Warner Bros. will start raising royalty fees for games that make a mockery of its properties.
Warner Bros. Interactive hopes that by charging game publishers higher royalty fees for not making good games based on WB intellectual properties, the traditional bad movie game and other similar licensed games can be avoided.
The WB will refer to popular game review websites (such as GameRankings) to determine whether or not a licensed game reaches a certain rating level, 70% to be precise. If the game is bad enough to get under this score, publishers will be be penalized with an increase in royalty payments to the licensor.
This might seem like a good idea to Warner, and other holders of big-name licenses, but there are those that disagree. One of the most obvious games that would contradict this would be Enter the Matrix, and publisher Atari. While the game sold millions of copies riding the success of the movies, the game was a stinker:
"We sold four million copies. That's $250 million worldwide," declares Bruno Bonnell, Atari's chairman and CEO. "That's what a big major motion picture makes. And Warner Bros. would penalize us because we didn't achieve 70%? Are they joking?"
But [Warner Bros.] would only comment that "sales don't equal quality."
It's not known if or when other license holders are considering implementing a similar program, or if other game publishers would consider agreeing to this sort of deal. For the full article, including some arguments from the publisher's side, click here.