Endemol targets Xbox and Wii with major TV licences

Big Brother and Deal Or No Deal creator Endemol has told MCV that it is eyeing the online services of next-gen consoles for casual games adaptations of its franchises.

The US firm appointed Eric LaVanchy, founder of online ‘advergaming’ developer Bottle Rocket, as its new director of gaming last month. LaVanchy has been tasked with increasing both content and revenue from its casual games business.

Online PC casual games is an area of focus for us,” LaVanchy told MCV. However, one of the conundrums of being involved in casual gaming is that it’s such a nebulous term. That said, looking at the distributed arcade platforms on the consoles – particularly WiiWare and Xbox Live Arcade – is certainly very interesting to us as well.”

Endemol’s senior VP of digital media Jon Vlassopulos added: In terms of distribution options, it’s always wise to keep our options open at this stage.”

Endemol confirmed to MCV that it has set up its own internal studio to create games, which is based in Los Angeles.

Vlassopulos said that the firm is looking to grow its games division organically, but that it is looking at M&A opportunities as well where appropriate”.