Golden Compass gets Shiny

Sega tasks the studio behind The Matrix games with the game adaptation of its first His Dark Materials game.

Sega today revealed the first details of its game based on the upcoming holiday film The Golden Compass, itself an adaptation of the first book in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials fantasy trilogy.

Scheduled for release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, and PC, The Golden Compass is under development at Shiny Entertainment, the Foundation 9-owned studio behind Earthworm Jim and, more recently, a pair of console games based on The Matrix films.

The game will feature the likenesses of the film's cast, including Daniel Craig (Casino Royale, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) and Dakota Blue Richards, the newly discovered actress who will play protagonist Lyra Belacqua. When asked if the game would include the likenesses of fellow cast members Nicole Kidman (Cold Mountain, BMX Bandits), Sam Elliott (Ghost Rider, Road House), and Eva Green (Casino Royale, Kingdom of Heaven), or any voice work from the stars, a Sega representative said it had yet to be determined.

Gamers will be able to take control of Lyra, her animal companion Pan, and their armor-wearing polar bear companion, Iorek Byrnison. As Lyra, players will rely on special items and sneakiness to make progress along the dangerous quest, while Iorek will provide a more physical presence with special attacks as he tries to protect Lyra. The game's 13 environments will consist of areas from the film as well as new environments that go beyond the silver-screen adaptation.

The Golden Compass should arrive in theaters December 7, with the Sega game adaptation set to precede it sometime this fall.

62 Comments

  • master_hookshot

    Posted Feb 28, 2007 2:04 pm PT

    and that was such a good book, too. Its gunna be ruined

  • PackersRock

    Posted Feb 28, 2007 1:42 pm PT

    I hope this dosn't end badly.

  • jacnewforce07

    Posted Feb 28, 2007 1:08 pm PT

    any vids?

  • Get_Shorty

    Posted Feb 28, 2007 10:06 am PT

    Any pics?

  • subrosian

    Posted Feb 28, 2007 6:09 am PT

    oh-boy... first we're going to let Hollywood ruin the Golden Compass series, then we're going to hand it over to Sega / Shiny to turn into a movie-based videogame? I think I'll go preorder! Maybe the preorder bonus will be a subtle knife. I certainly hope so, as I'm guessing playing this game will make me want to slit my wrists.

  • dr_moreau

    Posted Feb 28, 2007 3:51 am PT

    I can't wait to see how the matter from the final book (Amber Spyglass) is handled - Both in the final movie and the game when they appear in a few years.
    I'm sure they'll have to be re-plotted by the christian fundamentalists.

  • Sacif

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 11:27 pm PT

    shiny...lol, love thier name, but never dug thier games...I hope they can do the series justice...

  • STARS_Splinter

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 11:21 pm PT

    ye gods no, why on earth did they let Shiny get involved with this?once Shiny made some great games. Now they can't seem to get a Matrix game right, when about a million other developers can. It doesn't fill me with hope.

  • argune

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 10:56 pm PT

    i've read the first book in the series and am working on the seccond i really am enjoying it to. a movie scares teh crap out of me because if i see it, it might destroy the wonderfulness that was created by my imagination. and this game probably wont be nearly as good as it can be, but i'll have to give them credit if its even remotely good because it does seem like something that would be difficult to translate into a game.

  • teknocack

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 9:56 pm PT

    I have lost confidence in Shiny and unfortunately SEGA. I was a long time fan of the latter more for their innovation in game desigh than their hardware. When they couldn't make immediate profit as a game company they started turning out derivative pos after derivative pos. They have ruined one of their most beloved IPs and don't even seem to care. They are doing nothing to bring back some of their prime back catalog of IPs, and now seem to be taking the Akklaim route of relying more on licensing of other IPs. So who do they pick to make this tie in? The company who screwed up the Matrix TWICE! Since 1995 Shiny has made two good games not counting sequels. EWJ and MDK were both great. Everything else is not really worth mentioning. Something is very wrong here.

  • crithon

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 7:51 pm PT

    wwonka666 thanks man, I wrote it fast without checking out the name. But yeah, he hypes up his games to the point that I get fooled into following him..... I even game Matrix Path of Neo a chance.

