At first, we were opposed to NBC's turning BBC hit The Office into an Americanized version of the Ricky Gervais-Stephen Merchant masterpiece; it just seemed like a bad idea, moving Wernham Hogg out of Slough and into Scranton. Of course, things have turned out just fine.
But we'll just have to wait and see whether this is a good idea: Word's arrived today that Dallas-based MumboJumbo -- a "casual gamemaker," in the parlance of entertainment-biz trade Variety -- has been tapped to turn The Office into a video game. Not kidding. Come fall, it'll be available for online download and for yer PC, yer kid's PSP and Nintendo DS.
Says Bill Kispert -- who has the rather Dunder-Mifflin-esque title of vice president and general manager, Interactive, Universal Pictures Digital Platforms Group -- in MumboJumbo's official press release: "The cast and creators of The Office have done a fantastic job delivering a show with a personality all its own, [and] MumboJumbo is an innovator in the casual games space, and developing a game with them that combines the quirky characters and humor of the show with a proven, addictive game mechanic we think will be welcomed by fans and casual game players alike.” We will use the game at Unfair Park during our "team-building sessions," natch. --Robert Wilonsky
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