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December EGM gives first look at Watchmen: The End is Nigh [Update]
Fans of Alan Moore's groundbreaking graphic novel, Watchmen, are probably either eagerly anticipating the book's upcoming film adaptation -- or, in true comic book snob fashion, dreading its release. Unfortunately for them, their excitement/dread may be multiplied by the upcoming video game adaptation of the book -- thankfully, the December issue of EGM will break the relative silence on Deadline Games' ludological prequel to the novel, now titled Watchmen: The End is Nigh. Though none of the December issue's exclusive details are leaked in a recent teaser on 1UP, an early reaction from EGM editor-in-chief James Mielke is provided to ease concerns that the prequel won't follow Watchmen canon -- according to "The Milkman", who recently traveled to Deadline's studio in Denmark, the game is incredibly faithful to the book. We'll remain cautiously optimistic until we can get more details when the next issue of EGM hits newsstands later this month. Update: Revised to reflect previous coverage.
SCi invites Warner Bros to buy more stock
SCi is getting used to being on a dinner plate, so much so that the financially despondent publisher has invited Warner Bros. to the table for seconds. In the wake of the home entertainment giant's £60 million investment earlier this year, the Eidos parent put a freeze on Warner Bros' ability to purchase any more of SCi's precious stock until January 25, 2009, a hold that Gamasutra reports will be lifted a bit sooner than expected. According to the report, the pair will be able to resume their financial tango on December 1, 2008, with the caveat that Warner Bros. will not be allowed to own more than 30 percent of SCi's total worth. Warner's investment in SCi currently stands at 16.13 percent, giving the media company ample opportunity to gift wrap just what every struggling company would want to find under its tree this Christmas -- freedom from financial ruin.
FEAR 2: Project Origin going digital over Steam, Direct2Drive
Alma just won't be contained in a box. Warner Bros. sent word that the recently renamed F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin will be released over both Valve's Steam and IGN's Direct2Drive digital distribution services on February 10, 2009. If that date sounds familiar, it's the same day the survival horror FPS will scare up PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 retail shelves as well. Just think, now you won't even have to leave your house to get creeped out by Monolith's spooky little girl. [Via press release]
Rumor: Warner Bros. looking to acquire SCi/Eidos
Speculation is mounting that Warner Bros. is getting ready to buy UK publisher SCi (soon to be Eidos PLC). According to "sources" speaking to GI.biz, Warner Bros. has been looking for another tasty company to gobble up since taking over Traveller's Tales last year. The departure of two non-executive SCi board members is seen as another sign that Warner Bros. is getting ready to pounce on the financially distraught publisher.Warner Bros. had previously given the troubled publisher £60 million to keep its head above water. SCi does hold the rights to some pretty lucrative franchises like Tomb Raider, Hitman and Deus Ex. We contacted Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter for his take on the situation. His response can be found after the break.
Speed Racer DVD Digital Copy not iTunes-friendly
Sam, an avid TUAW reader, emailed us about a recent DVD purchase he made. You may ask, "what's so special about that?" Well, he bought a copy of Speed Racer that was supposed to contain an iTunes Digital Copy. As you can see in the pictures he emailed us, the outside of the DVD box says it is PC/Mac compatible and works with iTunes. When he got home and opened it up, however, inside the box it says that it is "Not compatible with Apple Macintosh or iPod devices." He even tried it to see if it would work, but alas it didn't. Be sure to take a look at the pictures in the second half of the post, and you can get an eyeful of this strange decision that Warner Bros. made.Do you think Sam should be able to get a refund for this mistake? We certainly do! Has this happened to you? Be sure to sound off in the comments!Thanks for the tip and pictures, Sam!
Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, the DRM of the future?
We've heard this about this dream so many times before, DRM that will make digital media as easy to use and as consumer friendly as a physical medium like DVD. We'd normally be quick to disregard this as yet another DRM "ecosystem" for digital media, but the list of players backing the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (or DECE) has us taking notice. As impossible as this seems, if anyone could make it happen, it'd be a group composed of: Best Buy, Cisco, Comcast, Fox, HP, Intel, Lions Gate, Microsoft, NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, Philips, Sony, Toshiba, VeriSign, and Warner Bros -- yes, we also find it hard to believe that all these companies are working together. We'll have to wait until January at CES for the ins and outs of how this would actually work, but we do know it'll be based around a "rights locker" which will amount to a website where digital purchases will be stored -- we assume this is where VeriSign fits in. Oh, and Apple is noticeably absent from the list
F.E.A.R. 2 trailer proves children are creepy
Let's face it. Kids are scary. Think about it. We tell them stories about cooking witches in ovens, tell them that cribs belong in trees and that the babies therein inevitably come tumbling down. Is it any wonder that they wind up so damned creepy? Just think of all the horror movies that use children*. The latest trailer for F.E.A.R. 2 -- which highlights that the game is now actually called F.E.A.R. 2 -- showcases lots of nasty monsters and sweet weapons, but we were particularly struck by Alma, the super creepy girl antagonist. More specifically, we were struck by her whispering "You can't hide from me" at the end of the trailer. Now, if you'll excuse us, it's time to hide. *Don't click this.
