How much sense does an arcade game from the new Space Jam make?

We had already talked a few months ago about how Microsoft was exploiting Space Jam: New Legends, sequel to the legendary film of the 90s which consisted of an ambitious and fun crossover between the basketball player Michael Jordan and the animated characters of the Looney Tunes like Bugs Bunny, Duffy Duck and Sylvester the Cat.

The company of Xbox he had launched Space Jam themed coding courses and competitions, Complete with LeBron James, star of the NBA and the Los Angeles Lakers, to present the lessons with Bugs Bunny. From the poll launched to decide which video game to bring to light with the film, the winner was announced today, Space Jam: A New Legacy – The Game.

If you have seen the graphics and effects that are part of the film, you will be a bit disappointed to find out which video game is to accompany the film ... The question that perhaps all gamers are asking themselves is the following: with all millions spent to produce a blockbuster that combines real-world shooting, CGI and animation, a project that attempts to mix multiple franchises related to Warner Bros. and beyond, is not that could we expect something more on the videogame front?

Space Jam: A New Legacy – The Game

The game that will accompany the releases of Space Jam: New Legends in theaters is a beat'em up, a horizontal scrolling fighting game, from the visuals in pixel art e dal gameplay arcade who know a lot from 90's playroom. Space Jam: A New Legacy - The Game it is certainly a nice and well finished product that will attract many nostalgics of the first film, but are we sure that this videogame choice in the strategies of Warner Bros. makes so much sense?

The intentions of the American company seem to have been precisely those of creating a companion of its main product, which obviously is the film. Space Jam 2 game is none other than a virtual gadget which serves as a gateway for newbies and nostalgic millennials to drag them to theaters to watch the new film. This is also demonstrated by the fact that the video game will be distributed free to all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate owners starting from 1 July, two weeks before the arrival of the film in theaters.

To accompany the Space Jam video game there are also three themed Xbox controllers that simply calling them "beautiful" is an understatement. The three gamepads have as graphics those of the two main teams of the new film, the Tune Squad (light blue vapor and orange), the Goon Squad (very evil black and purple), and the Serververse, the narrative universe where the IPs will meet and collide by Warner in Space Jam 2.

When the video game is just a marketing aid

No one will ever question the quality of such a video game, much less in a site like ours that loved games with a similar concept like Battletoads e Streets of Rage 4, and who is looking forward to the scrolling fighting game of Ninja Turtles. What we wonder is why Warner Bros. has decided to limit its resources so much videogames when, judging by the trailers of the new film, there seems to be a lot of material to produce a Triple A also in the field of video games.

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Just a few days ago we discussed how Disney has changed his mind about his franchises over time, transforming his video games from accompanying films and ideas to stand-alone products with their own strong identity.

Here, on the other hand, it almost seems that Warner has lagged behind the 90s also as a marketing strategy. Let's face it, how many would be willing to put their hand to the wallet for a Triple A video game from Space Jam, a sort of NBA 2K with special powers and bizarre characters? Also in the 1997, for the launch of the original Space Jam, a video game of the same name was produced by Acclaim Entertainment which, however, had no fame or success due to too simple and predictable gameplay, interspersed with silly minigames related to the plot of the film.

It seems strange that a company as important and with so many capillary activities as Warner Bros. has not thought of a Space Jam Triple A video game, yet we are talking about who has the series of Batman Arkham, of Mortal Kombat, of Jurassic Park, of Harry Potter and Middle-earth. The only legitimate doubt that comes to us is that Space Jam has been absent from the entertainment world for many years, and therefore before launching a real Warner game first test the waters. Let's hope.