Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Jan 19, 2015 9:35:54 GMT -6
variety.com/2015/digital/news/the-simpsons-headed-to-minecraft-1201405965/
“The Simpsons” family will soon be playable characters in “Minecraft.”
Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products has inked a deal with Xbox allowing Homer, Marge, Cart, Lisa, Maggie and 19 of Springfield Elementary School’s characters to become available as part of a downloadable pack in late February.
The pack will be available for Xbox 360 and Xbox One versions of “Minecraft” for $1.99, and IT is expected to eventually become available on other platforms as well.
“Minecraft” is currently one of the most popular games in the videogram space, with more than 100 million downloads since its launch in 2009. In the game, players create their own worlds and characters using digital building blocks, similar to Legos. Given the game’s popularity, franchise owners have viewed “Minecraft” as a way to promote their films and TV shows, including “The Walking Dead,” Marvel’s superheroes and, more recently, “Star Wars” and “Doctor Who” characters skins and assets.
Microsoft purchased Mojang, the Swedish game developer behind the blockbuster “Minecraft” franchise, in September in a deal worth $2.5 billion.
“We have an active community of more than 17 million diehard ‘Minecrafters’ on Xbox Live enjoying the wide range of downloadable content on Xbox, and they have been clamoring for us to bring ‘Simpsons’ characters to the game,” said Phil Spencer, head of Xbox.
Gracie Films, which produces the animated series worked with 20th Century Fox to bring the “Simpsons” characters to life in the game.
“Like ‘The Simpsons,’ ‘Minecraft’ is a true cultural phenomenon embraced by people of all ages, from every corner of the globe,” said Roz Nowicki, executive VP of global sales and retail for Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products. “We know fans of the show will have a ton of fun bringing the colorful characters of Springfield into the intricate worlds they’ve been building in ‘Minecraft.’”
“The Simpsons” family will soon be playable characters in “Minecraft.”
Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products has inked a deal with Xbox allowing Homer, Marge, Cart, Lisa, Maggie and 19 of Springfield Elementary School’s characters to become available as part of a downloadable pack in late February.
The pack will be available for Xbox 360 and Xbox One versions of “Minecraft” for $1.99, and IT is expected to eventually become available on other platforms as well.
“Minecraft” is currently one of the most popular games in the videogram space, with more than 100 million downloads since its launch in 2009. In the game, players create their own worlds and characters using digital building blocks, similar to Legos. Given the game’s popularity, franchise owners have viewed “Minecraft” as a way to promote their films and TV shows, including “The Walking Dead,” Marvel’s superheroes and, more recently, “Star Wars” and “Doctor Who” characters skins and assets.
Microsoft purchased Mojang, the Swedish game developer behind the blockbuster “Minecraft” franchise, in September in a deal worth $2.5 billion.
“We have an active community of more than 17 million diehard ‘Minecrafters’ on Xbox Live enjoying the wide range of downloadable content on Xbox, and they have been clamoring for us to bring ‘Simpsons’ characters to the game,” said Phil Spencer, head of Xbox.
Gracie Films, which produces the animated series worked with 20th Century Fox to bring the “Simpsons” characters to life in the game.
“Like ‘The Simpsons,’ ‘Minecraft’ is a true cultural phenomenon embraced by people of all ages, from every corner of the globe,” said Roz Nowicki, executive VP of global sales and retail for Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products. “We know fans of the show will have a ton of fun bringing the colorful characters of Springfield into the intricate worlds they’ve been building in ‘Minecraft.’”