Dark Horse to Create Hellgate: London Comic Book
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Namco Bandai And Flagship Studios Partner With Dark Horse Comics For Hellgate(TM): London Comic Book
SANTA CLARA, Calif., (May 3rd, 2006) – Leading video games publisher and developer NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. today announced a partnership with Dark Horse Comics to produce a comic book based on HELLGATE: LONDON, the first original PC title from premier developer Flagship Studios.
The comic book provides the background story behind HELLGATE: LONDON. Issue “0” begins when MI5 service agent Lyra Darius discovers a human charnel house in London whilst investigating the affairs of recently resigned Home Office Minister, Lord Sumerisle. Soon afterwards, Lyra is entangled in a bloody conspiracy with the Knights Templar in the build-up to the Battle of All Hallows’ Eve.
This exclusive Issue “0” comic is written by Ian Edginton, the critically acclaimed author of Scarlet Traces and the recent War of the Worlds web comic adaptation. Edginton teams up with Superman and Preacher artist Steve Pugh to explore this demon-ravaged metropolis in comic form. Issue “0” is to be given away at the E3 2006 tradeshow on May 10th – 12th.
“Dark Horse Comics is the master of comic book story-telling and the dark, action-packed world of Hellgate: London is the perfect property to be adapted into a comic book”, said Jeff Lujan, business development representative for NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. "This tale about how mankind’s battle against demonic forces begins will thrill both gamers and comic book fans alike.”
“Dark Horse publishes extremely high-quality comics and has partnered with some of the most exciting brands and biggest companies in the world,” said Bill Roper, CEO and co-founder of Flagship Studios. “We’ve worked very closely with Ian and Steve to ensure that the comic will provide the perfect background and insight into the world of Hellgate: London. And since both of them are friends and residents of the city itself, the end result is a spectacular collaboration.”
HELLGATE: LONDON combines the depth of role-playing games and the action of first-person shooter titles, while offering infinite playability with dynamically generated levels, items, enemies and events. The player creates a heroic character, completes quests, and battles through innumerable hordes of demons to advance through experience levels and branching skill paths. A robust, flexible skill and spell system, highly customizable appearances, and a massive variety of randomly generated equipment allow players to create their own unique hero. For more information about the game, logon to www.hellgatelondon.com .
About Flagship Studios
Flagship Studios is a creator of innovative entertainment software, designing games that focus on ease of play, replayability, and fun. The studio was formed in 2003 by former executives and developers from Blizzard North® and represents the creators of the worldwide, best-selling Diablo® franchise. With members that are renowned within the gaming industry, Flagship Studios embodies a team that has worked together for over a decade and have numerous #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards to their credit.
About NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.
NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. is an interactive entertainment software publisher and developer based in Santa Clara, CA. The company is a subsidiary of the newly formed NAMCO BANDAI Holdings (USA) Inc. based in Cypress, CA.
On September 29, 2005, Bandai Co., Ltd. and NAMCO LIMITED implemented a management integration to form NAMCO BANDAI Holdings Inc. This step was taken to compete more effectively on the global stage in the fast-changing entertainment industry and to deliver further growth.
The resulting BANDAI NAMCO Group is a global entertainment group involved in business fields ranging from toys, amusement facilities, video game software and visual software, to apparel, sundries and network content.
As previous separate entities (Namco Hometek Inc. and Bandai Games Inc.) the companies were each known for creating some of the industry’s top video game franchises including: Tamagotchi®, Tekken®, SOULCALIBUR®, Dead to Rights®, Pac-Man® World™, Digimon®, Ridge Racer®, Time Crisis® and ACECOMBAT®. For more information about NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. and its products log onto www.namcobandaigames.com .
