Bits Studio Bringing ‘Good, Bad, Ugly’ to Gamers

Source: Gamedaily

In a deal with MGM Interactive, Bits Studios has acquired video game rights to the three Sergio Leone movies often called “The Man With No Name” trilogy. The 1966 classic “Good, Bad,” which starred Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach, was the last in the series but will be the first to get the interactive treatment.

Bits Studios CEO Foo Katan said he is exploring options for actors to contribute their likeness and voice talents. He has not ruled out working with Eastwood but said that likeness and other rights for original cast members need to be handled separately through the indivs or estates because of the age of the movies.

Katan has secured portions of Ennio Morricone’s memorable scores, however, which he thinks “is probably the most important aspect we embrace in the game beyond the film itself. They are powerful and unforgettable scores that you really associate with the films.”

No publisher is attached yet, but the game is on schedule to ship next year for PC, Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable.

Although it will bear the name and the music from the popular spaghetti Western, the third-person-perspective video game will follow a new story line that is influenced by the movies and will keep the tone of the films. This design approach supports better gameplay, Katan said. The action will incorporate horseback riding, brawling and gun fighting in an open Western environment, he said.

“We chose this license to help people to connect to the game more easily,” said Katan, who added that classic Hollywood licenses come with a built-in fan awareness and don’t have the drop-dead, day-and-date release deadlines of new theatrical releases.

He has noted the trend for games based on classic Hollywood movies as well. “I think most game creators grew up loving movies and games,” Katan said. “I think many games draw on the past of great movies and in many ways are following a similar creative evolution path as well as offering very unique challenges.”

“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” is the latest classic Hollywood film to be given new life as interactive entertainment. Eastwood is working with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developer Foundation 9 Entertainment on a revival of “Dirty Harry” for next-generation consoles next year, for example. Electronic Arts will release a remake of “From Russia With Love” in the fall, with original James Bond Sean Connery reprising his role. EA also has worked with Marlon Brando, James Caan, Robert Duvall and more than 20 actors from “The Godfather” film for its early 2006 video game, which will expand the fiction beyond Mario Puzo’s novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s film.

Source: Gamedaily

In a deal with MGM Interactive, Bits Studios has acquired video game rights to the three Sergio Leone movies often called “The Man With No Name” trilogy. The 1966 classic “Good, Bad,” which starred Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach, was the last in the series but will be the first to get the interactive treatment.

Bits Studios CEO Foo Katan said he is exploring options for actors to contribute their likeness and voice talents. He has not ruled out working with Eastwood but said that likeness and other rights for original cast members need to be handled separately through the indivs or estates because of the age of the movies.

Katan has secured portions of Ennio Morricone’s memorable scores, however, which he thinks “is probably the most important aspect we embrace in the game beyond the film itself. They are powerful and unforgettable scores that you really associate with the films.”

No publisher is attached yet, but the game is on schedule to ship next year for PC, Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable.

Although it will bear the name and the music from the popular spaghetti Western, the third-person-perspective video game will follow a new story line that is influenced by the movies and will keep the tone of the films. This design approach supports better gameplay, Katan said. The action will incorporate horseback riding, brawling and gun fighting in an open Western environment, he said.

“We chose this license to help people to connect to the game more easily,” said Katan, who added that classic Hollywood licenses come with a built-in fan awareness and don’t have the drop-dead, day-and-date release deadlines of new theatrical releases.

He has noted the trend for games based on classic Hollywood movies as well. “I think most game creators grew up loving movies and games,” Katan said. “I think many games draw on the past of great movies and in many ways are following a similar creative evolution path as well as offering very unique challenges.”

“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” is the latest classic Hollywood film to be given new life as interactive entertainment. Eastwood is working with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developer Foundation 9 Entertainment on a revival of “Dirty Harry” for next-generation consoles next year, for example. Electronic Arts will release a remake of “From Russia With Love” in the fall, with original James Bond Sean Connery reprising his role. EA also has worked with Marlon Brando, James Caan, Robert Duvall and more than 20 actors from “The Godfather” film for its early 2006 video game, which will expand the fiction beyond Mario Puzo’s novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s film.