The Simpsons’ Bizarre Romance with Video Games: A Decades-Long Love Story Unveiled!

Once again, Fortnite has managed to stay at the forefront of gaming culture. Over the past five years, Epic Games has kept its online shooter game, Fortnite, in the spotlight by constantly introducing pop culture mashups, featuring everything from Marvel superheroes to John Wick, and even singer Sabrina Carpenter. These temporary events allow players to immerse themselves as their favorite cinematic and musical figures, rejuvenating the game’s appeal and simultaneously providing a lucrative income source for the involved brands.

This time, it’s The Simpsons’ turn. This month, Fortnite’s island transforms into a small-scale Springfield, featuring iconic characters and locations. Players can engage in shootouts at Moe’s Tavern as Homer or grab a squishee at the Kwik-E-Mart with Bart. The island is littered with delightful Simpsons references, including Otto now driving the Battlebus and appearances from characters like Duffman and Seymour Skinner’s steamed hams, alongside drooling aliens.

This latest collaboration with Fortnite is just another chapter in The Simpsons’ long history with video games. In 1991, less than two years after the show first aired, Acclaim Entertainment released Bart vs. The Space Mutants. This side-scrolling platform game featured Bart Simpson battling an alien invasion with extremely precise jumps and boss fights against characters like Nelson and Sideshow Bob, all set to a repetitive scratchy sound clip of Bart saying “eat my shorts.”

Despite receiving mixed reviews, the game sold over a million copies and sparked a series of Bart-centric games, including Bart vs. The World and Bart’s House of Weirdness. Bart, a notorious video game enthusiast, perfectly encapsulated the era’s typical young gamer, complete with a penchant for mischief and cartoonish violence, making these games a natural extension of his character.

The synergy between The Simpsons and video games was highlighted in the 1995 Christmas special “Marge Be Not Proud,” where Bart lusts after the ultra-violent video game Bonestorm. The episode parodies the intense marketing that surrounded the 1992 release of Mortal Kombat, a game known for its graphic violence, which Bart would have undoubtedly enjoyed. Ultimately, Bart receives the much more subdued Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge as a gift, humorously reflecting the console wars between the edgy Sega Mega Drive and the family-friendly Nintendo Entertainment System.

A standout early Simpsons game, released shortly after Bart vs. The Space Mutants, was Konami’s 1992 arcade title, The Simpsons. This four-player beat-em-up game had the Simpson family fighting against Mr. Burns, who had kidnapped Maggie in a whimsical plot that served as an excuse to explore various Springfield locales using unconventional weapons like skateboards and vacuum cleaners. My personal favorite from the 90s, however, was the 1996 PC game The Simpsons Cartoon Studio, which allowed players to create their own Simpsons animations using show assets—a precursor to the kinds of memes that Fortnite fans of The Simpsons are likely to create and share today.

Over the years, The Simpsons continued to cleverly critique video games through the fictional Noiseland arcade, filled with humorous fictional games like Jane Fonda’s Legwarmers of Death and the brilliantly named My Dinner With André game from the episode “Boy-Scoutz ’n the Hood.” Video games also serve as a cultural lens through which the show examines its characters, such as the Flanders children preferring the evangelical game Billy Graham’s Bible Blaster, where Rod Flanders exclaims, “Keep firing; convert the heathens!”

Perhaps presaging the Fortnite collaboration most was the beloved 2003 game The Simpsons: Hit & Run. This Grand Theft Auto spoof allowed players to explore Springfield, tackle missions, and thwart yet another alien scheme. This title remains one of the last great Simpsons games, and much of the gaming press has reacted to the Fortnite collaboration with a nostalgic longing for a sequel to Hit & Run.

The ongoing partnership between The Simpsons and Fortnite underscores how The Simpsons continues to maintain its cultural relevance, despite no longer being the television juggernaut it once was. The mix of slapstick, parody, and social commentary found in The Simpsons mirrors the chaotic and self-aware narratives prevalent in many video games. Both emerged as cultural forces in the early 90s, a time characterized by its frenetic postmodern sensibilities, and have since navigated the extremes of consumer culture. While Fortnite may not be the venue that most fans would have chosen for a contemporary Simpsons game, it is fittingly reflective of a modern digital playground—a realm of endless memes, soundbites, and cartoonish antics that will likely continue to engage and monetize audiences for years to come.

Game Recommendations

Despite my reservations about its possibly malevolent nature, I find Ball x Pit to be incredibly engrossing. It’s a dungeon-crawling arcade game that blends elements of Space Invaders, Vampire Survivors, and classic ball-bouncing games like Breakout. Players shoot balls at descending skeletons, with each defeated wave unlocking new perks and upgrades. Above ground, you construct a base, sending characters to gather resources. The screen is a chaotic display of creatures, spells, and bouncing balls—a hypnotic visual feast that seems almost to play itself, yet remains utterly captivating. Keza MacDonald

Available on: Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox, PC, Mac

Estimated playtime: Endlessly, in sessions of 15-20 minutes

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• Responding to the Trump administration’s use of video game memes to recruit for ICE, some of Halo’s original creators have voiced their disapproval. Marcus Lehto, the designer of Master Chief, expressed his disgust at seeing Halo used in this way, and designer Jaime Griesemer deemed it “despicable.” Meanwhile, Martin O’Donnell, composer of the iconic Halo soundtrack and now a Republican congressional candidate in Nevada, controversially stated his willingness to collaborate with the Trump administration.

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Interactive Queries

Reader Kirk poses this week’s intriguing question:

“While I admire the visual artistry in many games, I’m troubled by the prevalent violence. Is it too challenging to devise engaging games that avoid conflict? It seems like all major budget games feature violence.”

This topic frequently sparks debate among game designers and critics. Since the days of Space Invaders, video games have typically presented players with adversaries to overcome: without conflict and the resulting adrenaline rush, how can a game maintain its appeal? Some argue that conflict is a fundamental element of most narrative structures and an almost unavoidable aspect of game design. Others believe that the prevalence of violence in video games indicates a lack of creativity.

In a 2017 article on Gamesindustry.biz, game designer Brie Code suggested that many games are designed to trigger a fight-or-flight response, and discussed how the industry could shift towards a tend-and-befriend approach. “What elements are missing from game design?” she asked, addressing both mechanics and the emotional responses they evoke. A Game Developer essay by Brian Fairbanks echoed this sentiment, noting that life’s complexities are often simplified into combat scenarios in games, and questioned how nonviolent games could provide similar levels of engagement and challenge without resorting to weaponry.

It’s worth noting, however, that there are numerous successful non-violent games, like Animal Crossing, which are considered blockbusters. While there isn’t a comprehensive list, resources like ThinkyGames (which lets users filter out action and combat) and a dedicated non-violent game page on Steam offer good starting points. For family-friendly, non-violent gaming, Common Sense Media is another excellent resource. KM

If you have a question for the Interactive Queries section, or any other comments about the newsletter – please email us at pushingbuttons@theguardian.com.