Due to the success of Halo, Sonic, and other gaming franchises on the big screen, Sony is looking to cut a piece of the pie for themselves. Sony is working on producing Gran Turismo, God of War, and Horizon television series’. Sony is working with Amazon and Netflix to develop the series.
Gran Turismo to the Small Screen?
This is not Sony’s first rodeo with extending a gaming franchise to television or movies. Sony is currently working on bringing the Last of Us franchise to HBO Max. Sony is also working on a Twisted Metal Series on Peacock. Uncharted saw its big-screen debut in February to albeit limited success.
The move to the big screen is not unique to Sony. Nintendo is working directly with Illumination and Universal Studios to make a Mario movie. Microsoft has enjoyed some decent success with Halo on Paramount+. EA is also working on a movie with Madden NFL at the forefront
However, there are always risks when it comes to taking a game and developing it into a movie or TV series. Street Fighter, Max Payne, and Assassins Creed are just a few names on the long list of video game movie disasters. The successful ones like Sonic the Hedgehog and Need for Speed are rarities.
As far as what the shows will look like, that is up for grabs. Unlike God of War and Horizon, Gran Turismo does not have an identifiable franchise protagonist. The game is centered around racing to earn credits for other cars. It could take the Need for Speed approach, where a protagonist is inserted into the story. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how each series turns out.
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