Exactly my first thought.....
Activision, LucasArts return to E3
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:Prodigal publishers commit to showing up at this year's revitalized gaming expo as organizers at the ESA release initial exhibitor list.
After experimenting with downsized trade shows for two years, the Entertainment Software Association wants to restore the Electronic Entertainment Expo to its glory days. Today, the ESA announced a slate of exhibitors that will help usher in the newly supersized E3 2009, including a number of companies that had previously left the ESA and its trade show entirely.
Two of the highest-profile ESA defectors--Activision Blizzard and LucasArts--have both signed on to participate in E3 2009. Other companies that left the trade group--including NCsoft, Codemasters, Crave, and id Software--are not currently among the listed exhibitors. The full list of exhibitors includes more than 70 companies spanning all aspects of the industry, from the "big three" of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo to joystick manufacturer CH Products and Taiwan-based light-gun maker ZeroPlus.
E3 2009 will take place June 2-4 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The official E3 Web site touts a complete exhibitor list, although it lacked some confirmed attendees as of press time. For more on the ESA's new approach to E3, check out GameSpot's interview with ESA CEO Michael Gallagher.
Bourne license surfaces at EA
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:Publisher enters long-term development deal to create games based on Robert Ludlum's novels; first project handed off to Starbreeze Studios.
Many of the high-profile licenses orphaned after Activision and Vivendi's multibillion-dollar merger took some time to find new homes. Not so with the Bourne license. Not a week after being let go, the Ludlum family reacquired the video game rights to the works of Robert Ludlum, though it did so with the intention of finding a new steward "capable of fully exploiting the multiplatform potential of the Ludlum content and storylines."
Today, the Ludlum family has done just that. Electronic Arts has announced a multiyear, worldwide licensing agreement to create games based on Robert Ludlum's acclaimed novels. The publisher also announced that the first game in this deal will be based on the author's popular rogue spy Jason Bourne. Neither platforms nor an expected launch window were revealed.
Bourne fans hoping for a quality entertainment experience may be heartened to hear that Swedish outfit Starbreeze Studios has been tasked with the game's development. Starbreeze made a name for itself in 2004, partnering with Vin Diesel's Tigon Studios on The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, the highly acclaimed film-to-game spin-off adaption of Diesel's Pitch Black antihero.
The upcoming Jason Bourne game marks the second in-development collaboration between EA and Starbreeze. About this time last year, the publisher announced that it had tapped Starbreeze to "reinvent a classic EA franchise." The game, operating under the code name Project RedLime, is in development for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.
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