Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of the most anticipated MMORPGs in recent history and is one of the biggest products for Electronic Arts this year. Still, as a joint venture with LucasArts, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick questions the economics of the title.
“Lucas is going to be the principal beneficiary of the success of Star Wars. 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,” said Kotick, who noted, “If you look at the history of the people investing in an MMO and achieving success, it’s a small number.”
As for Activision’s business, they’ve had to deal with the ‘first-world problem’ of having their Skylanders game/toy hybrid sell out across the U.S. during the Black Friday sales rush. “Retailers across the board are concerned that they will be out of inventory well before Christmas,” he explained. “There’s nothing we can do because they are made offshore and we can’t get product made that quickly.”
Source: Reuters
