We’ve just posted the twenty-eighth edition of the NarniaFans Mailbag. We’ve answered eleven letters this week from such topics as the directors, trailers for Prince Caspian, Fenris Ulf vs. Maugrim, Narnia video games, and the coronation dance scene from LWW.
At the Consumer Electronics Show, Disney’s CEO Bob Iger announced plans for creating Massively Multi-player Online games based on many Disney properties. He announced the possibility of living in the world of Toy Story, racing in the world of Cars, having superpowers like the Incredibles, entering the world of the Disney Princesses, and entering a world of Pirates. He also mentioned a little thing called Narnia…
Disney’s CEO Bob Iger told the assembled crowd at his CES keynote address yesterday that the company plans to bring it’s hottest properties to ‘the virtual realm’ with the first major MMO-game being Pirates of the Caribbean due to launch later this year.
Iger told the CES audience, “We plan to build more virtual worlds like Pirates, based on a broad range of our properties, where we will invite our guests to become a part of our stories. Imagine living in Buzz and Woody’s toy universe; joining an epic adventure in the lands of Narnia; racing Lightning McQueen through Radiator Springs; sharing the superpowers of the Incredibles or entering the magic world of Cinderella and the other Disney princesses.”
SPOnG has just spoken with Sandra van Vreedendaal, Disney’s corporate communications director for Europe, who was cagier about the keynote, telling us, “Bob’s speech yesterday was more about imagining where we are going in the future. Of course, we have many IPs [Intellectual Properties] such as Toy Story, Cars, Narnia, The Incredibles. We are imagining that these things could be possible but at the moment have no firm plans.”
Buena Vista Games, for the first time ever, has entered the top 20 Publishers Report published by Game Developer Magazine. It achieved this status due to a boost coming from sales of “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and “Kingdom Hearts II.”
“This year’s Top 20 Publishers Report shows the continually changing nature of the video game business,” Simon Carless, Editorial Director, Game Developer magazine, said. “It’s great to see how the console transition is impacting the publisher market in a multitude of interesting ways, and I congratulate all the companies who placed this year.”
Thanks to Andy Filipowich for the news link!
Our Moderator Holyboy has sent me a link to a board game that, up until now, I didn’t know exists. Risk Junior: Narnia Edition!
The popular series of Risk variants continues with this incarnation of Risk Junior set in the magical world of Narnia. Tying in with the hit film “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe”, this Risk variant allows you to recreate the climactic battle of the story.
It’s a game for 2-4 players, and it looks very Narnian!
The Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA), a non-profit international trade association for the home entertainment industry, announced the nominees for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube Game of the Year for its annual Home Entertainment Awards. The winners will be announced on July 11 during the VSDA’s Home Entertainment 2006 Awards Show at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Although primarily focused on DVD video releases, the list of nominees also includes a total of 15 video games across the three major console platforms, including popular titles such as Halo 2 (apparently so popular that it won last year, and can be nominated again this year) and Madden NFL ‘06, the latter of which was nominated for all three consoles. No Xbox 360 category has yet been added to the awards, though it seems likely that next year’s awards will feature one.
Besides Halo 2 and the latest Madden iteration, other Xbox video games nominated for Game of the Year honors include Need for Speed Most Wanted, Star Wars: Battlefront II, and Ubisoft’s latest adventure in the life of Third Echelon’s Sam Fisher, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. PlayStation 2 nominees include the aforementioned Madden NFL ‘06, as well as Namco Bandai’s 3D fighting game Soul Caliber III, Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland, Star Wars: Battlefront II, and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
Titles nominated for the GameCube include Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & the Wardrobe, Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland, Lego Star Wars: The Video Game, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and the previously mentioned Madden NFL ‘06 from Electronic Arts.
The award categories and nominees were determined by VSDA’s Home Entertainment Awards Nominating Committee, comprised of retailers, distributors, and journalists. 130 nominations were submitted for awards in 26 categories, with committee members taking into consideration the rental and sales success of each title and the strength of the marketing campaign launched by the studio or distributing label of the title, both to consumers and to retailers.
Well, here is a turn-up for the books…Tomb Raider: Legend débuts at No.1 this week, becoming the largest selling game in the series, mainly thanks to it launching across more systems than ever (although the PS2 version was unable to beat sales of Angel of Darkness). With the PSP version also coming in May and the DS/GBA/GC versions due later in the summer, the legend of Lara Croft is set to live on strong in 2006.
The Godfather drops half its sales and dips back to No.2, whilst Ice Age 2 is unsurprisingly spurred on by the amusing movie’s release, jumping ten to No.4. And look, Animal Crossing holds strong at No.6! This is probably due to the entrance advertisements in places like GAME, constant positive reviews and great word of mouth.
Narnia jumps from No.34 to No.9, but rather than being due to the GC and XBOX releases, it is because of the PS2 version being promoted alongside the DVD movie release…Championship Manager 2006 continues to fail to live up to Football Manager, slipping one place despite the release of the PSP version.
