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EA boss says company exiting licence market
At a time when gaming publishers are shouting from the roof tops when they have landed a licensing deal with movies, such as James Bond or Harry Potter, one company is saying ‘no more’.
After less than stellar sales of Godfather II, EA is pulling the plug on the franchise and the company’s president, Frank Gibeau, is quoted in the LA Times as saying, “We’re not going to do another Godfather game… the bloom is really off the rose for licensed games.”
One of the problems is claimed to be the turn around time – from the moment the deal is struck, until the title hits the shelves. EA have hinted that this affects the quality of the game they produce, which in turn affects sales.
EA refused to renew its Lord of the Rings license, which Warner gladly accepted, and they also let go the James Bond deal. It is keeping the recently acquired Bourne Identity label after it was ditched by Activision, which almost contradicts Gibeau’s statement. Maybe the company that licenses the Bourne games is allowing EA more time to develop a game they are happy to put out on the market.
