Prince of Persia | |
---|---|
Genre(s) | |
Developer(s) | |
Publisher(s) |
|
Creator(s) | Jordan Mechner |
Platform(s) | |
First release | Prince of Persia October 3, 1989 |
Latest release | Prince of Persia: Escape(iOS, Android) September 27, 2018 |
Prince of Persia is a video game franchise created by Jordan Mechner, originally developed and published by Brøderbund, then The Learning Company, and currently Ubisoft. The franchise is built around a series of action-adventure games focused on various incarnations of the eponymous prince. The first game in the series was designed by Mechner after the success of his previous game with Brøderbund, Karateka. The original title spawned two sequels. The series has been rebooted twice since its acquisition by Ubisoft, and has been made into a film, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, penned in part by Mechner and released by Walt Disney Pictures in 2010. Since the first remake of Prince of Persia, the series has seen eight sequels on more than 10 different gaming platforms, from the Game Boy Advance to the PlayStation 3.
According to some sources, the Assassin's Creed video game series is inspired by Prince of Persia.[1][2][3]
Mechner has been involved with the series in varying capacities throughout its history. The games have been developed and published by several different companies. The first two games in the series, Prince of Persia and Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame, were published by Brøderbund. Prince of Persia 3D, the first to use 3D computer graphics, was developed by Red Orb Entertainment and published by The Learning Company on PC, and developed by Avalanche Software and published by Mattel Interactive on SegaDreamcast. Ubisoft began developing and publishing the series in 2003 with Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
- 2Games
- 2.2The Sands of Time series
- 2.3Spin-offs and mobile games
- 3Adaptations
- 4Reception
Media franchise[edit]
Prince of Persia is a media franchise that started with a series of video games created by Jordan Mechner, and has spawned a large number of games in different platforms, between ports, sequels and spin-offs. The original Prince of Persia game, with its more than 20 platform ports, is one of the most ported games in videogame history[4][5]. Outside videogames, it has also spawned a feature film, a graphic novel and a line of toys.
Games[edit]
Prince Of Persia Film Sequel
Original series in green The Sands of Time series in yellow Spin-offs in black | |
1989 | Prince of Persia |
1990 | |
1991 | |
1992 | |
1993 | The Shadow and the Flame |
1994 | |
1995 | |
1996 | |
1997 | |
1998 | |
1999 | Prince of Persia 3D |
2000 | |
2001 | |
2002 | |
2003 | The Sands of Time |
2004 | Warrior Within |
2005 | The Two Thrones |
Battles of Prince of Persia | |
2006 | |
2007 | |
2008 | Prince of Persia (2008) |
The Fallen King | |
2009 | |
2010 | The Forgotten Sands |
2011 | |
2012 | |
2013 | The Shadow and the Flame (remake) |
2014 | |
2015 | |
2016 | |
2017 | |
2018 | Prince of Persia: Escape |
Original trilogy[edit]
The first game in the series, simply titled The Prince, was created by Jordan Mechner after the success of Karateka. Drawing from multiple general sources of inspiration, including the One Thousand and One Nights stories,[6] and films like Raiders of the Lost Ark[7] and The Adventures of Robin Hood,[8] the protagonist's character animation was created using a technique called Rotoscope, with Mechner using his brother as the model for the titular prince.[9] Despite the success of the game, Mechner enrolled in New York University's film department, producing an award-winning short film during his time there, before returning to design and direct a sequel to the original game.[10] The sequel, Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame, was developed internally at Broderbund with Mechner's supervision. The game, like its predecessor, received critical acclaim and high sales. Broderbund was subsequently purchased by The Learning Company,[11] which was later acquired by US game company Mattel Interactive.[12] In 1999, a new Prince of Persia title, Prince of Persia 3D, was developed and released under Broderbund's Red Orb label.[10] Released for PC only,[13] and criticized by many users as being buggy, it was a critical and commercial disappointment.[10] The Broderbund/Learning Company's games division, the assets of which included the Prince of Persia franchise, was subsequently sold to Ubisoft.[14]
The Sands of Time series[edit]