  • Luke_Skyjogger

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 7:36 pm PT

    Yeah....they better hope that the movie makes up for the games suckiness. I can't see this going anywhere.

  • Pete5506

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 7:21 pm PT

    this is not going to do so hot

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 7:01 pm PT

    Sounds like a blockbuster!

    The movie that is...

  • soldier-dark

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 6:24 pm PT

    Awesome! I really enjoyed this book when I read it a few years ago, thought unfortunately never owned the other two. Looking forward to the game though.

  • indigoAK200

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 6:14 pm PT

    Must have spent all that money on the gold spray paint they used on Orlando Bloom's hair.

  • spelledarn

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 6:10 pm PT

    Get your facts straight, Wonka. The three LotR movies had a budget of 270 million combined. FACT. But yeah, hopefully this Pull man movie will be good too. Can't be too many great movies out.

  • wwonka666

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 6:01 pm PT

    indigoAK200
    It's been reported that this one movie alone, the first of a trilogy, has a higher budget than the Lord of the Rings trilogy combined. If you look on IMDb and Wikipedia, the budget for the three Lord of the Rings films combined was $90 million. The budget for just The Golden Compass is $115 million alone. They're also both being released by the same studio, New Line. I don't think New Line would devote so much financial backing to this movie if they thought it was going to bomb. I'm have a pretty good feeling that with the capability of it's production team and writing staff (Chris Weitz knows how to write a great movie) and the widespread love for Pullman's trilogy (I myself have read and adore it), that this movie picture will be both a critical and financial success. ....


    I agree can't wait to see this movie. However, New Line has made lots of bad decisions since making the billion dollars off of the LOTR Trilogy including not bringing back Peter Jackson to do the Hobbitt because of a financial dispute over the gross of the first LOTR film.

  • wwonka666

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 5:57 pm PT

    crithon
    let the Doug Perry hype machine BEGIN!!! I'm sorry if that sound cruel, but I feel so burned by following the hype of his games after Earthworm Jim 2 and MDK. Remeber Messiah and Wild 9? sigh ......

    I feel your pain, but I do believe the name was David Perry and that he has left Shiny to work for the new Acclaim on some Dance Dance MMORPG ripoff thingamajig that is going to be free if you agree to watch alot of advertising.

  • wwonka666

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 5:54 pm PT

    I'm very excited to see the His Dark Materials movie that is being released this December, but Sega and Shiny both have a bad track record when it comes to releasing GOOD licensed games. The Matrix games were terrible and made the sequels to one of the greatest movies of all time look like masterpieces when in reality they were crap that could not be interpreted by anyone.

  • ShinAkuma777

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 5:49 pm PT

    yeh remember pagemaster???lol

  • Tylendal

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 5:42 pm PT

    A game based on a movie, based on a book. This is going to be painful.

  • kungfodud

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 5:33 pm PT

    i read the series. golden compass was good but i didnt like the other ones (dont waste ur time). dunno if it really translates well into a video game. (it ll take a lot of luck for this to turn out right. otherwise the pope will be damning it for its poor gameplay not only its blasphemous idea (he did that for the books))

  • indigoAK200

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 5:33 pm PT

    waningwhisper,

    Superiority over Tolkien isn't that hard. Besides, I'm fairly certain that if Tolkien were still alive and kicking today, he'd be pretty humble and admit that a lot of authors have some really kick-ass writing skills.

    Numerous authors have been given this distinction; Tad Williams, Phillip Pullman, Terry Brooks, etc - Tad Williams most notably. Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn puts Lord of the Rings in the dust.

  • kaziechameleon

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 5:27 pm PT

    a movie game, well isn't that a uphill battle, and i can't remember any good matrix games so this dev hasn't made a good game in a while, ok. heres to hoping.

  • -HCMF-

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 5:18 pm PT

    Dosen't mean it will suck, but the stars say it will...

