The entertainment medium has evolved immensely over the past several decades. Movies, music, and most recently video games have all found niches, changed styles, and grown with technology over the years. But perhaps the most interesting look at the changes in the entertainment spectrum is how one medium influences others in ways that are not always foreseeable.

Gaming is the newest form of entertainment, but it has shown that it can not only stand up against the long-lasting movie and music sector, in some cases it actually moulds them. We've seen movies inspired by games (have you seen Doom yet?) and even some music genres that the video game industry has helped to define. This has really caused a paradigm shift in the way people look at entertainment as a whole.

We've analyzed some of the more interesting influences that gaming has had over the past couple of decades, and found that it really has made a difference in all areas of the entertainment industry.

As Seen On Your Computer

Movies have been a large part of American culture since the early 20th century. Through the years, films have borrowed plots and storylines from other sources, be they fairy tales, historical events, or famous horror novels. More recently, there's been a new player thrown into that mix too - video games. Originally aimed at a niche audience, movies based on video games are becoming ever more popular among gamers and non-gamers alike; examples include Doom, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, and Wing Commander.

When reflecting on the topic of video game-inspired movies, it's tough to overlook the complete abomination known as Super Mario Bros. Released in 1993, it was one of the firsts to really run with this idea, but unfortunately, it did not set a good precedent. The live-action movie took a lot of the charm and distinguishing characteristics out of the Super Mario Bros franchise, and it overall was not a very enjoyable movie. It was almost enough to deter any reasonable person from ever watching another video-game-based film.

Despite the damage Super Mario Bros did to this concept, the genre continued on, though it shifted gears towards the anime/RPG crowd with titles like Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, and Blood: The Last Vampire. Movies like these became cult hits among the gaming community, but had little reach outside of that crowd. Eventually, when video games started to be more lifelike, the idea of a streamlined live-action movie based on a game became much more worthwhile.

Final Fantasy was one of the first movies that could be enjoyed without knowing the game.