Press Release: Namco and Todd McFarlane Sign Licensing Agreement
From Videogame Morgue File
Namco and Todd McFarlane Sign Licensing Agreement[edit]
SOULCALIBUR II figures to be released and a new video game based on Spawn to be developed
Tokyo, Japan and Tempe, Arizona, April 16, 2003 - Namco Ltd. and Todd McFarlane Productions Inc. have announced today that a mutual agreement has been signed in which both parties are allowing the use of each other's characters for different business opportunities. Namco Ltd. will be granted the use of Spawn for the creation of a brand new video game and TMP will be granted the use of various SOULCALIBUR II characters for the creation of brand new action figures. Namco Ltd. will use the Spawn character in the development of a brand new video game created for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the Nintendo GameCube™ and the Xbox™ video game system from Microsoft, and is scheduled to be released in the US market in 2003. Spawn (tentative title) is a mission-based action/adventure set against the backdrop of a darker, near-future New York City environment. Its intuitive controls allow the player to utilize a range of acrobatic jumps, double jumps, glides and climbs throughout the vast city. A combo-based hand-to-hand combat engine will allow the player to deliver many different attacks and devastating moves to punish his enemies. The player will also have access to all of Spawn's distinctive abilities - his superhuman strength, his arsenal of weaponry, his Hell Powers and, of course, his living symbiotic costume. By adding his weapons into the mix, the player will be throwing enemies into the air, filling them with lead and tearing them to pieces in no time. Spawn will premier at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo to be held in Los Angeles this May. McFarlane Toys will create a new line of action figures based on the SOULCALIBUR II characters. McFarlane Toys will release it in the summer of 2003. McFarlane Toys is one of the world's largest toy manufacturers. Established in 1994 to manufacture and sell action figures based on founder Todd McFarlane's comic book character Spawn, the international award-winning company has expanded into licensed products to become one of the premiere action figure producers on the planet. Through a previous arrangement, TMP had already designed an original character, Necrid, for each console version of SOULCALIBUR II and also allowed the use of Spawn to appear as the exclusive character in the Xbox version of the game. "When developing SOULCALIBUR II, I was working not just on making the game interesting, I was concerned about the storyline and character design", says Producer Hiroaki Yotoriyama. "How could I bring alive 16th century warriors who bet their life and all their possessions for a moment of glory? Doing that was difficult, and the most exciting part of the job. In that process, the opportunity to collaborate with Todd McFarlane on Necrid was key in enhancing the level of the product. As a fellow creator, I feel great pride in the creation of a new character that was developed by the world's greatest creator. In the Xbox version of SOULCALIBUR II, Todd McFarlane's Spawn will also appear. I'm confident that using cutting edge technologies from Namco such as CG modeling, motion, sound and character manipulation, along with focusing on the original images in the comic books, will bring Spawn to life, as he should be. I am also really pleased with the 3D modeling for the SOULCALIBUR II action figures, which have brought this art to its highest form. Being a part of the extremely organic collaboration with Todd McFarlane, which has shown through in SOULCALIBUR II, has been a true honor. I don't know if I can wait for the Spawn video game that's currently under development in the US. It should be something really special." "I've long been interested in the development of video games", says Creator Todd McFarlane. "Games breathe life into a creator's flat 2D images and bring them alive. As someone who develops ideas, my goal is to create strong characters that are both interesting to look at, and can deliver new and exciting game play. When Namco, who obviously is tops in its field, approached us on developing new characters and integrating my character, Spawn, into its SOULCALIBUR II game, I knew it would be a great opportunity to work with a company on the cutting edge of gaming technology. Their game play and engine design is second to none. I'm very excited and proud of the work that Namco has accomplished on SOULCALIBUR II and I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this game. I am also pretty excited about the action figures my company has produced to accompany the game. We are experimenting with scale and other things, but I think game fans will be astonished at the detail and realism. I'm also looking forward to working with Namco on future projects and ideas, including the upcoming Spawn title." About Soul series SOULCALIBUR II is the latest creation in the Soul series, which established the new genre of weapons-based fighting and has been critically acclaimed worldwide. The Soul series started in 1996 with the release of Soul Edge followed by SOULCALIBUR in 1999, registering more than 3 million units sold around the globe. This latest in the series breaks a four-year silence, and Namco has captured attention with its three-platform simultaneous release. The visual beauty created by bringing together the finesse of Namco’s technology and the additional development of character movement succeeded in creating more than just a port. It also includes new guest characters unique for each platform, original characters, and a variety of new modes all created specifically for the home consoles. Around the globe, the Soul series has garnered high marks from both industry insiders and outsiders for its character design and deep storyline. The Soul series has received many awards as well. In the image field, the opening movie from the foreign version of “Soul Edge” received a prize from the CG festival SIGGRAPH sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery in 1997. The following year, it received the Entertainment award in the CG division of the Multimedia Grand Prix, sponsored by the Foundation for Multimedia Communications. It also won the grand prize in the digital art non-interactive division of the Media Arts Festival from the Agency for Cultural Affairs. About Spawn Spawn is comic book first published by McFarlane and friends who spun off from the mainstream comic publishing industry in 1992. Spawn is a dark hero, troubled with the dual aspects of good and evil found in all people. With an appeal to adults, Spawn broke the mold in American comics, selling 1.7 million in its first issue. Published on a monthly basis, Spawn has continuously gained new fans, and is now read by people in 80 countries around the world, translated into 30 languages. It has established the surprising record of a total of 24 million sales in the US. Aspiring to bring this character to perfection as a toy, Todd McFarlane started up a toy manufacturer in 1994 and began selling Spawn figures. Featuring details not found on any other toy, Spawn toys became a huge hit, igniting a global boom in figures. A total of 2.8 million figures have been sold around the globe, with new products coming out one after the other. Spawn also developed into a television animated series, broadcast on American cable networks, and was made into a Hollywood film in 1997. Announcements have been made for a theatrical movie at the end of 2004. About McFarlane Toys The international award winning McFarlane Toys Company is one of America’s top action figure manufacturers with several successful movie-licensing tie-ins, including Warner Brother’s The Matrix trilogy, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines Shrek; X-Files; Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow; the first two Austin Powers films; the Beatle’s Yellow Submarine; Akira and the company’s seminal Movie Maniacs series featuring horror icons from such films as Terminator and Terminator 2, Alien, Predator, Texas Chainsaw Massacre; Friday the 13th; The Thing; Army of Darkness; The Fly; Blair Witch; Scream; A Nightmare on Elm Street; Halloween and more. The company also makes official league-licensed figures for football, basketball and baseball, as well as rock music icons, electronic gaming and McFarlane’s signature creation, Spawn. About Namco Hometek Inc. Namco Hometek Inc. is the U.S. consumer division of Namco Limited, a Tokyo-based world leader in the high-tech entertainment industry. Committed to providing the ultimate entertainment experience, Namco uses cutting-edge technology and advanced electronics to take their theme parks, arcades, and home video games far beyond traditional entertainment.
