Sam & Max Pick Up Steam
TelltaleGames
Former Telltale Staff
Freelance Police reach out to new audiences through Valve's online platform
SAN RAFAEL, CA, June 15, 2007 – Interactive entertainment pioneers Telltale Inc. and Valve today announced that Sam & Max: Season 1, Telltale's flagship episodic series, is now available on Steam, a leading online platform for the distribution and management of PC games.
Sam & Max: Season 1 is a story-driven game series starring a dog and rabbity-thing detective duo that dishes out their own brand of justice. Over the last two decades, the self-proclaimed Freelance Police have appeared in a number of formats, including independent comics penned by Steve Purcell, an interactive PC adventure game, a Saturday morning cartoon, a web comic, and now Telltale's innovative game series. Season 1, which initially launched last fall and had monthly releases through the spring, has received high praise from press and fans for its well-written and often irreverent humor, stylistic cartoon art, and high production values.
Each Sam & Max episode sells on Steam for $8.95, with a 10% discount available the first week of release. To help customers get up to speed with the franchise, the first three episodes have been made available as a bundle for $19.95, with episodes 4 through 6 bundled for the same price point.
"Digital distribution is clearly a core component of our business and we're really impressed by Valve's approach to the market," says CEO Dan Connors. "The Steam folks have a great understanding of how robust online channels can bring new value added content, product expansions and serialized episodes to keep audiences regularly engaged."
"Sam & Max, a pioneering episodic series of PC games, and Steam, a pioneering distribution platform for PC games, are a natural match," said Jason Holtman, director of business development at Valve. "Creating a path to millions of gamers for the delivery of episodic content is just one of the new business models enabled by Steam."
Sam & Max's expansion to new channels will continue in August, when The Adventure Company and JoWooD bring Sam & Max: Season 1 to retail shelves worldwide. More information about Telltale's continuing work on Sam & Max and other episodic games can be found on the company's website (www.telltalegames.com).
For more information about Steam, visit www.steamgames.com.
About Sam & Max
Steve Purcell published "Monkeys Violating the Heavenly Temple" as his first Sam & Max comic in 1987. Sam & Max solved assorted crimes and mysteries as Freelance Police in their sturdy 1960 Black and White De Soto Adventurer from their home base in New York City. After a series of follow-up comic books, Purcell worked with a team at LucasArts to create the critically acclaimed Sam & Max Hit the Road adventure game in 1993. The dog and rabbity-thing duo moved to television in an award-winning animated series in 1997. They're are now appearing in an all-new webcomic series at www.telltalegames.com, which has been nominated for a Best Digital Comic Eisner award.
About Telltale
Telltale is a new breed of interactive entertainment company pioneering high-caliber episodic game publishing and development. Founded in 2004 by industry veterans with decades of experience, the company has quickly become a leader in episodic gaming by delivering award-winning interactive experiences that emphasize engaging stories, strong characters, and rich worlds. Telltale has shipped 10 titles to date, using proprietary tools that streamline development of high-quality, cinematic experiences for multiple platforms and digital distribution. These releases include the monthly six-episode series Sam & Max: Season 1, episodes adapted from Jeff Smith's epic Bone graphic novel series, and games based on television's popular CSI program in partnership with Ubisoft. Telltale offers content development and custom publishing services for license-holders interested in interactive adaptations of their properties. Telltale's games are available at the company's website and through select partners such as Turner Broadcasting's GameTap subscription service. To learn more about Telltale, please visit www.telltalegames.com.
About Valve
Valve is an entertainment software and technology company founded in 1996 and based in Bellevue, Washington. The company's portfolio of entertainment properties includes Half-Life®, Counter-Strike®, Day of Defeat®, Team Fortress®, and Portal™. Valve's catalog of products accounts for over 20 million retail units sold worldwide, and over 80% of PC online action gameplay. In addition, Valve is a developer of leading-edge technologies, such as the Source game engine and Steam, a broadband platform for the delivery and management of digital content. For more information, please visit www.valvesoftware.com.
Media Contact:
Emily Morganti
Telltale, Inc.
