Dirty Harry Hits Next-Gen Consoles
Go ahead: make my game.
by David Adams
February 24, 2005 - Long a legend on the screen, Clint Eastwood's gruff Lt. Harry Callahan is about to make his mark in videogames, as Warner Bros. Interactive, along with Eastwood's Malpaso and The Tehama Companies, announced today the development of Dirty Harry games for next-generation consoles.
Eastwood himself will work with Warner Bros. in creating the first game, offering creative input and voicing the role of "Dirty" Harry Callahan himself (who else could do it?).
Clint Eastwood hopes the new games will keep Dirty Harry alive. "This will be an opportunity to satisfy the many requests over the years to continue the Dirty Harry legacy, only now in the videogame medium," he said. "Creating Dirty Harry video games will also introduce this memorable film character to new generations on a medium they appreciate."
"Mr. Eastwood is both an incredible performer and an amazing creative talent, and it is an honor to work with him to bring the Dirty Harry franchise credibly to the video game space," said Jason Hall, Senior Vice President of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. "The character and content of the Dirty Harry films perfectly lend themselves to telling new and compelling stories to both established and new gameplaying audiences."
Clint Eastwood's acidic San Francisco cop was born in 1971 in Don Siegel's Dirty Harry, when Eastwood took a lead role originally intended for Frank Sinatra, and made screen history. The film spawned a series of sequels, including 1973's Magnum Force and 1983's Sudden Impact.
Warner Bros. plans to bring the first Dirty Harry game to next-gen systems -- i.e., the PlayStation 3 and the next Xbox. The company has not yet decided, however, whether the title will come to current consoles or the PC. The game will be developed by a third-party studio, to be announced soon.
Dirty Harry: Quick 'n' Dirty Q&A
We check in with Warner Bros. on the just-announced next-gen series.
by David Adams
February 24, 2005 - Earlier today, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced a series of next-generation console games based on the classic Dirty Harry films. The first title, to be developed by an as-yet-undisclosed studio, has the involvement of Clint Eastwood himself, who will provide creative input as well as lend his voice and likeness to the title.
We checked in with Jason Hall, Senior Vice President at Warner Bros. Interactive (and former CEO of Monolith), to get some more Dirty Harry dirt -- at least, as much as Hall is able to offer.
IGN: Did the Dirty Harry project originate at Warner Bros. Interactive, and then involve soliciting Clint Eastwood, or did Eastwood come to you?
Jason Hall: We thought Dirty Harry would be a perfect property and character for video games, and we were delighted to find Clint was more than receptive to collaborating with WBIE on bringing the franchise to gamers.
IGN: What is it like working with Clint Eastwood?
Jason Hall: Clint Eastwood is an absolute gentleman. We are excited to get the chance to work with such a creative legend and look forward to working with him more as we progress in the development of the game.
IGN: Will the Dirty Harry games recreate the plots of the films, or are you working on original storylines?
Jason Hall: The games will have original storylines based on the established character and world from the films.
IGN: Have you recruited anyone else from the original Dirty Harry crew, along with Eastwood?
Jason Hall: Our partnership with Clint Eastwood is all we are announcing now.
IGN: How will Dirty Harry play? Are we looking at a straight-forward action title, or maybe something along the lines of Grand Theft Auto, as EA seems to be doing with The Godfather?
Jason Hall: We will have more game details to announce soon.
IGN: You've announced Dirty Harry as a next-generation console game. What will distinguish the game as distinctly next-gen?
Jason Hall: Those details will be disclosed later.
IGN: Does Warner Bros. have other classic films set to be reborn in games?
Jason Hall: You'll have to wait for future announcements but rest assured we are taking a close look at all of our options.
IGN: Most importantly, for our records, what's your favorite Dirty Harry film?
Jason Hall: All of them!