Watchmen: The End is Nigh hitting 360 and PC March 4, PSN March 5

by Griffin McElroy { Feb 14th 2009 at 4:00PM }

We've known for a while now that the release of the downloadable, episodic brawler Watchmen: The End is Nigh would coincide with the March 6 release date of the slow-mo film adaptation of the same name, but for the sake of certain specificity (say that five times fast), Warner Bros. just clarified the launch date of the game. Xbox 360 (and PC) users can find it in their usual Wednesday offerings on March 4, while PSN users can can pick it up on Thursday, March 5. They're cutting it awfully close to the film's opening night, but we doubt anyone will have much trouble blowing through the game's two-hour-long campaign in time for a midnight screening.

Gallery: Watchmen: The End is Nigh

Tags: deadline-games, warner-bros, watchmen, watchmen-the-end-is-nigh

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

rohan @ Feb 14th 2009 4:11PM

So what has happened to the lawsuit from Fox?

Neuromancer @ Feb 14th 2009 4:25PM

They settled

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Feb 14th 2009 4:37PM

settled. Fox will be getting a percentage of the film's (and any sequels) profits.

Note: That does not mean there will be any sequel. Snyder himself says he refuses to do one.

Moptimus Slime (Leader of the Taylor Swift Defense Force, Gobot in disguise) @ Feb 14th 2009 4:57PM

There won't be sequel because Snyder already fucked up the ending for the original

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Feb 14th 2009 5:12PM

Nice try troll.

rohan @ Feb 14th 2009 5:22PM

but hey things could change, if the movie turns out to be a huge hit then they will make a second one

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Feb 14th 2009 5:26PM

Fox probably will, but Snyder himself said he wouldn't be attached to it.

And to be honest, I don't know how you could do a sequel after that ending(squid or no squid).

Moptimus Slime (Leader of the Taylor Swift Defense Force, Gobot in disguise) @ Feb 14th 2009 5:27PM

That would only cause Alan Moore to shoot blood out of his eyes and go on a murderous rampage.

Unless it was Watchmen Babies: V for Vacation. That would kick so much ass

Markez @ Feb 14th 2009 5:44PM

Dude, it's Watchmen Babiez.... Sheesh. You probably owe Ubisoft at least 20k for that misused reference.

GatorSax2010 @ Feb 14th 2009 5:58PM

Nope, you owe The Simpsons 20k for missing the reference.

Roto13 @ Feb 14th 2009 6:01PM

"And to be honest, I don't know how you could do a sequel after that ending(squid or no squid)."

SPOILER

Remember the very last thing to happen in the graphic novel? :P

Moptimus Slime (Leader of the Taylor Swift Defense Force, Gobot in disguise) @ Feb 14th 2009 7:53PM

*SUPEROMGSPOILERZ*

you mean how it turns out that The Comedian was Lauries dad? And how her and Dan assumed fake identities and never mentioned how the "alien" was nothing more than Ozymandias's attempt to stop a nuclear war between the US and Russia? I honestly don't see how that sets it up for a sequel. Or were you talking about how that crazy newspaper receives Rorschach's journal which makes the whole thing start over at the beginning (that is, if the paper actually published pages from his journal)?

Also, I stand by what I said about the ending. I don't see how causing a nuclear explosion in New York then framing Dr. Manhattan for it will stop a war. The whole idea was that they would work together to stop the threat of an alien invasion, this just continues Veidt's attempt to make Manhattan seem like the real enemy.

Discotheque @ Feb 15th 2009 1:18AM

That's why the ending is going to be fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucked.

If they make it look like Doc Manhattan bombed the shit out of the world (apparently Snyder bombs multiple locations in the film) then the world would just be united against the US since Doc Manhattan was their weapon.

OLDMIKE @ Feb 15th 2009 2:14AM

wow the info i got on the ending is that it is Fed up
the thing is 1/2 the book is droping ties to the end
this move droped from a day 1 to a mite rent

Roto13 @ Feb 15th 2009 5:54PM

This is the second time I've been down voted for stating something that is completely objectively true. Something is very wrong.

"the thing is 1/2 the book is droping ties to the end"

SPOILERS AGAIN

Exactly. And the graphic novel is too long to just directly translate into a movie without everything feeling rushed. The ending would feel completely random without all of the foreshadowing. So they could have cut out the foreshadowing and make the ending feel more retarded than awesome, or they could change the ending, or they could leave in the foreshadowing and pretty much make the movie be about the squid with a little bit of character development here and there.

jake0000 @ Feb 18th 2009 5:31AM

Judge Rules Fox Owns 'Watchmen' Copyright. Although the decision doesn't surprise me in the least, the timing certainly does.
Judge Gary Feess, who was to hear arguments in the copyright case over Watchmen between Fox, the studio that at one time held all the cards, and Warner Bros., the studio that plans to release the film in March.
Feess had been scheduled to hear the case beginning January 6th, a date he then moved back to January 20th. Then Wednesday, a real shocker came from the District Court: According to The New York Times, Feess ruled in a five-page written order that Fox indeed did hold rights to the project even though it had failed to make the movie on its own back in the 1990s.

