SEGA of America, Inc. will partner with Sony Pictures Consumer Products to bring Tezuka Productions' legendary Japanese comic ASTRO BOY to life on PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance. ASTRO BOY, created by Osamu Tezuka in 1951, is one of the most recognized characters in Japanese animation and premiered in the U.S. recently as a brand-new animated series on Kids' WB!
The console version of ASTRO BOY, created exclusively for the PlayStation 2, is in development at Sonic Team under the direction of Yuji Naka, the creator of SEGA's world-famous SONIC THE HEDGEHOG series. The Game Boy Advance release, entitled, ASTRO BOY: OMEGA FACTOR, is in development at SEGA's Hitmaker studios (in cooperation with legendary Japanese developer Treasure). The games are slated for release in summer 2004.
"We plan to take full advantage of the powerful marketing rollout behind this license, led by the ASTRO BOY animated series," said Scott A. Steinberg, vp of entertainment marketing, SEGA of America. "Bringing the ASTRO BOY franchise to the PS2 and GBA, in partnership with Sony Pictures Consumer Products and Tezuka Prods., underscores our ongoing commitment to publish exciting, revenue generating licensed content for the U.S. market."
"We're very excited to be partnering with Sega for ASTRO BOY," said Al Ovadia, evp, Sony Pictures Consumer Products. "Sega is a leader in the interactive entertainment category. We're sure they'll develop a videogame that captures all the action packed adventure of the new anime series."
Tezuka, known as the pioneer of Japanese animation and "father of manga," created the Astro Boy character more than 50 years ago. ASTRO BOY was also the first Japanese animated television show shown in America and was highest rated show in syndication during the 1960s. ASTRO BOY airs in more than 40 countries and has sold more than 80 million comic books and $3 billion in merchandise.
ASTRO BOY tells the story of youthful, atomic-powered robot, Astro, who becomes a reluctant superhero fighting for justice and peace for humans and robots alike. ASTRO BOY is produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan and Tezuka Prods., and distributed in the U.S. by Sony Pictures Television.
SEGA of America (www.SEGA.com) is the American arm based in San Francisco of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA Corp., a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms, including PC, wireless devices and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Ent. Inc.
Sony Pictures Consumer Products (SPCP), a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), is based in Los Angeles and London. SPCP handles the merchandising and branding efforts for some of the most recognized properties in film and television and, through Spider-Man Merchandising, L.P., a limited partnership with Marvel Enterprises, the upcoming motion picture SPIDER-MAN 2 and the SPIDER-MAN animated series. SPE (www.sonypictures.com.) is a division of Sony Corp. of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corp.
