Activision creating a rift with EA and Lucas Arts
source: http://www.starwarsoldrepublicblog.com/2011/11/activision-says-star-wars-the-old-republic-wi...
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- alexsmith01
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“Lucas is going to be the principal beneficiary of the success of Star Wars,” Kotick said. “We’ve been in business with Lucas for a long time and the economics will always accrue to the benefit of Lucas, so I don’t really understand how the economics work for Electronic Arts.”
On its face, the quote is innocuous enough until you consider that EA and Activision Blizzard are fairly bitter rivals, and Blizzard’s top earning property stands to directly suffer from the release of The Old Republic. In fact, a good case could be made that EA decided to fund The Old Republic specifically to go after Blizzard’s World of Warcraft.
One analysis based on a poll, has at least 1.6 million World of Warcraft players leaving the game and switching to The Old Republic, and most see that as a conservative estimate. That would be bad news for Blizzard, who are already trying to stop the bleeding, as more and more players continue to abandon World of Warcraft.
Most estimates suggest that The Old Republic will sell around 2 million copies within its first few months, but the number of copies is only one part of the success. 2 million copies would certainly make EA (who spent upwards of $100 million on The Old Republic) happy, but with games like these, the subscription fees are what make MMORPGs worth the effort. Last year, World of Warcraft generated over $1 billion in revenue for Activision.
“If you look at the history of the people investing in an MMO and achieving success, it’s a small number,” Kotick said.
On its face, the quote is innocuous enough until you consider that EA and Activision Blizzard are fairly bitter rivals, and Blizzard’s top earning property stands to directly suffer from the release of The Old Republic. In fact, a good case could be made that EA decided to fund The Old Republic specifically to go after Blizzard’s World of Warcraft.
One analysis based on a poll, has at least 1.6 million World of Warcraft players leaving the game and switching to The Old Republic, and most see that as a conservative estimate. That would be bad news for Blizzard, who are already trying to stop the bleeding, as more and more players continue to abandon World of Warcraft.
Most estimates suggest that The Old Republic will sell around 2 million copies within its first few months, but the number of copies is only one part of the success. 2 million copies would certainly make EA (who spent upwards of $100 million on The Old Republic) happy, but with games like these, the subscription fees are what make MMORPGs worth the effort. Last year, World of Warcraft generated over $1 billion in revenue for Activision.
“If you look at the history of the people investing in an MMO and achieving success, it’s a small number,” Kotick said.
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