July 23, 2001 - August 07, 2001

8/07/01 - Latest News

Decipher Calls for Volunteers!
Tookish @ 5:39 pm EST

Recently Kevin from Decipher handed me this form for getting an application to be a Lord Of The Rings Product Champion Volunteer for their LOTR Trading Card Game! Good luck, dreams do come true...

7/31/01 - Latest News

DecipherCon 2001 Press Release
DarthCaeser @ 10:00 pm EST

Decipher News Flash!
DECIPHERCON 2001:
GUEST LIST TO INCLUDE HOBBITS, ORCS, WIZARDS…
And BIG MONEY WINNERS!

(NORFOLK, Va., June 26, 2001) - Decipher's 3rd annual gaming convention will take place Nov. 15-18 at the Sheraton Oceanfront Hotel in Virginia Beach, Va., the company announced this week.

In addition to the introduction of the Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game , DecipherCon 2001 will offer an unprecedented $50,000 prize purse for its World Championships, with each champion taking home a grand prize of $10,000. Championships will be held for the Star Wars™ CCG, Star Trek™ CCG ,Young Jedi™ CCG, and Jedi Knights™ TCG. Best of all, ANYONE can walk away a champion! No pre-qualification in earlier tournaments is necessary: Everyone is eligible to play in the first-day qualifying rounds of the championships!

The exciting details surrounding the Lord of the Rings TCG are still highly confidential, but Decipher will release more and more information as the summer con season begins.

In addition to the lucrative championships and Lord of the Rings debut, DecipherCon will feature celebrity autograph signings, role-playing games, digital deck demonstrations, and more.

Those who plan to join the excitement should go to the DecipherCon area of decipher.com (set to go live on June 29) for details on registration, special convention packages, and discounted hotel rates. Space is limited so pre-registration is recommended; the deadline for pre-registration is October 15, 2001. For hotel reservations, call toll-free 800.521.5635 and ask for the DecipherCon group rate.

Founded in 1983, Decipher Inc. is a worldwide leader in the collectible card game industry. Decipher is dedicated to The Art of Great Games®. The company’s product lines include the Star Trek™ Customizable Card Game, Star Wars™ Customizable Card Game, Young Jedi™ Collectible Card Game, Jedi Knights™ Trading Card Game, and Lord of the Rings™ Trading Card Game - scheduled to release holiday 2001. In addition, Decipher’s Games Studio produces leading party, card and board games such as How To Host A Murder®, How To Host A Teen Mystery™, Boy Crazy!™, Girl Power!™, Pente®, Scratchees™ and more. In 2001, Decipher acquired the staff and assets of FANtastic media, becoming the operator of the Official Star Trek Fan Club. Visit www.decipher.com for additional product and tournament information, news, contests, and interactive features.

For more information, contact Carla Atkinson at (757) 664-1133/ carlaa@decipher.com or Monica Jones at (757) 664-1148/monicaj@decipher.com.

###

LOTR board game update
DarthCaeser @ 9:33 pm EST

Finwe sent in some info about the new expansion to the Lord of the Rings board game: "I don't remember if you have posted it, but there is an expansion to the Lord of the Rings board game that is coming around the corner..."

From the board game's web site:

"The eagerly awaited first Expansion game to LOTR will be published to coincide with Essen in October this year. It will be published in English, German and Dutch this year, other languages following in 2002.

The publishers this year will be Hasbro, Kosmos and 999 Games.

Also on the site, news of a Special Edition of the game: "Lord of the Rings Limited Edition is to come out before Christmas and the release of the LOTR movie in December. A special edition limited to 500 copies in the English language and 250 in German will be published by Sophisticated Games and Kosmosin November at a price of approximately UK £100, US $ 150, DM 350. The Limited edition will have a real gold ring, pewter Hobbit playing pieces, and a signed and numbered John Howe print" I'll adding this to my Christmas wish-list. [More]

Lord of Rings Gets Games Deal
Xoanon @ 11:10 am EST

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Electronic Arts has signed a contract with New Line Cinema to develop a series of games based on The Lord of the Rings motion picture franchise, an Electronic Arts spokesman told The Hollywood Reporter. The games are in development for multiple platforms. New Line executive v.p. worldwide licensing and merchandising David Imhoff confirmed the Electronic Arts videogame license and said an official announcement will be made shortly.

