Fans of writer Neil Gaiman have long waited for his properties to be reinterpreted in videogame format, and they are getting their wish, at least in part. The Gaiman property that will finally make the transition to gaming is the "children's" book Coraline, which will hit theaters in 2009 as a feature-length stop-motion animated movie.

D3Publisher announced that they had reached an agreement with Universal Pictures to license Coraline for both console and handheld platforms on Monday, with the game scheduled to be released around the same time as the movie hits theaters. The movie is currently slated to be released February 6, 2009.

D3Publisher is a small Japanese game company that focuses on budget games that often have a character tie-in. They have developed over 100 games for all gaming platforms, with their next upcoming release tied in to the popular cartoon Ben 10.

Fans of Gaiman may not want to get their hopes up just yet, however. D3Publisher's licensing extends only to Coraline and does not include any other Gaiman properties. (Gaiman fans have long wanted a game tie-in for his popular Sandman series). In addition, Gaiman may not have that much input in the game's design. Replying to fan mail on his blog, Gaiman reveals that he saw an early proposal for the game that he found interesting, but hadn't heard anything since the proposal.

The book has a very dark storyline, and its presentation as a children's book has been questioned by many. Considering that so many of D3Publisher's games are geared toward the tween and young teen market with the character tie-ins, it remains to be seen how much of Gaiman's thematic elements will be retained in the game.

Official teaser trailer for the movie released by animation studio LAIKA: