Gaming News Round-Up: February 22nd, 2005

Today's round-up includes news of a Bone from the ex-Sam & Max alumni, a milestone for U.S. game retailer Electronic Boutique, and a surprising MMO sequel for Elixir's infinitely polygonal Republic. - Telltale Inc., the new development studio founded by the team working on LucasArts' recently canceled Sam & Max game, has announced a PC adventure game based on Bone, the fantasy epic graphic novel by Jeff Smith. The game covers the material in the first volume of the story, which was recently re-released in color format by Scholastic Books. Few details about the game have been revealed so far, but the developer's comment that "Telltale, Scholastic and Cartoon Books expect to work closely together over the coming months to make 2005 Bone's most successful year" might indicate that the game will be released before the year's end. - Electronics Boutique has opened its 2000th retail location, a store in Trieste, Italy. The store is the 57th store in Italy and its 527th location outside the United States. Jeffrey Griffiths, president and CEO of Electronics Boutique Corp., said that: "It is fitting that our 2000th location is situated in Europe, reflecting our continued commitment to expanding our international presence and building upon our strong brand equity. The fact that we have been able to grow from a single kiosk in 1977 to 2,000 stores today confirms the strength of our business model." - UK-based Elixir Studios has announced that the sequel to its much-hyped, oft-delayed PC strategy title Republic: The Revolution, and it's taking an unexpected route. The follow-up, which carries the working title of Republic Dawn: The Chronicles of the Seven, will be a massively multiplayer online game co-developed with Time Of Defiance creators Nicely Crafted Entertainment. Republic Dawn aims to use the player community as a true republic who'll shape the future of the game world's new society, and is planned for launch in 2007.