Sam & Max Season One coming to Wii this Fall
Friday, April 4th, 2008 at 3:15pm by Press Release
As part of a continuing effort to extend episodic gaming to new audiences and platforms, Telltale is officially announcing that Sam & Max Season One will be coming to Wii™. This collection of the first six Sam & Max episodes will introduce a brand new audience to the popular and critically-acclaimed game series. Sam & Max for Wii is expected to ship to retail stores worldwide this fall, thanks to a partnership between Telltale and JoWooD/DreamCatcher.
Sam & Max’s journey to the Wii console has been fueled by fan excitement. Just before the episodic series’ PC debut, fans launched an email campaign clamoring for a Wii version of the series. Continuous rumors and rampant speculation online led to developer and publisher enthusiasm for the title. With Telltale now focusing on console development in addition to PC, the company can finally bring Sam & Max to Wii in response to this overwhelming demand.
The Sam & Max episodes let players guide the Freelance Police through a series of bizarre—and often sidesplitting—mysteries. Sam & Max Season One has already experienced enormous success, both as an episodic series available for download through Telltale’s website and other services, and at retail. Honors include Adventure Game of the Year from GameSpy and IGN, and inclusion on Games for Windows’ list of Top 10 Games in 2007.
The Wii console is a perfect fit for the Sam & Max games. The series’ story-driven gameplay and episodic structure has often been favorably compared to TV sitcoms. The new Wii version will present Sam & Max in a format that can be enjoyed from the comfort of the living room, either alone or with a group of friends—a setting perfectly suited for this kind of experience. The game’s easy-to-use interface is ideal for a broad consumer audience.
Sam & Max first hit the indie comic scene in 1987, courtesy of franchise creator Steve Purcell. In the twenty years since, they have appeared in an animated TV series, an Eisner-winning webcomic, and numerous video games. The success of the Sam & Max episodic series has fueled a renaissance for the franchise. Telltale recently released a special 20th Anniversary Edition of the complete Sam & Max comic collection, Surfin’ the Highway, after nearly a decade out of print, and a DVD box set of the 1997 animated series has just been published by Shout Factory. Both are available in Telltale’s online store (www.telltalegames.com/store), along with other Sam & Max merchandise.
Sam & Max Season One for Wii will be published by Dreamcatcher/The Adventure Company in North America, and by JoWooD in Europe. In addition to English language, the game will be fully localized in French and German, and subtitled in Italian and Spanish. All versions are expected to ship during the fall 2008 season.
About Sam & Max
Sam is a six-foot dog in a baggy suit sporting a trombone-sized .44 hand-cannon. Max is a three foot “rabbity thing” with a saw blade grin and the impulsive nature of the average piranha. Together they patrol the sticky streets of a fantastical New York City, righting wrongs, pummeling perps, and ridding the urban landscape of the shifty legions of “self-propelled gutter trash” that litter their streets. Sam & Max have appeared in comics, video games, an animated TV series coming soon to DVD, and an Eisner award-winning webcomic.
About Telltale, Inc.
Telltale is pioneering new forms of interactive entertainment, building upon strong foundations in both traditional and new media. Founded in 2004 by industry veterans with decades of experience, the company has quickly become the leading online episodic gaming publisher and developer, delivering award-winning interactive experiences that emphasize engaging stories, strong characters, and rich worlds. Telltale is establishing a regular, ongoing schedule of online episodic series, across all major gaming and entertainment platforms and channels. Telltale’s games include the Sam & Max game series, episodes adapted from Jeff Smith’s epic Bone graphic novels, and games based on television’s popular CSI program in partnership with Ubisoft. Telltale has built a robust digital distribution channel at www.telltalegames.com, and also publishes its games with select partners.
About JoWooD Productions Software AG
JoWooD Productions Software AG (ATXPrime: JWD) is listed in the Prime Market segment of the Vienna stock exchange. JoWooD is a leading publisher of computer and videogames, releasing international acclaimed, high-quality titles for all existing and future gaming systems. JoWooD games are distributed worldwide by an efficient net of distribution partners. Visit http://corporate.jowood.com for more information.
About DreamCatcher Inc.
DreamCatcher Inc. is a leading publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment software. Established in 1996, the company markets its products under two popular labels: DreamCatcher Games, featuring the critically-acclaimed, bestselling game Painkiller; and The Adventure Company, the number one brand for PC adventure games worldwide, including award winning titles such as Syberia and Agatha Christie. DreamCatcher is located in Toronto, Canada. For more information visit www.dreamcatchergames.com.
April 4th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
oh awesome!!
i was actually thinking that the people who made SCUMMVM should try to get SCUMMVM onto Wiiware!
April 4th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
If the price is right I’ll be al ver it. but I’m not going to pay 0 when I can get it for $35 on my computer.
April 4th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
*$50
April 4th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Couldn’t they have gone by Wii Ware instead of retail?
April 4th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
its six episodes, and assuming each episode has its own graphics, voice acting, multiple levels, no, it couldnt go to wiiware without being literally an episode at a time.
which may not be bad, and may happen int he future, with compilations to retail happening every so many episodes, but for now, these eps are already out on pc and they are probably trying to synchronise publishers for the next round, assuming wiiware is any kind of goal.
April 4th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Wii are the champions. Wii play what we want, when we want. Wii would like to also play Viewtiful Joe 3.
April 4th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Um… Season one… doesn’t have sam and max hit the road.
It’s the new computer released games.
Lucas Arts holds the rights to hit the road, so any chance of us seeing it on the wii is none to none.
April 4th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
I’ve never played these new Sam & Max games. I bought “Hit the Road” for DOS when it came out and later the Mac version.
Anyways, how good are these new ones? Is Steve Purcell working on them? Do you use your mouse to walk around and explore like a traditional point-and-click-adventure? DOES IT HAVE THE HUMOR THAT MADE THE ORIGINAL COMPUTER GAME SO GREAT?
I own every Lucas Arts Graphic Adventure made and have beaten all of them except Grim Fandango — which I will someday. When I compare the old point-and-clicks to the later ones, the quality and humor really take a nose dive. As an example, Monkey Island 4 with its horrid controls and 3D direction — and MONKEY FOO, really brought down my opinion of Lucas Arts. Then they entered the Star Wars EXTREME saturation phase and I’ve not really like anything they’ve produced since. This is sad, they were my favorite publisher when I was younger and all of their games were of a high quality. That got thrown out the door in the later nineties.
I’ll buy this, because I have so many fond memories of graphic adventures, but like most of these newer GAs I’ve bought for my DS, I’m expecting a certain level of let down, or a game that’s masquerading as a GA, but really not one.
April 4th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
I;m really hoping they bring the Bone series to Wii.
April 5th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Those were awesome games, and the humor in them is top notch!
They are a tad short in hindsight; still, with six episodes…
These will be a great adquisition, I guarantee.
April 5th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
In their Gamespot demo the Telltale rep also mentioned they will be announcing a WiiWare launch game this week. I can’t wait to hear what it is.