Sega Finds His Dark Materials

Philip Pullman's popular trilogy is coming to videogames by way of next year's movie release.

There aren't many franchises that can claim success across three media, but the next major contender will surely be Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. The first book is making its way to cinemas next year and Sega is hoping fans will be eager to give its video game adaptation a go too.

The first part of Pullman's series, Northern Lights (or The Golden Compass, if you caught it in the US), is hitting cinemas in 2007, courtesy of Lord of the Rings studio Newline Cinema, and it has Nicole Kidman and Daniel "James Bond" Craig leading the cast.

In this series opener, we follow a young girl named Lyra who is out to find her kidnapped friend Roger, along the way learning about the battle between good and evil and enjoying the company of armoured bears and other fantastical creatures.

Unfortunately, the confirmation that the book-cum-movie is heading to consoles is about all we know right now. Sega hasn't announced any details about the game, nor has it publicly tapped a developer to handle the project.

Still, this is an important game for Sega, which has until been involved in a determined effort over the last few years to grow beyond its Sonic-heavy days of the past.

Northern Lights is slated to show up in cinemas worldwide on 16 November 2007, and it's a fair bet Sega will be doing everything in its power to make sure its game is right there alongside it.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo