Heavy Rain falling on Hollywood - Report

Quantic Dream touted its PlayStation 3 serial killer thriller Heavy Rain as "interactive drama," but the developer might be turning its latest hit into a more passive form of entertainment. According to a report on Deadline.com today, Quantic Dream is close to a deal with Unique Features, the upstart film production company founded by former New Line Cinema executives Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne. Unique has a deal with Warner Bros. giving the studio first-look rights to its pictures.

Released in February, Heavy Rain follows the pursuit of a mysterious serial murderer, with players controlling several characters who must collect clues in a film-noir-style setting to crack the case. The game also featured branching storylines where a player's actions determined not just if the killer is brought to justice, but also whether the cast of characters have individually happy or tragic endings.

Heavy Rain is just the latest in a long line of games threatening to make the jump to film, with the most recent candidates including Rollercoaster Tycoon, Red Faction, and Dead Rising. However, for every Prince of Persia that actually makes it to theaters, there seems to be no shortage of projects that get shunted into development limbo, be it Metal Gear Solid, Gears of War, or Halo.