Wing Commander IV Made Hollywood History
AD's found a nifty press release that should bring back some fond memories for quite a few Wing Commander fans. The document, dated February 7, 1996, announces the imminent release of Wing Commander IV for the PC. To celebrate the game's release, a massive launch party was held at the Beverly Hills Planet Hollywood with Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell, John Rhys-Davies and Tom Wilson. The event marked the first time that video game equipment was donated to the chain. WC4 also featured an unprecedented $1 million marketing campaign complete with theatrical trailers in nearly 600 General Cinema theaters. Copies of the game were even sold in some theater lobbies. How exciting! Check out the full press release here.
ORIGIN Systems Announces Wing Commander IV Lift Off; PC CD-ROM Interactive Movie to Make History at Planet Hollywood Event.
Date:Wednesday, February 7 1996
Origin Systems Inc. Product introduction 00203470AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 1996--ORIGIN Systems, an Electronic Arts company and a developer of world famous entertainment software, today announced that it will ship Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom, the latest version of its award-winning, space-combat interactive movie series, for PC CD-ROM on Feb. 9, 1996.
The new title, which breaks new barriers in the blending of Hollywood filmmaking and computer entertainment, will be unveiled on Feb. 8, 1996 at Planet Hollywood in Beverly Hills, California.
At the Planet Hollywood press event, Wing Commander IV stars Mark Hamill and Malcolm McDowell will make special costume presentations to representatives of the restaurant, denoting a historic first for the computer gaming industry. It will mark the first time the restaurant has accepted memorabilia from a CD-ROM computer game. The costumes will be on permanent display at one of the many Planet Hollywood locations around the world. Other Wing Commander IV cast members will also attend the event including John Rhys-Davies and Tom Wilson.
Wing Commander IV was shot on 35 mm film at Ren-Mar Studios in Hollywood and includes several moving cameras and more than 35 elaborate sets, delivering four hours of live-action video with a "feature film" feel to the cinematics. The graphics explode in super VGA color and are further enhanced with photo-realistic texturing. Player interactivity is expanded both in and out of the cockpit allowing game players to have even greater control of missions and drama. A fully-digitized interactive movie score is included along with Dolby Surround Sound.
Wing Commander IV follows on the heels of the highly successful Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger, which sold more than 600,000 copies worldwide and was named "Action Game of the Year" and "Game of the Year" in 1995 by several computer game publications.
All of the highly-talented Wing Commander III cast members returned to film Wing Commander IV, including Hamill (Star Wars), McDowell (A Clockwork Orange, Star Trek: Generations), Wilson (Back to the Future I, II and III), Rhys-Davies (Indiana Jones movies) and Jason Bernard (While You Were Sleeping, Herman's Head.) Wing Commander III Hollywood scriptwriters Terry Borst and Frank DePalma also returned to write Wing Commander IV. Eric Goldstein served as director of photography, and Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts was the executive producer of the new title and directed the live-action portions of the game. more
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