Mechner, who owned the Prince of Persia IP, was brought in to work with Ubisoft on a reboot of the franchise, eventually titled Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, although he was originally wary after the failure of Prince of Persia 3D.[15] The team they worked with were also working on Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: their aim with the new Prince of Persia was to breathe new life into the action-adventure genre.[16][17]The Sands of Time was an instant success. Mechner did not take part in the production of the next game, Warrior Within, and he later commented on finding the dark atmosphere and heightened level of violence unappealing.[18] The changes also provoked mixed reactions from critics, but sales were strong and a third game, eventually titled The Two Thrones, went into production.[19] For The Two Thrones, the developers and artists tried to strike a balance between the light, cartoon-like tones of Sands of Time, and the grittier mediums of Warrior Within.[20] In November 2008, Ubisoft revealed that they were working on a new entry in the franchise, which turned out to be The Forgotten Sands, which filled in some of the narrative gap between Sands of Time and Warrior Within.[21] The game was released in May 2010, timed to tie in with the film adaptation of the first game in the Sands of Time subseries, also titled The Sands of Time.[22]
Trilogy collection[edit]
Prince of Persia Trilogy | |
---|---|
Official European cover art | |
Developer(s) | Ubisoft Sofia Ubisoft Montreal |
Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
Designer(s) | Jordan Mechner |
Series | Prince of Persia |
Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 |
Release |
|
Genre(s) | Action-adventure, Platform |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
The Prince of Persia Trilogy (known as Prince of Persia Trilogy 3D on the remastered collection's title screen) is a collection of The Sands of Time trilogy released on PlayStation 2 and subsequently on PlayStation 3 as part of the Classics HD range.[23] The collection includes The Sands of Time, Warrior Within and The Two Thrones, all previously released on sixth-generationvideo game consoles and Microsoft Windows. The games were remastered in HD for the PlayStation 3 with 3D and PlayStation Network Trophy support on one Blu-ray Disc. The PS2 collection was released on October 27, 2006 in Europe,[citation needed] while the remastered collection was released on November 19, 2010 on Blu-ray in PAL regions. The release marks the first Classics HD title to not be published by Sony Computer Entertainment.
In North America, the three games were originally released separately as downloadable only titles on the PlayStation Store. The first, The Sands of Time, was released on November 16, 2010 while the other two games followed in December 2010.[24] The Blu-ray version was to be released in North America on March 22, 2011[25] but the collection then ended up being delayed until April 19, 2011.
Spin-offs and mobile games[edit]
The first spin-off of the series was developed alongside and released in the same year as The Two Thrones for the Nintendo DS. It was titled Battles of Prince of Persia, and was a real-time strategy game set between Sands of Time and Warrior Within.[26] It received mediocre reviews from critics.[27][28] In 2006, concept designs surfaced hinting at another entry in the franchise.[29] The game, titled Prince of Persia was finally officially unveiled in 2008, with Ubisoft marketing it as a reboot of the franchise, with its level and combat design harking back to the original 1989 game.[30] The game came out in December 2008, receiving positive reviews from most video game outlets and decent sales.[31] Alongside the main game, Ubisoft's Casablanca branch developed a direct sequel and spin-off to the reboot for the Nintendo DS, titled Prince of Persia: The Fallen King.[32] The game was released alongside the main game, and received fair reviews.[33][34][35] So far, no more games set within the reboot world have been made.[19] There have been a number of Java MEmobile games developed by Gameloft, some based on older PC or console titles with 2D graphics and others loosely based on contemporary games but with 2D graphics and different gameplay due to technology constraints. Gameloft has also developed some ports for both the iPhone and the iPad.The First spin-off by Gameloft was called Prince of Persia:Harem Adventures which was released for JavaME in 2003.[36] Specifically, the company has developed HD remakes of the original Prince of Persia in 2007,[37] and its sequel The Shadow and the Flame in July 2013.[38] While the stealth-action series Assassin's Creed shares little but basic gameplay concepts, it has been called the Prince of Persia series' spiritual successor.[39].
