A big-screen Hollywood adaption of Watch Dogs may be in the works as Ubisoft buys up domains online, or it could just be forward thinking, either way everyone is excited.
There has been a trend in recent years of popular video game franchises receiving the Hollywood treatment and being adapted to film. More often than not however, the excitement, immersion and atmosphere of the video games do not translate onto the silver screen and everyone is left with a pile of fecal matter such as Max Payne and House of the Dead.
Some adaptations do work such as the Resident Evil series and the Silent Hill movie but more often than not gamers are left with a bitter aftertaste when they leave the movie theatre. That may be the reason why fans are skeptical about the rumoured Uncharted movie as well as the reported Assassin’s Creed big screen adaptation as both franchises are some of the biggest that the gaming industry has to offer.
Ubisoft, however, seem convinced that the plot of their upcoming game, Watch Dogs, as well as the style and narrative may also warrant interest from Hollywood and have gone ahead and purchased a number of online domains for a potential big screen adaption.
At the same time however, one has to consider the thought that it is just foresight and that Ubisoft is adopting a ‘you never know’ attitude. Either way, the news has been making waves on the internet and in video gaming circles as Watch Dogs was one of the games of E3.
The title came as a bit of a surprise for everyone in attendance at Ubisoft’s E3 Press Conference, as well as for the millions watching from home, as there was no teaser or prior build up to the game. Instead a short trailer was shown to add some background and context to the gameplay demo, which pretty much blew everyone away.
Watch Dogs had a touch of Assassin’s Creed and Hitman coupled with the open world exploration of Grand Theft Auto and the visual prowess of something that one would expect from Crysis, Killzone or Uncharted, while still managing to carve out an identity of its own.
It seems unlikely though that anyone would be interested in acquiring the movie rights for a game that has not even been released or even had a playable demo yet but if the game proves to be a success one can never know.
Watch Dogs is rumoured to be released around the end of this year or sometime around 2013.
What does the reader think of the news? Does a game that has only had one gameplay trailer warrant a movie deal or is it just a pre-emptive move from Ubisoft? Let us know in the comments section below.
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