Amazon Prime’s Spin On ‘Fallout’ Brings New Fans To The Video Game Franchise

From Mortal Kombat to Mario, video games have long served as the inspiration for small- and big-screen adaptations. But generally speaking, the goal has been to turn fans of the game into viewers of the Hollywood spin-offs.

Amazon Prime seems to be turning that trend on its head with “Fallout,” a series based on the popular video game franchise, now greenlighted for a second season.

A brief overview

Fallout started as a role-playing series set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland and attracted a large fanbase on its own, but the new show has introduced the title to a new wave of players.

Fallout 4, which was released nearly a decade ago, became a top-selling game this month, and several other titles in the series landed in the top 10.

Some say existing fans were largely responsible for the spike, scooping up copies in hopes of recapturing the excitement of playing them when they were new. Others say Bethesda, the game’s publisher, primed the pump by reducing the cost of certain Fallout titles and even temporarily making one of them free.

Cause and effect

Even if you want to credit nostalgia and price cuts for some of the recent sales, gaming insider James Batchelor said Amazon Prime clearly deserves some of the credit.

“It’s got to be new people as well,” he said. “New people wanting to try out these games themselves.”

Batchelor described the streaming platform “has a much broader audience than the console market” and is capable of reaching a more mainstream audience than video games.

“And the fact that Fallout is based on a video game, people are going to be intrigued to see the source material,” he concluded. “It’s the modern equivalent of going to see the film and then deciding to read the book.”

Chris Agee April 22nd, 2024

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