Home Video Adaptation of Award-Winning Sci-Fi Game Scheduled for
Release in 2012
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
BioWare™, a division of leading video game publisher Electronic Arts
Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and FUNimation® Entertainment, the leading
distributor of Japanese animation in North America, announced today an
agreement to create an anime feature film adapted from one of the video
game industry's most revered franchises, Mass Effect™.
Tokyo-based anime and international feature film production company T.O
Entertainment, Inc. has signed on as a co-producer on the video. Based
on the Mass Effect universe, the anime video will tell the tale
of an epic science fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with
dangerous alien life and mysterious, uncharted planets.
Casey Hudson of BioWare, executive producer of the Mass Effect
series, will serve as executive producer on the film, along with
FUNimation President and CEO Gen Fukunaga and Director of Original
Entertainment Chris Moujaes and T.O Entertainment's CEO Takeichi Honda
and Yui Shibata.
"Over the last few years, we have revealed different pieces of the Mass
Effect world through different media. Extending the story through an
anime medium is another amazing opportunity for us," said Casey Hudson,
Executive Producer for the Mass Effect series. "Partnering with
FUNimation ensures that we will bring this rich universe to life with
the utmost quality and the same attention to detail that the Mass
Effect games are known for."
"It is thanks to the enormous and passionate Mass Effect fan base that
this movie is made possible," said Gen Fukunaga, President & CEO of
FUNimation. "With production underway on the Dragon Age video, we
are excited to team up with another BioWare team to add an exciting new
chapter to this vast sci-fi world."
Production of the Mass Effect anime movie has already begun.
Digital and home video releases are scheduled for the summer of 2012.
The original Mass Effect game and its sequel Mass Effect 2 have
received over 250 awards and 100 perfect ‘10' scores from critics
worldwide. Mass Effect 2 is available now for the PlayStation®3
computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment
system and PC. Stay tuned for more news about the continuation of
Commander Shepard's adventure as BioWare will release more information
about Mass Effect 3 soon. For more information on the game,
please visit http://masseffect.bioware.com/
and follow the development team at twitter.com/masseffect2
or at http://www.facebook.com/masseffect.
About BioWare
BioWare develops high quality console, PC and online role-playing games,
focused on rich stories, unforgettable characters and vast worlds to
discover. Since 1995, BioWare has created some of the world's most
critically acclaimed titles, including Baldur's Gate™, Neverwinter
Nights™, Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™, Jade
Empire™, Mass Effect™ and Dragon Age™. BioWare
operates in Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), Montreal (Quebec), Austin
(Texas), Fairfax (Virginia) and Galway (Ireland). Currently announced
projects at BioWare include Mass Effect 3, Dragon Age II,
and the story-driven massively multiplayer online game, Star Wars®: The
Old Republic™. In 2008, BioWare was acquired by Electronic Arts,
a leading global interactive entertainment publisher. For more
information on BioWare, visit www.bioware.com,
or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/biofeed.
To join the millions of fans already registered on our community, go to http://social.bioware.com.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is
a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in
1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive
software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless
devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under
four brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA™, EA Mobile™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2010,
EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.7 billion and had 27 titles that sold
more than one million units. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com.
More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can
be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
About FUNimation Entertainment
FUNimation(R) Entertainment is the leading company for
Japanese animation in the United States. FUNimation is known for
acquiring top-rated anime series from Japan and for being the market
share leader for home video sales of anime in the United States. The
company has a proven formula for launching and advancing brands, and
manages a full spectrum of rights for most of its brands including
broadcasting, licensing, production, internet, and home video sales and
distribution.
About T.O Entertainment
Since its inception in 2003, T.O Entertainment has maintained a very
internationally oriented focus, with branch offices located in South
Korea, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Russia. The company has
introduced multiple anime series (" Baka and Test - Summon the Beasts",
"Polyphonica", "Legend of the Legendary Heroes" etc) and full-length
films ("Bungaku Shoujo: BOOK GIRL - The Literature Girl-", "Straight
Jacket", "Apartment 1303", "RoboGeisha", etc) with the goal of bringing
various forms of Japanese entertainment to the rest of the world.
BioWare, Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Jade Empire are trademarks of EA
International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and
POGO are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. Xbox and Xbox 360 are
trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. PlayStation is a
registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Mac is a
trademark of Apple Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
Electronic Arts
Cindy Lum, 650-628-3836
Senior Publicist
clum@ea.com
or
FUNimation
Entertainment
Jackie Smith, 972-355-7300, x4843
Senior PR
Manager
Jackie.smith@funimation.com
or
Electronic
Arts
Andrew Wong, 650-628-2781
Senior PR Manager
anwong@ea.com
Source: Electronic Arts Inc.
News Provided by Acquire Media