Namco gets video-game rights to 'Peanuts' comic strip

LOS ANGELES - Video game publisher Namco Hometek, the US division of Japan's Namco Ltd., said today it acquired the rights to the legendary comic strip "Peanuts," featuring the lovable beagle Snoopy and his harried owner Charlie Brown.

Namco said the rights, which they got from United Media, the company that licenses and syndicates "Peanuts," extend to all current and future game platforms through 2009. The company did not say what kinds of games it would make with the license.

Though original versions of "Peanuts" ended with creator Charles M. Schulz's retirement and subsequent death, old strips continue to run in more than 2,400 newspapers worldwide.

- REUTERS