WATCHMEN movie mobile site for iphone, pda and web phones http://mobihobby.swiftmob.com/quickPage.html?page=7861 try it

Kevin @ Feb 14th 2009 4:31PM

In the new GameInformer, it says the game will be 1600 Microsoft Points. Ouch.

EgoCheck616 @ Feb 14th 2009 4:34PM

I'll only play this if they make it free and throw in a bunch of Doritos ads.

Markez @ Feb 14th 2009 4:53PM

Especially ouch considering the Joystiq hands-on impression makes the game sound like garbage unless you're a Watchmen fan; which I'm not. Been some gems turning up on WiiWare, so my dollars are going to keep going there for the foreseeable future. Doesn't seem to be much coming out on XBLA to perk my interest as of late. Although I think part of the problem there is all the XNA/community games dissuade me from looking too hard to wade through it all.

Roto13 @ Feb 14th 2009 6:03PM

As a Watchmen fan, I was kind of considering buying it if it was $10, but I won't even consider it for $20.

Jonathan Coole @ Feb 14th 2009 4:33PM

Meh, there are bigger and better titles for both systems to put that money too I.E.

Killzone 2
Resident Evil 5
Street Fighter IV
etc..

I think Ill pass...

EgoCheck616 @ Feb 14th 2009 4:34PM

You forgot GTA: Lost and the Damned and Fallout 3 DLC.

Game_playa @ Feb 14th 2009 4:40PM

"You forgot GTA: Lost and the Damned and Fallout 3 DLC"
Are they coming out for PS3? No right? Then STFU!!!

Jonathan Coole @ Feb 14th 2009 4:46PM

Relax game_playa this post is for both sections thats why i said both systems and why hes listing xbot stuff. He didnt do anything wrong. While yes I am a PS3 guy and i listed what i know, PS3 games, he said what he knew as well. So just relax hehe. This is why the whole muiltiplatform threads dont work well. Too much confusion. :)

EndCat @ Feb 14th 2009 5:21PM

U also forgot to add teh halo warz gaem.

Alex @ Feb 15th 2009 4:17PM

And there is ALWAYS new BO Paradise DLC to be looking forward to... Not that they require any money put into them... But...

Yeah.

Chase @ Feb 15th 2009 2:08AM

Boo?

Alex @ Feb 14th 2009 4:34PM

I really don't have any problem with the campaign being only 2 hours long, in many ways thats a good thing, just it should be priced accordingly, it shouldn't be more then $5 imo, since it's 2 hours long, so double it cause your gonna wanna beat it with Nightowl and Rorschach, plus about an hour of messing around in co-op, that's a dollar per hour, not bad.

Lavat @ Feb 14th 2009 4:37PM

I wont be watching the Watchmen (Ha!...). Or playing the game...I don't do comic books or have the money to try anything out. They got a demo for this right though?

Moptimus Slime (Leader of the Taylor Swift Defense Force, Gobot in disguise) @ Feb 14th 2009 4:53PM

you sir are everything that is wrong with America

Lavat @ Feb 14th 2009 5:09PM

O Rly??.....

Moptimus Slime (Leader of the Taylor Swift Defense Force, Gobot in disguise) @ Feb 14th 2009 5:16PM

YA RLY

Markez @ Feb 14th 2009 5:23PM

Not EVERYTHING that is wrong with America. But I'll check this movie out since I love the fantasy/scifi/action genre thingy. I don't do comic books anymore either, but I use to read them and can certainly still appreciate it as it can be a great medium for great storytelling.

Being a broke-ass is your problem. To me, there's something about a 360 gamer complaining about money to be hilarious.

For me, personally, demos never really give a good enough taste of game to merit basing a purchase off it. The one demo that I've ever really enjoyed off my 360, was for Prey. It was a deep, long demo. Pretty much panned by most, but looked like a swell game to me, and the only demo I've ever really enjoyed.

Jonathan Coole @ Feb 14th 2009 5:24PM

So he doesnt care for the movie. Who cares?

Lavat @ Feb 14th 2009 5:45PM

hmmm...Huh? Who me 360 gamer...hehe...Me I am not. Although I am not complaining about not having a comic based game. Less you are talking about someone else.

But I am aware that demos can never show the player a good perspective on how good or bad a game can be. Like..I played the Mercs. 2 demo after I played the game...And I would have probably bought it if I had ran on that....Or imagine a Fallout 3 demo...Great game but can not be test ran in small portions. Something like basic gameplay of a FPS makes for a good demo but not enough of Killzone 2 has some demo players wondering what this game will really be like.

