Having seen Tron at the drive-in as a wee lad, part of a double feature—it was paired with the pimps and prostitute-filled Vice Squad!—the craptastic Disney flick will always have a place in my heart. The fan-made version, a decidedly lo-fi affair, only makes the whole thing more endearing. It's cute as a button and makes me wish I had a copy of Tron to watch right now. It also makes me wish I had my own lightcycle.

The Hollywood Reporter previously wrote that Joseph Kosinski, currently said to be working on a Logan's Run remake, will be helming the project and that Lost writers Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz would write the script. We just hope they haven't abandoned Tron's spandex roots. That, and that the discs are still deadly.

Disney Plans A Bumper 2011 [Dark Horizons - thanks, Matty!]

Joining Tron and his deadly discs this Wednesday is Commanders: Attack of the Genos, a turn-based strategy title from Sierra Online and SouthEnd Interactive. For 800 Points, you'll be knee deep in single- and multi-player mechanized war. If you've got a thirst for knowledge about either, check the official game pages.

Discs of Tron and Commanders [Xbox.com]

Combatants Prepare to Battle Sark Again in Discs of Tron

Disney Interactive Studios Announces Classic Game Will Be Available Through Xbox LIVE Arcade on February 13

BURBANK, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—The ground-breaking film "Tron," about a man who ventures inside a video game and has to battle for survival, spawned two classic arcade games in the early 1980s. Disney Interactive Studios today announced Discs of Tron, the second arcade game inspired by the film, will be available on February 13 for Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

In Discs of Tron, players face off in a three-dimensional arena against the film's villain, Sark, as they throw discs to try to knock him off of a platform or "derezz" him with a disc while he counters. The game, which includes both classic and enhanced modes, gets increasingly more difficult as players progress. A player's advancement through the game includes multiple platforms of different altitudes, a barricade between the two combatants and chasers, which are secondary weapons from Sark. The player's deflector can provide necessary temporary protection from Sark's onslaught of discs.

Discs of Tron, which received an 8.0 out of 10 review score from Official Xbox Magazine (U.S.), includes multiplayer modes: Classic Versus (highest score wins), Speed Versus (player to reach determined score first wins), Co-op (two players' scores combined for leader board results) and Deadly Disc Versus (players play simultaneously and power-ups help one player or hinder another).

"Discs of Tron is considered an arcade classic as it mesmerized fans who wanted an entertaining and challenging experience derived from the innovative film," said Craig Relyea, senior vice president of global marketing, Disney Interactive Studios. "The game's release on Xbox LIVE Arcade enables multiple generations to play the addictive game in both its original form from 25 years ago and an enhanced mode with upgraded graphics and sound."

The enhanced mode features high-definition graphics that show the three-dimensional arena surrounded by a cityscape from the world of Tron. The game's audio is also upgraded in the enhanced mode.

From Disney Interactive Studios and developed by Backbone Entertainment, Discs of Tron is rated E for Everyone by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).

The original Tron arcade game, which is comprised of four mini-games inspired by the film and features an enhanced mode and multiplayer challenges, is now available on Xbox LIVE Arcade.

Larry Hryb points out that Omega Five and Tron will be hitting Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday. Omega Five will be 800 points, while Tron will be 400. Gamerscoreblog also posted up this short phone interview with Hudson which also shows you some Omega Five gameplay.

This week on arcade: Omega Five and Tron [Major Nelson]

Still, it's difficult to see Tron as a remake. Either the film sticks to the original 80s-rrific setting, or it's updated with Tron being some hero in GTAIV with Jeff Bridges participating in time races to collect prostitutes. One approach seems disingenuous while the other seems, quite simply, horrible.

Then again, Tron was a pretentiously bad movie redeemed by incredible special effects and wonderful art direction. So it's not exactly Citizen Kane 2 that we're talking about here.

New 'Tron' races on [thehollywoodreporter]

Obviously LOTR was in many ways a dream proposition...[but] when we started the project, everyone was saying, Peter Jackson??

[Producers] brought up to EA 16 minutes of the movie...After they saw that...everything had changed.

25 years ago, the original movie Tron was pitched to us. We go up to BV studios...they had this promo why we should pay the rights for Tron. "Tron is going to revolutionize the way movies are made"

9 months later when the movie came out. The script wasn't very good. They ran out of time. It wasn't supposed to be black and white. Ultimately our team broke our hearts trying to build those games. We had no support. We were ignored. That can and still does happen today.

And you thought movie licenses made things easy! Ha!

