Sci-Entertainment
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Martin Tremblay appointed president of WB Interactive Entertainment
Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment continues to show how serious it is about all that "interactive entertainment" nonsense with its appointment of Martin Tremblay as President. Before your fingers stretch out towards the keyboard to type "WHO?!!11" into the comments, know that the man used to be President of Worldwide Studios at Vivendi Games during the release of several games, including Scarface: The World is Yours, F.E.A.R (console version), World in Conflict, and some titles in the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro franchises.Tremblay has also acted as President and Chief Operating Officer at Ubisoft Montreal. During his tenure, he oversaw the developer's employee expansion plans, as well popular franchises like Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six and Not Tom Clancy's Prince of Persia.Tremblay's new job will see him steering "the long-term direction of the studio's worldwide interactive entertainment strategy," overseeing publishing, marketing, sales, distribution, licensing and business development of WBIE's products, and taking advantage of that £60 million investment in SCi Entertainment.
SCi in trouble, Tomb Raider Underworld delayed
SCi, best known as the parent company of Eidos, isn't doing too well. Shares in the company recently fell the farthest in the company's history. The fall comes in the wake of ended takeover talks (which had included potential buyers Time Warner, Ubisoft, and others) and the announcement that the company would post an operating loss in 2008. It is the given reason for this loss that will interest gamers most though: SCi announced that four of its 2008 titles will be delayed, most notably the upcoming Tomb Raider: Underworld. Lara's latest adventure will be pushed to the 2008 holiday season. That's probably for the best really. After all, those footprint physics take a lot of time to perfect.[Via Joystiq]
Warner Bros. buys 10% of SCi
Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Time Warner (who owns our parent company, Weblogs Inc.) is moving its way back into the gaming development business. Not since the Atari days in the 1980s has Warner held any serious hold in the game development front. Now it would seem that there are changes afoot. Warner Bros. purchased a 10% interest in SCi Entertainment, better known to the world as Eidos, for £44.5 million (roughly $87 million). The new deal will give SCi access to Warner's long list of IPs; the list includes Looney Tunes and Batman. Apart from Batman and possible improved leverage with DC Comics (another Time Warner subsidiary), SCi may want to be careful about overusing the licenses (Harry Potter was, oddly, not mentioned). Looney Tunes, while widely recognized, rarely translates into a quality gaming experience. If SCi can come up with some original content, Warner Bros. can use them for movies, not just a one way benefit.
