Skip to content
If you’ve been feeling a little unusual recently then don’t panic – chances are it’s just your Spidey sense that’s been tingling in anticipation for the webslinger’s new film, Spider-Man: Homecoming. This is the third reboot of the franchise in the last 16 years and features rising British star Tom Holland, who plays a young Peter Parker trying to balance daily life alongside his wall-crawling abilities and superhuman strength.
Released in UK cinemas on July 5th, the film has swung straight to the top of the charts and has so far received very positive reviews. Boxofficemojo reports the film grossed an impressive $117m on it’s opening weekend across the United States, making it the second-largest opening for a Spiderman feature film after Spider-Man 3 – although a fairly recent opinion poll by Cleveland.com still ranks Spider-Man 2 as people’s favourite in the franchise.
From The Big Screen To The Arcade
As is often the case with any superhero-related franchise, the build up to the film and the franchise’s success as a whole has opened up many entertaining avenues for fans to explore. With a new Hot Toy Deluxe Spiderman figure already unveiled, the latest successful merchandise offering looks to be The Spider-Man: Homecoming Arcade Game which will be available to play exclusively at popular restaurant and entertainment chain, Dave and Buster’s. Kevin Bachus, SVP of Entertainment and Games Strategy at Dave & Buster’s said of the game, “The new Spider-Man: Homecoming game is a milestone for the Dave & Buster’s brand as it is a game-changer in the way we source and deliver games to our guests.” The game will allow avid Spider-Man fans to play as the eponymous super-hero and take on his newest arch-rival, Vulture, whilst swinging through the streets of downtown New York. The game is sure to be a far cry from Spider-Man’s first outing on the Atari 2600 (in the eponymous game released in 1982) and looks certain to be a hit amongst both superhero film buffs and hungry restaurant goers alike.
Spider-Man Games Beyond Video Game Platforms
In addition to the games on the more mainstream platforms and the exclusive aforementioned arcade game, the Spider0Man franchise’s sustained success over the past 15 or so years (the first effort featuring Toby Maguire came out in 2002!) has also lead to the super-hero popping up in some more unusual and unorthodox gaming platforms as the years have gone by. Amazon have a large array of Spider-Man-based puzzle games with some 500 pieces for the fan who wants to see the bigger picture. For those wanting to see the their favourite super-hero a little more up close and personal, Mega Bloks have a vast array of 3D puzzles to complete as well merchandise and figurines that would grace any avid collector’s collection.
Interestingly, the wealth of merchandise opportunities for Spiderman has even reached online casinos. Apparently, super-hero branded slots are currently extremely popular and as explained by online sources, the industry is increasingly licensing official themed games from different areas of pop culture, with Game of Thrones, Jurassic Park and even Michael Jackson getting in on the action. Consequently, there are indeed many entertaining officially licensed Spiderman branded slot games to choose from, for example, Playtech’s Spider-Man Attack of the Green Goblin, with users rewarded for helping their friendly neighbourhood super-hero defeat his arch enemies.
Weaving a Web of Table-based Entertainment Opportunity
Whilst the majority of us are used to seeing Spider-Man climbing great heights, it’s also now possible to pick him as your character and see the super-hero sliding down a ladder or two, with Hasbro releasing a Spider-Man-themed Snakes and Ladders game in November 2015. The Iron Spider and Green Goblin make up the other two characters in what is an aesthetically pleasing classic board game with a bit of a modern eight-legged twist.
The popular property trading board game that first hit tables in 1903, Monopoly, has even got in on the act over the years, releasing a special Monopoly edition in which the property squares are replaced by a who’s who of Spiderman’s friends and foes down the years including old favourites such as Kingpin and The Green Goblin as well as Spiderman’s newest foe, Venom, who only entered the Marvel arena in 1988. Monopoly aficionados will be pleased to hear that going to jail is still a very realistic possibility although one would have to question what kind of facility would be able to prevent someone with superhuman strength from escaping.
High-Tech Superman Experiences
Although Scientists haven’t yet figured out how to hone the powers of a mutant Spider bite yet, the next best thing is now available with fans able to step into Spider-Man’s shoes (does he even wear shoes?) in the form of the next major technological advancement, virtual reality. Based on the most recent release, The Spider-Man: Homecoming VR Experience, developed by CreateVR and already available on Steam, is an exhilarating first person look into Spider-Man’s world with users able to complete fast paced time trials before taking on Vulture in an epic final battle.
The Actual Reality
With the gaming industry set to grow by 5% through 2020 and operating profits in the big film industries dropping by 14.6% to $4.18 billion in 2016, as reported by Deadline, proper promotion and marketing appears to be more vital than ever in order to achieve success in the film industry and the popularity of the gaming market on both conventional and unconventional platforms means that the two can only become more inextricably linked as the years go by. Luckily for us, this all means more Spider-Man!