Source: A BBC News report on Electronic Arts' forthcoming Godfather game.

　　The official story: See below.

　　What we heard: In The Godfather, the Corleone family had a rule that matters of "the family" were not to be discussed with outsiders. Electronic Arts, publisher of the Godfather game, apparently has no such rule. The BBC News reports that "EA is hoping to establish it as one of their blockbuster titles and move on to adapt the two sequels," a revelation that came straight from EA executive producer David DeMartini.

　　"We went into this venture taking into consideration the establishment of a brand new franchise. Our intention is to make two and three," DeMartini told the BBC.

　　This sounds unlikely for a few reasons. First and foremost, The Godfather Part III is generally regarded as a far inferior film to its predecessors (think Godfather fan fiction). And if gamers really want to get wrapped up in a Vatican conspiracy full of murder and betrayal, the game based on The Da Vinci Code should be out by then.

　　If EA were to approach Godfather games based on the sequels in the same manner it did the first one, it would likely run into problems with the voice actors. EA convinced Robert Duvall, James Caan, and Marlon Brando to provide voice work for the game based on the first film, but not all of those characters make it to the second film alive, let alone the third.

　　The key role in the second and third movies was Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, who is conspicuously absent from EA's game (although interestingly enough, he has lent his likeness to VU Games' forthcoming Scarface game). The in-game Michael Corleone sounds and looks nothing like Pacino. With three other main characters from The Godfather involved in the project, Pacino's absence is a little more tolerable, but adapting the other films without his cooperation would seem second-rate, at best.

　　An inquiry to EA confirmed that DeMartini was not in fact talking about the second and third films when he said "Our intention is to make two and three."

　　An EA rep told GameSpot, "David DeMartini was speaking in general terms. Beyond the game shipping next month we haven't announced any specifics on the future of the game franchise. Traditionally when EA acquires a license it is not just for a one-off game but rather to build multiple games--look at The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and James Bond for example."

　　So while adaptations of the second and third Godfather films haven't been ruled out, we may be more likely to see offerings that continue to mine the first film's mythos, perhaps a Godfather Tactics or Godfather: Quidditch World Cup.

　　Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus for now. Thank you, Don Vito.