GameTap and Telltale Spread More Sam & Max Mayhem with Original Machinima Shorts and Episode 2 News
November 30 2006 - 9:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
ATLANTA, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- 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
(http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax) and GameTap
(http://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
http://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
http://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 http://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. DATASOURCE: GameTap
CONTACT: Caroline Capers, Access Communications for GameTap,
+1-415-844-6246, , or Misty Skedgell, TBS, Inc., +1-404-885-4396, ,
or Emily Morganti, Telltale, Inc., +1-415-258-1638 x501, Web site:
http://www.telltalegames.com/ http://www.gametap.com/
http://www.samandmaxcomics.com/
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