415.258.1638 x501
pr@telltalegames.com
For more information about Steam, please contact:
Eric Twelker, Valve
erict@valvesoftware.com
SAN RAFAEL, CA, June 15, 2007 – Interactive entertainment pioneers Telltale Inc. and Valve today announced that Sam & Max: Season 1, Telltale's flagship episodic series, is now available on Steam, a leading online platform for the distribution and management of PC games.
Sam & Max: Season 1 is a story-driven game series starring a dog and rabbity-thing detective duo that dishes out their own brand of justice. Over the last two decades, the self-proclaimed Freelance Police have appeared in a number of formats, including independent comics penned by Steve Purcell, an interactive PC adventure game, a Saturday morning cartoon, a web comic, and now Telltale's innovative game series. Season 1, which initially launched last fall and had monthly releases through the spring, has received high praise from press and fans for its well-written and often irreverent humor, stylistic cartoon art, and high production values.
Each Sam & Max episode sells on Steam for $8.95, with a 10% discount available the first week of release. To help customers get up to speed with the franchise, the first three episodes have been made available as a bundle for $19.95, with episodes 4 through 6 bundled for the same price point.
"Digital distribution is clearly a core component of our business and we're really impressed by Valve's approach to the market," says CEO Dan Connors. "The Steam folks have a great understanding of how robust online channels can bring new value added content, product expansions and serialized episodes to keep audiences regularly engaged."
"Sam & Max, a pioneering episodic series of PC games, and Steam, a pioneering distribution platform for PC games, are a natural match," said Jason Holtman, director of business development at Valve. "Creating a path to millions of gamers for the delivery of episodic content is just one of the new business models enabled by Steam."
Sam & Max's expansion to new channels will continue in August, when The Adventure Company and JoWooD bring Sam & Max: Season 1 to retail shelves worldwide. More information about Telltale's continuing work on Sam & Max and other episodic games can be found on the company's website (www.telltalegames.com).
For more information about Steam, visit www.steamgames.com.
About Sam & Max
Steve Purcell published "Monkeys Violating the Heavenly Temple" as his first Sam & Max comic in 1987. Sam & Max solved assorted crimes and mysteries as Freelance Police in their sturdy 1960 Black and White De Soto Adventurer from their home base in New York City. After a series of follow-up comic books, Purcell worked with a team at LucasArts to create the critically acclaimed Sam & Max Hit the Road adventure game in 1993. The dog and rabbity-thing duo moved to television in an award-winning animated series in 1997. They're are now appearing in an all-new webcomic series at www.telltalegames.com, which has been nominated for a Best Digital Comic Eisner award.
About Telltale
Telltale is a new breed of interactive entertainment company pioneering high-caliber episodic game publishing and development. Founded in 2004 by industry veterans with decades of experience, the company has quickly become a leader in episodic gaming by delivering award-winning interactive experiences that emphasize engaging stories, strong characters, and rich worlds. Telltale has shipped 10 titles to date, using proprietary tools that streamline development of high-quality, cinematic experiences for multiple platforms and digital distribution. These releases include the monthly six-episode series Sam & Max: Season 1, episodes adapted from Jeff Smith's epic Bone graphic novel series, and games based on television's popular CSI program in partnership with Ubisoft. Telltale offers content development and custom publishing services for license-holders interested in interactive adaptations of their properties. Telltale's games are available at the company's website and through select partners such as Turner Broadcasting's GameTap subscription service. To learn more about Telltale, please visit www.telltalegames.com.
About Valve
Valve is an entertainment software and technology company founded in 1996 and based in Bellevue, Washington. The company's portfolio of entertainment properties includes Half-Life®, Counter-Strike®, Day of Defeat®, Team Fortress®, and Portal™. Valve's catalog of products accounts for over 20 million retail units sold worldwide, and over 80% of PC online action gameplay. In addition, Valve is a developer of leading-edge technologies, such as the Source game engine and Steam, a broadband platform for the delivery and management of digital content. For more information, please visit www.valvesoftware.com.
Media Contact:
Emily Morganti
Telltale, Inc.
415.258.1638 x501
pr@telltalegames.com
For more information about Steam, please contact:
Eric Twelker, Valve
erict@valvesoftware.com
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