Is 'Tetris' based on a true story?
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Over the years, there have been several video game adaptations on the big screen, and most of them tell a story primarily focusing on fictional characters. Movies like ‘Unchartered’ and ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ follow the stories that have been shown in the game, but Apple TV+’s new movie has done something different and is giving viewers a chance to know more about the person who created one of the finest video games ever made: ‘Tetris’.
The latest movie is based on a game that became a worldwide phenomenon when it premiered in 1984. It was such an easy game to play and kill the time. No one ever thought that this game would turn out to become such a revolutionary product and become a rage among the people. ‘Tetris’ was created by a Soviet software engineer named Alexey Pajitnov people might have heard his name, but the story behind the creation of this phenomenon was spell-binding and how it became such a blockbuster hit among the people was something unique. That’s why Apple TV+ has taken the responsibility of presenting this riveting story to the public.
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But what inspired the streaming platform to tell the real-life story? Let’s take a look.
Is ‘Tetris’ based on a true story?
Yes, Apple TV+’s ‘Tetris’ is based on a true story.
In 1984, a software engineer named Alexey Pajitnov was working in and for the Soviet Academy of Sciences. He was always busy with research work, but whenever he got some free time, he played a game that made him feel good. He always wanted to make video games and start a revolution. So, he recalled his childhood memories of pentominoes, a game where people create pictures using their shapes. Remembering the difficulty he had in putting the pieces back into their box, Pajitnov felt inspired to create a game based on that concept and called it ‘Tetris’.
Despite being made out of just brackets and spaces, everyone who played the game quickly became addicted to it and the game started to gather steam across Moscow. However, he wanted to take his game to other parts of the world as well, but the Soviets didn’t allow their researchers to sell their creations. However, an international software salesman named Robert Stein believed that this game had the potential of being a worldwide phenomenon. He contacted Stein and all researchers working in the Academy started to form an agreement via fax, but they never knew that this could be considered a legal contract in the western world. A lot of publishers were not ready to take a gamble on this because of its Soviet origin. But he would end up signing two important contracts with some of the biggest names and sold the European rights to Microsoft. Meanwhile, the American rights were sold to Spectrum HoloByte.
Stein sold the rights to the two companies for £3,000 and a royalty of 7.5 to 15% on sales.
But the biggest problem for Stein occurred when he realized that he sold the license of a game that he did not own yet. So, he made a lot of visits to Moscow and contacted Pajitnov for meetings. They would meet people at Elektronorgtechnica, the Soviet Union's central organization for the import and export of computer software, requesting 80% of the revenue. A ten-year contract was signed in May 1988 and got ‘Tetris’ license for all current and future systems.
However, things changed when Henk Rogers, founder of Bullet-Proof Software, entered the scene and wanted to take the game to Japan. Rogers became friends with Pajitnov and the rights to the game were sold to Nintendo. The 1989 version of the game sold 43 million copies and became the flagship title of the handheld console that would define a generation.
Apple TV+’s ‘Tetris’ movie will talk about all the important moments that took place in taking the game to the world. From creating the game to all the legal battles, the film will primarily focus on every little detail.
Who plays Henk Rogers in the movie?
Golden Globe-winning actor Taron Edgerton will be playing the lead role of Henk Rogers in the movie while Toby Jones will be seen portraying the character of Robert Stein. On the other hand, Russian theatre actor Nikita Yefremov will be seen as Alexey Pajitnov.
'Tetris' is scheduled to release on Apple TV+ on March 31.