Prince of Persia: Escape[edit]
In 27 September 2018, Ubisoft under the banner of its entity Ketchapp released Prince of Persia: Escape,[40] a mobile game for iOS and Android. It is an endless runner game, made up of different levels,[41] and the player can customize the protagonist with outfits from past games. Reviewing for Pocket Gamer, Cameron Bald calls Prince of Persia: Escape a 'mundane game crushed under the weight of excessive greed'.[42]
Future[edit]
In 2012, leaked images from a project entitled Osiris were widely assumed to be the next Prince of Persia title.[43] Jordan Mechner even commented on his Twitter account that the images were not from a Prince of Persia game.[44] A year later, in 2013, Yannis Mallat, CEO of Ubisoft Montreal, said that the franchise was being 'paused', saying that 'As soon as we have something to show, we will'.[45] In the following months, Ubisoft confirmed that they were either planning or considering next-gen entries in multiple franchises, including Prince of Persia.[46]
Uplay[edit]
The company Ubisoft did a promo the month of December for the 30 Days of Giveaways during the Free Weekend. The 30 Days of Giveaways and Free Weekend Promo featured many large titles which include; Rayman Legends (or Origins), Splinter Cell, The Crew, The Division. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was one of the featured games; all for PC. The game was free December 15, 2016.[47] The normal price on Steam is $9.99 USD.[48]
Adaptations[edit]
Graphic novel[edit]
Jordan Mechner finished writing the story for a graphic novel in 2007. The novel was written by A.B. Sina, and illustrated by Alex Puvilland and LeUyen Pham. It was released by First Second Books in autumn 2008.[49][50] The story follows two Princes, jumping to and from the 9th and 13th centuries. Although it belongs to the franchise the plot is not related to any of the game continuities or that of the 2010 film.[51]
Prince of Persia: Before the Sandstorm[edit]
'Before the Sandstorm' is a 2010 one-shot comic book that serves as both a direct prequel and sequel to the feature film and thus explains the motives and backgrounds of some characters. It was published by Disney press and written by Jordan Mechner with illustrations by Todd McFarlane, Nico Henrichon, David Lopez and Bernard Chang.
Lego Prince of Persia[edit]
Film adaptation[edit]
Reception[edit]
Awards[edit]
The success of the Prince of Persia series resulted in Guinness World Records awarding the series 6 world records in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008.[citation needed] These records include First Motion-Capture Animation in a Video Game and Highest Rated Platformer on PS2 and Xbox.
Impact and legacy[edit]
Under his associated act, 'The Classic' in 1994, South Korean singer-songwriter Kim Kwang-Jin released the song 'Magic Castle', with lyrics inspired from the storyline of the original Prince of Persia.[52]
In 1992, Russian author Victor Pelevin wrote a book called A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia and Other Stories, in which there is a short story called Prince of Gosplan. The story is greatly influenced by the game; the main hero of the story lives in a mixed reality of real world and computer games and identifies himself as Prince of Persia. He tries to understand if his life is real or is he just seeing it on a computer display.[53]
The feel of the gameplay in Tomb Raider was intended to evoke that of the original Prince of Persia.[54]
The Assassin's Creed series originated out of ideas for a sequel for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Its critical and financial success led Ubisoft to request Ubisoft Montreal to develop a sequel, aiming for the next console generation. The Ubisoft Montreal team decided on taking the gameplay from The Sands of Time into a open world approach, taking advantage of the improved processing power to render larger spaces and crowds. Narratively, the team wanted to move away from the Prince simply being someone next in line for the throne but to have to work for it; combined with research into secret societies led them to focus on the Assassins, heavily borrowing from the novel Alamut.[55] They developed a narrative where the player would control an Assassin that served as a bodyguard for a non-playable Prince, leading them to call this game Prince of Persia: Assassin. The 'Animus' device allowed them to explain certain facets of gameplay, such as accounting when the player fails a mission, in the same way they had done in The Sands of Time.[55]
References[edit]
- ^'The Making Of: Assassin's Creed | Features | Edge Online'. 2013-12-28. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
- ^The series took inspiration from the novel Alamut by the Slovenian writer Vladimir Bartol, while building upon concepts from the Prince of Persia series.
- ^IGN (2019-04-09), Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot Discusses Company's Past, Present, & Next-Gen Future - IGN Unfiltered #41, retrieved 2019-04-10
- ^'Hardcore Gaming 101: Prince of Persia'. hardcoregameing101.net.
