Atari picks up Riddick, Ghostbusters titles

[Reddaye]

Atari has picked up the rights to developer Starbreeze Studio's The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, for release in spring 2009.

And according to a report by Variety, the publisher has also grabbed Ghostbusters for release in the summer, to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the movie's release.

"It's very exciting to have Assault on Dark Athena as part of Atari's 2009 publishing line-up," said Phil Harrison, president of Infogrames, parent company of Atari.

"The first game in the series was a landmark in action gaming and the outstanding team at Starbreeze are creating a feature-packed follow-up which will delight fans and new players alike."

Although the Ghostbusters deal has not been made official, Variety claims that Atari has paid a flat fee to Activision Blizzard for both games to cover a portion of the development costs.

It is also believed that Atari now has the rights to produce future games based on the IP.

Since the company has been rebooted with former-EA exec David Gardner and ex-Sony studios boss Phil Harrison, Atari has stated that its future focus will be in the online space. Both Riddick and Ghostbusters titles could be a sign that the publisher still sees value in releases for the more traditional games console market.

Source: GI.biz

I know a few people here will be happy to see that Ghostbusters will very likely be getting published. Honestly I'm more excited for Dark Athena (remake of Butcher Bay with PC content + a new expansion). Now hopefully Brutal Legend gets a publisher.

[zero]

Good news for Atari, God knows they need something and I suspect the Ghostbusters game will be huge, especially if it gets a good marketing push with a new DVD of the movie or something like that.

[abundant]

Ghostbuster's new release date is June 2009.

[Toe]

Ghostbuster's new release date is June 2009.

I was hoping sooner, but at this point, I am just happy that the game is going to get released.

[zero]

It's to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the movie, that's why it's coming out in June.

[Toe]

It's to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the movie, that's why it's coming out in June.

Oh, I know. I was just so hyped for the game to be coming out in October.

[Spee]

You'd think though that there'll be dearth of games out in the summer, so it ought to perform better. Hopefully it'll have been polished between now and then as well.

[zero]

Honestly, it's probably better this way. Instead of releasing it this year in October when it would have had the pleasure of competing against: Gears 2, Resistance 2, Dead Space, Fallout 3, Fable 2, CoD, Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, Prince of Persia, Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and the other dozen ultra blockbusters that came out, it'll get to be released in the Summer... when nothing comes out. Plus it gets an extra few months of polish.

Edited December 3, 2008 by Zero

[Toe]

Good point. I wanted this game more then those games you mentioned, but I know that is not the case with the majority of people.

[zero]

Of course, it would be nice if a game would actually come out between January and June, but that's just crazy talk to most publishers.

[Cactus Drags]

That's done to give us lowly game store workers some quiet time after the Christmas rush, and it'll give me time to get everything completed, since I'm barely halfway through on Mirror's Edge, Gears 2, Dead Space and Quantum of Solace, two-thirds through Saints Row 2 and I haven't even started World at War, Far Cry 2 or Fallout 3. And I need to get Fable back and properly start that.

Totally looking forward to Ghostbusters though, it should be awesome.

[The Kraig]

Atari are genius bastards.

I was stoked for Ghostbusters, but I'd suck up a new Riddick game in seconds. 360 Riddick plz.

[Fanku Kaibutsu]

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/43328.html

At this point, i don't even care if the gameplay sucks, I'd buy it just for the cutscenes.

edit: Found a better video

Edited December 4, 2008 by Fanku Kaibutsu

[Johnny Latino Heat]

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7lkn0_gh...iler_videogames

At this point, i don't even care if the gameplay sucks, I'd buy it just for the cutscenes.

That... is awesome.

[Spee]

In related Atari news:

The all-new Atari adds another heavy hitter to its line-up: Rez creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi's Q Entertainment. The publisher announced today that it is bringing Q's next music-based game, (tentatively?) dubbed QJ, to the Nintendo Wii.

That's all Atari was willing to announce about QJ, according to a report from CVG. It showed a logo and flew in Mizuguchi himself, but it kept the actual game under wraps — probably until the Spike TV VGAs, we assume, since it seems to be hoarding all the exclusives.

Atari will also be publishing a Q Entertainment compilation disc featuring Rez HD, Lumines Live and Every Extend Extra Extreme, packed with downloadable content. Smart.

Ought to be interesting, especially if it's anything like Rez in concept. Atari seem to be making some positive moves recently.

[Toe]

The fact that they animated the dance means this game now has a 98% chance of becoming my favourite game ever, even if the gameplay is weak. And all the gameplay stuff I have seen looks awesome.

[Summers]

That does look quality.

[zero]

Seriously, I will buy this game for the story alone, the game will just be gravy. It looks phenomenal though and this could really be the game that saves Atari. I have no idea why Activision let the property go, I can't imagine this game not doing well.

[Toe]

Seriously, I will buy this game for the story alone, the game will just be gravy. It looks phenomenal though and this could really be the game that saves Atari. I have no idea why Activision let the property go, I can't imagine this game not doing well.

I know. It is even harder to believe they let it go when the game was already complete or very close to complete.

[King Ellis]

Seriously, I will buy this game for the story alone, the game will just be gravy. It looks phenomenal though and this could really be the game that saves Atari. I have no idea why Activision let the property go, I can't imagine this game not doing well.

They don't think it's a franchise that could be shuffled out again every Christmas as Ghostbusters 2: Bust Harder or Ghostbusters 3: Slimer Get's His Groove Back. It's not an Activision franchise unless it get get at least 5 outings a year.