The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting that Screenlife, the company that makes the DVD-based movie trivia game Scene-It (see "'Scene-It' Expands Line"), is being acquired by Viacom’s Paramount for a price that the newspaper indicates is “less than $100 million.”  Since its founding in 2002, Screenlife has sold more than 15 million units of its games.

 

The Seattle-based Screenlife has produced some 40 variations of its basic clip-based movie trivia game including a James Bond Collector’s Edition, a Marvel Edition, and a Disney Deluxe Edition as well as games based on movies from various periods and popular TV shows.  In 2003 Screenlife signed a distribution and marketing deal with Mattel that helped the company get its Scene-It games into more than 50,000 locations in some 28 countries.

 

According to the Post-Intelligencer, Screenlife’s retail sales peaked a few years ago at over $250 million, and retail sales continue to top the $100 million mark annually.  The company has rights deals with all the major Hollywood studios enabling it to use clips and stills from a wide variety of movies and TV series.