By TRexx / 09:18, 4 February 2006 / Gaming

As video game enthusiasts may know, Bethesda Softworks has secured exclusive rights from CBS Consumer Products to publish a series of STAR TREK adventures for all gaming consoles, handhelds, and PCs. Two new game titles are slated to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the original TV series: Mad Doc Software is developing STAR TREK: LEGACY for the PC and Microsoft Xbox 360, while Quicksilver Software is developing STAR TREK: TACTICAL ASSAULT for Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. Both titles are scheduled for release this September. Gamecloud spoke to Bethesda's PR manager Pete Hines about the new contract. Here are excerpts from that interview...

Gamecloud: First, how did Bethesda Softworks come to gain the STAR TREK license? Did Paramount-Viacom come to them or did BethSoft go to the studio?

Pete Hines: It was a combination of companies wanting to work together, the STAR TREK license coming available, our specific ideas for this game and our reputation for the work we had been doing on other games ...it all just came together.

Since the STAR TREK license was cut off by Activision, was there any trepidation on Paramount-Viacom's part to get a publisher that they felt comfortable in working?

We had a clear idea about what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do it -- we felt we could bring STAR TREK to the forefront of video gaming. We communicated all that and came with our reputation, all of which gave comfort that we would deliver.

Ultimately why does BethSoft believe this new STAR TREK game deal is a good one?

Mostly because we feel like it's a great license for video games that has never reached its full potential, and we think we know how to take a STAR TREK game to the next level. We've got what we think are good ideas to use the license in a way that fits both the license and the kind of games generally that people expect and want to play, plus talented people to implement those ideas. It also allows us to move into some genres and platforms we haven't gone after to date so it felt like something we really wanted to do.

Is the contract just for the two announced games or is it a multi-year contract that also includes unannounced titles as well?

The agreement goes beyond the two announced games and includes the ability to do future titles on all the aforementioned platforms.

How much input, if any, will there be between people who have worked on the TREK TV shows and movies with the new games?

We're working very closely with the folks at CBS who own the rights to make sure everything we do has the right look and feel, and we're working with people who have made really good STAR TREK games before and live and breathe this stuff. We also have some things we're working on that we can't talk about just yet to ensure that the games reflect the key things about those TV shows and movies that people remember.

Read the complete interview at Gamecloud.

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