Mattel Interactive has signed a licensing agreement with Harmony Gold to create games based on the popular anime series, ROBOTECH. Mattel Interactive plans to have ROBOTECH games ready for next-generation console systems and PCs beginning in fourth quarter 2001. Specific details regarding platforms and developers have yet to be announced. The ROBOTECH series helped ignite the anime phenomenon in America, with an 85-episode animated series that aired in early 1985. The series was re-aired in 1994 on Sci-Fi Channel and once again on Cartoon Network in 1999. Currently, ROBOTECH is licensed for broadcast in over 60 countries. "Acquiring this license is an incredible opportunity for us," says Mattel Interactive president Bernard Stolar. "This is a franchise that both gamers and anime fans have been anxiously awaiting for some time, and we fully intend to deliver content that's going to make their wait worthwhile, both on console and PC." Alan Letz, senior vice president of sales and acquisitions for Harmony Gold, said "ROBOTECH's grand, epic scale provides fertile ground for developing incredible console and PC games, and we're looking forward to working with Mattel Interactive to add a new level of drama, fantasy and excitement to both the gaming and anime audience with our franchise."
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