Riot Entertainment has been awarded exclusive handheld wireless interactive game rights for the films and will debut the first graphical and text Lord of the Rings products this summer for personal data assistants and cell phones.

Electronic Arts will face competition at retail from Vivendi Universal Publishing's Sierra Studios, which will develop and release multiple console and PC games based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings literary works over the next eight years. The first 3D adventure title, The Fellowship of the Ring, will ship early next year for Microsoft's Xbox. Vivendi plans to release titles on all major gaming platforms in order to make the interactive versions of Tolkien's works available to as many gamers as possible, Vivendi Universal Games' CEO Hubert Joly told the Hollywood Reporter.

New Line will release The Two Towers at Christmas 2002 and The Return of the King at Christmas 2003, which gives a large window of marketing opportunities for any videogames based on the books or movies.

Bando de Aventureiros Renomados sem Dinheiro
DarthCaeser @ 3:25 am EST

Imagine my surprise when I drop in #bag_end, our Trivia, 20 Q's, and the like chat room, and find everyone speaking Portuguese, me not understanding a word of it. Turns out a bunch of people from #pelennor have gotten together to do an RPG, so if you happen to speak Portuguese, check it out some time. Here's an e-mail I got from Aarakocra about the RPG:

"I was chatting with some friends about RPG's, and we found that we don't have an RPG group to play with over the Internet. So we created one, BARD: Bando de Aventureiros Renomados sem Dinheiro. It means "A lot of Adventurers With Fame, Without Money". So we're planning to play every weekend, with a particular system for IRC chat. We need a room, so for the time being, we're using #Bag_End. More questions? E-mail me :)"

7/28/01 - Latest News

The Man behind the Music of Middle Earth (Online)
DarthCaeser @ 8:29 pm EST

"Three new games were announced at E3 2001 based on J.R.R Tolkien's classic works: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings Online. Chance Thomas scored the movie introducing the games, and HUGEsound Network member Tim Larkin designed the sound effects. The score includes a live symphony orchestra and features a Gemshorn, Bodhran, and Penny Whistle. The Gemshorn is a type of Medieval flute made from the horn of an ox, which resonates with a hauntingly delicate voice, often compared to a blend of ocarina and recorder. The Bodhran is a Celtic drum made by stretching the skin of a greyhound or goat over a wooden shell, typically 18" in diameter. The Gaelic word "bodhran" is often translated as "thunderous" or "deafening". The Penny Whistle is a small, high pitched Tin Whistle used extensively in Celtic, Spanish, and French folk and dance music."

Chance Thomas also did music for Middle-earth Online, and was recently featured on Gamasutra, where you can find an mp3 from MEO: From the lost annals of Middle-Earth, a game that simply wasn't meant to be. Beginning with the actual voice of J.R.R. Tolkien, here is a brief musical tour that takes you "there and back again". Download the mp3 here.

7/27/01 - Latest News

The Two Towers MUD
DarthCaeser @ 3:20 pm EST

I've received a lot of e-mail about this MUD lately, so it must be worth checking out.

"The Two Towers is more than just a game - its a living world full of real people - heroes and villains
alike," said Steven "Melkor" Tisa, one of T2T's founders. "Make friends and enemies, join a guild or
even lead an army to battle! Anything is possible in this rich, dynamic world."

The motto of the MUD has always been "By fans, for fans." It is maintained by a staff of volunteer "ainur," who work hard to uphold the theme of Tolkien's works while providing a very playable game. The setting of the MUD is March 15, 3019 - the day the Battle of the Pelennor fields takes place. We have a character database of over 15,000, and peak simulteanous online user count of 143 people from around the world." [More]

Sierra Talks LOTR Game
Xoanon @ 11:52 am EST

From: Wiggy

On the Games Network channel here in the UK, there was an interview with a guy from Sierra Patrick Moynihan talking about The Fellowship Of The Ring Game in production.

He talked a good deal about the game play and stated there was 8 main levels in the game (The Shire, Old Forest, Bree, Weathertop, Rivendell, Moria, Lothlorien and the River Anduin). He said that Tolkien was a very descriptive author so it gave them an authentic resource, and he said everyone working on the game was a big Tolkien fan. It doesn’t have any rights to images or actors in the New Line Films though so the production and character design is there own style of Middle Earth.

