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Matrix Game Payments To Wachowskis Revealed

Posted by simoniker on from the choose-the-money-bag-or-the-money-bag dept.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a Gamesindustry.biz report discussing the financial terms of the deal made with the Wachowski Brothers for the Matrix games. It's rare that anyone gets to see the kind of financial terms granted to creators of big licenses like The Matrix. But divorce documents for one of the brothers, made available via The Smoking Gun, have revealed a total of 2.75 million dollars will be paid to them with regard to Atari's Enter The Matrix game (and another 2.75 million going direct to Warner Bros), plus an eventual total of 2.5 million dollars going to the Wachowskis for Ubi Soft's The Matrix Online through 2007. More proof, if needed, that games are seriously big business.

2 of 22 comments (clear)

  1. Small Correction by Babbster · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's more proof, if needed, that many game companies would rather spend millions of dollars on a big-ticket license than spend that money making a truly great game.

  2. I'll bite... by Scorchio · · Score: 4, Informative

    How many games do cost $20 million to develop, and how many sell 5 million copies?

    Only the tiniest percentage of games will achieve sales figures like that (eg. GTA, Warcraft, The Sims). A "successful" game will sell more than a few hundred thousand copies. You've got to be damned sure you're going to get the sales to support an investment of $3m. Fortunately - or unfortunately, depending on your point of view - a strong licence such as The Matrix almost guarantees good sales figures, even if the game itself is no better than average.