Ubisoft Grabs Turtles Movie License

4Kids Entertainment, Inc. and The Mirage Group has announced an exclusive worldwide license agreement with Ubisoft to develop and publish Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video games, based on the new Warner Bros CG feature-length film. Recent Turtles-related console titles based on the comic and cartoon series, also licensed by 4Kids, had been produced by Konami, which originally created the classic 1989 arcade side-scrolling version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. However, the Konami titles seem to have met with both limited critical acclaim and sales numbers, and Ubisoft have now usurped the movie license deal. Under the Ubisoft agreement, it is expected that the video games will be available for gaming consoles in conjunction with the movie's planned release in early 2007. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie will be the first all CG animated movie in the history of the franchise. According to the firms: "The PG-rated movie will derive its tone from the original comic-book series and will be grittier than the previous live action pictures." Christian Salomon, director of licensing at Ubisoft, commented of the deal: "Ubisoft is thrilled to be bringing the Turtles back in an exciting new adventure that will attract both the first generation of enthusiasts all the way through to the current and future generations of fans."