Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., announced a multi-year agreement with FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide, Americas (FLW, Americas), the U.S. licensing division of Fremantle Media, one of the largest international creators and producers of program brands in the world and the co-producer and licensor of American Idol, that gives the company the exclusive interactive video game rights for American Idol. Pursuant to the agreement, FLW, Americas grants Konami the rights to develop games for current and next generation video game systems based on America’s number one television program. The games will be distributed throughout America, Canada and Latin America with more details to be revealed at a later date.
Not only is American Idol one of the biggest television programs in the U.S., but its format lends itself perfectly for making compelling video games," said Kazumi Kitaue, Chairman and CEO of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. "With Konami’s leadership and expertise in music video games and American Idol’s popularity and strength as a recognized franchise, this is a powerful synergy that will greatly benefit the consumer."
American Idol, which just completed its fourth season in May 2005, continues to dominate television ratings and break viewership records. Last season’s finale, produced by FremantleMedia and 19TV for the Fox network in the US, saw 30.3 million viewers tune in to watch Carrie Underwood be crowned as the newest American Idol. The debut of American Idol’s fifth season will air this fall.
David Luner, Vice President Licensing for FLW, Americas, added, "The Idols format has already proven itself successful in a variety of categories including electronics, toys & games, wireless and online applications. We look forward to establishing a solid presence in the video games market with an industry leader like Konami."
As the industry leader in music video games, Konami has a strong line-up of titles that allow gamers to sing, dance, and mix music all in the comfort of their own living rooms. Among its catalog of top music games, Konami publishes the highly-acclaimed singing game Karaoke Revolution and the number one dance game, Dance Dance Revolution. Next year Konami will also release beatmania — the first-ever DJ simulation game created for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system.