Sam and Max report for Wii duty

First season of Telltale Games' freelance police-duo adventure series being compiled for a retail release on Nintendo's console.

Although episodic game development makes all the sense in the world theoretically, things seem to get problematic in practice. The SiN: Episodes series turned out to be poorly named, given that Ritual Entertainment managed to release only a single episode before suspending the project and being acquired by casual-game publisher MumboJumbo. Meanwhile, Valve's episodic treatment of Half-Life has been well-received, but annualized franchises were able to launch multiple full-fledged sequels in the 16-month gap between the first two Half-Life episodes.

Those missteps aside, one episodic series has delivered on the theoretical promise. Next week, Telltale Games is set to release the 11th episode in its Sam & Max series, the adventure-game successor to the 1993 cult PC classic Sam & Max Hit the Road. The episode concludes the reborn franchise's second "season," which, along with the first, was released in a little less than 18 months. The relaunched series has rekindled interest in the anthropomorphic dog and rabbit-like detective duo, as evidenced by a republishing of the pair's original comic adventures in compendium form, as well as a DVD release for the short-lived 1997 Fox TV cartoon.

Telltale Games is hoping to stoke the Sam and Max resurgence even further. Today, the developer confirmed for GameSpot long-standing rumors that it would be bringing its episodic series to consoles, and specifically to the Nintendo Wii. The canine-lagomorph combo's debut on Nintendo's console will come in the form of a port of the PC first-season compilation, from pilot episode "Culture Shock" through to "Bright Side of the Moon."

Telltale representatives said the game's release on the Wii is due in large part to fan demand, in particular an e-mail campaign launched prior to the debut of the Sam & Max episodic series on the PC. Rumors and speculation of a Wii port helped spark publisher interest in bringing the series to Nintendo's platform.

Sam & Max: Season One is set to be published in the US by Dreamcatcher and The Adventure Company, whereas publishing duties on the European version (which adds in French and German voice-overs, as well as Italian and Spanish subtitles) will be handled by JoWood. Gamers in both regions should expect the game to arrive on store shelves this fall.

158 Comments

  • disfalling

    Posted Apr 11, 2008 8:09 pm PT

    stupid invaders.

  • ChaosXing

    Posted Apr 11, 2008 1:51 pm PT

    Sam and Max is the s***. I might buy a Wii just because they're porting this game onto it.

  • Lorick_vs_Vash

    Posted Apr 11, 2008 9:48 am PT

    I though point and click adventures where dead... Glad to see they aren't, that way I can finally stop playing "Quest for Glory"and "Day of The Tentacle". This should be enjoyable and what better platform for a point and click adventure, then a Wii.

  • URError

    Posted Apr 9, 2008 9:46 pm PT

    "iv got 5 bucks saying its rated m"

    I bet 10

  • trdrstv

    Posted Apr 9, 2008 8:21 pm PT

    @_em_ "This sounds pretty interesting. I haven't played Sam and Max before, but I do like point-and-clicks, so I may pick this one up when it is released."

    They are giving away an episode as a promotion. If you want to try it out, download away:

    http://www.telltalegames.com/community/blogs/id-268

  • corpsfactor

    Posted Apr 9, 2008 3:24 pm PT

    sam and max on wii..... iv got 5 bucks saying its rated m.

  • snoodthebubble

    Posted Apr 9, 2008 12:39 pm PT

    Oh please. . . please please please give us Monkey Island!

    "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

  • sonynhater

    Posted Apr 9, 2008 11:12 am PT

    Hope its good. doubt i'd buy it though

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 3:06 pm PT

    A match made in heaven.

  • TheGum

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 9:37 am PT

    Great news, because I enjoyed Night of the Raving Dead a whole lot.

  • mattcake

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 9:01 am PT

    Aww I miss 2d point n click adventures, where's Gabriel Knight gone Thankfully I'm so old now and have drunk so much vodka to kill my brain, I can now go back to the original classics and play them again without remembering what to do. Score one for senility / alcohol induced memory loss!

  • magic_dragon

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 7:39 am PT

    I really hope this renews the genre of point and click adventures. I would love to see Monkey Island and Simon the Sorceror series make a comeback, whether it be on the Wii or PC or DS. "My name is Guybrush Threepwood, and I want to be a pirate!"

  • TruB

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 1:47 am PT

    sounds like its going to do well on the console, I played the first up of the new Sam and Max games and honestly i didnt like it, it had fun story but th puzzles really didnt do it for me. maybe im getting too old.

    I rather see a new grim fandango.

  • RockstarFan17

    Posted Apr 7, 2008 5:59 pm PT

    Seems fun

  • _em_

    Posted Apr 7, 2008 2:30 pm PT

    This sounds pretty interesting. I haven't played Sam and Max before, but I do like point-and-clicks, so I may pick this one up when it is released. Like others said earlier, I do think think this type of game is a good fit for the Wii, and I hope they keep it at a reasonable price (below $50).

  • TiKiMaN1

    Posted Apr 7, 2008 2:22 pm PT

    Oh Fetch this is AWESOME!!

  • KittenToes

    Posted Apr 7, 2008 1:32 pm PT

    im a huge point and click fan. i can remember trying to complete sam and max "hit the road" years ago... it took me ages!!

  • desolation00

    Posted Apr 7, 2008 9:33 am PT

    Hmm, so just a compilation of the first season. I dislike that they are shying away from putting it episodically up for download. I mean, wasn't that how the game was supposed to be distributed on PC? There are obviously reasons to do this, but it takes away from the impact of this being the first successful episodic franchise.

