Cameron chooses Ubisoft to develop Avatar game

Film director James Cameron (Aliens, Terminator, Titanic) announced his decision today (July 24 2007) to select Ubisoft to develop the videogame based off his newest project, the 2009 sci-fi epic Avatar. The choice was based on a yearlong standoff between four game companies, each of which was tasked with presenting creative briefs to the director.

Ubisoft’s version was most in keeping with Cameron’s vision, showing off “…a fully realized presentation, which captured the soul of the world and the characters, while promising to be a knockout game on its own terms.” The title will not be a linear retelling of the film’s storyline, which itself sounds rather unique:

Avatar, Cameron’s first feature film in more than a decade, tells the story of Jake (Sam Worthington), an ex-Marine who persists in an alien world as an avatar, a human mind in an alien body. The concept is similar to many video games where a player creates a virtual manifestation of themselves, often referred to as an avatar.”

So, Ubisoft will be making the game, based on the movie, which is based on a game-like concept. Very Meta.

Both the movie and the game sound cool and Cameron has an excellent pedigree with both sci-fi and action. Lets hope that Ubisoft can create the most elusive of gaming magic… the good movie game.

Read [Hollywood Reporter] Also Read [Reuters]