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Sierra wins, but will gamers win too? - Lord of the Rings news - J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

May 03, 2001 at 12:42:47

Vivendi Universal Publishing's Sierra Studio to Release First Game, 'Fellowship of the Ring,' in Early 2002.

TORRANCE, Calif., May 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Vivendi Universal Publishing (VU Publishing), a division of Vivendi Universal (NYSE: V), and Tolkien Enterprises today announced a long-term, exclusive deal calling for the development of interactive games based on J.R.R. Tolkien's worldwide best-selling novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, a trilogy comprised of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King.

Under the deal, VU Publishing's Sierra studio will develop and release multiple games based on the literary works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings over the next eight years. The first game, "The Fellowship of the Ring," in development by Seattle-based WXP, Inc., will be released in early 2002 for a next-generation console system.

"The Tolkien license, combined with our development, marketing and distribution strengths, is truly a formidable combination," said Agnes Touraine, Vice Chairman & CEO, Vivendi Universal Publishing. "It will reinforce our leading position in the games market, enlarging our offer to customers."

"The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings properties are the pre-eminent fantasy works of our time and represent one of the strongest brands in the entertainment industry," said Hubert Joly, CEO, Vivendi Universal Games. "They provide a tremendous amount of rich material from which we expect to make some of the best fantasy games ever created."

"We plan to release titles on all major gaming platforms in order to make the interactive versions of Tolkien's great works available to as many gamers as possible," continued Joly.

Read the full press release here