And the same goes for the GBA Top 20, Narnia returns at No.19, as does Need for Speed: Most Wanted at No.20.
The GameCube chart is not much more interesting to watch now, though. Sonic Riders is still No.1, with Ice Age up two to No.2 and Mario Party 7 back up four to No3, just ahead of FIFA Street 2. Clearly the kids are out in force on Nintendo formats. Pokémon is down three to No.5, Narnia sticks at No.6, but Odama is down three to No.8 already.
The PC game demo of The Chronicles of Narnia has been released for download. This announcement was made by NVIDIA, as they stated that it is one of the most unforgettable interactive features of the season, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe from Buena Vista Games.
The demo is 187MB and can be downloaded in a variety of locations across the Internet. It includes the ‘Frozen Lake’ and ‘Rescue Edmund’ levels from the currently available game. Buena Vista Games and the developer, Traveler’s Tale maintained a close technical and marketing collaboration with NVIDIA, creating a game that raises the bar in visual quality of games.
Based on the book by C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe game, takes the story from the pages of the book and allow the player to live the adventures. While playing each of the four characters, players will be able to battle the White Witch’s evil minions in team-based action. The player must use each of the character’s unique skills to defeat hordes of creatures that include Cyclopes and Werewolves, in order to bring peace once again to Narnia.
Download Locations
NZone
FilePlanet
Buena Vista Games ships more than 2 million units of the Chronicles of Narnia video game to retail outlets in North America and Europe. The launch of Multiplatform Video Game Inspired by Epic Film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe marks BVG’s Largest Self-Publishing Initiative.
In anticipation of Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media’s epic feature film release of “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” on December 9, retail support of the movie-inspired video game has been brisk throughout North America and Europe. Buena Vista Games, Inc. (BVG), the interactive entertainment arm of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), announced today that the company has shipped more than 2 million units of the multiplatform video game to retail outlets in the two regions. The video game is available for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Xbox® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo DS , Game Boy® Advance system and PC.
“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe video game launch marks the largest self-publishing initiative executed to date by Buena Vista Games,” said Graham Hopper, senior vice president and general manager, Buena Vista Games. “There is great excitement building for the release of the film and that buzz has helped ignite an event atmosphere at retail for the video game. By building upon and expanding the Narnia entertainment experience, BVG is playing an important role as the next content creation engine for the company.”
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe video game takes the classic story from the renowned book from C.S. Lewis to new heights by bringing the feature film’s cinematic experience to life in a stunning interactive adventure. Players can take on the role of each of the four Pevensie heroes – Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy – to battle the White Witch’s sinister minions in team-based, action-packed combat.
In the action/adventure console and PC versions, players take on 15 levels of combat and puzzle-solving game play. The console and PC games also feature seamless integration of film footage with game play and includes extensive use of voice talent from the film.
“The ever-expanding video game marketplace is of great interest to me,” said Andrew Adamson, the film’s director. “It was such a thrill to work with the Buena Vista Games and Traveller’s Tales teams to provide creative input for the video game, which has resulted in a beautiful translation of the film into an epic interactive experience.”
“Transitioning from the movie into the video game area is an uplifting experience because every person who has read the book has longed to go to Narnia,” said Douglas Gresham, stepson of author C.S. Lewis. “With the video games, people can not only visit Narnia but they can control the heroes’ actions. In a sense, they can invent their own adventure within Narnia.”
In addition to strong retail support throughout North America and Europe, the game is receiving positive reviews from video game critics. IGN.com, a leading online video game site, recently awarded The Chronicles of Narnia video game the prestigious IGN.com Editor’s Choice Award, an 8.3 out of 10 review score and described the title as “a near perfect example of how to make a movie-based video game the right way.”
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and PC is developed by Traveller’s Tales and is rated “T” for Teen by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). The PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube versions carry a suggested retail price of $49.99. The PC version carries a suggested retail price of $39.99. The Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance versions are developed by Amaze Entertainment. The Nintendo DS version has an ESRB rating of “E10+” for Everyone 10 and older and carries a suggested retail price of $34.99. The Game Boy Advance version is rated “E” for Everyone by the ESRB and carries a suggested retail price of $29.99.
About The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe film
Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media Present “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” is a spectacular live-action/CGI motion picture adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ beloved literary classic. The film marks the first live-action directorial effort for Andrew Adamson (director of the Oscar®-winning “Shrek” and “Shrek 2″), who also co-wrote the screenplay adaptation with Emmy Award-winner Anne Peacock (HBO’s “A Lesson Before Dying”) and scribes Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. The film is produced by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Mark Johnson.
