NEWS > GAMES > DSI SNAGS LICENSE TO PRODUCE WELCOME BACK KOTTER GAME

DSI SNAGS LICENSE TO PRODUCE WELCOME BACK KOTTER GAME

August 17 2008

Sewell, NJ – DSI games has announced that it has secured exclusive rights to produce and distribute a game based on the 1970s cult classic television show ‘Welcome Back Kotter’ and will release the title to coincide with the proposed big screen version due to be released next year.

“We at DSI are overjoyed to announce that we will be developing a ‘Welcome Back Kotter’ game for release next year,” said the company in a statement. “We are proud to partner with such exciting and enthusiastic people to bring this classic into the modern age. We are sure that everyone will love to revisit the long lost days of the Sweathogs.” The company plans to release the title on all major platforms. Both the 360 and PS3 versions will run in full 1080p.

Few details of the title were announced, only that it will follow in the ‘open world’ concept, similar to the Grand Theft Auto series. The title will also incorporate both the 1970s television show and the upcoming film in some way.

“We don’t want to give all our secrets away,” said a spokesperson for the company.
While the idea of making a video game based on a TV show that went off the air decades before some of the target audience was even born may seem a risky proposition, the company is confident in its appeal.

“’Welcome Back Kotter’ was a part of the golden age of television. It is fondly remembered by those who saw it when it first aired, and due to syndication has had exposure across generations. We feel that this IP is even more relevant today. It speaks to issues such as poverty, inner-city schooling, and racial diversity. These issues are as important now as they were thirty years ago, if not more, and we are confident that its appeal has lasted,” continued the spokesperson.

Original cast members Robert ‘Epstein’ Hegyes, Lawrence ‘Boom-Boom Washington’ Hilton-Jacobs, and start Gabe ‘Mr. Kotter’ Kaplan will voice their digital versions. No word yet if other starts Ron Palillo and John Travolta will also be making a return to the series that made them famous. “It has nothing to do with Scientology,” the spokesperson told us, unprompted.

The film version of the television show was initially announced in late 2006 and has a preliminary release window of ‘2009’, though nothing firm has been set in place yet. The film will star Ice Cube as the titular teacher who coaches a young group of underprivileged youths to success. The lack of a firm release date or even the confirmation that the film is actually be made is not causing DSI any kind of hesitation.

“You’ve got to take risks; you have to take a shot. There’s too much of an upside to this to not make the move.” The company also hinted that they may be looking at the game as the first in a franchise.

DSI representatives also said that they were currently in negotiations for the rights to produce titles on other 70’s shows ‘Chico and the Man’, ‘C.H.I.P.S’, and ‘BJ and the Bear’.

Douglas Havermore, Games Correspondent

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