[By Sean O’Connell, HollywoodNews]

Hollywoodnews.com: Movie adaptations of popular video games are nothing new. They trace as far back as “Super Mario Brothers,” and include such in-development titles as “Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune” and the next “Resident Evil” installment.

But a longstanding video game developer is about to toss its hat into the ring, and it’s bringing a few anticipated projects along for the ride.

Ubisoft Motion Pictures, part of the Ubisoft video game publishing division, revealed plans to produce 3D films of their popular games “Assassin’s Creed,” “Splinter Cell” and “Ghost Recon” to Variety.

“Our strategy is not to diversify but to bolster the appeal of our franchises — that’s why we want to make sure our films will reflect the brands accurately and consolidate our fan base while expanding beyond the games’ primary target audience,” said Jean de Rivieres, senior VP of international marketing and distribution.

“Splinter” and “Ghost” seem easier to replicate, given the fact that they are “Bourne”-inspired shooter games set around military conflict. Recreating the world of “Assassin’s Creed,” which takes place in Renaissance-era Italy, would appear much more difficult. Yet the execs at Ubisoft say they will have a script ready “by the end of the year,” and they plan to travel to Hollywood in June to begin meeting with interested studios.

See the original post here:  http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2011/05/16/ubisoft-moving-ahead-with-3d-assassins-creed-splinter-cell-films/