Episodic adventure game studio signs publishing deal with Warner Bros. to bring AMC TV show, DC Comics property to multiple platforms this year.
Rumors have persisted for the past month that episodic adventure game specialist Telltale would be taking on the comic book-cum-AMC television series The Walking Dead. Today, those rumors can be codified as fact, as the Wall Street Journal's All Things D blog reports that Telltale has signed an exclusive worldwide publishing agreement with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to create games based on the Walking Dead and Fables properties.
Aside from indicating that it will be an episodic series based on the TV show, All Things D's report did not detail what gamers can expect from Telltale's adaptation of The Walking Dead. The high-tension series--which has been picked up for a second season--follows the dramatic pursuits of a group of human survivors of a zombie apocalypse. It is set in the Deep South.
According to Telltale senior VP of marketing Steve Allison, Telltale has high expectations for the series, saying the company is projecting sales of 1 million units. He noted that of Telltale's other episodic franchises, including Sam & Max and Tales of Monkey Island, profitability on titles is typically achieved after 100,000 units are sold. He went on to note that Telltale games on average sell about 200,000 units.
Even less information was proffered for Fables, which will be based on the comic series from DC Comics' Vertigo imprint. The comic draws its characters from well-known fairy tales and fables, reinterpreting them with a modern twist.
All Things D's report did not offer a specific window for when the Walking Dead or Fables games will be released, saying only that Telltale will begin offering the games through its website and Steam throughout the course of 2011.
[UPDATE] Telltale has since announced that the Walking Dead game will be multiplatform, and that the deal is for multiple titles. The agreement covers games made for consoles, PCs, and Macs, as well as portable devices and mobile phones.
Tom Magrino has covered the games industry since 2006. He's been compared to Steve Martin by Ozzy Osbourne and Daniel Craig by Tim Schafer. His voice, heard largely on GameSpot's podcast, recalls that of Kermit the Frog. It ain't easy bein' Magreen.
This is disappointing. I'll agree with others that a point-and-click will not be able to produce the proper tone for a game based on The Walking Dead. And worse, I'm concerned they'll try to add tension in the same way they did with "Jurassic Park," which was QTEs. Thanks but HELL NO.
they need to make it like the show is.. a tombraider, silent hill mix. point and click games aren't bad, cause i still like to go back and play Neverhood. But when it comes to the walking dead, i think a point and click is a bad idea. plus the telltale graphics suck in every game.. toooo childish.. and as a huge fan of the show, the walking dead, is not for children. so please don't F this one up.
why tell tell, those guys stink...just see what they did with back to the future and jurasic park :( just go bankrupt please
@tequilasunriser: Um, everytime I hear Star Wars Episodes 1-3 mentioned everyone says how much they hate them, wouldn't liking them be going AGAINST the crowd? Also Telltale make quality games, point and click may not be for everyone, but generally their games are fun and a nice change of pace from all the modern shooters and action games out there. I think being able to sit back and just explore a world that's been created is much nicer than the modern "make your own adventure" routine that gets done to death.
I adore the Fables series. I pick up the trades and have been since the first one hit. I hope the game treats the license well. I would really like to see the series get a mature tv series on a channel like HBO or Showtime (or at least AMC...). It would make great tv.
Zombies are being done to death (excuse the pun) right now and really can't imagine a series like this working as a point and click adventure.
Anything Telltale produce is good in my books. Fairplay to poodger for voicing their opinion...Everyone has a right.
@poodger You should try reading the comics, they are great. In fact good enough that WB decided to take a little read adult B&W comic book and make it into a TV series. I myself have not seen the series, but I can't wait for it to come out on box set.
hey do you remember GTA vice city? yes? they ripped off scarface movie thenn some company did scarface on ps2 ..and it was a big fail altough the game was good.
@tequilasunriser Also, you are correct. I have not read the comics. But that is because I don't read ANY comics. I have never read a single Marvel or DC comic, I don't even read the funnies in the newspaper. I really can't stand reading comics for some reason, they are just boring to me. I would much rather read a novel if I am going to read something, and I would much rather watch a show or movie if there are visuals of any kind. And the comic has no bearing on whether or not the show is any good. Since the show was successful, it obviously did something good, and the existence of the comics does not change that.
