Cost to licence characters or ships for a game
- by Michael Jasper
I am producing a game pitch document for a university game design class, and I am looking for examples of licencing cost for using characters or ships from other IP holders in a game. For example:
cost of using an X-Wing in a game, licencing from Lucas
cost of using the Enterprise in a game, licencing from Paramount
cost of using the Space Shuttle (if any), licencing from Nasa
EDIT
The closest information I can find is from an article about Nights of the Old Republic, but isn't nearly specific enough for my needs:
What Kotick means by Lucas being the principal beneficiary of the
success of The Old Republic is that there are most likely clauses in
the license agreement that give percentages, points, or another
denomination of revenue out to Lucas and his people just for the Star
Wars name, and that amount is presumed to be a great deal of money.
Kotick is saying that because the cost of the license is so
prohibitive, as he has personally had experience with in his position
as CEO of Activision Blizzard, that EA will not be able to be
profitable because of the hemorrhaging of money to the licensor.
EDIT 2
Another vague source stating that FOX uses a "five-figure rule" (assuming between $10,000 - $99,000)
It seems FOX, like most studios, will not license individuals to
create new works based upon their products. They will only commission
individuals of their choosing if they elect to branch out into
expanded product lines related to those licenses. Alternately, they
are open to making the licencing available to large corporations with
access to global markets, but only if those corporations agree to what
Ms Friedman called a "five-figure guarantee". Presumably this means
that the corporation seeking the licensing must agree to pay a
5-figure sum for that license, and be confident that their product
will sell enough volume to recoup that fee, and to produce sufficient
profits to make the acquisition worth their while.
Thank you!
