Movie videogames

Seeing the success of the movie industry many games companies tried to capitalize on it by making movie-themed games. These games were relatively easy to make, they didn’t need a dedicated story or characters since they where based on the ones of the movie and they were likely to sell well following the success of the movies. The most popular are:

1979 - Superman

Superman is an Atari 2600 game designed by John Dunn and published by Atari, Inc. in 1979. The game is based on repairing the bridge destroyed by Lex Luthor, capture Luthor and his criminal underlings. Three of Superman's powers are used in this game: strength, X-ray vision, and flight.
The game can be played with two players. The player, using the left joystick controller, will have priority over the left and right movement of Superman, while the player using the right controller will have priority over up and down movement of Superman.

1982 - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

E.T is a 1982 adventure video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. for the Atari 2600 video game console. It is based on the film of the same name, and was designed by Howard Scott Warshaw. The objective of the game is to guide the eponymous character through various screens to collect three pieces of an interplanetary telephone that will allow him to contact his home planet. E.T. is frequently cited as a contributing factor to Atari's massive financial losses during 1983 and 1984. It was generally believed that as a result of overproduction and returns, millions of unsold cartridges.

1982 - Tron

Tron is a coin-operated arcade video game manufactured and distributed by Bally/Midway in 1982. It is based on the Walt Disney Productions motion picture Tron released in the same year. The game consists of four subgames inspired by the events of the science fiction film. It features some characters and equipment seen in the film, e.g. the Light Cycles, battle tanks, the Input/Output Tower. The game earned more than the film's initial release.

1983 - Discs of Tron

In 1983, Midway released the sequel arcade game Discs of Tron, which was inspired by the disc throwing combat sequence of the film.

1983 - Star Wars

Star Wars is an arcade game produced by Atari, Inc. and released in 1983. Star Wars is an arcade game produced by Atari, Inc. and released in 1983. The game is a first person space simulator, simulating the attack on the Death Star from the final act of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The game is composed of 3D color vector graphics. This game was developed during the Golden Age of Arcade Games and is considered the #4 most popular game of all time according to the readers of Killer List of Videogames.

1984 - Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters is based on the 1984 film of the same name, the Ghostbusters are the ones to call to bust any ghost hauntings. They do this through the use of nuclear-accelerated proton packs and ghost traps, whereby the ghosts can be captured and transferred to a secure storage facility at their Headquarters. However New York City has suddenly become a very haunted place, and the number of ghosts has suddenly and dramatically increased. The Ghostbusters must reduce the paranormal psychokinetic energy, the PK level in the city, which represents ghost power, before the Temple of Zuul awakens and resurrects an evil goddess called Gozer.

1986 - Batman

Batman is a 1986 3D isometric action-adventure game by Ocean Software. The object of the game is to rescue Robin by collecting the seven parts of the Batcraft hovercraft that are scattered around the Batcave.

1987 - Jaws

Jaws is a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System that is loosely based on the film franchise of the same name. This title uses element from all Jaws films.

1988 - RoboCop

RoboCop is a 1987 action movie set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future. RoboCop centers on a police officer that is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg, otherwise known as a RoboCop. In the game, a player controls RoboCop who advances through various stages that are taken from the 1987 movie. The bonus screen is a target shooting range that uses a first-person perspective. The intermission features digitized voices from the actors.

1989 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, released as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Super Kame Ninja is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up released by Konami as a coin-operated video game in 1989. It is based on the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series which began airing in the winter of 1987. The original coin-operated game was distributed to the arcades in two variants: a standard 2-player version that allowed either player to choose their character and a deluxe 4-player version with each player controlling a different character.

1989 - Back to the Future

Back to the Future is a terrible video games released in 1989 for NES, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC. The game is loosely based on the 1985 film Back to the Future.

1990 - Godzilla

Godzilla is a Game Boy video game developed by Compile. Although it was released in 1990. The game is a 2D side-scrolling video game where Godzilla can only walk around or climb ladders, vines or crystals. A prominent part of the game is his punch, the only attack he has, which is used to destroy boulders, and to kill or push enemies. The main point of each room is to destroy all of the boulders.
There are two power-ups: the hourglass and the lightning bolt. The hourglass stops all enemy movement for a short period of time. The lightning bolt kills all enemies on-screen, except for Ghidorah.

1991 - Die Hard

Die Hard is a video game released for the Commodore 64 in 1990 and for the NES in 1991 by Activision. Its gameplay is based on the 1988 movie Die Hard. During the game, the player rescues hostages and battles with terrorists from a top view perspective at Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.