Activision signs The Movies

Activision Signs Multi-Year Agreement With Legendary Game Designer Peter Molyneux Activision Acquires Publishing Rights to the Movies for the PC and Console Platforms SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 4 - Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI - News) announced today that the company has signed an agreement with legendary U.K.-based game designer Peter Molyneux. Under the terms of the agreement, the company has secured the exclusive worldwide rights to Molyneux's new project tentatively titled The Movies for the PC and all video game console platforms. The agreement also grants Activision the option to publish sequels and add-on products to the title. The Movies currently is being developed by Molyneux's Lionhead Studios, whose last title, Black and White, sold almost 2 million units worldwide. Black and White topped PC sell-through charts around the globe and was a #1 best-selling game in the United Kingdom and Germany. Slated for release in 2004, The Movies gives gamers the opportunity to run their own Hollywood movie studio from the silent days of the 1920s, through the advent of new technologies into the present and beyond. The game puts players in charge of a Hollywood dream factory where they decide which movies to make and the stars to make them. The player selects the scripts, directors, sets and movie stars before shooting the action and watching their finished movie on opening night. Players can manage the money, egos, tears & tantrums on their way to living the Hollywood dream. "Peter is undoubtedly one of the most talented video game designers in the world, and Lionhead is one of the very few development studios with the knowledge and resources to develop a game that will allow players to fulfill the fantasy of building a movie empire," states Larry Goldberg, executive vice president of Activision Worldwide Studios. "We are incredibly excited to have entered into this long-term partnership and are confident that this alliance will result in one of the most innovative and anticipated games of the next few years." "Activision has always been synonymous with quality and innovation. The Movies offers a perfect opportunity for both of our companies to collaborate in the creation of a multi-million unit selling franchise," responded Peter Molyneux, managing director of Lionhead Studios. "A major factor in our choice of Activision as publisher for The Movies was its impressive attitude toward development and developers." The agreement further underscores Activision's commitment to partnering with top development talent and expanding its product portfolio. The announcement follows the company's recent acquisitions of several high-profile intellectual properties including the sequel to Shrek, DOOM III, Lemony Snicket, QUAKE IV, XXX and the sequel to the Spider-Man movie. Over the past 14 months, Activision has also acquired five development studios -- Treyarch, Gray Matter Interactive, Shaba Games, Z-Axis Ltd. and Luxoflux Corporation, and forged new alliances with Infinity Ward and Stainless Steel -- each of which has created games that have sold in excess of a million units. Prior to forming Lionhead Studios, Molyneux founded Bullfrog Productions. Bullfrog produced a legacy of acclaimed games including the first ever god game Populous, the popular strategy game Dungeon Keeper, and Theme Park, a simulation game that required players to manage all aspects of an amusement park. Each of these titles was a multi-million-unit seller worldwide. Lionhead Studios is based in Guildford, Great Britain and was founded in 1997. The company's first game Black & White PC was released in 2001 and worldwide sales are now nearing the 2 million mark. Through its unique satellite scheme, the company currently has six products currently under development. About "The Movies": Take The Movies by storm. Dominate Tinsel town and live out your dreams. Build your own movie studio and make films to capture the world’s imagination. Start filming in the break-neck 1920s and rewrite history as you pioneer the great cinematic advances. Be the first to introduce talkies, colour, animation or computer-generated special effects. The Movies lets you get involved in the details of filmmaking. Pick the scripts you want to shoot, design and construct the sets and hire the director, the crew and the stars. As your films are made you get to see the drama unfold. But the on-screen action might be overshadowed by the off-screen egos of your cast. Will your stars fall in love, fall out with each other or fall from grace? You’ll have to handle the tantrums, the demands and the paycheques. And whether or not you bring your films in on time and on budget, you get the nerve-racking test screenings, the marketing plans, the star-studded premiers and the vital box-office takings. Made a classic? You’ll know when it’s awards time. Will your actors pick up the statues or are you in the running for best picture or soundtrack? As a movie mogul, you don’t have to chase public acclaim and awards. You can make the films you’ve always wanted to see. You might choose to remake a classic, cast your favourite stars in films they never appeared in, or labour over art-house works for the cultural elite. Perhaps your forte is historical films, or war films, or comedies. Whatever you want to see on the silver screen, you get the chance to make it big in The Movies.