5/07/01 - Latest News
GAMING: LOTR Game Composer
Xoanon @ 10:14 am EST
Noticed this on www.avault.com HUGEsound composer Chance Thomas has been hired to do the music and sound for the Fellowship of the Ring E3 trailer. Fellowship of the Ring is the first release in Sierra Studios' game series based on The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings novels. Slated for release in the first half of 2002, the game will be previewed at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo held in Los Angeles later this month. Thanks to Øystein and others for the tip!
5/04/01 - Latest News
More on Sierra and Xbox?
Xoanon @ 8:52 pm EST
Ringer Spy Clay sends word that http://www.wxp3d.com is talking all about Sierra and LOTR. Check out the link above for the press release we showed you yesterday, as well as some coolio new LOTR designs, no idea if they're for anything or just to snazz up the site. Clay also goes on to give us a little insight about the console industry: In addition, WXP is a known developer for both XBox and PS2. The FoTR is going to be a console game, as you probably know. I'm betting XBox, because, before they announced FoTR they mention XBox on their site and also said they were working on a "top secret" project in the same paragraph. Hmm, sounds interesting, let's just hope they introduce the new and exciting character 'Xoanon' who turns out to be the hero and saves the princess! and....ok, I'll relax now.
Sierra solves Tolkien licensing riddle
Xoanon @ 2:54 pm EST
By Dean Takahashi Ending a lawsuit, the estate of author J.R.R. Tolkien and a major computer game publisher have agreed to an eight-year deal to make games based on Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings fantasy books. Vivendi Universal Publishing, a unit of Vivendi Universal (NYSE: V) and Tolkien Enterprises have announced that Vivendi's game unit Sierra will make computer and video games based on the novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, which is the trilogy composed of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. The first game, an action-adventure titled The Fellowship of the Ring, is expected to be published in early 2002 for an undisclosed video game console. The game is timed to come out shortly after the fall release of the movie of the same title by filmmaker New Line Cinema. The game series has been widely anticipated, since nearly 100 million copies of The Lord of the Rings trilogy have been sold, and many view the fantasy universe of Tolkien's Dungeons and Dragons-like books as lending itself quite easily to the game format. TOLKIEN TALKS TORT Meanwhile, game publisher Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) (EA) entered the picture by beginning negotiations to license the game rights from New Line Cinema, a unit of AOL Time Warner (NYSE: AOL). Sources close to the companies say that EA plans to get the rights to the movie assets and make games based upon the movies. Sierra, meanwhile, has rights based on the novels, which have a slightly different storyline. Over eight years, Sierra is expected to make a number of other games for all other game platforms, including PC games, online games, and video game consoles. Sierra has hired Seattle-based game developer WXP to create the game The Fellowship of the Ring. "The Tolkien license, combined with our development, marketing, and distribution strengths, are truly a formidable combination," says Agnès Touraine, vice chairman and CEO of Vivendi Universal Publishing. "It will reinforce our leading position in the games market, enlarging our offer to customers." Analysts who follow the games market contend that the rights to the Tolkien novels are likely to be as valuable as the $14 billion Pokémon franchise has been for Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY). But others dispute that notion, saying that Tolkien-like fantasy games such as Sony's Everquest online game have siphoned away the audience for Tolkien games. For more on this story, see the April 15, 2001 issue of Red Herring magazine
Red Herring
May 3, 2001
Lord of the Rings fans may get their much-anticipated video game after all.
The deal ends a lawsuit filed by Tolkien Enterprises -- a unit of film producer Saul Zaentz Co. in Berkeley, California -- in April 2000. Tolkien Enterprises had previously negotiated a game deal with Sierra's former owners to make a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on the novels. But Sierra canceled the game it agreed to make, proposing that it would instead create a stop-gap single-player strategy game using old technology and work anew on an online game that would launch at a much later date than promised. The Tolkien estate balked and said that Sierra was stalling.
5/03/01 - Latest News
Sierra talks! kind of...
