Warner buys maker of LEGO Star Wars games
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By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 11/8/2007
NOV. 8 | Deepening its commitment to growing its gaming category, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group has agreed to acquire TT Games, the U.K.-based publisher of Bionicle Heroes and the LEGO Star Wars series.
TT Games was formed in 2005 out of the merger of 18-year-old developer Traveller’s Tales and publisher Giant Interactive Entertainment. Traveller’s-developed LEGO Star Wars: The Videogame has sold more than 6 million units worldwide. Over the years, Traveller’s titles have sold more than 42 million copies to date.
Warner management believes that TT’s experience with many broad family-friendly videogames will be a boon for the studio. Warner will bow its first interactive DVD game, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Challenge, on Dec. 11.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, housed within the Warner Home Entertainment Group, will distribute TT-backed LEGO Batman: The Videogame in 2008.
“TT Games is very successful and respected in the game development and publishing world,” said Barry Meyer, Warner Bros. chair and CEO. “They are a great fit for us and the right next step for Warner Bros. as we grow into a significant presence in the games space.”
Other TT-published hits include Lego Star Wars 2: The Original Trilogy, which has similarly sold more than 6 million units worldwide. In development at TT is LEGO Indiana Jones.
Under Warner’s wing, TT will retain its publishing relationships with LEGO and LucasArts, among others.
“TT Games is the leading videogame developer for young gamers and their families,” said Kevin Tsujihara, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group president. “The expertise that TT Games brings to Warner Bros. is a great match with our brands as well as an opportunity to effectively leverage our existing global infrastructure. TT Games will become the cornerstone of our Home Entertainment Group’s family focused games strategy.”
Tom Stone, managing director of TT Games Publishing, added, “Warner has an extraordinary track record in nurturing and developing intellectual property in TV, in movies and now in games. That history combined with their world-class distribution muscle promises a very exciting future for all of us at TT Games.”