First, congrats to all longs, and special thanks to David Haines, for starting this thread and other services to us.
My question about the WCW licenses, which I don't assume are in any real danger, is: who owns the actual game software (WCW vs NWO, WCW Nitro, WCW Thunder, etc.)? If WCW were to sell the license to another party, would they have to develop new game software? How long would that take? How much would it cost? Would it be any good? If THQI has the rights to the existing software, separate from the WCW marketing rights, might this give them a distinct advantage over other potential bidders for the license? Who can say how popular WCW will still be in June, 1999? Would another outfit really be willing to overbid for the license now, and spend the bucks on developing new titles from scratch, whose acceptance is not assured, for a license that might already be played out in 1999? Doesn't a simple one year extension between two satisfied parties to a successful ongoing agreement seem more likely? With the result a nice press release by THQI between earnings reports? Anyone know the details of the software development side of this arrangement?
tia, John |