DarthCaeser @ 3:32 pm EST
Sierra's finally lifted the veil of silence when it comes to the Tolkien license, a little bit anyway. Here's what they had to say in response to my questions. What happened to Middle-Earth Online? "There will definitely be a persistent world RPG set in the universe of Middle-Earth. However, everything that anyone currently knows about the game is old information about a game that doesn't exist anymore. We'll release more info soon, but gamers shouldn't expect anything really concrete about this for quite some time." Has all the Legal trouble with Tolkien Enterprises been resolved? "Yes." Have Sierra and MM3D patched up their relationship yet? "Negotiations are ongoing." I also tried to convince them they needed me to help represent them at E3 :), didn't quite work though. I'll just have to make do with reports from E3 Daily and press releases from Sierra themselves. So, who is this WXP mentioned in the press release? Check out their web site for more info, here. I'll be getting in touch with them soon. Well, that's all for now,
DarthCaeser
Middle Earth Play-by-mail
DarthCaeser @ 2:58 pm EST
Gaius sent us an e-mail about the Middle Earth Play-by-mail game. Here's part of the letter: "Because this was the first PBM game I ever played, I really had no idea what to expect. However, I was left in no doubt of the quality, as I received a glossy rule book and map of middle earth, with my initial start up. I thought the artwork throughout was of great quality, and for me, the chance to play a nation set in Tolkien's Middle Earth was the icing on a very large cake! Check out Game Systems', the company who licenses the game, web site here.
Big announcement from Sierra!
DarthCaeser @ 9:00 am EST
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Vivendi Universal Publishing and Tolkien Enterprises Announce Long-Term, Exclusive Deal to Create Games Based on Classic Fantasy Novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Vivendi Universal Publishing’s Sierra Studio to Release First Game, TORRANCE, CA (May 3, 2001) - Vivendi Universal Publishing (VU Publishing), a division of Vivendi Universal (NYSE: V), and Tolkien Enterprises today announced a long-term, exclusive deal calling for the development of interactive games based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s worldwide best-selling novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, a trilogy comprised of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. Under the deal, VU Publishing’s Sierra studio will develop and release multiple games based on the literary works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings over the next eight years. The first game, “The Fellowship of the Ring,” in development by Seattle-based WXP, Inc., will be released in early 2002 for a next-generation console system. “The Tolkien license, combined with our development, marketing and distribution strengths, is truly a formidable combination,” said Agnès Touraine, Vice Chairman & CEO, Vivendi Universal Publishing. “It will reinforce our leading position in the games market, enlarging our offer to customers.” “The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings properties are the pre-eminent fantasy works of our time and represent one of the strongest brands in the entertainment industry,” said Hubert Joly, CEO, Vivendi Universal Games. “They provide a tremendous amount of rich material from which we expect to make some of the best fantasy games ever created.” “We plan to release titles on all major gaming platforms in order to make the interactive versions of Tolkien’s great works available to as many gamers as possible,” continued Joly. “The world of Middle-Earth will come to life in Sierra’s upcoming games,” said Laurie Battle, Director of Licensing for Tolkien Enterprises. “This relationship will allow us to reach out to a new audience which may never have experienced the magical realm that J.R.R. Tolkien created in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In addition, people who are already fans of the books will now have the opportunity to step into the shoes of their favorite characters and explore the lands that they have imagined.” More details about Sierra’s game lineup will be revealed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) held in Los Angeles, California from May 17th to the 19th. ABOUT SIERRA About Vivendi Universal publishing ###
Contact:
Adam Kahn
Sierra
adam.kahn@sierra.com
425.649.9800 x5606
“Fellowship of the Ring,” in Early 2002
J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have set the standard for fantasy writers and creators of epic worlds. The novels are massive best sellers, having sold close to 100 million copies worldwide and been translated into 26 different languages. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the subject of three movies being created by New Line Cinema for release over the next three years.
Sierra On-Line, Inc. http://www.sierra.com", a studio of Vivendi Universal Publishing and part of its Games division, is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra is renowned for releasing critically acclaimed and award winning titles that represent a wide variety of computer entertainment on both next generation console and PC platforms.
Vivendi Universal Publishing is a world leader in mass-market multimedia communications. The Company has 22,000 employees and 300 brands in 40 countries and aims to become the unchallenged leader in each of its operating sectors - Games, Education, Literature, Health and Information. VU Publishing had 2000 pro-forma revenues of 3.6 billion euros. A leading publisher of online and PC and Console-based interactive content, the Company’s portfolio of entertainment software brands includes Blizzard Entertainment, Flipside.com, Sierra and Universal Interactive Studios. Interactive entertainment is one of parent company Vivendi Universal’s key content areas, along with Movies, Music and other Publishing activities.
