Namco Ltd. will use the Spawn character in the development of a brand new video game created for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the Nintendo GameCube™ and Xbox® video game system from Microsoft, and is scheduled to be released in the US market in 2003. Spawn (tentative title) is a mission-based action/adventure set against the backdrop of a darker, near-future New York City environment. Its intuitive controls allow the player to utilize a range of acrobatic jumps, double jumps, glides and climbs throughout the vast city. A combo-based hand-to-hand combat engine will allow the player to deliver many different attacks and devastating moves to punish his enemies. The player will also have access to all of Spawn’s distinctive abilities – his superhuman strength, his arsenal of weaponry, his Hell Powers and, of course, his living symbiotic costume. Spawn will premier at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo to be held in Los Angles this May.

TMP will create a new line of action figures based on the SOULCALIBUR II characters. McFarlane Toys will release it in the summer of 2003. McFarlane Toys is one of the world's largest toy manufacturers. Established in 1994 to manufacture and sell action figures based on founder Todd McFarlane's comic book character Spawn, the international award-winning company has expanded into licensed products to become one of the premiere action figure producers on the planet.

Through a previous arrangement, TMP had already designed an original character, Necrid, for each console version of SOULCALIBUR II and also allowed the use of Spawn to appear as the exclusive character in the Xbox version of the game.

“When developing SOULCALIBUR II, I was working not just on making the game interesting, I was concerned about the storyline and character design”, says Producer Hiroaki Yotoriyama. “How could I bring alive 16th century warriors who bet their life and all their possessions for a moment of glory? Doing that was difficult and the most exciting part of the job. In that process, the opportunity to collaborate with Todd McFarlane on Necrid was key in enhancing the level of the product. As a fellow creator, I feel great pride in the creation of a new character that was developed by the world’s greatest creator. In the Xbox version of SOULCALIBUR II, Todd McFarlane's Spawn will also appear. I’m confident that using cutting edge technologies from Namco such as CG modeling, motion, sound and character manipulation, along with focusing on the original images in the comic books, will bring Spawn to life as he should be. I am also really pleased with the 3D modeling for the SOULCALIBUR II action figures, which have brought this art to its highest form. Being a part of the extremely organic collaboration with Todd McFarlane, which has shown through in SOULCALIBUR II, has been a true honor. I don’t know if I can wait for the Spawn video game that's currently under development in the US. It should be something really special.”

“I've long been interested in the development of video games”, says Creator Todd McFarlane. “Games breathe life into a creator's flat 2D images and bring them alive. As someone who develops ideas, my goal is to create strong characters that are both interesting to look at, and can deliver new and exciting game play. When Namco, who obviously is tops in its field, approached us on developing new characters and integrating my character, Spawn, into its SOULCALIBUR II game, I knew it would be a great opportunity to work with a company on the cutting edge of gaming technology. Their game play and engine design is second to none. I'm very excited and proud of the work that Namco has accomplished on SOULCALIBUR II and I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this game. I am also pretty excited about the action figures my company has produced to accompany the game. We are experimenting with scale and other things, but I think game fans will be astonished at the detail and realism. I'm also looking forward to working with Namco on future projects and ideas, including the upcoming Spawn title.”

About Soul series

SOULCALIBUR II is the latest creation in the Soul series, which established the new genre of weapons-based fighting and has been critically acclaimed worldwide.

The Soul series started in 1996 with the release of Soul Edge followed by SOULCALIBUR in 1999, registering more than 3 million units sold around the globe. This latest in the series breaks a four-year silence, and Namco has captured attention with its three-platform simultaneous release. The visual beauty created by bringing together the finesse of Namco’s technology and the additional development of character movement succeeded in creating more than just a port. It also includes new guest characters unique for each platform, original characters, and a variety of new modes all created specifically for the home consoles.
Around the globe, the Soul series has garnered high marks from both industry insiders and outsiders for its character design and deep storyline. The Soul series has received many awards as well. In the image field, the opening movie from the foreign version of “Soul Edge” received a prize from the CG festival SIGGRAPH sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery in 1997. The following year, it received the Entertainment award in the CG division of the Multimedia Grand Prix, sponsored by the Foundation for Multimedia Communications. It also won the grand prize in the digital art non-interactive division of the Media Arts Festival from the Agency for Cultural Affairs.

About Spawn

Spawn is comic book first published by McFarlane and friends who spun off from the mainstream comic publishing industry in 1992.

Spawn is a dark hero, troubled with the dual aspects of good and evil found in all people. With an appeal to adults, Spawn broke the mold in American comics, selling 1.7 million in its first issue. Published on a monthly basis, Spawn has continuously gained new fans, and is now read by people in 80 countries around the world, translated into 30 languages. It has established the surprising record of a total of 24 million sales in the US.

Aspiring to bring this character to perfection as a toy, Todd McFarlane started up a toy manufacturer in 1994 and began selling Spawn figures. Featuring details not found on any other toy, Spawn toys became a huge hit, igniting a global boom in figures. A total of 2.8 million figures have been sold around the globe, with new products coming out one after the other.

Spawn also developed into a television animated series, broadcast on American cable networks, and was made into a Hollywood film in 1997. Announcements have been made for a theatrical movie at the end of 2004.