Sega’s Altered Beast and Streets of Rage to Be Adapted for TV and Film

Classic Sega video games Altered Beast and Streets of Rage will be adapted for film and television, according to published reports this week. Stories International, a joint venture of Sega Group and Hakuhodo DY group, will partner with production company Circle of Confusion to produce both properties. For those who may be too young to remember, both Altered Beast and Streets of Rage were very popular video games during the hey day of the mall arcade and the early home systems of the 1980s and early 1990s. Altered Beast, released in 1988, is a side-scrolling fighting game that chronicles the adventures of a resurrected Greek warrior given the ability to transform into a beast/human hybrid by Zeus in order to rescue the goddess Athena from the underworld. The phrase "Beast Mode," which has entered popular culture due to its association with former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch, is thought to be traced all the way back to the game play in Altered Beast. Streets of Rage, released by Sega in 1991, was a home system fighting game created as an attempt to match the arcade success of Capcom's Final Fight. The game tells the story of three young former police officers (Axel, Blaze, and Adam) and their battle against criminal mastermind Mr. X. Two sequels to the hit game were also produced in 1991 and 1994. Stories International is a joint production venture of Sega Group and Hakuhodo DY Group. Partner Circle of Confusion is known for television productions Fear the Walking Dead, The Talking Dead, Powers, Outcast, and Dirk Gently. They also produced recent films Spare Parts, American Ultra, and Mr. Right. For Sega fans, these projects are only the beginning, and there are more adaptations in the pipeline. Stories International also has plans to produce future film and television projects based on other Sega game franchises, including classics Shinobi, Golden Axe, Virtua Fighter, The House of the Dead, and Crazy Taxi. “These are some of the most well loved SEGA games, and we are thrilled to be working with Stories to adapt them into major film and television franchises,” Circle of Confusion's Lawrence Mattis explained. Producer Marc Platt (Bridge of Spies, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk) has already been attached to the Shinobi project. There are few specifics on the other projects at this time, but all are expected to be produced through major studios as English-language feature films or television series for worldwide release.