The Legend of Zelda: Netflix Version?

Steve Anderson : End Game
Steve Anderson
The Video Store Guy
| The video game industry has gone from a mole hill to a mountain in no time flat, Chris DiMarco is your Sherpa as you endeavor to scale Mount “Everquest”

The Legend of Zelda: Netflix Version?

Most of us, I think, can point to one video game or another that was turned into a movie or television show that never should have had that particular privilege. Most of us likely remember the cruel prank the universe played on us known as the Super Mario Bros movie, and can probably name at least three others just off the top of the head. But every so often, there's an idea that comes along that might just work—anyone else think an Alan Wake television series would do all right—and one of these might just be Netflix's rumored plans to bring The Legend of Zelda to its streaming video shores.

The current reports suggest that such a beastie would be presented as a kind of Game of Thrones that's fit for “a wider audience”, which means a lot less nudity and probably violence as well. Naturally, it will also boast a lot of the action-adventure plot action that the series is so far famous for, and at last report, Nintendo was currently working very closely with Netflix to ensure that the whole thing went off without a hitch.

At last report, Nintendo was easily as embarrassed by Super Mario Bros as we were to watch it, so Nintendo has been extremely wary of further adaptation. This is probably for the best, but as we're all quite aware, Nintendo's biggest asset is its enormous array of intellectual property. Moreover, Netflix has made it quite clear in recent years that it's a force to be reckoned with when it comes to creating series, so it might be that Nintendo has seen, firsthand, that if it's going to get adaptations going, this might just be the place to go.

At first glance, this looks like it would work out well. Nintendo could certainly use some cash after its string of losses of late, and extra dollars in the bank would likely go a long way toward getting Nintendo more exclusive titles, a development it could sorely use if it wants the Wii U to go anywhere beyond the ash heap of history. Netflix, of course, could stand to bring in more originals, reducing its dependence on the studios who have seen firsthand the kind of impact Netflix can have, and as such, have decided to take the content said studios already own and put it on their own versions of Netflix.

Thus the situation becomes a win-win for everybody; Netflix gets the halo effect and name recognition of Nintendo properties and the accompanying boosts in viewership, while Nintendo gets to put its library of recognizable characters to work in a fashion that means cash incoming as well as a better chance at getting movie and television series out that aren't an embarrassment to the name. Only time will tell if this actually comes to pass, but the current word suggests it might be coming sooner than a lot of us might expect.



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