Telltale breaks new ground in game industry
Delivering on the promise of monthly new episodes, Telltale begins distribution of second Sam & Max episode at www.telltalegames.com
SAN RAFAEL, CA, January 8, 2007 - Interactive entertainment pioneer Telltale Inc. has continued its drive for unique and compelling gaming experiences with the delivery of the second episode in the innovative Sam & Max series. Canine shamus Sam and his rabbity-thing sidekick Max, the Freelance Police, are back on the case in their new episode, entitled "Situation: Comedy," which Telltale is now distributing to customers worldwide from http://www.telltalegames.com.
"Situation: Comedy" takes Sam & Max into the daunting world of broadcast television and the even more daunting talons of talk show host Myra Stump. Telltale is on track for delivering the remaining four episodes of Sam & Max: Season 1 each month through this spring.
"When we started our company a few short years ago, we had a vision for creating a completely new kind of experience," says Telltale CEO Dan Connors. "It's been exciting to reach this monthly episodic delivery milestone so quickly. People have been responding very positively to the idea of getting engaging, interactive stories delivered to them on a regular basis."
Game designer Dave Grossman says of his ongoing work on the Sam & Max series, "I follow Sam and Max around to get material, which has been great, although sometimes it's hard to keep up with them while they're chasing down a suspect. Last week I got a leg cramp and by the time I caught up they'd already gotten the guy to confess to littering, jaywalking, and insider trading, just by whistling the theme from the Andy Griffith Show over and over."
Each Sam & Max episode will debut exclusively on GameTap, with Sam & Max Episode 3 "The Mole, the Mob and the Meatball" coming next on January 25. On February 8, fifteen days after the GameTap premiere, this episode becomes available for purchase from www.telltalegames.com. Sam & Max Episode 4, titled "Abe Lincoln Must Die!" and Sam & Max Episode 5 "Reality 2.0" will begin distribution in the following months. While each installment features a self-contained story, the episodes also reveal clues about an insidious foe that will challenge the crimefighting duo as never before in a truly out-of-this world season finale. The title of the season's epic concluding episode will be revealed in the coming months.
The first Sam & Max episode has received high praise from reviewers and fans alike, singled out as one of the best - and funniest - games of the year by sources ranging from the New York Times, Yahoo and Wired to IGN and GameSpot. 1UP.com calls Sam & Max "gaming's first sitcom" and says it's arguably the first series to merit the term "episodic."
"Situation: Comedy" sells for $8.95 individually, or for $34.95 as part of the Season 1 collection. For those who have already purchased a single episode of Sam & Max and now wish to get the full season package, Telltale has created an upgrade path. Customers can simply pay the difference between the $8.95 single episode price and the $34.95 full season price in order to get all six episodes of the series as they become available. At the end of the season, these full season purchasers can choose to receive a Season 1 CD containing all six episodes for only the cost of shipping and handling. Additional information about the full season upgrade is available on Telltale's website at http://www.telltalegames.com/store/samandmax-season1-upgrade.
Customers who have previously purchased the season collection can access all available Sam & Max episodes by following the instructions at http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax/seasonactivation.
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.telltalegames.com.
About Telltale, Inc.
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.
Contact:
Emily Morganti
415-258-1638 x501
pr@telltalegames.com
Note to press: To request a review copy, write to pr@telltalegames.com. Screenshots and additional assets available at http://vip.telltalegames.com