We can't wait until Strong Bad crashes into WiiWare and PCs via Telltale Games' Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People. But there's hope for PS3 and Xbox 360 owners to get some burninating love: Telltale Games just announced that its open to the idea of publishing the game for Sony and Microsoft's respective consoles. More in the full article.

The last time we heard from Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, we were promised that we'll actually be able to play through the entire space opera in cute Lego form - from Anakin's beginnings as a Padawan to the destruction of the Empire (and Ewok-related festivities). We've seen the screenshots, we've busted our sides laughing at the trailer, and now, from E3, is a gameplay video of the multiplatform title Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga that shows clips from all the chapters in Star Wars.

One thing's for sure - despite the cuteness of Lego, the scale of the game is amazing. The lightsaber action is fast and furious, the animations smooth and crisp - and the environments convincing and spectacular. There's some very fun-looking ship-piloting action on the side, too. Greatest point of the video: playing as Darth Vader and force-choking that accursed Jar Jar Binks into submission. OH YEAH!

Enough spoilers from us, enjoy the video!

Sunny Sony San Diego has recently revealed that the studios' developers have recently shifted focus from traditional boxed titles to PlayStation Network games. SCEA producer Jim Molinets, director of product development at the studio, said, "Internally, we have shifted our focus from doing large-scope PS2 and PS3 titles to doing PSN titles exclusively."

 

The San Diego developer studio now has three smaller groups, composed of ten-man teams that pour their collaborative efforts on downloadable games for PSN. "We really utilize the strengths of all the different people within the studio. Each individual product has a technical lead, a design lead, and an art lead," Molinets added.

Unlike Microsoft's approach to third-party offerings over Xbox Live Arcade, Sony's approach leans toward the first-party side. As compared to Carbonated Games Studios' Uno, Sony offers Blast Factor and David Jaffe's Calling All Cars, which are accompanied by Sony Online Entertainment's own High Stakes on Vegas Strip: Poker Edition.

Moving forward with Sony's plans for online distributed games, Molinets even hinted that independent developers and third parties may also be able to offer their own titles. Telltale Games for one, creators of Sam & Max Season 1, was referenced during his talk with Gamasutra.

"That's definitely an opportunity on PSN. Sam & Max is a great example of that. You've got great characters that can go through a bunch of crazy scenarios," Molinets said. This could definitely pique the interest of Dave Grossman and Dan Connors of Telltale, especially with the open opportunity to deliver Sam & Max to the PlayStation 3.  Is Sony going forward to revolve the PlayStation Network around games? With developments like these, you could almost be certain that they are.

 

Telltale Games, developers who revived the scruffy duo Sam and Max, have recently announced that they have received US$ 6 million in Series B finances, which include contributions from Granite Ventures and IDG Ventures SF. Telltale plans to make use of the funds for refining new business models for their games and efficient avenues for digital distribution. And included in their list of improvements is their investment in multi-platform development.

"Digital distribution is changing entertainment, and Telltale is helping define the new landscape," said Telltale CEO Dan Connors. Having independently distributed the conclusion of Sam & Max: Season 1 online, Telltale is also looking forward to give other licenses the "episodic treatment."

Granite Ventures and IDG Ventures are investment firms that have been looking for pioneering development teams and business models in the industry. "Telltale has it all—a great group of people who are changing an industry while doing what they love. We look forward to helping them build the next major player in the gaming industry," concluded Granite Ventures managing director Chris Hollenbeck.

As of press time, there have been no details divulged on the Season 2 episodes of Sam & Max.

You've seen the trailer, and now here's some sweet screenshots coming for you that's distinctlyLego Star Wars: The Complete Saga flavored. Yes, it's the game no one thought would actually work. So far, it's shaping up to be a complete laugh riot, perfect for gamers looking for a breath of fresh air from all the drama and trauma.

Not much on the quantity department, but quality's the name of the game and things are looking pretty nice. The Lego characters look cute and chunky - have you ever seen Jabba look THAT adorable? The lightsaber effects are great, and while the stages look flat, it does its job of giving players the feeling that they're actually playing in the movie's environments - barring the fact that the characters and vehicles ARE indeed made up of Lego blocks.

In any case, updates about this highly-anticipated multiplatform game as we get them. In the meantime, why not enjoy the screenshots?

The rest of the screens await after the jump!

Lucas Arts gives us a breath of fresh air - as well as some much-needed hilarity in an industry saturated with mature, story-driven titles - with the latest trailer of Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, slated for a Fall release. Offering players the chance to rebuild the adventure of the timeless space opera, the latest entry in the surprisingly-popular series encompasses all six chapters of Star Wars, from the Phantom Menace to the Return of the Jedi. It's also to note that no one will be left out in the experience, with the game being published on all next-gen consoles, along with the Nintendo DS.

Check out the video, as it's just too funny to pass up on. Oh, and watch for the game's rendition of the infamous 'Who's your Daddy' scene - comedy gold!

LucasArts and Telltale Games announced today that they are collaborating once more to come up with a new installment to the LEGO Star Wars video game franchise. The new game will be called LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga and will be released Fall 2007 on platforms PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, and DS.

Well, the game is not new in the traditional sense. The movie series' Episode 1 to 6 used to be divided into LEGO Star Wars I and II. LucasArts mentioned that this is not a simple re-compilation as it also includes new characters and features as well as revamped levels. TT Games Director Tom Stone commented,

LucasArts was an amazing partner on LEGO Star Wars II, and working with them on The Complete Saga continues to be a great experience. We're also thrilled to be focusing on next-generation consoles and creating content that plays to the strength of each system.

