The following bit may be hard to believe, but please… bear with me: the film rights to Pac-Man have been picked up by Hollywood production company Crystal Sky Pictures for $200 million.

The $200 million development deal was funded by entertainment financier Grosvenor Park, Variety reports. The transaction also includes funding for the upcoming Castlevania movie, which was delayed due to the writer’s strike.

No other details on the project were disclosed.

Variety reports that an EverQuest movie is in the works and that Sony has already hired “300″ scribe Michael Gordon to pen the live-action adaptation. They also report that former Marvel Studios executive Avi Arad will produce the picture for Columbia Pictures.

Apparently, the project has been in development for quite a few years, but Gordon is the first to take a stab at the material. It is too early to say how long it will take for the movie to come out, but if everything goes as well as planned, fanboys can look forward to dressing up as EverQuest characters sometime in 2009.

According to Variety, users of Xbox 360’s video download service is consuming more than any other video download service. Even though the console is “only” in 3.5 million homes (as per Variety), Microsoft’s Xbox Live video service has generated far more downloads than competing e-tailers, including the biggest online retailer Amazon.

The article theorizes that the console’s direct connection to the TV, as well as the option of downloading HD movies, has resulted in its greater success, whereas only tech-savvy users on other e-tailers can watch their purchased videos on their television. It continues, saying that Microsoft is in talks with more studios (except Sony, of course) to get their hands on more high-definition content for its users.

Movies based on games aren’t anything new, but games which pass on to Hollywood are usually best-sellers. So, it is with amazement that Variety reports that Cold Fear, Darkwork’s survival horror game, which failed to set retail stores ablaze, has been optioned for movie rights.

According to the pay-to-read article, Avatar Films and Sekretagent Prods have gotten the rights to the movie. Published by Ubisoft, the game mustered up underwhelming sales and didn’t go over too well with gamers, but producers are betting on the scary atmosphere of the game as well as its story involving mutation experiments and aliens.