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- ^'Game Design: Theory & Practice Second Edition: 'Interview with Jordan Mechner''.
- ^Mechner, Jordan (2011). Classic Game Postmortem: PRINCE OF PERSIA (Speech). Game Developers Conference. San Francisco, California. Event occurs at 38:35. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
- ^'Jordan Mechner - Journals'. jordanmechner.com.
- ^ abcRus McLaughlin; Scott Collura & Levi Buchanan (May 18, 2010). 'IGN Presents: The History of Prince of Persia (page 2)'. IGN. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
- ^Pelline, Jeff (June 22, 1998). 'The Learning Co. buys Broderbund'. CNET Networks. p. 1. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^Larry Dignan (December 14, 1998). 'Mattel/The Learning Co. in $3.8B merger'. ZDnet. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
- ^Prince of Persia Legacy: poplegacy.com
- ^'The Learning Company Is Profitable 75 Days After Purchase From Mattel; Agrees To Sell Its Non-Core Entertainment Division To Ubi Soft'. The Gores Group. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
- ^Rus McLaughlin; Scott Collura & Levi Buchanan (May 18, 2010). 'IGN Presents: The History of Prince of Persia (page 3)'. IGN. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
- ^'IGN: New Prince of Persia Announced'. IGN. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
- ^'New Prince of Persia game announced - PlayStation 2 News at GameSpot'. GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
- ^Kohler, Chris (December 2005). 'They Did What To My Game?!'. Wired. p. 4. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
- ^ abRus McLaughlin; Scott Collura & Levi Buchanan (May 18, 2010). 'IGN Presents: The History of Prince of Persia (page 6)'. IGN. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
- ^Ivan Sulic (October 12, 2005). 'Painting a Prince'. IGN. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
- ^Jim Reilly (November 30, 2009). 'Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands Announced'. IGN. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
- ^Ellie Gibson (17 February 2010). 'New Prince of Persia confirmed for May'. Eurogamer. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
- ^McWhertor, Michael (2010-09-25). 'Mortal Kombat, Prince of Persia HD Collections Go 3D on PS3'. Kotaku. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
- ^Jim Reilly (November 15, 2010). 'Prince of Persia HD Titles Coming to North America'. IGN. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
- ^Mike Harradence (February 1, 2011). 'Splinter Cell Trilogy sneaking into shops in late March'. PSU.com. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
- ^Craig Harris (July 21, 2005). 'Battles of Prince of Persia'. IGN. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
- ^'Battles of Prince of Persia DS'. Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-07-07.
- ^'Battles of Prince of Persia for DS'. GameRankings. Retrieved 2013-07-07.
- ^Wales, Matt (2006-09-21). 'Ubi's Booby: New Games Leaked'. IGN UK. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
- ^'Ubidays 2008: Interview Part 1 HD'. Gametrailers.com. 2008-05-29. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
- ^'Ubisoft reports third quarter 2008-09 sales'(PDF) (PDF). Ubisoft. p. 1. Archived from the original(PDF) on July 24, 2011. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
- ^'Ubisoft Announces Prince of Persia: The Fallen King™ Exclusively for Nintendo DS™'. MCV. 27 June 2008. Retrieved 2013-07-07.
- ^Casamassina, Matt (2008-12-10). 'Prince of Persia: The Fallen King review at IGN'. IGN. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
- ^Petit, Carolyn (2008-12-10). 'Prince of Persia: The Fallen King review at GameSpot'. GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- ^Gallegos, Anthony (2008-12-17). 'Prince of Persia: The Fallen King review at 1UP'. 1UP. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- ^''Prince of Persia Retro' Arrives on the App Store as a Universal App for a Dollar'. touch arcade. Retrieved 2011-03-15.
- ^'1UP Classic review'. 1UP.
- ^Stephany Nunneley (Jul 3, 2013). 'Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame hitting Android, iOS later this month'. VG24/7. Retrieved 2013-07-07.
