LADYDRAGON.COM - Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Electronic Arts Announce Co-Publishing Agreement for Movie-Based Game Looney Tunes

Tuesday January 21, 2003

Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Electronic Arts Announce Co-Publishing Agreement for Movie-Based Game Looney Tunes: Back In Action; Title to Be Developed for Multiple Consoles by Warthog

Warner Bros. Consumer Products announced today an exclusive co-publishing agreement with Electronic Arts (Nasdaq:ERTS) to produce, market and distribute Looney Tunes: Back In Action, a video game to be released on multiple platforms day and date with the upcoming live action feature film starring the Looney Tunes characters. The partnership marks the first time Warner Bros. Consumer Products has partnered to co-publish a video game title. UK-based Warthog is developing the game based on the film, which will debut in November 2003.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Consumer Products, and Electronic Arts are overseeing development by Warthog. Integrating video game and motion picture mediums, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Electronic Arts will lead a coordinated marketing strategy to capitalize on and support the film's marketing and promotional plans.

"Looney Tunes: Back In Action is breaking new ground in an ever-expanding market for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment with a co-publishing partnership with Electronic Arts to produce this original game," said Mark Matheny, executive vice president, international, for Warner Bros. Consumer Products. "We have had much success with the straight licensing model for our interactive business, and now we have taken our involvement in game production a layer deeper by being closer to the creative process that brings our brands to this important entertainment medium."

"We are combining the strength of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and our knowledge of the Looney Tunes property with the distribution expertise of Electronic Arts and the talented development of Warthog to create a captivating movie-based game," Philippe Erwin, vice president, interactive, for Warner Bros. Consumer Products. "We are working closely with the filmmakers to develop the game, which will heighten the interactive experience for players."

"This partnership brings together two highly compatible entertainment organizations," said Tom Frisina, vice president of EA Distribution. "The Looney Tunes characters are recognized and loved all over the world. Together with EA's global publishing reach, they'll become as well-known in video games as they are in film and television."
Players of Looney Tunes: Back In Action will be able to switch off playing either Bugs or Daffy on a scavenger hunt adventure around the world through several themed levels inspired by the film's diverse and wild locations. The action of the game lies in the chases and constant racing from level to level, as players try to pick up gizmos and clues in their search for the Blue Monkey Diamond. The game will be available on the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo GameCube(TM), and Nintendo Game Boy(R) Advance.

"Working directly with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Electronic Arts on the Looney Tunes: Back In Action video game, we are delighted to form a close relationship with the creative minds behind the film to produce an authentic gaming experience," said Ashley Hall, managing director of Warthog. "Warthog has a proven track record of working well with both Warner Bros. and Electronic Arts and are looking forward to making an engaging, successful game."

Warner Bros.' antic band of animated entertainers, the Looney Tunes, will star alongside Brendan Fraser and Jenna Elfman in the feature film Looney Tunes: Back in Action. Fraser, Elfman, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Taz and Tweety embark on a comic adventure that takes them from Hollywood to Las Vegas and into the jungles of Africa in search of Fraser's character's missing father and the mythical Blue Diamond. The film is set in a live-action world where animated and "real" characters interact for maximum comic effect.