Telltale and NBCUniversal Partnering to Fight Crime with “Law & Order: LA” Games

Press Release Via Business Wire
April 18, 2011 05:13 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Telltale and NBCUniversal Partnering to Fight Crime with “Law & Order: LA” Games

New Games Coming in 2011 for PC, Mac, Console and Mobile

SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Telltale Games, the leading independent digital publisher and developer of episodic interactive entertainment, and Universal Partnerships & Licensing today announced an expansion of its relationship to include games based on the newest installment of NBCUniversal’s popular “Law & Order” franchise over multiple years. Telltale’s first episodic game series based on “Law & Order: LA” is expected to release in 2011 for PC, Mac, console, mobile and tablets. The partnership expansion also includes rights for integrated social media applications. “Law & Order: LA” is licensed through NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products.


“We have been extremely pleased with our alliance with Telltale Games, and are excited to add a new series to our relationship with games based on Law & Order: LA”
.
TV’s longest-running crime series and consistently top rated “Law & Order” franchise combines bracing ripped-from-the-headlines storytelling with the distinctive backdrop of different law enforcement units. As the newest addition to the brand, “Law & Order: LA” performed as one of the most successful new shows for 2010, increasing viewership from the prior year for the same timeslot by over 60%. “Law & Order: LA” airs on Mondays on NBC 10:00 to 11:00 p.m. (ET/PT).

“Law Order: Los Angeles” follows Detectives Ricardo Morales (Alfred Molina, "An Education," "The Da Vinci Code," "Spiderman 2") and Tomas “TJ” Jaruszalski (Corey Stoll, "Midnight in Paris") as they pursue cases through the diverse City of Angels. As members of the Los Angeles Police Department’s elite Robbery Homicide Division, Morales, a former Deputy District Attorney, has returned to the police force after he became frustrated with the system, while TJ, who grew up the son of an Oscar-winning Polish cinematographer, knows too well the dark underside that is behind-the-scenes Hollywood. Protecting the detectives who serve under her is Lieutenant Arleen Gonzales (Rachel Ticotin, "Man on Fire"), who is driven, focused, and meticulous. Deputy District Attorney Jonah “Joe” Dekker (Terrence Howard, "Crash," "Hustle & Flow") is a white knight crusader whose political ambitions often bring him into conflict with his boss, working with Deputy District Attorney Connie Rubirosa (Alana de la Garza, "Law & Order") at his side.

With the “Law & Order: LA” games, Telltale will build from the experience and expertise cultivated through numerous seasons of police and crime procedural games over the years. The “Law & Order: LA” games will take the crime solving focus to interrogation and criminal investigations, with a heavy dose of courtroom drama on each case. Telltale will also continue to advance its unique approach to cinematic presentation and storytelling as well as dialog and character interactions.

“’Law & Order: LA” fits very well with the style of episodic entertainment experiences Telltale has been building since our very first days,” said Telltale co-founder and CEO Dan Connors. “The talents and skills that we’ve been building at Telltale are ideally suited for the structure and storytelling approach of televised procedurals like ‘Law & Order.’”

“We have been extremely pleased with our alliance with Telltale Games, and are excited to add a new series to our relationship with games based on Law & Order: LA,” said Bill Kispert, VP & GM, Digital Platforms, Universal Partnerships & Licensing. “Telltale’s attention to the details and nuances of the source material in the games they develop, combined with the drama of their episodic storytelling, is a combination that game-playing fans of the ‘Law & Order’ franchise will love.”

Telltale has opened up registration to sign up for timely information and updates at www.lawandorderlagames.com.

Telltale will release more information on the “Law & Order: LA” games in the coming months.

About “Law & Order: LA”
The newest addition to the “Law & Order” brand, “Law & Order: Los Angeles” fuses the classic ripped- from-the-headlines storytelling with the distinctive backdrop of LA - delving into the unique attitudes, cultures and crimes of the West Coast. The drama stars Alfred Molina, Terrence Howard, Corey Stoll, Rachel Ticotin and Alana de la Garza.

“Law & Order: LA” is a Wolf Films production in association with Universal Media Studios. Wolf is creator and executive producer. Also serving as executive producers are Rene Balcer, Blake Masters, Christopher Misiano and Peter Jankowski.

For “Law & Order: LA” embeddable clips and full episodes, visit NBC.com's official show site: www.nbc.com/law-and-order-los-angeles .



About Universal Partnerships & Licensing
UP&L oversees Universal’s consumer product licensing, film and home entertainment promotions, and all corporate alliances for Universal’s theatrical, home entertainment, theme parks and stage productions. This dedicated division is also responsible for monetizing the Studio’s vast library of films and characters through licensing, branding and marketing opportunities. UP&L is part of NBCUniversal. NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. Comcast Corporation owns a controlling 51% interest in NBCUniversal, with GE holding a 49% stake.

About NBCUniversal Television DVD, Music, And Consumer Products Group

NBCUniversal is a leader in providing entertainment programming to the domestic and international marketplaces. NBCUniversal Television DVD, Music, and Consumer Products Group manages all global ancillary television business endeavors for the NBCUniversal Television Group, including third-party home entertainment distribution, consumer products, musical soundtracks, special markets projects and the NBCUniversal Online Store.

About Telltale, Inc.
Telltale is a leading independent digital publisher of interactive stories playable on every major gaming platform. Telltale is also the pioneer of episodic delivery of content developing games as series and successfully releasing on a schedule to create a longer consumer engagement for each release. Founded in 2004 by LucasArts veterans with decades of experience, Telltale has quickly become an industry leader, establishing the model for successful episodic game creation and digital publishing. Telltale has sold more than 3.5 million episodes since 2005. Telltale’s reputation for quality has been established across more than 25 published releases that have cumulatively earned an average Metacritic score above 80%. Telltale's titles have won numerous awards including, "Adventure Game of the Year" accolades from publications such as IGN, PC Gamer, GameSpy, and Adventure Gamers, and have been recognized by mainstream outlets ranging from USA Today, to The New York Times to Variety. Telltale currently develops and publishes episodic series on PlayStation(R) 3, PC, Mac, Wii (TM), Xbox 360 (TM) and iPad.


Contacts
Telltale Games PR
415-258-1638 ext. 501
pr@telltalegames.com

or
HighWater Group
Alex Brewer, 646-380-1023
Alex@highwatergroup.com

or
NBCUniversal Television Publicity
Leslie Schwartz, 818-777-3233
Leslie.Schwartz@nbcuni.com
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