Namco Bandai scoops rights to Idols reality shows
Expect an official Pop Idol mobile game by the end of the year
Pop Idol, eh? Genius. Well, it discovered Will Young, who's since turned out to be a Proper Pop Star. Admittedly, it also foisted Gareth Gates, Darius, and Michelle McManus on an unwilling world.
But still, it was ahead of its time as far as reality shows go. Not that it's still running in the UK, after X-Factor stole its thunder (and Simon Cowell). But it's still huge elsewhere in the world, having been licensed in 41 countries.
Why are we blathering on about it here? Because Namco Bandai Networks Europe has signed the rights to produce mobile games based on Idols (as it's known in most countries).
The deal covers multiple mobile games over a number of years, and is the first time Namco Bandai has signed this kind of branding deal, rather than rely on its own game licences.
Our spies tell us we can expect a Pop Idol game to come out here in the UK by the end of 2007, although we wonder just how popular it'll be given the fact that the show doesn't air here any more.
Still, if the game is good enough, it'll be well worth a look – Namco Bandai hasn't revealed any gameplay details yet, so we're banking on some kind of gory Manhunt 2-esque adventure where you get to murder Darius as dreadfully as he murdered Hit Me Baby One More Time. Fingers crossed.
