I'll merely mention the fact that I'm a big fan of The Simpsons television
show. It's fairly obvious. Beyond that, however, I admire the resilience
and potential of the IP. Any license that could be as pimped out as The
Simpsons was in the early 90s and still sell products today is something
for any business man to admire. Not that I'm a business man nor do I desire
to become one, but having worked among them for some time has given me
a sense for that side of the biz.
Now we move into the video games sector. Simpsons
games have steadily streamed into the market since the show started and
save for a few memorable games the majority have been rated from average
to lame. However in 2001 Radical Entertainment reinvigorated the license
with Simpsons Road Rage, and then Simpsons Hit & Run in 2003. They, for
lack of a better phrase, saved the day. And Simpsons Hit & Run in turn
put the developer on the map. When VU Games purchased the development
studio the two companies seemed poised to continue developing great Simpsons
games, or at least a guarenteed hit with a sequel to Hit & Run. I and
other Simpsons game fans waited for word that another game was officially
in development, but it never came.
With that said I'll enlighten anyone who hasn't
heard the news: EA, mega game publisher based in the San Francisco Bay
area, signed a deal with FOX to develop several games based on the The
Simpsons. While it's good to hear that The Simpsons will
continue on following the post-Hit & Run silence, EA's track record with
Simpsons games (the mediocre to bad Simpsons Skateboarding and the average
to excellent Simpsons Road Rage) is up in the air. I suppose the point
of this nonsense is a message to EA:
Dear EA,
I'll be first in line to fork over the green and buy any Simpsons game you release, so do not screw me over with a crappy title.
Thanks.
P.S.: How's about we get fully playable versionsof Larry the Looter or Escape from Death Row?
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