Ubisoft Declares Surf’s Up
The company gets its licensed game on, all for Sony Pictures' summer-bound CG-animated surfing flick.
Published: March 19, 2007
As much as we've come to scorn movie-inspired licensed videogames these days, we're starting to come to the conclusion that there is, indeed, hope. Not only are more recent efforts starting to show some promising development effort (some more than others), but heck if we haven't been hearing of these upcoming major motion pictures through a licensed game announcement before anything else!
Don't believe us? Well we don't suppose you were aware of Sony Pictures Animation's feature-length, star-studded CG-animated comedy about surfing penguins (what's with penguins in movies these days?) that's hitting theatres on June 8, did you? Neither did we! We can thank Ubisoft for blowing the lid on Surf's Up, announcing today its plans to release a movie-based game on literally every major handheld and console this May.
"Ubisoft has the creative and technological abilities to develop a cutting-edge arcade surfing game based on Sony Pictures Animation's new film, Surf's Up," smirks Mark Caplan, Vice President, Interactive at Sony Pictures Consumer Products. "Sony's partnership with Ubisoft has helped to expand our properties by creating fun interactive experiences beyond the movies while maintaining the creativity and artistic beauty of the films."
And what's a good partnership without having the entire cast on board (oo, punny!) for the game? Nothing, we tell you! Carressing your earlobes with their smooth, smooth Hollywood talk will be Shia LaBeouf (Cody Maverick), Jeff Bridges (Big Z), Zooey Deschanel (Lani Aliikai), Mario Cantone (Mikey Abromowitz), Diedrich Bader (Tank) and Sal Masekela (announcer for the "SPEN" sports nework), with additional film clips showcasing Chicken Joe (Jon Heder) and surfing icons Kelly Slater and Rob Machado in the flesh.
"Ubisoft is excited to be developing an innovative, first-class surfing game based on all the cool characters from the Surf's Up movie. With its compelling storyline, sports dynamic and humor, the movie lends itself extremely well as a video game experience," suggests Tony Key, vice president of marketing for Ubisoft. "Keeping with its goal to secure strong partnerships and to be one of the leading developers of movie-based games, Ubisoft has worked closely with Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Consumer Products to develop a video game that captures the adventure and excitement from the movie."
And hey, what's not to like about an arcade surfing/extreme sports game the follows main man Cody Maverick, an up-and-coming surfer determined to make it big, as he hits the waves in his first big pro competition, the annual Reggie Belafonte Big Z Memorial Surf Off. Ten playable characters round out the cast, to each their own tricks 'n' moves, as they test the waters in several locales from the movie: from the calm coast of Shiverpool, Antarctica to the high waves of Pen Gu Island, home of the Surf Off. The game promises a challenging, championship-vying single-player mode, competitive multiplayer, true-to-life water simulation and physics and a gnarly soundtrack featuring 10 licensed tracks.
Developed by the team at Ubisoft Montreal, Surf's Up makes its multi-console debut on May 22. Be sure to keep tabs on the game's official site for when more develops, or check out the movie trailer at www.surfsup.com (to the tune of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Get On Top"!)
Don't believe us? Well we don't suppose you were aware of Sony Pictures Animation's feature-length, star-studded CG-animated comedy about surfing penguins (what's with penguins in movies these days?) that's hitting theatres on June 8, did you? Neither did we! We can thank Ubisoft for blowing the lid on Surf's Up, announcing today its plans to release a movie-based game on literally every major handheld and console this May.
"Ubisoft has the creative and technological abilities to develop a cutting-edge arcade surfing game based on Sony Pictures Animation's new film, Surf's Up," smirks Mark Caplan, Vice President, Interactive at Sony Pictures Consumer Products. "Sony's partnership with Ubisoft has helped to expand our properties by creating fun interactive experiences beyond the movies while maintaining the creativity and artistic beauty of the films."
And what's a good partnership without having the entire cast on board (oo, punny!) for the game? Nothing, we tell you! Carressing your earlobes with their smooth, smooth Hollywood talk will be Shia LaBeouf (Cody Maverick), Jeff Bridges (Big Z), Zooey Deschanel (Lani Aliikai), Mario Cantone (Mikey Abromowitz), Diedrich Bader (Tank) and Sal Masekela (announcer for the "SPEN" sports nework), with additional film clips showcasing Chicken Joe (Jon Heder) and surfing icons Kelly Slater and Rob Machado in the flesh.
"Ubisoft is excited to be developing an innovative, first-class surfing game based on all the cool characters from the Surf's Up movie. With its compelling storyline, sports dynamic and humor, the movie lends itself extremely well as a video game experience," suggests Tony Key, vice president of marketing for Ubisoft. "Keeping with its goal to secure strong partnerships and to be one of the leading developers of movie-based games, Ubisoft has worked closely with Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Consumer Products to develop a video game that captures the adventure and excitement from the movie."
And hey, what's not to like about an arcade surfing/extreme sports game the follows main man Cody Maverick, an up-and-coming surfer determined to make it big, as he hits the waves in his first big pro competition, the annual Reggie Belafonte Big Z Memorial Surf Off. Ten playable characters round out the cast, to each their own tricks 'n' moves, as they test the waters in several locales from the movie: from the calm coast of Shiverpool, Antarctica to the high waves of Pen Gu Island, home of the Surf Off. The game promises a challenging, championship-vying single-player mode, competitive multiplayer, true-to-life water simulation and physics and a gnarly soundtrack featuring 10 licensed tracks.
Developed by the team at Ubisoft Montreal, Surf's Up makes its multi-console debut on May 22. Be sure to keep tabs on the game's official site for when more develops, or check out the movie trailer at www.surfsup.com (to the tune of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Get On Top"!)