@tequilasunriser You are kidding right? My statement that everyone loves the show was not at all because of the comments in this insignificant post section. It is a solid fact that a vast majority of people who watched the show loved it. It was the most talked about show of the season, and it received top notch reviews. Maybe you have been living under a rock, but the show was very well received. Anyway, I am not mad, but I do point out when people are wrong, and I enjoy arguing the point. I would also like to point out that I usually make my own judgments before I learn what the general community thinks about something. An example of this is my hatred for Mario Galaxy and how I found Avatar to be an underwhelming movie. I am not afraid to go against popular opinion, but I am not ignorant enough to call Mario Galaxy or Avatar terrible. I may not enjoy them, but I realize that alot of people did like them, so they obviously did something right and my opinion is probably not a good one. You need to realize the same thing about The Walking Dead. You might not have liked it, but most people did, so it obviously did something right. And while we are on the topic of responding to society's likes and dislikes, you seem like the kind of person that enjoys to go against popular opinion just to be different. If everyone loves something, you have to be the guy to go against it.
@Poodger Haha, you're so mad. I like that you're angry. Did it ever occur to you that everyone here loves it because people that dislike the show probably wouldn't bother reading or posting in this article? I bet you also liked the new Star Wars trilogy. You come off as that kind of person. The kind of person that goes with the crowd and tries to justify reasons for liking something that isn't likeable just to conform. Everyone else likes it so you need to like it too. Have fun with that, friend. P.S. You never answered me about reading the comics. Which means you likely haven't. Fail. haha Love, ~Tequila~
Whoever is working in Telltale's requisitioning department needs a medal. They've wrangled Back to the Future, Jurassic Park and now The Walking Dead? That's an impressive resume.
one of the best tv shows ever is now converting into a game, that is awesome but the chences are that the game is going to suck, because it will be like one of those cheap movie games
Sounds interesting; I was skeptical of the new Sam & Max games until I played them...and loved them all! I hope they stick to the comics, which have way better character development than the show.
Well, soo far the only Telltale game that I like is the new Back to the Future game that just came out on PS3, and that is actually good. The Walking Dead tv shows is one of my favorites shows currently on tv, so I am sure that I will like this game too and can't wait to play it. Now to others that think that this The Walking Dead game will be like the Left 4 Dead games have no idea on what type of games that Telltale makes. They make point and click type games.
Telltale are talented people. The only gripe I have with Back to the Future is the sometimes dodgy animation, but that's it. Everything else is great. So if that's anything to go by, this will be good.
Dang I love the show walking Dead but I hate Tell tales games that Back to the Future was some crap. How the hell do these guys keep getting the rights to make these game when they often times suck. The Walking Dead game will probably be a stupid downloadable episodic game instead of getting a full retail release like it deserves. as Far as I'm concerned this is horrible news
@toddx77 hahaha, i think you got it wrong, it seem like you thought i was addressing you, but not so if you were wondering. i was saying how people view the entire series, both the comic and show, entirely different depending on WHICH they do first, either read the comic or watch the show. then they will have different opinions about it. see what im trying to say here?
If they mess this up, it's just going to put a lot of bad rep on the TV series. Game adaptations of movies are usually so terrible because they make a half-assed effort due to the fact that they know the game will sell solely because of the title. I hope this doesn't turn out the same. I don't think The Walking Dead is quite well known enough for them to expect that, but they could still make a half-assed effort.
Who in the blue hell are Telltale? Never heard of them, so this game will most likely suck. Which is annoying as i really enjoyed the walking dead. But at least we still have other great zombie games to play.
Sounds to me like they could be expecting too close of a correlation between people who watch the television show and people who purchase the game... don't get cocky guys, I'd love to see this work.
The Walking Dead show isn't worth watching and the game will probably be just as blah.
I like Telltale because of Sam and Max and Monkey Island, but is a Walking Dead game necessary? I'm not so sure.
I love the series love the graphic novels but right now Dead Island's new trailer has captured my interest, and what is it with Telltale and episodic gaming?
I am a huge fan of the Walking Dead comics, the TV series was quite good even though they added/removed some things. And now finally we might find a medium that Walking Dead will fail at due to the developer being someone new to this sort of game. I hope they don't screw this up!! *Holds breath*
I did love the series, but most adapted games are only ever kinda okay. I'll be optimistic and hope for the best though! Hope AMC renews this for more than 6 eps for next season, that was vexing...
Walking Dead developer's episodic game based on Fables DC Comics series given title; coming to PS3, PC, Mac, and Xbox 360 this summer.
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