GROUND-BREAKING MOVIE CREATED WITH ACTIVISION AND LIONHEAD STUDIOS’ THE MOVIES™ ATTRACTS INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION
Santa Monica, CA – December 13, 2005 – A unique short film entitled
“The French Democracy,” created using Activision (Nasdaq: ATVI) and Lionhead® Studios’
game The Movies™, has attracted international media attention since its release
on November 22, 2005 on the game’s website, www.themoviesgame.com. The film, made by French designer
Alex Chan, is a commentary on the social situation which led up to the recent riots
in Paris and other French cities. First written about in The Washington Post, “The
French Democracy” has since been featured on MTV.com, Business Week, and 20 Minutes
-- a French newspaper with a circulation of over 800,000.
Commenting on the media attention which the movie has attracted, Peter Molyneux,
Managing Director of Lionhead Studios said, “With The Movies we wanted to make a
game that allows anyone to easily express themselves by making a short film and
posting them online to share with the world. Alex’s film, which is absolutely terrific,
really demonstrates the potential power and impact that these films can have.”
The movie’s creator, Alex Chan added, “I did not expect such a reaction
to my little ‘home-made’ movie, but I have spread some human values that are important
to me. I'm very happy that ‘The French Democracy’ has moved so many people, even
if it is not always in a positive way. I'm very glad and proud that this movie may
help people to think a bit more.”
Activision and Lionhead Studios are delighted with both the quality and quantity
of films already online, just a month since the game’s release, as traffic shows
no signs of slowing and new movies are being posted daily. Launched on November
8, 2005, www.themoviesgame.com
has already attracted over one million unique users, has received
100 million hits*, and currently features over 19,000 user-created movies, available
online for anyone to view.
The Movies allows gamers to become the ultimate Hollywood player by building and
running their own movie studio, from crafting and shooting unique movies to making
or breaking the stars they discover and create. In Story Mode, players take command
of their inner movie mogul and manage all aspects of a studio from talent and resources
to research and development. They can make a wide variety of movies such as crime
dramas, psycho thrillers, musicals, spaghetti westerns, sci-fi cliffhangers and
black comedies, and work to maximize box office success by staying one step ahead
of the competition. In addition, players can jump right into movie making in Sandbox
Mode, creating films from their favorite time period from the silent film era of
cinema to present day and beyond. Ultimate control is at gamers’ fingertips as they
customize everything from scripts and dialog to the look of their stars from head-to-toe.
With thousands of exciting movie characters and limitless options, The Movies allows
players to take full creative control of their Hollywood ambitions, ultimately posting
their box office blockbusters or obscure B movies to www.themoviesgame.com for the
entire world to see.
The Movies for Windows® PC is available for a suggested retail price of $49.99 and
is rated “T” (Teen with blood and gore, crude humor, mild language, sexual themes,
use of alcohol and tobacco, and violence) by the ESRB. The Premiere Edition version
of The Movies is available for Windows PC for a suggested retail price of $59.99
and is rated the same.
*These statistics apply to
www.themoviesgame.com/community
For more information on The Movies, please visit www.themoviesgame.com.
About Lionhead Studios
Lionhead Studios is based in Guildford, Great Britain, and was founded in 1997.
The company’s first game, “Black & White” for PC, was released in 2001, and
worldwide sales of it have topped 2 million copies. Its second game, “Fable” for
Xbox, has sold more than 1.6 million copies worldwide, and the numbers continue
to climb, making it one of the top-selling Xbox titles of all time. Three further
titles Fable: The Lost Chapters, Black & White 2 and The Movies, have all been
released on PC this fall. For more information about Lionhead Studios, visit http://www.lionhead.com.
About Activision, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision, Inc. is a leading worldwide
developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.
Founded in 1979, Activision posted net revenues of $1.4 billion for the fiscal year
ended March 31, 2005.
Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France,
Germany, Italy, Japan, Australia, Scandinavia, Spain and the Netherlands. More information
about Activision and its products can be found on the company's World Wide Web site,
which is located at www.activision.com.