“I Have Been So Disappointed”: After Becoming a Global Hit, the Last of Us Creator Shares His Take on Previous Video Game Adaptations

The HBO series Last of Us created history to be one of the most successful video game adaptions. Though there were debates regarding the castings and prejudices regarding its success, the show ticked all the right boxes to overcome all these.

Now as the show has ended with much hype for a sequel, Neil Druckman, the brain behind the video game, shared his thoughts about the performance of video game adaptations and what they represent.

The Last of Us’ Neil Druckmann has an interesting take on video game adaptions

Apart from movies and television series, video games contribute massively to the entertainment industry. Many games are credited with impressive narratives and styles. But these were not reciprocated when made into live adaptations, creating huge disappointment among the audience.

But in the past couple of years, this has been transitioning positively. The success of Arcane is an apt example of this.

Neil Druckmann, being an avid gamer himself, was talking about this very aspect. “I Have Been So Disappointed,” stated Neil about the many failed video game adaptation attempts. The failure of video game adaptations was a huge curse on the games, as it may be perceived to be no good in the eyes of many who do not engage in gaming.

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He wanted to make sure that this perception was changed. For this, the success of the adaptation is very much needed. This not only will portray the gaming industry in a positive light, but increases the audience’s understanding of the people who have worked to make these games.

That is, the hard work and thought that was put into these games by makers will get wide claim appreciation. Additionally, this makes many others move out of the perception that video games are badly written narratives with mind-numbing actions.

In the eyes of Neil, a properly packaged adaption can only work this out. The audience would show up if this is present in the adaptation. More and more people would start watching it, increasing its fan base even further. And the Last of Us was able to do just that.

Thus, the success of The Last of Us is huge. It broke the infamous video game adaptation curse to become a massive hit among the audience.

In the interview, Neil also talked about his trip to the new Super Nintendo World with his kids. And he talked about how they loved experiencing what it has to offer. It was a fan-boy moment for him as well as he is a diehard Mario fan.

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