  • waningwhisper

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 5:10 pm PT

    The Golden Compass was a very well-written story. Those of you who haven't read it should (and probably shouldn't be posting here) and those of you who didn't like it should remember that it's only one-third of the story (duh). Considering Pullman's His Dark Materials have won him numerous awards and many literary critics have claimed his superiority over Tolkien (not a small feat), I wouldn't judge too early. Just because it's a book to movie to game situation doesn't mean it will be awful.

  • juicebox_9

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 5:03 pm PT

    I loved the books alot, I sincerely hope they do not destroy this one. It's the same thing as Eragon, Narnia, etcetera... all good books, all poorly shambled. You must remember that even if the film does have a high budget that doesn't necessarily mean it's good. I have a feeling it will be spent on special effects, like making Iorek's fur look real or some crap. Also, you just know that people are gonna get angry and say the film is against religion and all that... well, they'll just have to deal with it. I didn't see riots in the street when the BOOKS came out, but of course a movie will get all the attention. I've read the books several times, and I don't think they are truly anti - Christian as a whole - they're more anti - Catholicism in particular. Anyway, Shiny, don't screw up!!

  • madman23

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 4:59 pm PT

    It would be really hard to screw up a game featuring armored bears. That's a cool combination. Cooler even than monkeys with jetpacks.

  • D-Port

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 4:57 pm PT

    His Dark Materials is one of my favorite fantasy series. Its a great story with unique characters. I'm really looking forward to the movie, but I don't know how a game would work out....

  • eric2mrng

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 4:53 pm PT

    never read it but sounds interesting..

  • crithon

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 4:51 pm PT

    let the Doug Perry hype machine BEGIN!!! I'm sorry if that sound cruel, but I feel so burned by following the hype of his games after Earthworm Jim 2 and MDK. Remeber Messiah and Wild 9? sigh

  • The_AI

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 4:25 pm PT

    Shiny. Don't botch this one like you did those Matrix games. Revisit the days of Sacrifice.

    I'm not familiar with the series, but I might check out the game if it doesn't suck.
    And Jakob, you forgot Shiny's best game: Sacrifice.

  • Liams

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 4:25 pm PT

    rykaziel I went through a phase of reading phantasy world books/graphic novels and just couldn't get my head around these at all. Just too wierd for me. My advice to you is to go and see the movie and maybe read the books after. In my experience even though an original book has more to it than any movie ever will you tend to get more out of the books once you've seen the movie and read the books straight after. Happened for me with LOTR read te book enjoyed it, saw the movie loved it, read the book again and adored it. Maybe my imagination is too lame to take the book in, in the first place. jakob_187 In my opinion I thought any spiderman game on any platform and I'm even going back to the C64 in the 80's has been total garbage. Which is a shame because there have been so many great spiderman stories in books and comics down the years. Just my opinion

  • LoJo10

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 4:18 pm PT

    Also, I hope they don't butcher the movies - after reading the first two books, I was like, there's no way that they won't make these books into a movie and I was thinking a video game too, and voila - here they are. I don't agree with Pullman's stance on Christianity, as I am a believer in Christ, but I have to admit that his books are very good. They are very interesting just as fantasy stories - his characters are very rich and have their own flaws - the interesting thing is that he keeps things obscure - I'm in the middle of the third book, and I still don't understand certain words and plots in the first book, but it's like he gives you enough to keep reading, but not enough to be satisfied. But basically, my prediction is that they are going to completely butcher the movie - and the game won't be that good - Enter the Matrix wasn't really that great, too repetitive.

    They won't make their money back - $115 Million someone said?

    I can't see it being better than Lord of the Rings - unless they get Peter Jackson, then it probably be just as good if not better than Lord of the Rings.

  • ng_gavin

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 4:17 pm PT

    OMFG. Shiny, AGAIN? Those bastards don't deserve ANYTHING.

  • 123456782

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 4:14 pm PT

    i had to read it 4 school and i hated it

  • LoJo10

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 4:11 pm PT

    Still have to finish the Amber Spyglass.

  • ogretroll123

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 4:09 pm PT

    Lets hope it's gonna be good like those games on Jacob_187's list.

  • indigoAK200

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 4:09 pm PT

    Banning a movie (or game) for something like that is immature, plain and simple. I find it amusing that we have to be tolerant of movies full to the brim with messages trying to persuade us to "be saved" and follow God, yet the moment that a book or some other form of media speaks the other way, it becomes a crime.

    Pullman's views and the form that he expresses them in is a breath of fresh air compared to all of the other stuff out there that's all lovey dovey sick when it comes to religion and the like.

  • LordDarkstorn

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 3:59 pm PT

    great books, but there is one thing, im not a Christian, but i know that churches around my area (Southern Orregon) are banning the movie, even though its quite a while away... Philip Pullman's anti-religion message may discourge some gamers. Still, i can't wait for it and while it will probably bomb, but i'll still hpoe that it is playable...

  • indigoAK200

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 3:34 pm PT

    It's been reported that this one movie alone, the first of a trilogy, has a higher budget than the Lord of the Rings trilogy combined. If you look on IMDb and Wikipedia, the budget for the three Lord of the Rings films combined was $90 million. The budget for just The Golden Compass is $115 million alone. They're also both being released by the same studio, New Line. I don't think New Line would devote so much financial backing to this movie if they thought it was going to bomb. I'm have a pretty good feeling that with the capability of it's production team and writing staff (Chris Weitz knows how to write a great movie) and the widespread love for Pullman's trilogy (I myself have read and adore it), that this movie picture will be both a critical and financial success.

  • Rottenberry

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 3:33 pm PT

    Aw man, I LOVED the books, I really hope they don't ruin the movie and the game.

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 3:32 pm PT

    Aw, not another game adaptation...

  • nickv2002

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 3:32 pm PT

    Matt7895... blame the publishers; they did the same thing to the 'Philosopher's Stone'. Whatever the new name is, it tends to stick even if it's not as good.

  • dukerav

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 3:29 pm PT

    I agree for the most part with you jakob_187, however having said that, I wasn't overly fond of the majority of the games on your list; With Riddick, GoldenEye, and the 2 Spider-Man games that are out, being the ones I thought were good. Ive never read any of these books so I do not know what to expect, but I will say having suffered through the abomination that was the Eragon game, I will go into this game based on a movie, based on a series of books, with the up most caution.

  • Matt7895

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 3:18 pm PT

    Its proper name is Northern Lights, why did the Americans have to change it

  • jakob_187

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 3:12 pm PT

    Wow...you people with your cynicism. Why do I always have to lay down the gauntlet for you kiddos? Just learn to think for once...

    Now, you say "oh, it's based on a movie based on a book, God, it's going to suck so bad". Let me name a couple games for you:

    GoldenEye
    Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Game
    The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay
    Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
    Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
    Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth franchise
    Judge Dredd on Sega Genesis
    Stargate on Sega Genesis
    The Godfather
    Spider-Man 1 and 2 (and surely, 3 as well)

    Jesus...I could keep going with the list of good games that have been made from movies...and yes, while the market is flooded with a bunch of movie-based games that are trash, there are still plenty of saving graces out there to prove that developers have what it takes. Even Path of Neo wasn't completely wretched. HOWEVER...here is where my own cynicism will play in:

    I don't think Sega is a name that taints the idea of this game. I think Shiny is the name that does it for me. Enter the Matrix was a horribly incomplete game, and to be honest, the only games that Shiny has EVER made that were worth a damn in the first place were Earthworm Jim 1 and 2, the beautiful Wild 9, and even though it's not in the same league as the others I mentioned, Path of Neo. Outside of that, Messiah was a piece of trash and I can't expect much out of this unless they are given the time to really work on it. Moreover...13 environments is alright, but unless they are lengthy, it will be trash as well.

    Let's just hope Shiny doesn't screw up on "His Dark Materials", because if they do...I'm sure this will be one of the last games they ever make.

  • doomed51

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 3:08 pm PT

    the golden compass?!?!? wtf, i really hope it doesn't tank

  • swrdof1000trths

    Posted Feb 27, 2007 3:03 pm PT

    I read that book. Maybe the movie will be good.

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