leisure-suit-larry-box-office-bust posts

We've seen a ton of new PC titles released in the past few weeks but this week we get a breather with just one major title heading to store shelves:

Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust: UK-based Team 17 tries to bring Al Lowe's classic adult-themed game creation to a new audiience. Originally to be published by Vivendi Games, it was one of the many titles that became free to find a new publisher thanks to the Activision Blizzard merger. Codemasters has taken on the challenge of releasing the game this week which has you playing the original Larry's nephew Larry Lovage as he helps his uncle in the movie business. Hollywood voice talent like Carmen Electra, Shannon Elizabeth, and Jay Mohr are a part of the production.

Codemasters has taken an almost stealth approach to their handling of Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust. The latest game in the mature-themed humor adventure game series was originally to be published by Vivendi Games before the title was dumped by the new Activision Blizzard management in 2008.

Codemasters bought the rights to the Team 17 developed game but didn't make any official announcements. Indeed the publisher only just admitted via a press release that they plan to release the game next week in the UK (retailers have a March 31 release date for the US). So we have some doubts that this title will have the legs that the classic Al Lowe-created games have had. Codemasters has finally released some screenshots from the game. However their lack of marketing and PR for the title makes us think they are just trying to get this thing finishing without a lot of fuss.

A few weeks ago we reported on rumors that Codemasters was planning to publish Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust, the latest game in the adult-themed adventure series. The title was a previous Vivendi Games release but the merger of that company with Activision to form Activision Blizzard left that title, like so many other orphened.

Now it looks like the Codemasters rumors are in fact true. While the publisher has yet to send out a press release the game is now listed on the company's official web site as coming out this April for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 with a "M" rating from the ESRB. Develoed by Team 17, the game as you playing the original Larry's nephew Larry Lovage as he helps his uncle in the movie business. According to the header on the Codemasters game page the new Larry title will be handled by Codemasters' casual game label Funsta.

Has yet another of Activision Blizzard's cast off games found a publisher at last? Maybe. Computer and Video Games reports that a German game ratings board site had posted up an indication that Codemasters had taking on the publishing duties of Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust.

The next game in the very adult adventure game series was announced about a year ago by Vivendi Games with UK-based Team 17 named as the developed. However that's the last we heard on the game's development. When Vivendi Games merged with Activision to form Activision Blizzard last summer, the title was not one they decided to pick up. Since then many of their cast-offs have found other publishers (Brutal Legend for EA, Ghostbusters for Atari, World in Conflict: Soviet Assault for Ubisoft and others).