With more than half of people now gamers, film and TV versions of their favourites can get the kind of high scores others can only dream of

For fans of Mario and Luigi, the moustachioed plumbers who began life as blocky 2D pixels in the early 1980s, the prospect of a $100m feature film stuffed with special effects and Hollywood stars including Chris Pratt, Jack Black and Seth Rogen could feel like defeating the boss in the final level of a platform game.

Now the box-office-busting Super Mario Bros movie, alongside the critically acclaimed success of TV phenomenon The Last of Us, are set to fuel a record decade for gaming adaptations, as film and TV companies turn their sights elsewhere after years of mining comic books for superheroes.