Star Controller

Anyone who has been following the occasional TFB news is aware that their current game is not a movie-license game nor is it Star Control.  Activision actually gave TFB more time to work on the game and polish it some more.  From what I’ve read, it’s one of their biggest projects yet.

We’re so excited to find out what it is and when it’s coming out.  It’s so nice to know that it’s not Madagascar or some other movie tie-in.

What I should have asked is “What about the contract between Activision and DreamWorks?”  I recently saw a trailer for Penguins of Madagascar for Nintendo DS, published by THQ and developed by Griptonite Games.  The dev studio employs nearly 160 people.

I discovered that on December 2 2009, the contract between THQ and DreamWorks was announced:

"THQ Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI) and DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (NASDAQ:DWA) today announced that they have entered into multi-year, multi-property licensing agreements granting THQ the exclusive worldwide rights to develop and publish video games based on DreamWorks Animation’s upcoming animated feature films..."

"The new agreements grant THQ exclusive worldwide rights to publish interactive games based on these DreamWorks Animation properties for all console and handheld systems, including Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and Nintendo Wii Virtual Console, and wireless devices."

- THQ Investor Relations, "THQ and DreamWorks Animation Announce Multi-Year, Multi-Property Video Game License Agreements"

There we have it. Activision is no longer responsible for publishing DreamWorks Animation movie tie-in games. THQ has exclusive rights for all consoles. This is another clue that whatever TFB’s next game after their current project will not be based on a DreamWorks Animation game.

It’s just under a year since this announcement was made and it makes me wonder what Activision will do to continue pushing their games to the market.

What do you think?

Links
Joystiq: THQ gains exclusive rights to Dreamworks game tie-ins
THQ Investor Relations - THQ & DreamWorks

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