Watchmen game clocks in at $20

On March 6, movie audiences will learn the answer to the question/marketing slogan "Who watches the Watchmen?" when the comic-based feature film arrives in theaters. The same week, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will learn the answer to a much more important question: Who watches their wallets?

A representative with the publisher today confirmed that Watchmen: The End Is Nigh will cost $19.99 on the PlayStation 3 and PC download service Steam, and an equivalent 1,600 Microsoft points on the Xbox 360. Developed by Deadline Games (Total Overdose, Chili Con Carnage), The End Is Nigh is a 3D action brawler featuring split-screen cooperative play for two.

Set before the events of the film, The End Is Nigh follows film protagonists Rorschach and Nite Owl during their days as a crime-fighting duo cleaning up the streets. The game is intended to fill in backstory alluded to but never discussed in any detail in the comic and the movie.

While significantly more expensive (and more expansive) downloadable games are available on the PS3 (Warhawk, SOCOM Confrontation) and Steam (the service regularly carries full-price new releases), the $20 price point of Watchmen ties it as the most expensive Xbox Live Arcade title to date. Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One is the only other Live Arcade game to debut with an asking price of 1,600 Microsoft points.