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Sammy introduces "Seven Samurai" video game
Reuters
May 14 2003 10:19PM
LOS ANGELES, May 14 (Reuters) - In Akira Kurosawa's "The Seven Samurai," one of the most widely acclaimed films of all time, itinerant swordsmen defend an impoverished village from marauding bandits in feudal Japan.

In the futuristic video game sequel being developed with the blessing of Kurosawa's son, there is also a masterless samurai and six warrior companions -- but the parallels seem to screech to a halt there.

The plot revolves around a tribe of mechanical beasts that threaten the future of humanity, a darkening city at the center of the world -- not to mention a vanished Holy Child.

Hisao Kurosawa, 57, told Reuters that his biggest concern was ensuring that the game would capture as much as possible of the spirit of the 1954 film directed by his late father.

Japanese entertainment company Sammy Corp. <6426.T> on Wednesday announced plans for "Seven Samurai 20XX," which is scheduled to be released this fall exclusively on the Sony Corp.'s <6758.T> PlayStation 2 game console.

Sammy, which recently broke off merger plans with games publisher Sega Corp. <7964.T>, showed off the game at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, the biggest trade show for the $30 billion video game industry.

The game's 100-plus characters in the game were designed by French comics artist Moebius, and Academy Award-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto composed the game's opening and closing theme music tracks.

"The idea is for people to have some feeling afterward," Hiroshi Matsumoto, a general manager for research and development at game designer Dimps Corp., told Reuters.

"Seven Samurai" was remade by Hollywood as "The Magnificent Seven."