the-dark-knight posts

The release of The Dark Knight on DVD, Blu-Ray and downloadable video this week represents just the latest way that the world has seen the character of Batman portrayed in the mass media. The costumed detective has been around for nearly 70 years and yet the creation of writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane has gone through a ton of reinterpretations that have culminated in the 2008 blockbuster film that may agree could be the best film ever made based on a comic book character.

Even with Batman's success in films, he hasn't has as much success in games, particularly in the PC realm. That could change next year with the planned release of Batman: Arkham Asylum from Eidos/Warner Bros. Interactive and Batman's appearance in Sony Online's super hero MMO DC Universe Online. Big Download decided to look back at Batman's recent past on the PC game platform and look at its future, including our suggestions on what classic Batman comic book storylines might make great games.

Click on the image above to read more on the past (and possible future) Batman games

For months, rumors have gone out that developer Pandemic and publisher Electronic Arts were working on an open world action game based on The Dark Knight, the latest in the Batman films that turned out to be not just a critical hit but a much bigger box office smash than first expected. So what happened to the game? The Associated Press claims via an unnamed source that such a game was in development but the article doesn't seem to know why it wasn't released; it does have several possible reasons, including missed deadline and poor quality (EA and the movie's studio Warner Bros. declined to comment).

If such a game existed it missed a huge opportunity, according to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter. He claims that if a Dark Knight had been released at the same time as the film it would have sold as much as 4 million copies and grossed $100 million. Of course, Batman fans still have three upcoming games that will feature the character; the family themed action game Lego Batman, the Midway console fighting game Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe and the Sony Online MMO DC Universe Online.