The Evolution of DC Games

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Ah, corporate synergy. For this week’s Fun Friday, I’ve chosen a video from about two years ago that chronicles the vast differences in DC video games over the years. DC is, of course, part of the vast AT&T empire that also includes DIRECTV, and Solid Signal is an AT&T Preferred Dealer.

I’m not kidding here

Seriously, this is a Superman game from 1979:

and this is a Batman game from 2017:

Take a look at the whole evolution in this roughtly 20-minute video.

https://youtu.be/0r6SRFQd4dg

It’s not just the evolution of DC

Really when you look at these games you see the evolution of video in general. Starting with crude pixels, you can see a move toward more and more realism. Eventually, you start seeing real artistry coming into these games and they move past being realistic into being absolutely stylish. I’m constantly amazed by what game consoles can do today and I just wonder where they’re going.

A few observations:

Way too many of these are about Superman and Batman.

In fact almost every game is either Superman or Batman. You would think there weren’t any other DC heroes.

Early game designers basically turned everything into Mario.

The side-scroller genre was a big one in the 1990s. Early Superman and Batman games essentially took the plumber out and put a DC hero in. But hey, it was a simpler time and we were just glad to have anything at all.

Apparently game designers think Superman walks and Batman flies.

Yes you read that right. Watch this video and you’ll see Supes just walking around when you know he could fly places. In the meantime the Caped Crusader seems to be able to plunge from thousands of feet and land comfortably on moving cars.

A lot of these games are mobile.

If you think mobile gaming is a new thing, think again. If you’re not old enough to remember the original Game Boy, it was a truly transformational device. It brought console-quality graphics (1990s console, but still) to a handheld device. People have loved mobile gaming ever since. Of course today it’s all phone based and the quality of the graphics is still incredible. Not up to what today’s top-end consoles can do but still mighty impressive.

Take a look for yourself

Maybe if you’re a gamer of any sort — even just a casual one — you might want to check out your devices online store for something from the DC Universe. Looks like the selection is really pretty good and the experience has improved even past what this video shows. And, believe it or not there are even, finally, some characters besides Superman and Batman.

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.