In the wake of the baffling announcement that Universal had won a multi-studio bidding war for the rights to adapt Atari's old-school shooter Asteroids into a film, plot details have emerged.

"We've crafted a really strong, deep mythology for the thing," producer Lornezo di Bonaventura told IGN. "It's two lead characters - two brothers - who have to go through a seminal experience to figure out their relationship, against this huge backdrop."

Bonaventura, who also produced G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra, added he was "attracted to Asteroids, plain and simple, because I think what it tells you is that there's going to be this big thing in space" and promised that the film will indeed feature "some guys in spaceships blowing stuff up" as a homage to the classic game.

With the movie rights for Pac-Man and Joust already snapped up, the bidding war for the privilege to adapt Atari's old-school rock-buster Asteriods into a film has come to an end.

Universal won the four-studio competition, according to The Hollywood Reporter, with Lorenzo di Bonaventura (G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra) attached as a producer and Jeff Kirschenbaum (Wanted, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) overseeing. The script is to be written by Race to Witch Mountain (2009) scribe Matthew Lopez.

Also in the works at Universal are four feature film adaptations of classic Hasbro board games, which could result in movies inspired by Battleship, Candyland... Read more

A combo pack of Atari's arcade classics Asteroids and Asteroids Deluxe mark this week's Xbox Live Arcade release. Bundled as one game, the titles will arrive on the download service this Wednesday, November 28, selling for 400 Microsoft Points ($5).

Included in the rock-smashing bundle are both modernized HD graphics and the classic titles' original vector-based visuals, along with something called "throttle monkey" mode.