Project Origin bringing the F.E.A.R back
Did you know that Project Origin was a sequel to F.E.A.R? We're guessing there's a chunk of you who probably didn't, but from now on there's no excuse. Monolith Productions and WB Games inc. have purchased the F.E.A.R name off Activision Blizzard, who retained the license after Monolith switched publishers to work on the sequel. Seemingly Actiblizz feel that they don't need it anymore, along with a few other Sierra franchises. So why not just call it F.E.A.R 2 and have done with it? After all the effort they went to with their Name Your Fear contest, it would be a shame not to use the winning name, Project Origin, in some form or another. As a result the game will now be known as F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin. Lovely. Currently it's set for release worldwide in mid-February. That's around the same time Killzone 2 is due to hit, in case you're wondering.
Project Origin gets its F.E.A.R. back and a release
In a very weird turn of corporate events, Warner and Monolith just announced that they've acquired the F.E.A.R. name and license back from Sierra who initially was going to create their own non-Monolith involved F.E.A.R. sequel. So, with the new name purchase, Project Origin will no longer be the spiritual successor to F.E.A.R. but will instead be the official sequel, now titled F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin. Even with the newly acquired F.E.A.R. name, Monolith will be keeping "Project Origin" in the name not only because of the branding they've already being doing, but because they promised the fans. Along with the name change, Lith has confirmed that F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin will release to retail on February 10th, 2009. [Thanks, Rob]
Name change: 'F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin'
Monolith and Warner Bros. sure appreciate all the hard work you put in to deciding the name of the "spiritual successor" to F.E.A.R., but let's face it, Project Origin doesn't quite ring like ... F.E.A.R. 2. But, as the backstory goes, Sierra owned the franchise name and, up until the Activision-Blizzard merger, the company was supposedly working on its own F.E.A.R. sequel. But then, well, Sierra hit a snag. Sensing that all was not well, Warner Bros. sent over a gift basket full of money, and back came the rights to the franchise name. So, here Warner Bros. and Monolith are with the original name and the name that's been used in all the marketing to date. Solution? Combine the two. And the final answer is ... F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin! In stores February 10th, 2009.
I Am Legend Ultimate Collectors Edition Blu-ray double-dips December 9
Ready for even more double dipping? Warner is returning December 9 with the I Am Legend Ultimate collectors Edition in a 2-disc Blu-ray set with a $59.99 MSRP. Exclusive on Blu-ray are picture-in-picture Focus Points that let you watch the making of during the movie on a Bonus View-capable player. As pictured above, the box packs in a 44-page sketch book, art cards and more. That's quite a spread for one movie (and yes, the alternate ending is included in this release also), enough to make you go back for more?
Alma and Project Origin both need more dev time, game delayed into 2009
In other release date delay news, we've just learned that Monlith's Project Origin (the true sequel to F.E.A.R.) will not make it to retail shelves anytime this year and is tentatively planned for a Q1 2009 release. The delay news comes from Lith's art lead Dave Matthews who confirmed during Leipzig that they'll release Project Origin on multiple platforms in early '09. Though, you you just can't wait, you can always catch a glimpse of Alma and all the bloody violence later this week during PAX where we're told it'll be demoed on stage.
