Hi Alex,
I read this yesterday...this should help clear up the Lucas deal somewhat. Also, going back to the press release, Activision clearly will maintain it's exclusive distributorship for PC and Playstation titles in the "United Kingdom and 45 additional countries including those in Scandinavia,
Central Europe, the Middle East and certain African countries."
biz.yahoo.com
next-generation.com
LucasArts, Nintendo Deal Explained
In a deal that many have misunderstood, Nintendo and LucasArts have
announced a worldwide five-year agreement for three new Star Wars
games.
November 3, 1998
Two of the games will be based on the upcoming 1999
Star Wars feature film, Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom
Menace, and will debut exclusively on home consoles for
Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color. However, these titles
will appear concurrently on the Personal Computer.
According to the Nintendo announcment of this deal,
Nintendo has "limited exclusivity" to the titles, which
many mews sources (including NPR's All Things
Considered) have reported as a complete exclusive for
games based on the Phantom Menace to the Nintendo
platforms.
However, according to LucasArts, this is not the case. Nintendo has no exclusive on any single game
or any genre for its platforms vis a vis Phantom Menace. What they do have is the exclusive debut on
home platforms for all LucasArts games based on the Phantom menace for a period of days. In other
words, when a LucasArts game comes out on a home platform it will debut for home consoles on
Nintendo first and after an undisclosed period will be available on other platforms.
Nintendo does have a five year "sales agreement" with LucasArts. A LucasArts spokesperson could not
go into detail on the specifics of the deal at press time. We will have more details tomorrow.
We do know that under terms of the agreement, Nintendo will market each of the games and hold
exclusive worldwide distribution rights for five years following the release of each game for the
Nintendo versions of these titles. The PC version will be distributed by LucasArts (and Activision in
the UK). No word is yet available on other platform availability, but plans are for other platform
versions to be distributed by LucasArts (though that might change in coming days).
All of the N64 and Color GameBoy specific titles will be distributed exclusively by Nintendo. But
again, Nintendo does not have an exclusive for all platforms.
"The Star Wars franchise is undeniably one of the gold-plated entertainment properties of the 20th
century," beamed Nintendo of America's chairman, Howard Lincoln. "This agreement, launching new
Star Wars video games surrounding the eagerly-anticipated new Star Wars movie, propels both
Nintendo and LucasArts aggressively into the new century of interactive entertainment."
"When the Star Wars saga began on film, it existed only in a traditional narrative form," explained
LucasArts president, Jack Sorensen, "but interactive play added a new dimension to Star Wars, and
Episode I will further redefine what LucasArts can achieve in gaming. We believe these new
high-resolution titles on Nintendo 64 will allow our fans to feel a part of the Star Wars saga as never
before."
The Episode I feature film is scheduled to premiere next May. Like the film, the games will introduce
a new cast of characters, new settings, and a new story line. LucasArts will develop and publish the
Nintendo 64 versions of these upcoming games, while Nintendo will develop the same titles for its
Game Boy Color.
The next Star Wars title to be released by LucasArts, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, will be
available in North America on December 7th for N64. |
