Disney pushes at the Wardrobe door
Major marketing drive behind The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
Disney is putting a massive marketing and licensing drive in place to support the first film in its Chronicles of Narnia series.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, due for release by Walt Disney Pictures at the end of the year, is mix of live action and CGI adapting the first of the seven Narnia books by CS Lewis.
Disney Interactive has announced details about games for the PlayStation2, handheld PSP, Xbox, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and PC. The games will launch in the run-up to Christmas, in conjunction with the film’s release.
UK software developer Traveller’s Tales is currently creating the console and PSP titles, while Griptonite Games, the handheld entertainment division of Amaze Entertainment, is developing the titles for Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS.
Graham Hopper, senior vice president and general manager of Disney’s Buena Vista Games division, said: “We have enlisted some of the top creative talent in the games industry to work on The Chronicles of Narnia video games.
“Building on the fantastical worlds and amazing creatures portrayed in the film, the teams are developing an action/adventure epic video game where players will be captivated by remarkable characters, heart pumping combat and rich environments that could only exist in the land of Narnia.”
In the game, players enter the world of Narnia, a land frozen in a 100 year winter by the evil powers of the malevolent White Witch. In order to end this frigid captivity and free his people, the mighty lion Aslan invokes an ancient prophecy. It will become the destiny of four siblings from our world: Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie to work together and use their unique combat skills, weaponry and abilities to defeat the Witch and her armies to save Narnia.
The four heroes must battle the evil forces of the White Witch by waging war against a vast variety of creatures, including Minotaurs, Minoboars, Cyclops, Werewolves, Wraiths, Ankleslicers, Wolves, Boggles and more.
The ferocious creatures are modeled in the game after the characters being created for the motion picture, by the digital and visual effects team at New Zealand-based Weta Workshop, whose credits include Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Van Helsing, and I, Robot.
[img r]narnia2.jpg[/img]Additional game features include intricate puzzle solving, two-player action featuring all four characters, and seamless game play integration with real film footage.