Speaking of which, the 360 and PS3 versions will both have online capabilities that will allow cooperative two-player, drop-in and drop-out gameplay. The DS and Wii versions, on the other hand, will be focused on the platforms' unique control schemes. All versions will feature 36 Story Mode levels.

Lastly, Telltale mentioned that the Prequel Trilogy characters can now be mixed and matched with those from the Original Trilogy. That means we will finally be seeing the ultimate chick from the mother-daughter tandem of Princess Leia and Amidala, albeit in Lego form.

In league with Blast! Entertainment's Sean Brennan's views on steep development costs, even TellTale Games, makers of the hilarious Sam & Max episodes, agrees that game development just got too big for itself. Sean Brennan, CEO of Blast!, spoke at the Northern Exposure 07 conference and said the high costs were just due to "ego tripping and copycat mentality."

 

Kevin Bruner, executive of TellTale Games, also shares this view with Brennan. "We believe that games are too expensive right now. A lot of not only episodic games but games in general are not priced appropriately. We also think that games are too big," Bruner said.

In his speech entitled "Why Episodic Gaming is Good for Developers," Bruner explained at the Nordic Game Conference the advantages of diving into the episodic business model, much like what Valve Software adapted for the Half-Life franchise. For developing a single title each month, TellTale requires a smaller budget, short term goals, smaller overhead, and gains the ability to interact with customers regularly.

"I think the industry is creating one type of content, which is the thousand-page novel. If you went into a bookstore and every book was a thousand-page novel - not everybody wants that," he explained. He also added that if a game company takes two years to create a game and "screws up," there's no way to correct the mistakes - developers just move on.

To him, it is becoming apparent that the game industry is steering toward one type of game: "the 50-hour first person shooter type thing." Games have become too restrictive and too costly, giving a narrow selection of games for customers to choose.

Bruner believes the Nintendo Wii and casual gaming is cluing the game industry that gamers are looking for something different. TellTale Games focuses on telling stories than marketing action, and he thinks if customers were offered games of similar caliber, they would respond more favorably to such games.

Straight from the guys who brought you Season 1 of Sam & Max's adventures, senior designer Dave Grossman and CEO Dan Connors revealed in an interview with 4 Color Rebellion that the Season 1 finale episode will most definitely end the entire season. The final word is "no cliffhanger." Period.

 

So no worries about the first season should crop up over to the next, because for sure TellTale Games are probably at work on the next season's first episodes.  But Connors left us speculators a little note, full of hugs and kisses, saying, "We have a few things in the works, but nothing we’re ready to talk about just yet. Sometimes it’s fun to go online and see what the internet says we’re working on." Note to self: do not speculate TellTale games in the works...

It's sure now, however, that TellTale Games is targeting the consoles for their games, as their episodic, online digital distribution scheme seems to fit right into the Xbox Live and Virtual Console mechanics. Yep, you heard it right: not only could the games come on the Xbox 360, but also on the Wii. Could it be safe to say that the PlayStation 3 could get a port, too? Yes, but not just yet.

Connors revealed that they are still at work for getting their games onto the console platforms, explicitly stating, "Each of the consoles brings something a little different to the table. Since our tools are for the PC, the first step is porting our tools over to the consoles, which is something we’re working on."

And boy, you can't even begin to imagine the ideas they have in the works. For the Wii especially, TellTale Games are trying to bring out the best control scheme they can from the Wiimote. Banking on the Wiimote's versatility as a controller, Connors had this to say:

I had this great idea where you strap the controllers to your legs and walk around. Which we’re not doing, unfortunately, but we are doing more than just using the pointer like a mouse. That would be a waste of an opportunity. Designing for the Wii is pretty interesting, by the way – it forces you to think in a different way than you’re used to.

A DS version may not come out anytime soon, since TellTale Games isn't at work on a tool for porting their PC title to the DS. But they are eyeing Deck13's own DS port of their PC title Ankh, and they're interested how it all turns out. Sam & Max on the DS? That's a keeper.

Just a little reminder to all you PAX-goers out there who happened to "have a life" and forgot all about the registration: early-birds must sign up for a three-day pass on or before Saturday, March 31, 2007 before they hike the registration fee back to US$ 45, while those who register at the event itself will have to pay US$ 30 per ticket per day. So it's better to have saved some bucks to ensure you've got a great deal for a wicked time at the 2007 Penny Arcade Expo.

The three day affair will begin at August 24, and should be situated down at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center in Seattle, Washington. That's over 200,000 square feet of leg room! Just about enough space for gaming related tournaments, concerts, contests, booth demonstrations of coming games and a swimming pool. To qualify for the Omegathon tourneys, you've got to be a pre-registrant.

Straight from a press release, Penny Arcade claims that tickets are selling twice as fast than last year (which had over 20,000 gamers attend), so you'd better use four hands for typing and two for mousing around at the Penny Arcade Expo site. And nerds can bob their heads to the music from The OneUps, MC Frontalot, Jonathan Coulton, Freezepop, The Neskimos and Optimus Rhyme.

Remember, every type of gamer is invited, even if you just rap on tables and play musical beat games. So even if you can't relate to the more than 50 companies slated to appear on the floor at PAX 2007, you're still welcome, unless you've come to balk at Penny Arcade like one soul we-could-probably-name-but-we-aren't-going-to.

Expect Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts/Mythic, Sabertooth Games, Telltale Games, the Behemoth, Namco-Bandai, Upper Deck, Wizkids, ArenaNet, Harmonix, and Rockstar Games to show up. And if you miss out on the March 31 deadline, make sure you do pre-register from April 1 to August 1, or else Tyco and Gabe will draw silly caricatures of you and make weird faces...and deny you access to the three-day long Omegathon tournament!