August 30^th, 2005 (3:16pm) - Japanese anime studio GDH has granted Namco the exclusive interactive entertainment rights to the gritty "Afro Samurai" manga series created by Takashi Okazaki. The agreement gives Namco rights to publish two different "Afro Samurai" video games over the next five years.

"Afro Samurai is a visually striking and rich story." said Jeff Lujan, business director at Namco Hometek Inc. "With its gritty and unique mix of hip-hop and samurai styling, Afro Samurai is perfectly suited for video games. We are looking forward to working with GDH in bringing this exciting new property to life."

"Afro Samurai" follows the story of one man’s journey of bloody hardship and pain. After witnessing the cold blooded murder of his father, Afro devotes himself to the path of revenge. He sheds no tears, knows no love and stops at nothing to achieve his goal. Forever chased by powerful enemies in a lawless technology-speckled dystopia, he evades bullets and blades to reach his final prey: a man who will not die...

Created by acclaimed visualist Takashi Okazaki, and originally told in comic book form, "Afro Samurai" is currently in pre-production by GDH group company GONZO and Japan’s largest TV network and motion picture production company, FUJI Television Network as an animated mini-series which Academy Award Nominee Samuel L. Jackson has joined as both co-producer and lead voice actor. Also, "Afro Samurai" will be adapted into a live-action feature film with Samuel L. Jackson to star as the title character and co-producer.

"Namco is uniquely qualified to publish games based on ’Afro Samurai,’ Gonzo is just ecstatic to work with a company that is so passionate about the vision of the franchise and who has produced so many outstanding, award-winning games" said Eric Calderon, Vice President of Creative Affairs at GDH. "We’re all really excited about working together to break new ground - creatively and technologically. I can’t wait to play it! We’re psyched that it’s going to arrive around the same time as our animated series, comics, and then there’s the upcoming live-action movie. The timing is just perfect."