![]() ![]() We really like to operate on a product-by-product case. SR: I think it's too early to say what the future will bring, but we're always going to be licensing some properties. Are you guys planning to bring these properties back in-house as deals with external publishers expire? However, you're also in the unenviable position of having many of these licenses in the hands of other publishers, such as Electronic Arts owning the Batman film license. ![]() ![]() GS: Yeah, but you guys are in the enviable position of being part of a company which has dozens of properties that could translate into games, particularly in the case of Warner Bros. So we'll be in both spaces across all platforms. We're going to operate as any large publisher would, and any large publisher has a portfolio with both original and licensed games. Will WBIE's focus be on original IP as well, or are you going to try and focus more on existing licenses? GS: Well, with that kind of bankroll I would hope so! This reminds me a lot of the announcement by Viacom, one of WBIE parent Time Warner's corporate rivals, that it is pumping $500 million into MTV Games, which is developing and publishing Rock Band. We've got theatrical projects like Speed Racer, which we've already announced, and we've got original IP in the works. We're madly looking for development partners, we're looking at acquisitions, and we're green-lighting projects. SR: No, it's just for the development and publishing of games, period. GS: Did it come with any strings attached? Did the Abu Dhabi Media Company want any specific games made? Interactive Entertainment, because $500 million of the fund is dedicated to games. Samantha Ryan: This is a huge deal for Warner Bros. GameSpot: So when this deal was announced, it seemed like a more general agreement just geared toward Warner Bros. So what does a growing publisher do with a half-billion dollars? Samantha Ryan, who became senior vice president of development and production of WBIE in February, sat down with GameSpot to explain her company's strategy for well-funded growth. Interactive Entertainment for the "development and publication of video games." The amount of funds in question? $500 million, the same figure Viacom is pumping into its MTV Games unit and about two-thirds the amount Electronic Arts dropped to purchase BioWare/Pandemic. The deal also provided financing to Warner Bros. Specifically, the deal was a "long-term, multi-faceted strategic alliance calling for the creation of a theme park and hotel, jointly owned multiplex cinemas a co-finance agreement covering feature film production" between Abu Dhabi Media Company and Warner Bros. One Gulf sheikdom, Abu Dhabi, recently announced it, too, was making a major investment in a major Western multinational, TimeWarner. Earlier this month, Time magazine ran an article called " Welcome to Du-buy? " It outlined the cavalcade of multibillion dollar investments being made by various Persian Gulf states in Western companies such as Apple, Dell, Microsoft, and Yahoo. ![]()
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