EA to release further games based on The Godfather

There's still a month to go before Electronic Arts' videogame adaptation of The Godfather hits the shelves, but the publishing giant is already considering developing further instalments in the series.

Speaking to BBC News, executive producer David DeMartini said: "We went into this venture taking into consideration the establishment of a brand new franchise. Our intention is to make two and three."

The news should come as little surprise considering the large investment EA has put into the game. Aside from an undoubtedly hefty licence fee, the publisher also paid for Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall and James Caan to record dialogue and has planned a large-scale marketing campaign.

DeMartini went on to suggest that the game has what it takes to compete with the multi-million selling Grand Theft Auto series, telling the BBC: "We wanted to make a category leader that would give significant competition to the GTA game and basically would provide a very formidable alternative."

"We found a tremendous number of things that they were doing well that we tried to match. And then some very specific opportunities for innovation and enhancements that should establish us as the leader in those areas."

The Godfather is out on PC, PS2 and Xbox on March 24th, with Xbox 360 and PSP versions to follow.