WB, Sega offer new 'Matrix' game

Plotline developed in consultation with Wachowskis

By BEN FRITZ

Warner Bros. Interactive and co-publisher Sega provided the press with the first glimpse of "The Matrix Online" on Wednesday, the first day of the E3 confab at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

WB Interactive senior VP Jason Hall said "The Matrix Online" continues the story of the film trilogy where "The Matrix Revolutions" left off. Plotline was developed in consultation with film scribe-helmers Andy and Larry Wachowski.

Last year's "Enter the Matrix" vidgame was a major hit for publisher Atari, but industry buzz has turned negative on the online game ever since previous co-publisher Ubisoft backed out and was replaced by Sega.

Furthermore, no massively multi-player online games have achieved the success of Sony's "Everquest," making the stakes high for WB's new vidgame division. "The Matrix Online" begins beta testing next month and will debut this fall.

Scoring music

As the worlds of music and vidgames continue to converge, Atari announced that it's partnering with clothing designer Mark Ecko on a new game that will feature potentially the biggest original in-game soundtrack to date.

"Marck Ecko's Getting Up" may feature 50 Cent, who specially designed a PlayStation 2 console to promote the new game, and dozens of other hip-hop artists when it debuts next year. It follows a graffiti artist looking to tag urban areas and evade authorities.

Titles like "Def Jam Underground" and "True Crime: Streets of L.A." have scored with original in-game soundtracks, and Atari reps are hoping the new collaboration will take that convergence to the next level.