Project Origin pushed back to early 2009
Project Origin, Monolith's everything-but-the-name follow up to F.E.A.R., has slipped on all of that spilled gore, sliding back from the game's previous fall release until sometime in early 2009. The news came from Project Origin art lead, Dave Matthews, who took time during the Leipzig Games Convention to break the news -- and fans' hearts – confirming that players will have to wait until the first quarter of 2009 to find out just what Alma has been up to. Softening the blow a bit, new details surrounding the upcoming shooter also emerged from last week's event, including news that the sequel will include more interactive and varied environments than those seen in F.E.A.R., while enemy A.I. has also been amped up as well. According to Monolith, the story itself will also be improved over the original, giving us all the more reason to think that maybe Project Origin is worth waiting for after all. Source – GC 2008: Project Origin Progress Report, IGN
Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary celebration makes for a lot of HD VOD
Warner Bros. is all over digital distribution in celebration of its 85th anniversary, pushing 85 of its classic flick onto video on-demand, most in high definition and many of them available in HD VOD for the first time. Anyone with Time Warner, Comcast, Cox, Charter, Rogers, DirecTV or DISH Network should have access to flicks including Doctor Zhivago, Casablanca, Chariots of Fire, Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome straight from their remote starting today. Additionally Time Warner has lined up a series of indoor and outdoor screenings in LA and New York so keep an eye out for those. Great films in high quality without having to leave our couch, if we could stop watching the Olympics we'd take a look, check out the full list after the break. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]
Confirmed: Arkham Asylum not coming to Wii
Sorry folks, looks like the new game Batman: Arkham Asylum isn't going to be on Wii. It's purely a PS3 and Xbox 360 affair, as well as for the PC. Sorry to crush your hopes and dreams (we felt you needed the closure of knowing, rather than never mentioning the game again), but the title isn't planned for Wii as of right now. That doesn't mean we can't hold out hope that the game will one day be ported to Nintendo's console. Just don't hold your breath on that one. [Via press release]
Eidos makes Batman: Arkham Asylum official
Eidos has made Batman: Arkham Asylum all official, confirming the earlier revealed Rocksteady Studios-developed trip to Gotham City. Calling the game a "haunting, action detective game," Eidos notes that it and Warner Bros. will publish the action adventure title globally for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC in 2009.According to Eidos, the game's story, penned by Batman Beyond's Paul Dini, will center on a trap set by Arkham Asylum inmates for Batman as he delivers Joker to the infamous prison. While much of the thunder of Eidos' announcement was taken by the dynamic duo of Game Informer and NeoGAF yesterday, Warner Bros. Interactive president Martin Tremblay calls the game both "graphically distinct" and "incredibly dark," as players hunt down and do battle with Gotham's worst. We look forward to additional details about Batman: Arkham Asylum as they become available, and have tossed a batarang in Eidos' direction for more.
Traveller's Tales assembling more Warner Bros. LEGO titles
Speaking with Variety, Traveller's Tales president Jon Burton revealed that his company – which created LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Indiana Jones, and the upcoming LEGO Batman – is working on more block-tastic titles based on Warner Bros. IPs. "We've gotten started doing some LEGO games on the Warner IP," Burton confirms, stating that they are "down the line." That's games plural. In the piece, Burton is also quoted as saying: "To be able to dabble around in CG and film would be interesting," and that, "Warner allows me to push in those directions without 'quitting the day job,' so to speak." We reckon that games based on movies are definitely one way to fulfill that interest, but which WB properties (other than the Caped Crusader) could be LEGO-worthy? We'd be interested in seeing how Traveller's Tales would tackle such anticipated Warner projects as Watchmen, Terminator Salvation, and Superman: Man of Steel. Let's just hope it passes on The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2. Which Warner flicks would you like to see LEGO-fied?
The Dark Knight Blu-ray to kick off social BD-Live features for Warner?
Batman and Sleeping Beauty might have something in common pretty soon, as DVDTown reports Warner Bros. is considering making The Dark Knight its first release with BD-Live features. If they're planning on testing for synchronized watching among groups with chat running alongside the movie, the summer's biggest flick (and w/ IMAX sequences already coming home) seems like a good place to start. All we can hope is that it comes out sooner rather than later, apparently some people have too much time on their hands.[Via MovieWeb]
Turbine announces partnership with Warner Bros. for Mines of Moria
Turbine has just announced its partnership with Warner Bros. to distribute the Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria, the first retail expansion for the franchise. In addition to this, we get some details on what will be included with the Collector's Edition box, as well as the new Complete Edition. Turbine also states that there will be a downloadable version on their website for current subscribers, as well.If that's not enough to get you pumped, Turbine has also released a few new pieces of concept art, as we've included for you in the gallery below. Be sure to read the complete press release after the cut for detailed information on all editions of Mines of Moria and more.%Gallery-18340%
Man-Bat is one ugly LEGO villain
Those of you who've seen The Dark Knight probably still have Batman in your systems, so hopefully news on the superhero in LEGO form is enough to sate your batty cravings. Warner Bros. is certainly trying to indulge in your wants by revealing more news about the upcoming LEGO Batman video game. Today, the company brings word of a new villain, one that Batman fans will be familiar with -- Man-Bat. Man-Bat is actually a scientist named Kirk Langstrom, who injected himself with a bat-based serum in order to gain sonar powers and aid his worsening deafness. Obviously, bad results ensue, and he turns into a bat-looking monster that attacks Gotham City. Fun!For some Man-Bat related screens, just click on our gallery below.%Gallery-13236%[Via press release]