It's all part of the 25th Anniversary of Tron, the movie that helped my stepfather bond with me when I was just a little guy and convinced me to get an Intellivision Aquarius as my second computer so I could play Tron: Deadly Discs, the first of a long line of poor computer buying decisions on my part.

Check out the shots of the game in both regular and enhanced flavors below, and then hit the jump for the well-meaning press release that ESRB castrated. Michael Fahey

The World Of Tron Prepares To Take On Challengers Once Again

Disney Interactive Studios Celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the Landmark Film "Tron" with the Re-Release of Tron and Discs of Tron - for Xbox LIVE Arcade

BURBANK, Calif. - May 3, 2007 - Since the early era of video games, "Tron" has been synonymous as both a landmark CGI film and the engaging arcade games inspired by that film. In honor of the 25th anniversary of "Tron," Disney Interactive Studios today announced the classic arcade games Tron and Discs of Tron will be re-released this summer through Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360TM video game and entertainment system. Xbox LIVE Arcade is the premier destination for digitally distributed, high-definition original and classic games. "The 'Tron' film has captured the imaginations of video game players and film fans for generations with its ground-breaking visuals and action-filled story," said Craig Relyea, vice president of marketing, Disney Interactive Studios. "The classic arcade games Tron and Discs of Tron are returning this summer through Xbox LIVE Arcade with new features and options for the film's 25th anniversary."

Each game includes the original version as well as an enhanced version with new graphics and audio features. Through Xbox LIVE Arcade, players can also compete in both games against another player in four online modes.

In Tron, which first appeared in arcades in 1982, players must complete four increasingly challenging game types to advance through levels. Players battle tank forces, engage in treacherous light cycle combat, attack the MCP cone and fight off grid bugs to enter the I/O tower.

Discs of Tron, a follow-up 1983 arcade game, enables players to fight Sark, the defender of Master Control Program, in one-on-one battles taking place in three-dimensional futuristic arenas. Players must move between platforms while throwing energy-charged discs at Sark and deflecting oncoming discs to avoid being "derezzed."

Published by Disney Interactive Studios and developed by Backbone Charlottetown, Tron and Discs of Tron are rated E for Everyone by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). Both games will be available individually this summer exclusively on Xbox LIVE Arcade.

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With the 25th anniversary of Disney's computer generated "classic" right around the corner, it looks like Buena Vista Games is looking to cash in with another Bally Midway retro game. Looks like a perfect fit for Mad Catz's Arcade GameStick.

I'll beat this dead horse one more time: why doesn't Sega get their ass in gear and make with the arcade ports? Everyone else is doing it. Michael McWhertor

ESRB Game Ratings

Also recently added was an entry for Buena Vista Games' Discs of Tron for the Xbox 360, which scored an E rating. BVG has made no announcements for a game with that title, so one could assume that the game is an Xbox Live Arcade release of the 1983 Bally Midway classic arcade game. The game was previously ported to mobile phones and included as a bonus in the Game Boy Advance version of Tron 2.0: Killer App. Michael McWhertor

ESRB Software Ratings

This little flasher is buckets (BUCKETS, I say!) of fun and something to hold ya over until Disney gets around to that announced Tron sequel! Brian Ashcraft

Cool Tron Game [Official Site]

New Dandyism also teases with a promise of an "apparel hook-up" alongside the Reebok release, which had better glow, too, or we'll be pissed. Michael McWhertor

Exclusive: Reebok "Glow" in action! [High Snobiety]

Back when Saturday Night Live was still funny, the sketch comedy show served up hot pippin' plates of giggle pie like this. A total classic! Brian Ashcraft

Thanks, Jarod

More Here [SNL]

I'll admit I'm into the whole PC casemod scene. I love some of the stuff people are doing with computers. But why would anyone want to take the time to mod an Atari Flashback? And if an excessive amount of time on your hands or the voices in your head convince you it's a good idea, why would you go with a Tron theme?

Now a Combat theme, that would be something altogether different. —Brian Crecente

Atari 2600 Tron [Aeropause]

Reader Papaspurs, knowing my obsession with video game shoes, sent me a link to a pair of Tron shoes from Adidas. The Stan Smith Comforts show Tron on the tongue of the shoe and the Master Control Programmer on the footbed, whetever the hell that is. The sole? Inside the shoe? Sorry, I'm not up on my shoe jargon.

Unfortunately, the pictures show neither the tongue nor the footbed, though there is this nice shot of the side featuring two light cycles. They may not live up to the Space Invader shoes, but I still need to buy a pair. Yes, it is an illness. —Brian Crecente

Stan Smith II Comfort BL4 - Tron [Adidas]