Ghostbusters: The Video Game

Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Windows, PS3, and Xbox 360 box art
Developer(s)Terminal Reality (PS3, Windows, X360)
Red Fly Studio (PS2, PSP, Wii)
War Drum Studios (PS2)
Saber Interactive (Remastered)
A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Games
Publisher(s)Atari Interactive[a]
Mad Dog Games (Remastered)
Director(s)Drew Haworth
Producer(s)Michael Duane Fetterman
Designer(s)Andy Dombroski
Glenn Gamble[2]
Programmer(s)Craig Reichard
Nathan Peugh
Artist(s)Austin Cline
Grant Gosler
Robert St Aubin
Daniel Soni
Writer(s)Dan Aykroyd
Harold Ramis
Flint Dille
John Zuur Platten
John Melchior
Patrick Hegarty
Composer(s)Kyle Richards
Chris Rickwood
SeriesGhostbusters
EngineInfernal Engine
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable,
Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS
Remastered Version:
Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release
June 16, 2009
  • PS2, PS3
    • NA: June 16, 2009[1]
    • EU: June 19, 2009
    Wii, Windows, Xbox 360
    • NA: June 16, 2009
    • EU: November 6, 2009
    PlayStation Portable
    • NA: October 30, 2009
    • EU: November 6, 2009
    • AU: November 12, 2009
    Remastered Version: Switch, PS4, Xbox One
    • WW: October 4, 2019
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Ghostbusters: The Video Game is a 2009 action-adventure game based on the Ghostbusters media franchise. Terminal Reality developed the Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 versions, while Red Fly Studio developed the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Wii versions.[3][4] The game was released after several delays in development and multiple publisher changes.[5] In North America, all versions of the game were published by Atari Interactive,[6][7] while in Europe, the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation 3 versions were published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.[8] A separate game for the Nintendo DS with the same title was developed by Zen Studios and released at the same time, albeit with substantial differences in the gameplay and story.

The game follows the player's character as a recruit in the Ghostbusters, a team of parapsychologists who pursue and capture ghosts. The game features elements of typical third-person shooters, but instead of a traditional gun, each player is equipped with a Proton Pack, and other technological means of fighting and capturing ghosts.[9] The game's plot is set two years after Ghostbusters II, in 1991, with the Ghostbusters team training the player's character while investigating paranormal activities in New York City.

Many of the principal cast members from the films were involved in the game's production. Each of the actors who portrayed the Ghostbusters in the films (Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson) lent their voices and likenesses to the in-game characters. It is also Ramis's final portrayal as Egon Spengler and story to the Ghostbusters franchise before his death in 2014, and the game's remastered edition was posthumously dedicated to him. Aykroyd and Ramis, who wrote the films, also aided in script doctoring for the game.[10] Other film cast members to reprise their roles were William Atherton, and Annie Potts. Ghostbusters: The Video Game contains the soundtrack from the original Ghostbusters film, along with various characters, locations, and props featured in the films. Aykroyd later described the game as being "essentially the third movie."[11][12]

The game received generally favorable reviews from critics, and more than three million copies were sold. A remastered version for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, developed by Saber Interactive and published by Mad Dog Games, was released on October 4, 2019.[13]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference GSRelease was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Gamble, Glenn. "Ghostbusters". Glenn Gamble - System Designer. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  3. ^ Gino D. (June 5, 2009). "It's official: Ghostbusters PSP announced". QJ.net. Archived from the original on May 10, 2009. Retrieved May 8, 2009.
  4. ^ Wooden, Andrew (November 15, 2007). "Terminal Reality and Redfly to develop new Ghostbuster title". Develop Mag. Archived from the original on December 17, 2007. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
  5. ^ Thompson, Michael (January 19, 2009). "The birth, death, and rebirth of the Ghostbusters game". Retrieved June 27, 2009.
  6. ^ "Atari to publish and distribute Ghostbusters: The Video Game" (Press release). Infrogrames GB. November 7, 2008. Archived from the original on December 21, 2008. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
  7. ^ "Ghostbusters Is Hiring". Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Archived from the original on August 3, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
  8. ^ Ingham, Tim (May 6, 2009). "Sony to publish Ghostbusters". MCV UK. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
  9. ^ VanOrd, Kevin (June 16, 2009). "Ghostbusters The Video Game Review". Archived from the original on June 23, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
  10. ^ Schiesel, Seth (May 28, 2009). "New Video Game? Who You Gonna Call?". New York Times. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference IGN-PS3-Review was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "The 'Real' Ghostbusters." Game Informer, 81. Aykroyd:"I've seen work on the video game, I've watched it progress, my rap now to people is 'This is essentially the third movie.'"
  13. ^ McCafferty, Ryan (August 1, 2019). "Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered Release Date Announced". IGN. Retrieved August 1, 2019.


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