Avatar arises December 1

After some 14 years gestating in famed Titanic director James Cameron's head, 20th Century Fox and Lightstorm Entertainment's Avatar will descend upon theaters this holiday season on December 18. This week, Ubisoft has confirmed when its tie-in to the epic-scale sci-fi action film will emerge. It revealed through its official Web site that the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, DS, and PC editions will be available December 1.

Though it was formally announced in July 2007, James Cameron has been alluding to his collaboration with Ubisoft as far back as March 2005. As part of the publisher's Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference this year, Cameron made a special guest appearance to provide backstory and details on the game, saying that it would complement the film and emphasized the importance of its unique storyline.

Notably, the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC editions of Avatar are being developed in stereoscopic 3D, which is the same technology used to provide the film's tri-dimensional visuals. Further, the game will feature a range of new characters, vehicles, and weapons not seen in the film; a fact that Cameron said as part of his E3 presence brings a wealth of additional context and flavor to the universe.

Beyond its standard edition, Ubisoft has also announced limited-edition installments for the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii versions of the game. Though not yet priced, each of the three limited editions will come packed in with exclusive Mattel action figures based on the movie. The PS3 and 360 versions of the game will come packed in with a six-inch Avatar Jake Scully figure, while Wii gamers will get a glow-in-the-dark four-inch Na'vi Warrior Tsu'Tey.

For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Avatar.