By Devin Zydel on 2006-05-03
Activision Inc. has been granted the rights to the James Bond 007 video games from MGM Interactive and EON Productions Ltd. This comes as rather a surprise to many Bond fans, after Electronic Arts (EA), creator of such Bond games as Everything Or Nothing and From Russia With Love was supposedly holding onto the rights until 2010.
Activision Inc. is the company behind the Call Of Duty, Spider-man, and Quake series, along with many other successful titles.
The most recent planned video game from EA, Casino Royale, was cancelled partly due to deadline restraints, but this move from EA to Activision may have also played a role. The full press release from Yahoo follows:
MGM Interactive and EON Productions Ltd. have awarded Activision Inc. the rights to develop and publish interactive entertainment games based on the James Bond license through 2014.
This marriage of best-in-class intellectual property and next-generation gaming expertise continues the Bond franchise’s long legacy of providing thrills to audiences around the globe. Since the initial release of Dr. No in 1962, James Bond films have grossed more than $3.6 billion theatrically worldwide and approximately 30 million units of video games based on the world of James Bond have been sold to date. James Bond continues to delight audiences worldwide with a quintessential blend of action, glamour and sophisticated style synonymous with top secret agent 007.
“James Bond is the ultimate action movie franchise, and we look forward to establishing a long-term relationship with MGM and EON,” said Mike Griffith, president and CEO of Activision Publishing Inc. “The James Bond franchise creates tremendous global expansion opportunities for Activision as it is one of the few video game licenses that appeals equally to domestic and international consumers. James Bond storylines are rich with style, drama and action, all of which lend themselves perfectly to developing extraordinary games that capture the thrill of being the most celebrated secret agent in the world.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Activision will obtain the worldwide rights to create video games for all current and next-generation consoles, PC and hand-held platforms. The license will grant Activision the right to develop and publish games based on all of the James Bond movies, as well as non-movie based games.
“MGM Interactive continues to work with best in class publishing and development teams, to ensure we deliver both memorable and fully immersive interactive gaming experiences for both core and mass-market gamers,” said Travis Rutherford, MGM’s executive vice president, Consumer Products and Location-Based Entertainment. “Activision’s proven expertise in developing cutting edge games, their core competency in managing large movie franchises combined with the global appeal of the James Bond property, will create a new benchmark for the next-generation gaming experience. We are excited to be partnered with Activision and look forward to a long and mutually successful partnership.”
“Activision’s track record of developing engaging and sophisticated games across all platforms makes it the ideal partner to introduce the Bond videogame experience to a new generation of game players, as well as to provide new thrills and excitement for the legions of people who are already fans of the Bond films and games,” said David Pope, CEO of EON Productions Limited, maker of the James Bond films.
Press Release
Stay tuned to CBn for all the latest news on the first new James Bond video game from Activision Inc.