The main character you control in the game is Frodo so you cant chose to be Gandalf etc. Yet you can talk to the Fellowship members and they can help you in battle and combat (he said they used most of the AI on fellowship members too). Each character has different strengths so Sam for example will be good for maybe distracting enemy`s while you stab them in the back. Gandalfs very powerful so he could take on multiple enemy`s.

The game play is non linear because there is side adventures and puzzles to complete in the game, which you can chose to do in any order. He mentioned that in the book Tolkien described Evil creatures lurking round the Shire and in the game you can explore this. He went on to describe the evil of the ring but said in some situations it can be positive and you have to use it. They are trying to encompass the dark side of book as well as the humour and levity. They are shooting for a main audience with a Teen or 11+ rating. He said if the game was successful they would do the rest of the series as well. One interesting point was that Sierra was also working on a "multiplayer" Hobbit game. When the interviewer asked about whether there will be encounters with Oliphants in the south, he said they are staying very true to events in the book, so there will be no adventures in the south. It also shown to pretty cool artwork of Gandalf, Black riders and Gollum as well. This game could be pretty good after all.

7/26/01 - Latest News

Decipher at Gencon
Xoanon @ 4:55 pm EST

Immediate Release

Contact: Karen E. Levy, Public Relations Manager
Phone: 757.664.1144 (daytime phone)
E-mail: lisal@decipher.com

( M E D I A A L E R T (
TV/Photo/Interview Opportunity

DECIPHER, LEADING MANUFACTURER OF SCI-FI AND FANTASY PRODUCTS INVITES YOU TO A SPECIAL SNEAK PREVIEW OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• Partake in a Q&A with The Lord of the Ring Trading Card Game and Role Playing Game Studio Designers.
• Preview the cards and game mechanics.
• Hear plans for the League and Tournament programs.
• Find out the Decipher’s plans for its Roleplaying Game.
• Find out important product release dates.
• Win special prizes.
• RSVP to Karen E. Levy 757.664.1144.
• Personal appointments for interviews should be scheduled ahead of time by calling Karen E. Letar Trek Fan Club. Visit www.decipher.com for additional product and tournament information, news, contests, and interactive features.

Red Herring article on EA deal
DarthCaeser @ 2:42 pm EST

OK, so it was only "exclusive" for a couple of hours, but we did break it to you first. Red Herring has posted an article on the EA deal:

"New Line Cinema reignited the craze for the works of novelist J.R.R. Tolkien with its highly anticipated Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, set for December release. The film is the first of three that will be released each year through 2003, with a cumulative budget of $270 million. Sources close to the matter say that EA will announce only that it has secured rights, but will say later what kind of game it will make and when it will release it." [More]

7/25/01 - Latest News

EA seals the deal
DarthCaeser @ 1:17 am EST

A TheOneRing.net exclusive
Electronic Arts and New Line Cinema have finally sealed the deal for games based on the new Lord of the Rings movies. After bugging my PR contact at EA, it was revealed that "EA has signed an agreement to produce a series of games based on the LOTR motion picture series. Development is underway and there will be more information available on this later in the year."

It was reported earlier in a New Line press release that EA had the license, but it was later revealed that EA and New Line were still in negotiations, and that nothing had been finalized.

7/23/01 - Latest News

RIOT-E secures exclusive rights to New Line Cinema’s movie trilogy of The Lord of the Rings
DarthCaeser @ 10:14 pm EST

Riot Entertainment (RIOT-E, www.riot-e.com), the global leader in wireless entertainment, today announced that it had secured the exclusive handheld wireless interactive game rights for New Line Cinema’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. This pioneering partnership will bring the fantasy and adventure of The Lord of the Rings to mobile users throughout the world.

RIOT-E will develop interactive games for The Lord of the Rings fans and gaming communities, as well as a growing portfolio of interrelated wireless entertainment features throughout the movies’ lifecycle. Content is currently being created and is expected to be available later this summer in Europe, Asia and United States - marking the first time branded wireless entertainment will be available to U.S. mobile users.

A variety of products will develop from simple SMS services to multiplayer experiences on a 3G platform during the lifespan of the rights.

Already boasting a potential global wireless community of 110 million through partnerships with mobile phone operators in Europe and Asia, RIOT-E anticipates that its potential user numbers will rise to 300 million by the end of the summer.

