'Lego' flies with Batman

Warner Bros. to finance, publish vidgame

By BEN FRITZ

The hottest word in the videogame world is, apparently, "Lego."

Following the huge success of "Lego Star Wars" and its sequel, Warner Bros. has signed a licensing deal with Lego to produce a "Lego Batman" game.

In a significant, and likely costly, pact, Warner also tapped TT Games, developer of the two "Lego Star Wars" games, to make "Lego Batman."

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will fully finance and publish the game itself, as well as handle all distribution in North America.

"Lego Star Wars" titles, both of which sold several million units in the U.S. alone, were family-friendly games featuring characters and settings from the "Star Wars" universe made out of the famous toy bricks.

"Lego Batman" will follow a similar template, and Warner will release it in 2008 on multiple consoles.

Vidgame is one of just a few that Warner is publishing itself, rather than licensing to outsiders. Studio recently released a game based on "300" and has a "Looney Tunes" title coming out this fall. A "Dirty Harry" game was expected in 2008, though the studio recently ended its contract with developer the Collective, which may delay the game's release.

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