Three entered the ring, one emerged victorious. Sort of. The lawsuit between Jakks Pacific and THQ over the WWE license has ended, with the winner being publisher THQ. As of December 31st, the joint-venture is dissolved, and they now hold the exclusive rights to all things WWE in the videogame world for the next 8 years, which kicks off in January.
Jakks notified the WWE earlier this year that they wished to renew the soon-to-expire licensing deal, and extend it through December 2014. THQ countered, filing a suit claiming that they were "not ready to make a decision with respect to renewal of the WWE videogame license," and that "[Jakks are] not authorized under the parties' joint venture agreement to unilaterally issue a renewal notice to the WWE."
THQ announced this week that a settlement has been reached between the companies, and that the partnership with the money-printing WWE franchise is secured until 2018. All claims were tossed out, and THQ have agreed to pay roughly $33,200,000 -- $13.2 million up front to the WWE; $20 million over the next four years to Jakks (payments of $6 million in June 2010/2011, and payments of $4 million in June 2012/2013).
There had been a lot of speculation (ie: desperate hoping) that perhaps THQ would lose out, granting another publisher -- like EA -- the opportunity to try their hand at a WWE game, since the last several years have produced stale results. Looks like that's not happening, but who knows, THQ have a proven fighting game now in UFC Undisputed -- from the same developers. Take that engine, tweak it and throw in some leotards, folding chairs and giant spinning belts. Just saying. Might be exactly what the series needs.
TrackBack URI for this entry
