Legacy announces Ghost Whisperer: Shadowlands

Casual games developer and publisher Legacy Interactive today announced a licensing agreement with CBS Consumer Products that will expand their roster of TV-licensed games. Part of the deal will see Legacy will develop a video game based on the popular CBS drama series Ghost Whisperer.

Available in early 2010, Ghost Whisperer: Shadowlands will debut on the PC and feature characters and themes from the television series. Players will take on the role of Melinda Gordon, a young woman living in Grandview, who has inherited a “sixth sense,” or the ability to see and communicate with ghosts.

Naturally, these earthbound spirits have unfinished business in our world preventing them from “crossing over” into the light. While trying to live as normal a life as possible with her paramedic husband, Jim, and as an owner of the antiques shop, Same As it Never Was, Melinda helps ghosts find resolution and pass over to the other side.

The game’s stories are penned by Emmy award-winning television writer Lance Gentile, with gameplay consisting of light adventure and hidden object-style game play where players need to help the recently departed move on to the afterlife and provide closure to loved ones left behind.

Learn more about this and other Legacy games by visiting www.legacygames.com.

MTV Games adds industry heavyweights

MTV Games today announced two key executive appointments: Scott Guthrie, formerly Executive Vice President of Publishing for THQ, joins MTV Games as its new Executive Vice President and General Manager and David Cox joins the company as Senior Vice President of Sales. David Cox, joins the company from Sony Computer Entertainment America, where he served as Senior Director, Sales and Merchandising.

Guthrie worked at THQ as its Global Brand Management. Prior to joining THQ, Guthrie held multiple roles at The Walt Disney Company’s Buena Vista Home Entertainment group in the United States and Canada, most recently as the Senior Vice President of Sales and Distribution. He also held sales and marketing positions at PepsiCo and Colgate-Palmolive.

Cox brings more than 20 years of sales experience and relationships to the role. As Senior Director, Sales & Merchandising at Sony Computer Entertainment America, he was responsible for U.S. sales of console hardware, first-party software and peripherals. Cox has also held management positions at Midway Home Entertainment, Eidos Interactive and Acclaim Entertainment.

John Kavanagh Joins Paramount Digital Entertainment

Viacom’s Paramount Digital Entertainment has appointed John Kavanagh as Senior Vice President, Videogames. He’ll report directly to PDE’s President Thomas Lesinski. In this new position, Kavanagh will oversee all aspects of Paramount Digital Entertainment’s videogame group which includes the development and licensing of videogames based on the studio’s various properties.

Prior to taking this new post, Kavanagh worked at Kuju America where he established the US division of the European independent videogame developer and publisher. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Product Development and Publisher of Eidos Interactive. Kavanagh’s credits include
Hitman, Deus Ex, Timesplitters, Formula One, Gangsters and Thief. Kavanagh also ran the US studios Crystal Dynamics and Ion Storm. Kavanagh also founded Bright Things PLC, a UK-based toy and electronics manufacturer. Other career highlights included a programming gig at Atari.

Paramount Digital Entertainment is a division of Paramount Pictures Corporation, a wholly owned division of Viacom, which owns CBS Interactive (Gamespot), MTV (and by default the MTV Multiplayer blog), Nickelodeon, and scores of other television and video game divisions like MTV Games (who own Harmonix - the makers of Rock Band).

Take-Two and Viacom Enter Three-Year Deal

Ever hear of the Spielwarenmesse International Toy Fair in Germany? It’s not exactly foremost on many gamers’ minds, but today it was the source of the latest bit of news involving game publisher Take-Two. Earlier today, Arwed-Ralf Grenzbach, VP of videogames, music and special products for Nickelodeon and Viacom’s Consumer Products division, announced that Viacom has expanded its licensing deal with Take-Two Interactive to a new three-year deal, which will see many Nickelodeon themed preschool games hitting store shelves under the 2K Play label. The new deal covers four Nickelodeon properties: Dora the Explorer; Go, Diego, Go!; Wonder Pets and The Backyardigans.

The expansion of our partnership with 2K Play reflects NVCP’s strategic commitment to growing our casual gaming business and leveraging this exciting platform to deliver an even more dynamic and interactive experience to our worldwide audience, Grenzbach said of the partnership. 2K Play’s global expertise and innovative leadership is a perfect complement to our beloved characters and their broad consumer appeal.