Activision wins rights to “James Bond” games

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Activision Inc. has won the
rights from film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to make “James
Bond” video games, taking over the popular franchise from rival
Electronic Arts Inc..

Activision, the No. 2 U.S. games publisher behind
Electronic Arts, said on Wednesday the deal gives it worldwide
rights to make PC, handheld and console games based on the
superspy, whose whiz-bang gadgetry and adventures in exotic
locales have made him highly coveted as a video game property.

Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed, but
Activision said it will have exclusive rights to 007 games for
seven years starting from September 2007.

Activision, which like MGM is located in Santa Monica,
California, said it had “non-exclusive” rights to make Bond
games until then.

“The James Bond franchise creates tremendous global
expansion opportunities for Activision as it is one of the few
video game licenses that appeals equally to domestic and
international consumers,” Mike Griffith, head of Activision’s
publishing arm, said in a statement.

The Bond franchise has seen mixed success in the gaming
world, with “Goldeneye” for the Nintendo 64 in 1997 console
widely considered one of the best games of all time.

Electronic Arts’s last Bond game, “From Russia With Love,”
based on the 1963 movie starring Sean Connery, garnered
lukewarm reviews.

Warren Jenson, chief financial officer of Electronic Arts,
speaking on a conference call after the company’s quarterly
earnings, said it had agreed to end the licensing deal because
it no longer fit its corporate strategy.

No video game publisher has officially announced a title
based on the next Bond movie, a remake of 1967′s “Casino
Royale” due out in November from MGM and Columbia Pictures, a
unit of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Sony also owns a stake in
MGM.