I read books instead ...The flashy colors of comics are to distracting and do not give your personal representative of your imagination. But that dark dark illustration of this one issue of Spawn by that guy who did that Digital Comic for MGS was the only one I had liked. Very inspiring.

sam @ Feb 14th 2009 5:55PM

While US comic books are mainly just tired old adolescent shit (superheroes, violence), Watchmen was actually a good book (despite featuring superheroes, violence).

Not the second-coming it's often portrayed as, but it was pretty good.

(disclaimer: I read it many years ago.)

Unfortunately, good comics don't necessarily make a good movie... and definitely not a good video game. I don't have any of the platforms capable of playing this game but even if I did, I wouldn't. (I'm not planning on seeing the film either.)

Jonathan Coole @ Feb 14th 2009 6:19PM

No offense lavat but your last comment makes little sense. Just because its the internet doesnt mean you should talk in such a unorganized manor.

Markez @ Feb 14th 2009 5:57PM

I think I have Spawn #3 signed by McFarlane back at my folk's house. Totally agree with you about the demo opinion. Fact is, when I was back home I played Fallout 3 a bunch, 3 escapes from the vault. But since I got home, and got to troll around in Megaton, my interest just fizzled out. I would've been sold by a Fallout 3 demo of just the vault section.

If you're an avid reader, I can't recommend William Gibson enough. Seriously, check out Neuromancer.

Lavat @ Feb 14th 2009 6:56PM

@Jon

I simply do not like Comic Book games, movies or the like. Apples and oranges...And I shall talk how I please otherwise you do not have to respond.

Nick8708 @ Feb 14th 2009 9:00PM

In general, I'm not really a comic book fan. It has nothing to do with the stories or the artwork, but mostly with the medium. I find it annoying to read a few lines of dialogue, for example, and then have to scan the picture for context. It's like a subtitled slide show. However, I'm about 5 chapters into the Watchmen graphic novel, and I'm really liking it so far. I doubt I'll get this game, but after starting into the novel I'm actually interested in seeing the movie, whereas before I didn't really care one way or the other.

t_m @ Feb 14th 2009 11:04PM

@Lavat:
While its true that most comic books fall into the same general area, there are several comics which go into totally different areas. So I wouldn't say "i don't like anything based on comics" because you are cutting yourself off from a lot of possible experiences.

Its a little like saying "i don't like animated movies" after watching a few disney movies, but you are cutting yourself off from a whole range of totally different stories, in different genres, that all just happen to be animated.

The Sin City movie, for example, is in no way connected to Fantastic Four. They are different genres, different styles, using different techniques and targeted at different audiences.

Watchmen, the novel at least, isn't really a superhero book at all. It just happens to star superheros.

Lavat @ Feb 15th 2009 2:59AM

@T_M

As I mentioned before the way they present it in blocks and bubbles and static illustrations..... I do not like it...So between the personal words of a book and the actual fun and more interesting medium of storytelling that are video games that the Metal Gear series has achieved. I am going to go with finding a game that has a good story and background and is something that I can see and hear.

Now I do like comics when they are based on games like MG or Killzone if it is good and sometimes it usually is, because it already had established the feeling from the game and I do not need to take that feeling from illustrations and words bunched together beforehand.

Games translate better but I never got the same feeling that a comic's story that was built from a comic could match that of a video games story and the way that game had told it. Still....Marvel, DC and the likes do not have much to go on if it is just guys in tights and super powers or guys in tights and super powers but with social issues shot gunning each other in the face. Basically I can find a better story in books and games. And those stories get told better. Show me something interesting.

Highimpact1 @ Feb 15th 2009 8:59PM

Is Lavat a Psychopath?

FNG @ Feb 14th 2009 4:48PM

Game_playa, you're a dink. If you were actually paying attention you would have noticed the incorrectness of killzone 2 in the statement

Jonathan Coole @ Feb 14th 2009 5:24PM

The -incorrectness-(not a word genius) of Killzone 2? Wth is that supposed to mean?

DBuck_Eye @ Feb 14th 2009 5:34PM

sake of certain specificity
sake of certain specificity
sake of spertain seficicity
spake of cerfain speficificy
fake of curtain sepicicify

... I couldn't do it.

t_m @ Feb 14th 2009 9:26PM

Is this an attempt to trick people into thinking it'll be an action movie?

I love watchmen, but i can't help thinking that a lot of people are gonna go and watch it expecting a "comic book movie", and it aint gonna be what they expect.

(unless they've messed it all up).

shamon @ Feb 14th 2009 10:59PM

i wonder how much ?

David @ Feb 15th 2009 1:51AM

I think smaller, downloadable games are a great idea for licensed titles such as this and others based on films etc. Studios don't want to spend a lot of money and are working on a deadline linked closely to the film's release day. If they produce smaller games such as this, they can finish it faster, and create a far better game than they could with the same budget stretching over a 10 hour game or whatever. Only costing $10-20 might be a problem for the bottom line, I don't know. Being downloadable creates some marketing problems, but I think they can get around that by selling cards in game stores with redeemable codes for the game.