Lewis’ timeless adventure follows the exploits of the four Pevensie siblings — Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy –in World War II England. The children enter the world of Narnia through a magical wardrobe while playing a game of “hide-and-seek” in the rural country home of an elderly professor. Once there, the children discover a land inhabited by talking beasts, dwarfs, fauns, centaurs and giants that has become a world cursed to eternal winter by the evil White Witch, Jadis. Under the guidance of a noble and mystical ruler, the lion Aslan, the children fight to overcome the White Witch’s powerful hold over Narnia in a spectacular, climactic battle that will free Narnia from Jadis’ icy spell forever.
About Buena Vista Games
Buena Vista Games, Inc. (BVG) is the interactive entertainment arm of The Walt Disney Company. BVG publishes, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of multi-platform video games and interactive entertainment worldwide. The company also licenses properties and works directly with third-party interactive game publishers to bring products for all ages to market. For more information, please log on to www.buenavistagames.com.
About Walden Media
Founded by Cary Granat, former president of Miramax Films’ Dimension label, and education reformer Micheal Flaherty, Walden Media, a subsidiary of AFG, specializes in entertainment that sparks the imagination and curiosity of kids and provides parents and teachers with materials to continue the learning process. In association with The Walt Disney Company, Walden Media is producing the first live-action feature film adaptations of C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, beginning with The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
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Xbox is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/ or other countries.
* The game is console exclusive to PlayStation® 2 throughout PAL territories until March 31, 2006.
Gamer.tv has produced a half-hour behind-the-scenes special based on this autumn’s eagerly-awaited blockbuster movie The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe and the accompanying video game from Disney offshoot Buena Vista Games.
The documentary, which will air on the UK Bravo Channel on 7 and 9 December , features clips from the film as well as exclusive interviews with its director Andrew Adamson (Shrek I and II) and Douglas Gresham, stepson and heir to Narnia creator CS Lewis. The film opens nationwide in UK cinemas on 8 December.
The documentary takes viewers behind the scenes at developer Travellers’ Tales (Lego Star Wars, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath Of Cortex) and Buena Vista Games, promising a unique insight into the process of creating an interactive experience around the universally acclaimed book and forthcoming film from Walt Disney Pictures.
Says Gresham: “Every child throughout history has longed to go to Narnia – and now they can, without having to use a magical wardrobe.”
The documentary, was produced for Buena Vista Games by the Gamer.tv Creative team, and is being distributed in other territories through colleagues at TWI.
“The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe videogame and movie will both be huge this Christmas and Gamer.tv have produced a fascinating insight into how videogames and films are made,” said Dave Clarke, Channel Editor, Bravo at BVG.
“The creative team at Gamer.tv has proved time and time again that they know all about creating television for both videogame specific and wider audiences and we’re delighted with the results.”
Ian Sharpe, Head of Gamer.tv Creative, said: “We’re delighted to get this aired on television in the run up to Christmas. Bravo is the perfect place to show a programme that has been captivating millions of young readers for decades, and hopefully, we’ll capture the imagination of millions more with a documentary that shows the very best of the film, the book and the game.
“Buena Vista Games originally asked us to chronicle the creation of their biggest game license this year for use in a wide range of marketing activities around the globe and we immediately saw the opportunity to have this aired as a one-off special working in partnership with the broadcasters of our weekly television show, Gamer.tv.”
The documentary will air at 5.30 pm on 7 and 9 December on Bravo.
The first installment in the Chronicles of Narnia film series is The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, which this game is based on. Traveller’s Tales, the publishers of Lego Star Wars, have created one of the best film-to-game transitions I’ve seen. With many different types of gameplay involved, this game is far beyond your regular “hack-and-slash” action games out there today. Ingenious new techniques and emphasis on teamwork raise the bar for games daring to follow. Beautiful graphics, smooth gameplay, integrated film clips, cool new abilities, and lots of extra goodies abound.
With the film clips and storyline following that of the books and the movie, the game retells the story of the prophecy of the coming of Aslan to defeat the White Witch who rules Narnia and has cast it into a winter that never ends. The player can play as any of the four children throughout the game, and can switch between them during game play. Each of the children possesses a unique ability, and often you can only use one of them to complete a certain task.
An amazing ten hours or so of gaming! It has become one of my top 3 of all time. There really isn’t anything like being in the world of Narnia and experiencing the adventure for yourself. Along with the amazing story, there’s the added quality of creative gameplay, with a cool system of buying each child new abilities and an impressive teamwork strategy that keeps you interested and lacks redundancy. For those of us who haven’t seen the film yet though, there is a huge spoiler aspect to the game, since it gives away the more important scenes of the movie. Also, Traveller’s Tales has a knack of adding little goodies to the levels to cause you to play them over again to find them all and unlock the “making of” segments to watch. This game receives a 96 (A) because of killing non-human beings and using fairy tale type magic, with the added bonus of promoting family values and showing the consequences of evil.
[Click here to see a further breakdown in the article]
thanks to Mykus
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