Games adapted for the screen: yay or nay?

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Several big-title games like TLOU (The Last of Us), Uncharted, and Super Mario are being made into screen adaptations, with many fans divided on what the right call is. Between casting the right people, scripting, and more, there's a lot that can go wrong and you can't make everyone happy. That hasn't seemed to deter game publishers from shooting their shot regardless, the most recent being Raw Fury. The indie publisher has paired up with dJ2 Entertainment in a first-look deal that will potentially look to adapt games like Sable for the big screen.

I've been noodling what my definitive answer would be to the question: "Are video games turned screen adaptations ultimately good or bad?" 

What are y’all’s thoughts? Are the resulting products good or are they just cash grabs? Also, has anyone seen a good adaptation they'd recommend?

My two cents (for what they're worth): 

I’ll preface my opinion by saying that I think games-to-screen adaptations can work for certain types of stories such as the (still in development) Sleeping Dogs movie. (Hoping that this one doesn't disappoint!)

I have high hopes for some current and planned adaptations, though I have to say I side with a lot of fans who are befuddled over casting choices for certain adaptations, such as Chris Pratt for Mario or Mark Whalberg for Sully.

Here’s the thing: I’ve been playing through Sable and have loved the indie as a break from the action-packed games I’ve been cruising on recently. But I'm not sure how well it'd adapt to a visual-only media-- part of what makes Sable such a fun title is being able to interact with it. The world of Sable is lost when gamers become viewers. While I think it would make for an interesting series or movie, player agency is integral to Sable’s beauty. It’s one thing to watch a character explore a world, it’s another entirely to navigate a world to your heart’s content. I feel similarly about TLOU being made for film. I love Pedro Pascal as an actor, but I think the videogame format perfectly suits the world and story of Ellie and Joel. The performances by Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson are award-winning and indeed were award-worthy. It's hard to beat something that is already pretty amazing.

While I absolutely think introducing more people to these games is a good thing, they were made as video games for a lot of reasons, and they shine in this interactive medium. If I had to make a definitive call, I’d say I’d rather not see videogames adapted for the screen, even if a few are phenomenal.

Please let me know in the comments what your thoughts are, but try and keep it classy down there.

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Interstellar

i have to say --IT DEPENDS , if the screenwriters / directors / actors are passionate about the material --YES , tho most are cash grabs so they only care about getting people in the seats quick and dont care about the fandom/ canon of the game 


Solar

Do you remember Boll? Can be a hit or a miss. However things have improved dramatically the last few years and we are seeing a lot better "game' movies. I also think the expectation of gamers are sometimes hard to match.

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