4/30/01 - Latest News
Diablo 2 Middle Earth Mod
DarthCaeser @ 9:24 pm EST
Cajungamer wrote in to inform me of a Middle Earth mod for Diablo 2, and El Brutalo posted about it on the Gaming Board. Here's El Brutalo's post: Hi folks ... just wanted to share w/ you that Varaya & Khan (of Diablo1 Modmaking Fame) have put out their latest baby ... their Diablo2 Middle Earth mod. The place to go is http://www.vkmods.de and straight to the message board since they haven't updated their pages for some time (so the most recent information can always be found on the message board) You can download the mod directy from here: http://www.vkmods.de/d2/d2_memod.zip The mod works w/ v1.06 but can successfully (without crashes) only played with Open Characters (Single and Open Multiplay) You can launch the mod w/ this tool: http://www.phrozenkeep.com/files/d2mm.zip The only thing you have to do is backup your original d2game.dll in your D2 Directory and replace it w/ the one that came in the d2_memod.zip. One more thingy - you have to start a new character since the inventory and stash got way bigger ... Cheers and happy leveling
ElB
4/27/01 - Latest News
MM3D has withdrawn their lawsuit
DarthCaeser @ 12:36 pm EST
MM3D, who was suing Sierra over a breach of contract, has withdrawn their lawsuit. Apparently Sierra has done the smart thing and is settling. Thanks to MM3D's CEO, and quite possibly the nicest person in the world, Bridgette Patrovsky, for keeping me up to date on the case. Here's the latest press release from MM3D's site: "MM3D is happy to announce that we are dismissing the lawsuit (without prejudice) on 04/26/01. We are grateful to Sierra for their good faith and for the efforts they are taking to resolve this matter. --Thank you." [More]
LAW OF THE RINGS
Xoanon @ 10:31 am EST
Ringer Spy Daniel P sends along this article from the UK PC Format web update. Perhaps more surprising than the lawsuit itself is the revelation that the game was going ahead at all, after years of development chaos and a number of rumoured cancellations. Two games were originally envisaged, but the planned Orcs: Revenge of the Ancients strategy game was axed during Sierra's grand-scale reorganisation in 1999, and its current fate remains unknown. Middle Earth also suffered during Sierra's reshuffle, seeing the sacking of its entire development team in an effort to make it more "mass market." Outcry from beardy Tolkien fans demanding an impossibly realistic depiction of their favourite fictional universe, coupled with a legal scuffle against Tolkien Enterprises, seemed to have finished off the game. Rumours continued to circulate, but it took the public announcement of the new lawsuit on April 20 to finally confirm the project's continued existence. MM3D is accusing Sierra of breach of contract, claiming it tried to force MM3D to accept diminished terms and a whopping 50% revenue cut just before final terms were agreed. The project is delayed until the case is resolved, while rumours that a Mr Sauron has been sighted at Sierra's management offices remain unconfirmed.
Sierra's much-troubled online RPG Middle earth has run into yet more problems, in what must be one of the most turbulent game developments in recent history and could easily call for a trilogy of novels of its own. The latest setback in the saga finds game developer MM3D, contracted by Sierra On-line to create the game, suing their client for upwards of $10 million.
4/26/01 - Latest News
I don't know what to make of this
DarthCaeser @ 1:02 am EST
This is from SonnyBoy, like I said, I don't know what to make of it, so I'll let you form your own theories... "While I was travelling from Vegas to home, I stopped over in LA airport for a few hours. Just as I got off the plane I heard the distinctive sound of a Kiwi accent. There was a group of about eight guys standing around talking in the terminal. About three of them were Americans and the rest were Kiwis. They were talking about the LoTR video or computer game. Try as I might, without seeming too conspicuous, I couldn't catch anything tasty in what they were saying. They were using alot of industry jargon and talking very quickly. The impression I got was that this was a NZ company collaborating with a US company on the game. I dont know if this helps the cause or not, but it was definately interesting to hear industry hotshots talk about the LoTR game."
4/25/01 - Latest News
MSNBC: Suit Reveals plan for Tolkien Game
Calisuri @ 9:25 am EST
Source: MSNBC "A lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court confirms what the gaming community and fans of J. R. R. Tolkien have long suspected: Sierra On-Line, the Washington-based game-maker, has been quietly proceeding with plans for a massive online role-playing game based on the Middle Earth characters — but only if the price is right, apparently." [More]