The arrangement with The Rothman Agency is the second representation agreement announced by Activision. The company recently signed a deal with Threshold Entertainment to expand its highly successful Zork franchise into film, television and other media. In addition to the Pitfall franchise, The Rothman Agency represents such properties as King's Road Entertainment's Kickboxer series of feature films.
"Pitfall is the classic blockbuster action game series which started the video game craze in the early 1980s," states Bobby Kotick, chairman and CEO, Activision, Inc. "The original game PITFALL! established a whole new genre of action games and spawned hundreds of similar products."
The release of Activision's original PITFALL! in 1982 was received with instant popularity. PITFALL! was renowned for its outstanding gameplay, state-of-the-art graphics and extra smooth animation -- the cutting edge in 1982. Over the years PITFALL! was released on all major platforms, resulting in sales of over 3 million units. Today the original PITFALL! is remembered with nostalgia by millions of players that spent a major part of their youth addicted to Pitfall Harry's great adventures.
Building upon the strength of the Pitfall franchise, Activision released Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure in 1994 on the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis game systems. In 1995, the company released an enhanced Windows 95 version of the game simultaneously with Microsoft's launch of the new operating system. Starring Harry Jr., son of the original Pitfall Harry, Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure takes players on an all new pit-hopping adventure as they set out to rescue Harry Sr. from an evil Mayan Warrior spirit. Players thrash through deep dark rainforests, explore Mayan temples and race through underground mines and battle over 25 enemies in an attempt to rescue Harry Sr.
"Children's animation is the most explosive growth area on television today, and Pitfall represents a premium licensing opportunity for action-adventure minded animation producers," says Dan Brecher, TV and multimedia agent at The Rothman Agency. "There are two elements which can contribute significantly to a license's viability in the animation world -- brand name recognition and strong merchandising potential. Pitfall wins on both accords because Activision has done a solid job of keeping the franchise fresh," Brecher adds.
"Through our relationship with The Rothman Agency, we are poised to explore this highly charged property's potential so that the entire family can join explorer Pitfall Harry in a series of fun, exciting and imaginative new adventures," adds Eric Dandridge, director of licensing, Activision, Inc.
The Rothman Agency is one of the premier boutique representatives of writers and directors in prime time television, feature films and multimedia. In the animation world, the agency's clients include Jeffrey Stepakoff, currently scripting Disney's animated feature Tarzan, and Dave Stern, Co-Executive Producer of a new Fox animated series from the creator of Beavis and Butt-head, as well as writers on the animated series The Simpsons, Pinky and The Brain, Doug and Angry Beavers.
Activision, Inc. is a publicly held developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software for Microsoft Windows and MS-DOS-compatible, Macintosh and other computers, as well as Nintendo, Sega, and Sony PlayStation game systems. Headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in London, Tokyo and Sydney, the company sells and markets products under the Activision and Infocom trade names.