- ^'The Making Of: Assassin's Creed'. EDGE. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
- ^Olmstead, Olin (26 November 2018). 'Prince of Persia: Escape - Why The Level Count is a Secret'. Gamasutra. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
- ^Bhushan, Kul (11 October 2018). 'Prince of Persia Escape on iOS: Your first PC game is now on mobile'. Hindustan Times. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
- ^Bald, Cameron (3 October 2018). 'Prince of Persia: Escape review - 'A game that doesn't want to be played''. Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
- ^'First Look at a Brand New Prince of Persia Reboot?'. Kotaku.com. 2012-08-05. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
- ^'Twitter / jmechner: @blueobelix It's not POP'. Twitter.com. 2012-08-19. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
- ^Andrew Goldfarb (January 29, 2013). 'Prince of Persia Franchise 'Paused''. IGN. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
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- ^'Ubisoft 30 Days of Giveaways - Assassin's Creed 3 for FREE (Soon) - Indie Game Bundles'. 24 November 2016.
- ^'Prince of Persia® on Steam'. store.steampowered.com.
- ^'Q&A: Mechner Talks Prince Of Persia Movie, XBLA Remake'. Gamasutra. Retrieved 2011-03-15.
- ^'Our Giant Guide To Video Game Comics'. MTV.
- ^'Creator Jordan Mechner Explains The 'Prince Of Persia' Universe, And Where The New Graphic Novel Sits'. MTV. Retrieved 2011-03-15.
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- ^'The Making of Tomb Raider'. Tomb Raider: Official Game Secrets. Prima Games. December 1996. pp. 105–106. ISBN0-7615-0931-3.Translation
- ^ abMoss, Richard (October 3, 2018). 'Assassin's Creed: An oral history'. Polygon. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
External links[edit]
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Upgrade to PremiumTrailerA rogue prince and a mysterious princess must stop a villain who unknowingly threatens to destroy the world with a special dagger that enables the magic sand inside to reverse time.Actors: Jake Gyllenhaal,Gemma Arterton,Ben Kingsley,Alfred Molina,Steve Toussaint,Toby Kebbell,Richard Coyle,Ronald Pickup,Reece Ritchie,GÃsli Örn Garðarsson,Claudio Pacifico,..»Country: United StatesQuality: HDIMDb: 6.6Keywords:Characters of 'Prince of Persia The Sands of Time'
Played by: Jake GyllenhaalPlayed by: Gemma ArtertonPlayed by: Ben KingsleyPlayed by: Alfred MolinaPlayed by: Steve ToussaintPlayed by: Toby KebbellPlayed by: Richard CoylePlayed by: Ronald PickupPlayed by: Reece RitchiePlayed by: GÃsli Örn GarðarssonPlayed by: Dave PopePlayed by: Christopher GreetPlayed by: Selva RasalingamPlayed by: Darwin ShawPlayed by: Stephen A. Pope- Birthdate: 28 March 1942, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England, UK
- Birthdate: 1966, New York City, New York, USA
Critic Reviews of 'Prince of Persia The Sands of Time'
The sheer whoosh of the story line keeps you watching anyway, and, as the prince, Jake Gyllenhaal has a hearty good-naturedness that comes as a relief amid all the turbocharged antics. He wears his heroism lightly.
Disposable family entertainment.
This is a movie that knows exactly how dumb it is.
Bring a joystick to this big budget adventure. It'll give your hands something to do when you're restless.
As usual, the talent in Prince of Persia is generally top notch -- from the cinematographer John Seale to the parkour expert David Belle -- but the ingredients have been masticated so heavily the results are mush.
far from perfect, but it's fun to watch
'Prince of Persia' certainly has some entertainment value, but it suffers in the story department because it continually tries to fill the film with too much action.
Gyllenhaal might have seemed like an odd choice to top-line an action flick, given his indie leanings and wet noodle persona, but he's surprisingly tolerable as Dastan; a parkour-obsessed oik who grows into an abs-solutely un-flabulous warrior.
Someday someone is going to make a great film from a video game. Until then we have to be satisfied with being decently entertained without being hopelessly insulted. Prince of Persia manages to avoid doing either, so the wait continues.
This movie stars exactly one paleface American and several paler-faced Brits in almost all the supporting roles. The bronzer budget must have been a major line item.
