LEGO Games Bolster Warner Bros., DS Title Announced

LEGO Indiana Jones and LEGO Batman helped drive growth for global entertainment company Warner Bros., which reported its full-year results today. That increase partially offset the decrease in the company's other revenues -- WB released fewer films in 2008 than it did in 2007 alongside a softening DVD market. TV license fees were also lower thanks to the Writer's Guild of America strike, so overall, the company's revenues fell 2 percent ($284 million) to $11.4 billion. As it gains so much support from the LEGO games component of its business, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment can be expected to continue to develop the franchise -- and alongside its financial results, the company announced a new title. LEGO Battles will be developed by Traveller's Tales, WBIE's partner in all things LEGO, for Nintendo DS. Developed by Hellbent Games (Supreme Commander) and due this summer, LEGO Battles combines the LEGO Castle, LEGO Pirates and LEGO Space themes to offer "build and battle" LEGO gameplay. Players are taken through six different storylines, building LEGO bases and battle teams (made up of pirate swordsmen, wizards, ninjas, knights, etc.) in over 70 levels. Released in June 2008 for multiple home and handheld platforms, all versions of LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures received a warm reception from critics and consumers in both the U.S. and UK. The title, developed by Traveller's Tales and published by LucasArts, allowed players to live out scenes from the Indiana Jones films with LEGO characters and environments. Traveller's Tales also developed the Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment-published LEGO Batman: The Video Game, which debuted in September 2008 for all current consoles. Releasing not long after The Dark Knight film opened in theatres, LEGO Batman also saw healthy sales in the U.S. and UK, particularly with the PlayStation 2 version.