MUMBAI: MTV Networks Entertainment Group, a division of US media conglomerate Viacom, is launching 345 Games, a new video gaming arm of Comedy Central and Spike TV.
The announcement was made by the company’s senior VP, strategy and business development Dan Yang who is also 345 Games GM.
The new gaming unit will develop products based on the Entertainment Group‘s franchises and brands and be fully supported on-air, off-air and online. The first two titles to be released under this new label will be from Comedy Central‘s animated show ‘Ugly Americans’ and Spike TV‘s successful multi-platform series ‘Deadliest Warrior’, which has already spawned the video game ‘Deadliest Warrior: The Game’ and has sold nearly 400,000 downloads to date since its launch on both Xbox 360 and PlayStation.
Yang said, "Comedy Central and Spike TV squarely target the video game audience. Our ‘Deadliest Warrior‘ gaming franchise exploded out of the gate last season. With the launch of 345 Games, we are tapping into the passionate fan base of both Comedy Central and Spike and creating an enhanced interactive experience based on our hit shows and brands."
345 Games will work in close collaboration with the networks‘ creative talent and will be supported by the networks‘ marketing, digital and publicity departments. The gaming division also plans to partner with independent developers who are passionate about the product and the Comedy Central and Spike brands.
This summer, 345 Games will be releasing two new titles the mid-July launch of Spike TV‘s ‘Deadliest Warrior: Legends’ and the August launch of Comedy Central‘s ‘Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon’.
Building on the Spike TV show and warrior-based fighting video game franchise, ‘Deadliest Warrior: Legends’ will reach beyond weapons and armour and put gamers back on the battlefield with the most legendary warriors in history. This version will feature new heroic warriors, new fighting options, a more precise projectile system, more arenas and a new campaign mode.
Players are armed with signature weaponry and combat skills unique to each warrior. As players complete challenges and destroy rivals, they will unlock new weapons, enhance their fighting skills and encounter the brutal realities of gritty, true-to-life combat.
In conjunction with Comedy Central launching the second season of the animated series ‘Ugly Americans’, 345 Games will release "Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon." Uniting the spirit and humor of the animated horror-comedy series with addictive game play, the four player co-op side scroller shooter game will feature an exclusive script written by the show writers and creators including a new character unique to the game and custom voiceovers from the show‘s actors. Players will hit the streets to clean up the chaos and prevent the impending apocalypse by resolving case files and fighting otherworldly citizens.
