7 Studios deving Sopranos?
So says an LA source.
Everyone's favourite emotionally conflicted mafia boss is to star in a new videogame, according to a report by Bank of America analysts, and according to a source close to the LA development scene 7 Studios is developing it.
The developer's website says it works on PS2, Cube and Xbox, but makes no mention of a Sopranos project.
Analysts reckon THQ is down to publish The Sopranos, based on the hit HBO series, in the first half of 2006. There's no word as to which platforms the game will be released on, however.
THQ's European office was unavailable for comment at the time of writing, but a US representative has previously dismissed the report as "speculation", declining to confirm or deny whether the game is indeed in development.
The Sopranos was first broadcast in 1999 and went on to become a worldwide smash, although it wasn't popular with everyone - in 2000, the Coalition of Italian American Associations issued a statement slamming the series for featuring negative Italian-American stereotypes. Shooting is now underway on the series' final season.
It seems that games based on mobster licenses could be the new third person action adventures set in a gritty urban environment, since EA is also currently working on The Godfather - due out on PC, PS2, PSP and Xbox in the autumn. Bada-bing.