  • -MiketheCM-

    Posted Apr 7, 2008 7:39 am PT

    should be a good game

  • imnotwhite

    Posted Apr 7, 2008 6:54 am PT

    Well with all the success of the Wii and with so many consoles sold already it's impossible for them to sell less than 500,000 copies.

  • zhivago_x

    Posted Apr 7, 2008 5:07 am PT

    Sam and Max are legends of the golden age of PC adventure genre. And I think Wii is a good choice because their controller is the only adequate replacement for a mouse.

  • gat0rl1vebeatz

    Posted Apr 6, 2008 8:54 pm PT

    aah i can't wait... this should be awesome!

  • in2DarKneSs

    Posted Apr 6, 2008 5:24 pm PT

    Man I miss the cartoon itself, damn fox. This will be awesome, I am personally saving space on my game shelf for this one.

  • Pukkan

    Posted Apr 6, 2008 12:03 pm PT

    My dreams have come true*tear*

  • KMJRoche

    Posted Apr 6, 2008 11:12 am PT

    ive always wanted to play this game on pc cuz i heard it was really good, but maybe now ill just buy it for the wii if it turns out to be good

  • BaconBurns

    Posted Apr 6, 2008 7:10 am PT

    Cool.

  • Bobadilouse

    Posted Apr 6, 2008 6:18 am PT

    I've heard many good things about this game on PC. but i wonder will it be any good on the Wii... if turns out to be good. might end up buying it.

  • itBit posted Apr 6, 2008 3:09 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    itBit

    Posted Apr 6, 2008 3:09 am PT (hide)

    NOT INTRESTED !

  • path_of_hope

    Posted Apr 6, 2008 12:52 am PT

    i hope such sam and max never goes to 360 or PS3

  • Snort_X

    Posted Apr 5, 2008 11:49 pm PT

    I've never played Sam and Max on the PC, but i have heard very very good things about it, i will for sure pick up this game for the Wii!!!

  • gonzalezj1

    Posted Apr 5, 2008 11:26 am PT

    Hopefully this will be "budget priced" since season 1 has been available for the PC at $35 for quite a while now. I think anywhere from $30-40 would be fair.

  • whos_next000

    Posted Apr 5, 2008 9:31 am PT

    YES. MY DREAMS HAVE COME TRUE.

  • SavoyPrime posted Apr 5, 2008 9:12 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    SavoyPrime

    Posted Apr 5, 2008 9:12 am PT (hide)

    I've heard good things about Sam & Max, but I'll wait to see if it releases on the 360 or PS3.

  • MichaeltheCM

    Posted Apr 5, 2008 8:56 am PT

    should be good

  • DFTricks

    Posted Apr 5, 2008 6:11 am PT

    Now every kid will get to know Sam&max

  • Phrosst

    Posted Apr 5, 2008 4:14 am PT

    God, I am so amped for this

  • madogmgd posted Apr 4, 2008 9:25 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    madogmgd

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 9:25 pm PT (hide)

    whats sam and max?

  • cmikaiti

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 9:15 pm PT

    To anyone on the fence.... the first season was completely worth it.... just play them... you'll enjoy it

  • Nshadow23

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 5:30 pm PT

    I like this

  • BloodMist

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 5:27 pm PT

    These are some really good, really funny adventure games, so it's nice that more people will be able to enjoy them.

  • chickmagnet_1

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 4:22 pm PT

    This is absolutely amazing news!!! I haven't been able to play the recent Sam & Max games on my PC, due to its age, so I am super psyched about this. If only they would bring 'The Neverhood', 'Toonstruck', 'Braindead 13', 'Time Traveler', 'Phantasmagoria', and other PC classics to the system.

  • GameBeaten

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 4:09 pm PT

    Sounds good. I might just get it for Wii. Also, the Sam & Max cartoon was great. Barely remember it though since I was 7.

  • topraman517

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 3:52 pm PT

    From a controls perspective, the Wii is a good match, but they will probably have to scale down the graphics a little bit.

  • Ek-Andy

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 2:36 pm PT

    I think this is a great fit for the Wii, and I personally enjoy the hell out of the new Sam and Max episodic games (espically the last episode!), and I think buying both season 1 and 2 was of the best investments in video games ive ever made. However i think Sam and Max works well as downloadable content, and it seems a wasted opertunity for the game to not take advantage of the Virtual console, and it could also prove to be more expensive. Plus this is just season 1, season 2 is nearly over! Still anyone who hasnt played this, and is looking for a new Wii game this fall that isnt in-house Nintendo developed this would be a good choice (presuming its done well enough).

  • Timbydude

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 1:46 pm PT

    I won't be getting it for Wii, since it's one of those games you don't play twice, but I'd HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who missed it for PC.

  • theREALBookdust

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 12:56 pm PT

    Finally, I'll be picking this up.

  • Yomamathe4th

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 12:12 pm PT

    *tear* thank you god, this game is the perfect example of how you don't need flashy graphics amazing enemys, or hell it doesn't even have to be a fps to be good. This game is a must buy i will honestly preorder this just for the comedy, the challenge and the sheer amount of quality gameplay.

  • AlmightyDemon

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 12:02 pm PT

    @ necronaux
    Each episode is a few hours of gameplay, so the whole thing should run you around 15 hours. A decent length, I'd say.

    @ Zerosumgame
    Have you ever even heard of Sam & Max before? It's a point and click adventure game. Doesn't translate well to a traditional controller. And crappy is hardly the word anyone would use to describe it, unless you just hate the genre, in which case you should refrain from commenting.

  • dungeonboss

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 10:49 am PT

    This is amazing news! Next, we need Monkey Island and a Wii-make of The Dig.

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