Jan Wellmann, CEO Riot Entertainment Ltd, said: “Partnering with New Line Cinema on a project on the scale of The Lord of the Rings is a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase the immense potential of wireless marketing and entertainment to a global audience. Through our partnerships with Marvel Enterprises Inc., Twentieth Century Fox and Helen Fielding, Author of Bridget Jones’s Diary, we have shown that we can get thousands of people hooked on an idea – and transformed the way they think about their mobile phone as an entertainment device. We aim to get millions of people interacting in the Lord of the Rings wireless community, building their awareness of the movie and feeding their imaginations with exciting content around what is set to be the movie event of 2001, 2002 and 2003.”

The first film of the New Line Cinema trilogy, The Fellowship of the Rings, premieres on December 19, 2001. The second and third films – The Two Towers and Return of the King – are scheduled to launch in December 2002 and 2003 respectively.

Helmer Peter Jackson, whose visionary style of filmmaking and emotional acuity won accolades for his Heavenly Creatures and The Frighteners, brings his deep love for the source material to the project. Produced by Barrie M. Osborne, the films feature a strong international cast that includes (in alphabetical order) Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Brad Dourif, Bernard Hill, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davies, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, and Elijah Wood. But the real star of the films is the story itself - a classic hero’s quest in which the smallest of beings changes the course of the future with the vastness of his courage.

The official The Lord of the Rings Website – www.lordoftherings.net - generated over 350 million hits in the first three months since its re-launch on January 12, 2001. There are at least 400 fan sites exclusively devoted to the production, many featuring countdowns, to the very second, of the first film’s opening.

“The excitement surrounding this epic adventure continues to grow,” comments David Imhoff, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Licensing and Merchandising, New Line Cinema. “RIOT-E’s mobile games will provide a launch pad into unique wireless The Lord of the Rings experiences, fuelling the world’s excitement and curiosity about the movie.”

RIOT-E’s compelling suite of wireless entertainment services and unrivalled experience as the world’s leading wireless entertainment publisher includes deals with among others, Marvel Enterprises, Universal Pictures and Helen Fielding, author of the best selling book and recent movie release Bridget Jones’s Diary. The partnership with Marvel Enterprises alone provides RIOT-E with the global wireless rights for all 4,700 Marvel characters including X-Men which has proven to be the most successful mobile game of all time, generating several million mobile messages to date. In addition, as excitement builds towards the 2002 Spider-Man movie, RIOT-E has partnered with premier Japanese content company Cybird Co., Ltd. to deliver Spider-Man wireless content to subscribers of Japan’s Big Four operators.

For further press information contact:

RIOT Entertainment Ltd
Johanna Hytönen, Public Relations Manager
Mobile +358 40 757 1997
johanna.hytonen@riot-e.com

The Village
Amy Richards, +44 772029 3361, amy@thevillagelimited.com
Virginia McLean, +44 788904 1188, virginia@thevillagelimited.com

FerenComm for New Line Cinema
Sheila Feren/Stephanie Greenhut
+1 212-983-9898
sheilaf@ferencomm.com/ stephanieg@ferencomm.com

About Riot Entertainment Ltd (www.riot-e.com)
Founded in February 2000, Riot Entertainment immediately established itself as the most innovative publisher, creator, and distributor of entertainment in the wireless sector. RIOT-E brings with it imagination and style that enables wireless gaming, communication and commerce worldwide. Games created by RIOT-E are promoted and co-branded in parallel with highly visible international media releases such as movies, TV-shows, and sports events. RIOT-E has successfully launched it's X-Men mobile services with operators in Europe and Asia and has secured exclusive rights to mobile content based on the well-known character, Bridget Jones, from best selling book Bridget Jones's Diary. RIOT-E will also be bringing the wireless dimension to the Marvel Universe of over 4,700 characters. RIOT-E currently has offices in Helsinki, Singapore, Manila, London, Paris, Berlin, Rome and Los Angeles and employs 90 people worldwide.

About New Line Cinema (www.newline.com)
Founded in 1967, New Line Cinema is the entertainment industry's leading independent producer and distributor of theatrical motion pictures. New Line licenses its films to ancillary markets including cable and broadcast television as well as to international venues. The company, which is a subsidiary of AOL Time Warner Inc., operates several divisions including in-house theatrical distribution, marketing, home video, television, acquisitions, production, licensing and merchandising units.

Go back to Gaming News Archives