UK maker of licensed merchandise, Underground Toys, has revealed their pair of “singing” Mr. Stay-Puft dolls, one angry and one happy. The singing is a sound chip in the figure’s tummy that plays the Ghostbusters theme when pressed.
Stores such as Entertainment Earth and Big Bad Toy Store are taking pre-orders on the dolls now, for $19.99 – $21.99. The dolls are listed as being available May 2011. Specialty shops will likely be offering them for pre-order soon – check with your local comic shop.
Beyond these figures, Underground Toys has not made any concrete announcements, but presumably if they Stay-Puft figure is a success, more, like a Slimer, will follow.
In December UT did reveal that they had extended their deal with Sony, giving them the rights to produce singing figures (check), mugs, keychains (UT makes both soundboard keychains and rubber figure keychains), stress balls (squishy stress relieving Slimer, anyone?), and cufflinks. Stay tuned!
Eurogamer sat down with Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime developers, Behavior Santiago, to talk a bit about the upcoming XBLA/PSN/PC digital download only game. While a decent length interview, it does have a couple of interesting things to say about the design of the game;
Eurogamer: In this game each of the four characters is a rookie that has been drafted in to help save New York. Some are disappointed they won’t play as the Ghostbusters from the movies. Is that important?
David Williams: The general story is that there is a demon that’s being resurrected in New York City and because of this process there are lots and lots of ghosts being drawn to New York from all over the world. This means that the original Ghostbusters team is pretty much overrun with work, so they’ve had to recruit these new rookies to help out.
The original team does take part in the game, but in the story sequences in-between the missions. They are there, but you don’t get to play the original characters.
Not only that, but you are now able to cross the streams to form stronger beams, and a familiar name returns to the Ghostbusters canon… and is the accidental bad-guy. Thanks for that little spoiler, Behavior Santiago (don’t read the last half of page three if you’d like to stay in the dark on this.)
Way back in 2007, Sony Pictures put together a series of important meetings with major US retailers, to get them all excited about upcoming Ghostbusters merch, including the video game, which at the time was two years away from completion and still with Vivendi Universal as its publisher.
As head of the dedicated team that helped revive Ghostbusters as a license for the new millennium, Keith L. had a large hand in helping get a lot of things off the ground, including the infamous inflatable Mr. Stay-Puft. Keith has kindly sent some of his own pics from when they first rolled the inflatable marshmallow man for one very specific retailer (see if you can guess who – check out the modified Ghostbusters logo in the one picture and you’ll be on target) – he also sent a concept sketch from the design and building of the air-filled statuary. Between the sketch and the final Stay-Puft, you might be able to see some extra details that weren’t included (or rather were simplified down) in the few additional Stay-Pufts they had made for shipping all over.
Big thanks to Keith for sharing all this cool information from an important, but little documented time in Ghostbusters history.
After its bolt from the blue announcement last week, Atari and Sony have kicked promotion of the new Ghostbusters video game, Sanctum of Slime, into high gear, with their official press release, trailer, website, and Facebook page.
The trailer, below, is a nice watch, and I’m genuinely looking forward to being able to play this co-operatively with pals. It also shows four of the rookie characters you can play – without any of the original four Ghostbusters, players play as rookies. Information on the rookies is sparse, but there’s at least one female player option, as seen in the video. The press release however is also informative; besides confirming the 4-player multiplay of the game, it also puts the release officially at Spring 2011, barring disaster.
Big thanks to everyone that sent me the link to the trailer!
FIRE UP YOUR PROTON PACKS AS ATARI AND SONY PICTURES CONSUMER PRODUCTS ANNOUNCE GHOSTBUSTERS™: SANCTUM OF SLIME
Blockbuster Franchise Makes Digital Debut on Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360, PlayStation Network, and Windows PC Download in Spring 2011
Los Angeles, CA — December 7, 2010 — With the city quaking in fear and no help in sight, who ya gonna call? Atari, one of the world’s most recognized publishers and producers of interactive entertainment, is once again answering the call for gamers everywhere by delivering the first ever Ghostbusters digital title, Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime. In conjunction with Sony Pictures Consumer Products, Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime will be available on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®Network, and Windows PC Download at Atari.com, in Spring 2011.
Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime is a four player, ghost-busting adventure that will take players on a brand new paranormal experience. Players will suit up with their proton packs and assume the role of a rookie hired by the Ghostbusters to save New York City from a disaster of ghoulish proportions.
The action-packed gameplay progresses as players complete jobs as fearless rookies who explore a series of haunted environments that must be cleared of any ectoplasmic threats. The gripping adventure rages on as players encounter gigantic bosses that require a concentrated effort to defeat using a medley of highly destructive weapons including the Proton Stream, Plasma Inductor, and the Fermion Shock. Rookie Ghostbusters will face the dangers of the eerie world alone or with a ghostbusting team of friends both locally or online through the game’s multiplayer capability.
“Following the success of Ghostbusters: The Video Game, we are committed to continuing the lore of the Ghostbusters franchise with Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime,” says Jim Wilson, President and CEO of Atari, Inc. “In Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime, we are introducing an entirely new look and gameplay experience on digital platforms that will impress new and loyal Ghostbusters fans alike.”
“We are more than pleased to see Ghostbusters continue to thrive in the video game space with the upcoming release of Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime,” said Mark Caplan, Vice President Interactive, Sony Pictures Consumer Products. “Atari has been an incredible partner in helping us re-establish this beloved film franchise.”
Developed by Behavior Studios, Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime will be available in Spring 2011. For more information, please log onto www.atari.com or www.atari.com/gbsanctumofslime/
I heard about this game through the grapevine in the Spring, and they’ve finally gotten far enough along to announce it. While we won’t be seeing a follow-up to Ghostbusters: The Video Game any time soon, Atari and Sony, with developers Wanako, have announced Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime. The game will be available for download via Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network, and online for PC. The game will be out Spring 2011.
Players are back as the Rookie, but will get to play co-operative adventures online. Also, players will get to drive the Ecto-3. Stay tuned!
Big ups to Ryan, Grim Santos, Travis, Mario, Lucas, and Logo Lou for the links!