..a pointless and aggressively bland big-budget disaster.
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Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (Princes Tamina Online Featurette) - Behind the Scenes
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Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (Dagger Battle) - Scene Or Clip
01:11 —Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - Clip
01:47 — A prince must protect an ancient dagger from dark forces.Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - Trailer
02:30 — A prince must protect an ancient dagger from dark forces.Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time - Trailer
02:32 —Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (Story Featurette) - Behind the Scenes
02:50 —Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (Sneak Attack) - Scene Or Clip
00:39 —Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (Kiss Me, Then Kill Me) - Scene Or Clip
01:39 —Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (Destiny Featurette) - Behind the Scenes
02:01 —Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (Jake & Gemma I Remain Montage) - Scene Or Clip
01:36 —Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (Journey Behind The Scenes The Sands Of Time) - Behind the Scenes
02:33 —Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (Super Bowl Tv Spot) - Trailer
00:31 —Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (Trailer 1) - Trailer
02:30 —Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (Sand Trap Extended) - Scene Or Clip
01:47 —Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (Uk) - Trailer
01:30 —Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (We Attack At Dawn) - Scene Or Clip
01:01 —Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (Stunts & Parkour Featurette) - Behind the Scenes
02:29 —Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (Creating An Epic Featurette) - Behind the Scenes
03:11 —Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (Journey Behind The Scenes: Creating An Epic) - Behind the Scenes
03:11 —Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (Hassansins Featurette) - Behind the Scenes
02:05 —Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time (Dastan) - Behind the Scenes
02:37 —Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - 'Sand Trap'
'Dagger Battle' from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
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The row has been sparked following the release of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in which Jake Gyllenhall, an American of Swedish and Jewish descent, takes the title role.
His exotic princess is played by Gemma Arterton, the English actress, the daughter of a cleaner and a plumber from Gravesend, Kent.
Critics said that the casting was the latest example of Hollywood using white stars in non-white roles when the parts should have gone to actors with a Persian or Middle Eastern background.
Jehanzeb Dar, an independent filmmaker, said: 'This part really needed to go to someone who's Persian. It's not only insulting to Persians, it's also insulting to white people. It's saying white people can't enjoy movies unless the protagonist is white.'
The $150 million (£100 million) blockbuster, based on a video game, is set in ancient Persia. Gyllenhaal, 29, plays Dastan, a street urchin who is adopted by the king.
He later teams up with the feisty Princess Tamina, played by Arterton, 24, as they seek a magical dagger that allows its owner to travel back in time.
Gyllenhaal grew his hair for the part, while Arterton, who starred in the 2008 James Bond movie Quantum of Solace, practised horseback riding in Spain and dons Persian costumes.
Hollywood has a long history of racial controversy stretching back to the 1930s when well known white actors routinely used face paint to play black characters.
During the segregation era studios routinely considered race when making a film and even Lena Horne, Hollywood's first black leading lady, had her parts cut when movies films were shown in the South.
In the modern era studios rely on only a small number of big budget blockbusters to make the majority of their profits and are reluctant to take risks on casting unknown ethnic minority actors.
Chon Noriega, a professor of cinema at UCLA, said: 'It's what has become habitual practice. I think it's the default setting and it takes a conscious choice to change.' Another film which has also been accused of 'whitewashing' is The Last Airbender, a $100 million (£70 million) fantasy film set to be released in July.
It is based on a martial arts cartoon series set in an Asian-influenced world but white actors have been cast as the three heroes of the film, including Texan-born Noah Ringer in the lead role of Aang. Heroes 3 download free full.
Michael Le, who runs a fan website calling for a boycott of the film, said: 'It becomes very clear that it's part of the historical pattern of Hollywood. It's because this is the standard procedure for Hollywood films, and it really shouldn't be. It's 2010.' Paramount, which made the film, said more than half of the credited speaking roles were filled by actors representing cultures from around the world.
But critics said even today Hollywood often only promotes ethnic minority actors when casting secondary characters and background extras.
Another recent example was 21, a 2008 film based on the true story of a group of mostly Asian-American students at MIT and Harvard who take on Las Vegas casinos at blackjack. Their parts were mostly played by white actors.