MTV moves further away from music, launches new videogame division.
345 Games. That is the name of MTV's newest non-music video related venture. Their intent is to develop gaming related products based Comedy Central and Spike TV franchises such as Ugly Americans and Deadliest Warrior.
Of course, as some of you probably know, Deadliest Warrior already has a game. "
Deadliest Warrior: The Game," launched last year has been downloaded nearly 400,000 times on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
The new games are to be known as
Deadliest Warrior: Legends, and
Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon. They're set for a mid-July launch and an August launch, respectively.
MTV NETWORKS ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LAUNCHES 345 GAMES
NEW VIDEO GAME DIVISION TO DEVELOP GAMING RELATED PRODUCTS BASED ON
COMEDY CENTRAL® AND SPIKE TV FRANCHISES
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Two Titles To Be Released Under New Gaming Arm
Spike TV’s “Deadliest Warrior: Legends”
And COMEDY CENTRAL’s “Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon”
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NEW YORK, April 7, 2011 – MTV Networks Entertainment Group (MTVNE), a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is launching 345 Games, a new video gaming arm of COMEDY CENTRAL and Spike TV, it was announced today by Dan Yang, senior vice president, strategy and business development, MTVNE and general manager, 345 Games. The new gaming unit will develop products based on the Entertainment Group’s franchises and brands and be fully supported on-air, off-air and online. The first two titles to be released under this new label will be from COMEDY CENTRAL’s hit animated show “Ugly Americans” and Spike TV’s successful multi-platform series “Deadliest Warrior,” which has already spawned the video game “Deadliest Warrior: The Game” and has sold nearly 400,000 downloads to date since its launch on both Xbox 360 and PlayStation.
“COMEDY CENTRAL and Spike TV squarely target the video game audience.. Our ‘Deadliest Warrior’ gaming franchise exploded out of the gate last season,” said Yang. With the launch of 345 Games, we are tapping into the passionate fan base of both COMEDY CENTRAL and Spike and creating an enhanced interactive experience based on our hit shows and brands.”
