在電影史上，遊戲改編作品長期背負著「成功率極低」的惡名，許多作品不僅未能發揮原作魅力，反而成為票房與口碑雙輸的反面教材。從1990年代到2010年代初期，失敗案例層出不窮，也讓「電玩改編電影」一度被視為高風險類型。

回顧2000年以前的早期改編作品，1993年的《超級瑪利歐兄弟》幾乎成為電玩電影失敗的代名詞。電影完全背離原作明亮、童趣十足的風格，轉而採用陰暗詭異的世界觀，不論視覺設計還是劇情走向都讓玩家與觀眾難以接受。1994年由尚格雲頓主演的《快打旋風》，雖然角色設定和造型多少保留遊戲元素，但整體敘事混亂、風格失焦，評價始終低迷。1995年的《魔宮帝國》（Mortal Kombat）在票房上表現尚可，也累積一批影迷，但就改編深度與品質而言，仍被不少評論視為未能真正展現遊戲精神，更多是依賴熱血與音樂撐場。

進入2000年代後，失敗案例不減反增。《龍與地下城》（2000）雖改編自經典桌上角色扮演遊戲，卻因廉價特效與鬆散劇情被批評為改編災難。由導演烏維・鮑爾操刀的多部作品，更是讓遊戲改編電影的名聲雪上加霜。《毀滅戰士》（2005）和後來的重拍版本，幾乎被公認為最糟糕的遊戲改編之一，空洞的劇本與失焦的改編方向飽受抨擊。《吸血萊恩》（2005）同樣因品質低落成為負面典型。2006 年的《沉默之丘》雖然在美術與氛圍上獲得部分肯定，但評價依然兩極，不少核心粉絲認為電影只抓住外殼，卻失去遊戲中那種心理恐懼與敘事深度。2009年的《快打旋風：春麗傳奇》嘗試以單一角色為主軸重塑系列，結果人物塑造失敗，反而加深系列改編的不良印象。

到了2010年代，即便製作規模與卡司水準提升，爭議依然存在。《波斯王子：時之刃》在票房上不算失敗，動作場面也具娛樂性，但劇情深度與角色刻畫不足，使其評價始終徘徊在中間地帶。《刺客教條》（2016）集結一線演員與高製作成本，卻因敘事晦澀、節奏失衡，未能真正點燃粉絲與一般觀眾的熱情。《魔獸》（2016）則成為典型的「票房與口碑分裂」案例，對未接觸過遊戲的觀眾而言世界觀過於複雜，對老玩家來說又顯得鋪陳倉促。至於《惡靈古堡》真人電影系列，雖然擁有穩定觀眾群與長壽票房，但長期被批評與原作精神漸行漸遠，直到後來的重啟版與影集嘗試，評價才稍有回溫。

這些失敗案例背後，其實反映出結構性的問題。遊戲與電影在本質上存在差異，許多遊戲依賴互動性與遊玩體驗來建立情感連結，一旦抽離操作，只剩下薄弱的故事骨架，若未重新建構敘事便顯得空洞。此外，製作方往往過度依賴IP的知名度，誤以為只要掛上遊戲名稱就能吸引觀眾，卻忽略改編所需的創作轉換。更關鍵的是，部分團隊對原作理解不足，只複製角色與設定，卻沒有真正掌握遊戲的核心精神與情感價值，最終導致劇本、角色塑造與整體風格全面失衡。

也正因為這些長期累積的失敗經驗，才促使近年遊戲改編作品開始反思方向，逐漸走向更尊重原作精神、同時又懂得為影視媒介重新設計敘事的道路，為後來的成功案例鋪下重要的對照與基礎。

Throughout film history, video game adaptations have long carried the stigma of having an “extremely low success rate.” Many of these films not only failed to capture the appeal of their source material, but instead became cautionary tales of both box-office disappointment and critical failure. From the 1990s through the early 2010s, unsuccessful examples appeared one after another, leading video game movies to be widely regarded as a high-risk genre.

Looking back at early adaptations before 2000, the 1993 film Super Mario Bros. has almost become synonymous with failure in video game cinema. The movie completely abandoned the bright, playful tone of the original games in favor of a dark and bizarre worldview, making both its visual design and narrative direction difficult for players and general audiences to accept. The 1994 Street Fighter, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, retained some elements of the game in terms of characters and aesthetics, but its chaotic storytelling and unfocused style resulted in consistently poor reception. Mortal Kombat (1995) performed reasonably well at the box office and developed a cult following, yet many critics still felt that, in terms of adaptation depth and overall quality, it failed to truly convey the spirit of the game, relying more on spectacle, energy, and music to carry the experience.

Entering the 2000s, failures not only continued but increased in number. Dungeons & Dragons (2000), adapted from the classic tabletop role-playing game, was criticized as an adaptation disaster due to cheap-looking effects and a loose, unfocused plot. A series of films directed by Uwe Boll further damaged the reputation of video game adaptations. Doom (2005), along with its later reboot, is widely regarded as one of the worst game adaptations ever made, heavily criticized for its hollow script and misguided creative direction. BloodRayne (2005) similarly became a negative benchmark because of its poor quality. Silent Hill (2006) earned some praise for its art direction and atmosphere, but overall reception remained sharply divided, with many core fans arguing that the film captured only the surface aesthetics while losing the psychological horror and narrative depth that defined the game. In 2009, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li attempted to rebuild the franchise around a single character, but weak character development ultimately reinforced the series’ poor adaptation reputation.

By the 2010s, even as production budgets grew and star-studded casts became more common, controversy persisted. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was not a box-office failure and offered entertaining action sequences, yet its lack of narrative depth and nuanced character development left it stuck in a middling critical position. Assassin’s Creed (2016), despite featuring top-tier actors and a high production budget, suffered from obscure storytelling and unbalanced pacing, failing to ignite enthusiasm among either fans or general audiences. Warcraft (2016) became a classic example of a “box office–critical reception split”: newcomers found its worldbuilding overly complex, while longtime players felt the story was rushed and underdeveloped. As for the live-action Resident Evil film series, although it maintained a stable audience and long-running box-office success, it was repeatedly criticized for drifting further away from the core spirit of the games, with only later reboots and streaming adaptations showing slight improvements in reception.

Behind these failures lie deeper structural issues. Video games and films differ fundamentally as media. Many games rely on interactivity and the act of play itself to build emotional connections; once player agency is removed, what often remains is a relatively thin narrative framework that can feel hollow without careful reconstruction. In addition, studios frequently overestimate the drawing power of an IP, mistakenly assuming that attaching a famous game title alone will guarantee audience interest, while neglecting the creative transformation required for effective adaptation. Most critically, some production teams lack a true understanding of the original works, merely copying characters and settings without grasping the games’ core themes and emotional values. The result is often a breakdown in script quality, character development, and overall tonal coherence.

It is precisely these accumulated failures over many years that have pushed recent video game adaptations to rethink their approach. Gradually, the industry has begun moving toward a model that respects the spirit of the original games while also redesigning narratives to suit film and television as distinct media, laying an important foundation and point of contrast for the successful adaptations that followed.