G.I. Joe action figures have been part of the childhood experience since 1964. Toymaker Hasbro bought the original design from inventor Stan Weston (he also helped bring the ThunderCats animated show to TV.) Hasbro took Westen’s design and created “G.I. Joe: America’s Movable Fighting Man.” The initial collection had four variations—each representing one of the four branches of the United States armed forces.
Hasbro actually invented the term “action figure” to explain that G.I. Joes were not dolls. In the 1960s, it was widely believed that boys shouldn’t play with dolls. Thus, the action figure was born.
It would take nearly two decades before a G.I. Joe video game was developed. Considering this was during the early days of personal computers, the first G.I. Joe game was a front runner of action video games. G.I. Joe: Cobra Strike was published by Parker Brothers for the Atari 2600 home video console.
THE FUTURE OF G.I. JOE VIDEO GAMES
From its low-resolution birth in 8-bit graphics to future games made for powerful gaming consoles and mobile devices, the G.I. Joe video game franchise has come a long way. But what lies ahead for future G.I. Joe video games?
Several of our readers were discussing just that in the comments for a recent article we published about Hasbro posting the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero series on YouTube. The readers expressed their disappointment that a high-quality game hasn’t been created for the G.I Joe brand similar to Halo, Call of Duty, or Metal Gear Solid.
I completely agree with the readers. The G.I. Joe franchise is primed for a high-level video game, whether a first-person MMO shooter, MMRPG, or single player game. G.I Joe has massive brand recognition and a lot of nostalgic appeal. The G.I. Joe franchise has well-established characters, amazing vehicles, and cutting-edge tech. G.I. Joe could easily translate into a successful MMO.
HASBRO RESPONDS
I reached out to Hasbro’s PR team to find out if the company has any plans for future G.I. Joe video games.
A spokesperson for Hasbro quickly got back to me and said, “We are always looking at new ways to bring our classic characters and stories to life in different mediums and platforms. We don’t have anything to announce for G.I. Joe right now but when we do, we will be sure to let you and all our fans know. Yo Joe!”
We may have a long wait before we get a truly awesome G.I. Joe video game. Currently, there is only one game on the market and it’s only for mobile devices. G.I. Joe: War on Cobra is a strategy game that’s free to play, but with microtransactions. I haven’t played it, but the graphics look awesome.
Tomorrow, we’ll post Part 2 of this special feature on G.I. Joe video games. We’ll take a look at the history of G.I. Joe video games from 1983 to the present. Yo, Joe!
