Neil Druckmann says that a recently published interview featured edited versions of his answers that lost the context of their meaning. Quoted as stating “I’m eager to see how this new game resonates, especially following the success of The Last of Us, as it could redefine mainstream perceptions of gaming”, the Last of Us developer’s answer seemed to be only hyping their next game. After all, many a gamer have seen a publisher or developer make similar claims only to be let down after the game launches and players notice its resemblance to other projects with little or no new innovative ideas. Neil Druckmann says his ramblings were edited leading to a loss of context and intent.
In editing my rambling answers in my recent interview with SONY, some of my words, context, and intent were unfortunately lost. Well, here's the full long rambling answer for the final question about our future game… pic.twitter.com/tVuxX3LYJF
— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) May 25, 2024
From game to multimedia
Clearly what Druckman is attempting to express is the immersive experience that some games can provide and while the gaming community is aware of this non-gamers are becoming increasingly drawn in due to the success of various television show adaptations. He specifically references the award-winning HBO MAX Last of Us series but also adds Amazon’s recent Fallout show that garnered praise from critics and fans alike while attracting audiences who had never played the game.
While Hollywood continues to endeavor to find projects to hit blockbuster status, a term whose use sometimes gets the bar lowered since fewer and fewer movies fail to obtain the coveted $1B threshold, successful video game franchises have gained fan bases that sometimes span decades. Disney/Marvel was able to capitalize on this with its first run of MCU movies which included characters from over 50+ years that drew multi-generational fans to theaters and dominated ticket sales for nearly 10 years. That trend has mostly subsided but with the success of the aforementioned shows, plus Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros., Druckman’s statement that “it could redefine mainstream perceptions of gaming”, seems to mean that the multimedia adaptations could draw new players to gaming. It is that idea that seems to be his overall intent when referring to his next game.