In the 1980s it seemed like Hollywood hated everything that was going to compete with it: television, video games, books, comics, you name it. If it wasn’t being used as an ancillary product for a movie, then it was the enemy. Why would an executive want to embrace something like Spider-Man or Space Invaders and try turning it into a movie? Which, granted might be why so many movies from the 1980s were classic. Where’s our next John Hughes, already? If there was a video game announced tomorrow based on Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or Weird Science, I would retire this column for eternity. Unless the game sucked.

But what about movies that came out years ago that still live on through video games? Games have single-handedly managed to keep some franchises flush with cash, long before the currently Hollywood trend of retreading, prequelizing, and refurbishing movie happened. Now, you’re just as likely to have a game coming out day in date with the movie, if not a few weeks before in an effort to hype the buzz. But what about those that came before? Here are a few examples.

The most perfect example of this oddity in the concentric circle of Hollywood and video games is without a doubt, hands down The Goonies II. What, you don’t remember the movie? That’s because it never existed. There was a lot of a sequel to this movie, especially since it was one of the highest grossing movies of 1985, but it failed to appear. Although that didn’t stop the video game world from filling the gap.

Games based on both the movie and the non-existent sequel came out. Sadly, they were mostly relegated to pizza parlors and the dimly lot back corners of arcades before fading into obscurity. What makes this even more ironic is that Goonies DVDs have been selling so well, Sean Astin is sure that a sequel will appear soon. Good enough for me.

Although it hasn’t hit the shelves yet, Ghostbusters III is living on in video game form as Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson are reprising their roles as Ghostbusters in this game as voice talent, and Akryoyd himself has said that the game is essentially Ghostbusters III. Let’s just hope and pray that it’s better than Ghostbusters II.

There have been several Ghostbusters video games out over the years, and I still remember playing the verison on buddy’s Commodore 64 back in the day. So am I excited for this one? You bet I am. Seriously, any game that Bill Murray contributes the voice to, as long as it doesn’t have “Garfield” in the title can take my money. And the fact that it’s Ghostbusters is just icing on the cake. It’s set in 1991 also, two years of Ghostbusters II, so you can both date yourself and have fun busting ghosts at the same time.

George Lucas and his galaxy far, far away have been guilty of dipping into the well of video gaming more than anyone else in Hollywood history. Since hitting screens in 1977, there have been over 100 Star Wars games on multiple systems. Just recently, Lucasarts released Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, which is set inbetween the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

Darth Vader has taken an apprentice that he’s hiding from the emperor for reasons unknown, and while you play as this apprentice through most of the game, you start off the first level playing as Darth Vader, which is a first for the Star Wars games. What kid (or adult) hasn’t dreamed about stepping into that black cape and armor and just mowing things down with his lightsaber? Although the gameplay has taken several hits in reviews, the storyline is pretty intriguing… which is more than I can say for any of those Star Wars prequels. The game sold nearly a million units in its first week of release and will probably be in several stockings during the holidays.

What does this all mean? It boils down to the fact that you might see Ben-Hur: The Video Game sometime soon, because the sky is the limit when it comes to the gaming realm, and studios are always eager to capitalize on old product by releasing a new “Special Edition” DVD, so why not a game? It might be sacrilege to think about a Casablanca “shoot the Nazis!” video game, but if it was a murder mystery, with the player trying to find out what happened in the role of Rick, then it begins to sound interesting. Just some food for your gaming thought.

Kevin Kelly, a contributor to The Austin Chronicle, Joystiq, io9, Cinematical, Film School Rejects and countless other weblogs, will be weighing in on the intersection between film and video games every Thursday here on SpoutBlog. Please ask him personal questions, shower him with flattery and/or rip apart his argument in the comments. Game on.