But arguably, Shinobi has better prospects of success in the movies than Sonic. Joe Musashi is steeped in the tropes of the ninja boom of the 1980s and 1990s. That boom launched in 1981 thanks to Cannon Films’ Enter The Ninja, and brought the ninjas to comic books, Saturday morning cartoons, toy aisles, and of course, video games.

A film adaptation of Sega's Shinobi series is in the works from Universal. As reported by Deadline, the film will be directed by Sam Hargrave, best known as the director of Netflix original film Extraction.

Sega said Wednesday one of its most popular games, "Shinobi," will be made into a movie in a joint project with Universal Pictures, aiming to emulate the success of "Super Mario Bros". The Japanese gamemaker did not give a target date for the release but said it had "started the development of a film production" with the Hollywood behemoth.