'Desperate Housewives' inspires video game

This screenshot from the new video game 'Desperate Housewives' depicting Carlos Solis at his home. Picture / Reuters

LOS ANGELES - A PC video game based on popular television show "Desperate Housewives" is in development and will be released later this year.

In the game, created by Walt Disney's Buena Vista Games, players take on the role of a new Wisteria Lane housewife, who can uncover or create new scandals on the seemingly idyllic street where the show takes place.

"Sometimes you just want to be more in that world than you can be on TV," said Mary Schuyler, the game's lead producer, who added that players will be able to pick their own in-game persona.

"You can be as nice or as mean as you'd like to be," she said.

Actress Brenda Strong, who is the voice of the show's deceased narrator, Mary Alice Young, has signed on to play a similar role in the game. Negotiations are in the works with other cast members, a spokeswoman for Buena Vista Games said.

The game's developer is Liquid Entertainment, creator of the PC game "Dragonshard."

Video game makers want to expand their US$25 billion global market with titles that appeal to audiences other than just young males.

Schuyler said she hopes the "Desperate Housewives" title will be a hit with the show's female fans and convert some of them into gamers.

Electronic Arts Inc.'s "The Sims" franchise has already done that, selling more than 58 million games and winning female players.

Players pick a Sim, or simulated person, and guide it through its virtual life, doing everything from bathing to dating and working.

- REUTERS