The Minions have a home of their own in new video game
Those mischievous Minions are getting not only their own movie, but their own mobile video game, too.
Minions Paradise, the first in a multi-game deal between game maker Electronic Arts, animation studio Illumination Entertainment and Universal Partnerships & Licensing, will arrive for smartphones and tablets this summer about the time that the Minions film hits (July 10).
Animators, artists and writers who have worked on the Despicable Me films and the Minions spin-off will be collaborating with EA's mobile game developers on the game.
"Our goal is to maintain a creative continuity between the film and the game," said producer Chris Meledandri, head of the animation studio Illumination Entertainment. "In order to promote a close collaboration, we have set up an EA unit inside of our offices in Santa Monica. This enables us to learn about game creation and allows them to be steeped in our process."
In the free-to-play game, players will help a new Minion character, Phil, and pals build out a new home after they are shipwrecked on a tropical island. The ability to create and design things should give Minion fans plenty of activities to do.
EA hopes to replicate the success it had with some other yellow-tinged characters, The Simpsons. "We launched The Simpsons: Tapped Out nearly three years ago and it has been downloaded more than 125 million times, with millions of players still logging in every single day to play," said EA Mobile executive vice president Frank Gibeau. "By partnering with the writers, artists and filmmakers at Illumination, we're going to be able to deliver years' worth of surprising, fresh and engaging content for fans."
Interest in the Minions continues to grow. The 2010 film Despicable Me, in which they made their first appearance, earned more than $540 million worldwide. The sequel, 2013's Despicable Me 2 grossed nearly $1 billion worldwide making it the highest-grossing first-run film in Universal's history.
"There are many theories about why the Minions have connected with such a vast global audience of all ages," Meledandri said. "For me, their irresistible charm comes from the artists who create them. Like their creators, the Minions are delightfully flawed, rambunctious, charming, innocent and truly original. Their language is not specific to any one culture and their design, while simple, makes an immediate impact."
Players should enjoy tinkering with the Minions in a game, he says. "One of the great elements about the Minions is that they are prone to do the unexpected, which is critical in keeping the game funny and compelling," Meledandri said.
Free-to-play games, in which players can buy content within the game if they choose, have worked well for EA Mobile. The company has surpassed more than 2 billion downloads and nearly $500 million in net revenue last year.
The Minions should add to that success, Gibeau said. "These are games that constantly evolve with new content and ways to play, keeping players engaged for months and years at a time," he said.
For more on the game go to the EA Games blog.
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