Arberth sudios are the first to announce their intentions since the withdrawal of Light-house interactive distribution in UK.
Welsh independent developer Arberth Studios has taken on all non-American licensing rights to its hit point-and-click PC adventure game, ‘Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches’.
Arberth has parted company with European publisher Lighthouse Interactive, which hit financial difficulties after the collapse of its UK distributor last year. Lighthouse agreed to cancel the contract after three months of
operation.The independent studio, based in West Wales on the Celtic fringe of the UK, has acquired a sizeable proportion of the remaining stock of ‘Rhiannon’ and is offering it through a number of outlets, including its own website at
www.arberthstudios.comThe Welsh independent has declared itself ready to open negotiations with other publishers and distributors for Europe and the world excluding North America and Mexico.
‘Rhiannon’ was an instant success story after its launch in Autumn 2008, hitting the top of Amazon’s list of best selling adventures and gaining plaudits from players and reviewers. It is performing well in North America, where Got Game Entertainment currently has publishing rights. The Arberth team are busy working on their second game, ‘Coven’ – a story encompassing witchcraft in the sixteenth century and the present day – also set in Wales.
Noel Bruton of Arberth Studios comments: “This is an exciting time for Arberth as we look for another European partner to work with us. Lighthouse announced in December 2008, that due at least in part to the collapse of its UK distributor, it could not meet its financial commitments to us. We took the decision to salvage something from the remains of Lighthouse to ensure continuity of supply.”
He continues: “Lighthouse had begun, but not concluded the setting up of various distribution deals in Europe. We were very keen to localise for the Lighthouse territories, and German and Italian translations were well advanced. But development of these is now in abeyance until a way forward can be found.”
Twitchy sends its best to both Noel and the team at Arberth and our friends at Lighthouse. Hope things pick up soon and in the meantime please support Arberth and Lighthouse
‘Rhiannon’ Destined for French Speakers
Arberth Studios announces today that
translation into French of its supernatural mystery game ‘Rhiannon’ is
almost complete. Arberth has joined with ‘Les Rhemystes’, an enthusiastic and talented band of gamers based in France and Belgium, to produce the localisation.
A spokesperson for Les Rhemystes said “We enjoyed Rhiannon very much – the immersion effect thanks to the first-person point of view,robust puzzles requiring from the player to deduce and not just to guess, a full-bodied scenario with the occasional touch of humour – and let’s not forget the cultural aspect of Wales at the dawn of Christianity a time of superstition and magic. We believe ‘Rhiannon’ is a classic – and we’re so enthusiastic about it that we’d like other non-English speakers in France, Belgium,Switzerland and Québec to get a chance to play the game.”
Arberth Studios’ Noel Bruton adds “Les Rhemystes have done as complete and polished a job as could be expected from a professional agency. This is more than just a dry localisation. What’s most heartening is that it has been done by people who have played ‘Rhiannon’ the way we intended. Their love of the game and their understanding of its subtleties come through in their translation. We know their enjoyment will rub off on other French-speaking players.
We’re excited by the opportunity they have given us by their efforts and look forward to signing a distribution channel for the French-speaking territories.”
Bon !