BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., April 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Interplay Entertainment Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: IPLY) announced today that the company signed a partnership arrangement with Earthworm Jim creator Douglas TenNapel to relaunch the videogame icon.

TenNapel will serve as a creative consultant on Earthworm Jim 4, and will simultaneously develop an animated series and feature film to expand the well known brand.

TenNapel created the original Earthworm Jim character, which Interplay developed into a video game with Shiny Studios for the Sega Genesis console in 1994. The game became an immediate hit, and later spawned sequels on various computer and video game platforms, including Earthworm Jim 2, Earthworm Jim 3D, and Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy.

The iconic character became a virtual hero whose popularity took him far beyond video games into TV and toys. An animated Earthworm Jim television series, produced by TenNapel, aired for two seasons from 1995 to 1996, on The Kids WB! with Dan Castellaneta of "The Simpsons" providing the voice for the title character.

About Douglas TenNapel

Douglas TenNapel is an Eisner Award-winning artist, animator and film maker. In addition to creating Earthworm Jim, he created The Neverhood, a PC game for Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks. TenNapel also created "Catscratch" for Nickelodeon and served as a consulting producer on the ABC series "Push, Nevada." TenNapel has authored and illustrated several graphic novels. Specifically, "Monster Zoo" is in development with Sam Raimi at with Paramount Pictures, "Creature Tech" is in development at New Regency, and "Tommysaurus Rex" is at Universal with ShadyAcres producing.

About Interplay

Founded in 1983, Interplay Entertainment is a developer, publisher and licensor of video game software headquartered in Southern California. Interplay is best known for its successful titles in the Role-Playing Game (RPG) genre with hit series like "Fallout" and "Baldur's Gate." The company has produced and licensed titles for many of the most popular interactive entertainment software platforms in the action/arcade, adventure/RPG and strategy/puzzle categories. Its portfolio of well-recognized Intellectual Properties includes Battlechess, Clayfighter, Dark Alliance, Descent, Earthworm Jim, Freespace, Giants, Messiah, MDK, Run Like Hell, Sacrifice and others.

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SOURCE Interplay Entertainment Corp.