's Superman? It came out the same time as the movie did.

[NovaXpress]

Superman was a licens of the comic book, not from the movie. There is a legal difference, even though the project was being worked by various Warner branches. 2600 Superman used the comic logo and graphics, rather than the motion picture versions.

 

China Syndrome hit right before Xmas 82, after Raiders and the Tron and Star Wars games.

[ZylonBane]

Ah, but the game is Death Race, not Death Race 2000. Not an official license, which makes it a theft like Shark Jaws.

You might want to read the KLOV entry.

[NovaXpress]

Oh, and for the last time, "Death Race" is the title of the game, NOT "Death Race 2000." The latter was the title of a really bad Sly Stallone/David Carradine movie released the previous year with the same general premise; probably Exidy was hoping for name recognition among the "Kewl Kar Killr" teenage boys who were that film's core audience.

The logo is completely different too.

[COMTARI]

I was thinking of the home console. Atari Star Wars might have been one of the first arcade though?... Well, any way back to the home console.

[sandmountainslim]

When did Towering Inferno come out? Would it be in the running?