Rubicon Games

it’s all about money

Many Xbox enthusiasts have been waiting keenly for the game version of the world’s favorite spy James Bond. Rare was supposed to bring its seminal first-person shooter (FPS) Goldeneye 007 to Xbox fans. The Nintendo 64 game was to be adapted for Xbox Live Arcade by Rare but it hasn’t happened yet. Rare was supposed to add online multiplayer options and were even going to re-up the licenses for some of the actors who were part of the movie.

1up says that the reason behind the delay is the fact that Microsoft and Nintendo couldn’t quite reach an agreement as to how much Nintendo should receive for the new version of the game. Nintendo is the game’s publisher and also co-developed it. The main bone of contention in this matter is whether Nintendo should be given a one-time payment or whether it is entitled to royalty on the sale of the games.

Microsoft seems to be trying to use its superpower status to browbeat Nintendo into agreeing to a one-time payment so that it can rake in the profits from the sales that are sure to be very high. The only way around this dispute is if one of the parties compromise on their monetary gain.

I’m personally inclined to side with Nintendo since they are after all the co-developers of the game. Moreover the game is one of the most popular FPS in the market and bringing it to Xbox is worth any price they might pay for it. Moreover the immense popularity of the game will ensure that the Xbox adaptation is a hit too and that Microsoft will earn from the sales whatever they paid Nintendo many times over. For now there is no sign of a compromise and like all gamers we’ll be waiting for any good news.