GameTap And Telltale Spread More Sam & Max Mayhem With Original Machinima Shorts And Episode 2 News
ATLANTA - November 30, 2006 - GameTap, the first-of-its-kind broadband entertainment network from Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.), and interactive entertainment pioneer Telltale today unveiled exciting news about their critically-acclaimed Sam & Max franchise. In addition to revealing details about "Situation: Comedy," the second installment in the hilarious "Sam & Max: Season 1" episodic video game series, today marks the premiere of the first original Sam & Max machinima short on GameTap TV.
The new animated shorts were created using machinima, an innovative filmmaking technique that utilizes the real-time 3D virtual environment of a video game. Sam & Max use their newfound time in the spotlight to tackle whatever outrageous issue they've happened upon. From reality TV to Aristotle, and from day-trip destinations to turkey franks, everything and anything is fair game for the dynamic detective duo. Beginning with today's debut, a new short will air on GameTap TV every Thursday leading up to the launch of each new, full-length episode of the "Sam & Max: Season 1" video game series. These shorts will be released on the Sam & Max sites at both Telltale ( www.telltalegames.com/samandmax) and GameTap ( www.gametap.com/samandmax) four days after they are released to GameTap subscribers.
On December 21, the full-length "Episode 2 - Situation: Comedy" picks up where "Episode 1: Culture Shock" left off. This time Sam & Max make their way to a local TV studio to investigate a talk-show taping that's spiraled into a hostage situation. Along with a few familiar faces and tons of Sam & Max's trademark humor, the episode features fresh locations and characters, a new musical score, and plenty of bizarre scenarios for players to puzzle through. The first "Situation: Comedy" screenshots and gameplay videos were also released today and can be downloaded from the Telltale website listed above.
In addition to first access to the machinima shorts, "Situation: Comedy," and every upcoming full-length episode of "Sam & Max: Season 1," GameTap subscribers are treated to weekly releases of the complete 1997 animated Sam & Max television series and a documentary that takes gamers behind the scenes of "The Making of Sam & Max."
"GameTap and Telltale are defining episodic content for the games industry, delivering Sam & Max: Season 1 on a monthly schedule from now through April," said Ricardo Sanchez, GameTap's VP of Content. "This upcoming episode will pick up right where we left off at the end of Episode 1, while the new machinima shorts and the classic animated series will round out the experience, providing subscribers with a consistent stream of on-demand Sam & Max content."
On January 5, 2007, fifteen days after the GameTap premiere, "Situation: Comedy" will be available for sale from the Telltale website for $8.95 each. The season also can be purchased in its entirety from Telltale for $34.95; those who opt to buy the whole season will be able to download each episode from Telltale's website after GameTap's exclusive period 15-day period ends.
"There's a lot of talk about episodic gaming as a trend, but so far, not too many tangible examples," says Telltale CEO Dan Connors. "At Telltale we're making it a reality, and we're loving the creative freedom. With Sam & Max leading the way, there's no limit to what this can become."
Beyond the new season of Sam & Max and all the content that comes with it, GameTap gives subscribers unlimited access to more than 750 games at any time, along with over 600 original TV shows and videos that cater to fans of the video game lifestyle.
To get in on the Sam & Max action and to reap all the great benefits that GameTap offers, visit www.gametap.com where you can sign up for as low as $6.95 per month, with your first month for just 99 cents.
About Sam & Max
Steve Purcell published "Monkeys Violating the Heavenly Temple" as his first Sam & Max comic in 1987. Sam & Max solved assorted crimes and mysteries as "Freelance Police" in their sturdy 1960 Black and White De Soto Adventurer from their home base in New York City. After a series of follow-up comic books, Purcell worked with a team at LucasArts to create the critically acclaimed "Sam & Max Hit the Road" adventure game in 1993. The dog and bunny duo moved to television, in an award-winning animated series in 1997 and are now appearing in an all-new webcomic series at http://www.samandmaxcomics.com.
About Telltale
Telltale delivers Tales for Your Imagination - high caliber interactive entertainment which features engaging stories, strong characters, and rich environments. A new era of interactive entertainment is emerging, with customers expecting more from their investment in play time. Telltale is developing and deploying cinematic quality animation and storytelling technologies, to create entertaining and exciting interactive adventures which meet these new expectations. Staffed with long time industry veterans, Telltale creates tales based on Jeff Smith's Bone series, Steve Purcell's Sam & Max characters and television's popular CSI program in partnership with Ubisoft. Telltale offers content development and custom publishing services for license-holders interested in adapting their properties for interactive delivery. Telltale has created innovative tools, designed specifically for rapid development of high quality, space-efficient titles for digital distribution. Telltale titles can be downloaded from its website, as well as online partners such as Yahoo! Games, Direct-to-Drive, Trymedia Systems, Boonty, and CNET. To learn more about Telltale, please visit www.telltalegames.com.
About GameTap
GameTap is the leader in digital game distribution and broadband entertainment. Launched by Turner Broadcasting in 2005, it now delivers more than 750 authentic versions of the greatest console, computer and arcade games on demand, including original and exclusive episodic properties. In addition to games for every age and interest, GameTap offers more than 600 original entertainment programs, popular video streams and thriving virtual communities to broadband-connected PCs. Continually updated with new games, programs and features, GameTap is a downloadable application that supports navigation and game play using keyboard and mouse, as well as most USB peripherals. Go to www.gametap.com and expand your playground.
About Turner
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.), a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment products around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry.
CONTACT:
Caroline Capers
Access Communications for GameTap
415-844-6246 ccapers@accesspr.com
Misty Skedgell
TBS, Inc.
404-885-4396
misty.skedgell@turner.com
Emily Morganti
Telltale, Inc.
415-258-1638 x501
pr@telltalegames.com