Ubisoft Owns Tom Clancy
If you can't have the soul, you might as well purchase the name.
Published: March 20, 2008
Ubisoft really is trying to become like EA. Today they came one step closer. They now own Tom Clancy.
Well, in name only. The two have reached an agreement which gives Ubisoft all intellectual property rights to the Tom Clancy name, on a perpetual basis and free of future royalty payments, for use in video games and any assorted merchandise like movies and books.
It all means money. And money is what the Tom Clancy brand name makes.
"After ten years of a highly successful collaboration which has seen the creation of blockbusters that set standards in the videogame industry, such as Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, today, acquiring the perpetual property rights of the Tom Clancy name for video games and related projects is a major event," stated Yves Guillemot, Chief Executive Officer at Ubisoft.
"The future of our industry lies in our capacity to create and develop brands that captivate consumers and that present a myriad of opportunities for the full spectrum of entertainment, be it video games, books, movies or other media. The Tom Clancy brand is recognized around the world for offering exciting video games, films and books. The most recent example of such value creation through brand management is the EndWar book, based on the video game story, which has been in the NY Times top 10 Paperback Mass Market Fiction bestseller list for the last four weeks. Capitalizing on the strong franchises that we've built over the past 10 years, we will take the Tom Clancy game brand to the next level of the global entertainment industry."
This might seem crazy, but Tom Clancy games do sell by the boatloads on an year to year basis, not only because of the brand name Mr. Clancy has, but also because the games are good. This also gives Ubisoft the ability to flex their media muscle.
When all is said and done, Ubisoft is going to be rolling in piles of dough. Now might a good time to opt into some of that stock they have going. And if not, it's probably a good time to start working for them.
Well, in name only. The two have reached an agreement which gives Ubisoft all intellectual property rights to the Tom Clancy name, on a perpetual basis and free of future royalty payments, for use in video games and any assorted merchandise like movies and books.
It all means money. And money is what the Tom Clancy brand name makes.
"After ten years of a highly successful collaboration which has seen the creation of blockbusters that set standards in the videogame industry, such as Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, today, acquiring the perpetual property rights of the Tom Clancy name for video games and related projects is a major event," stated Yves Guillemot, Chief Executive Officer at Ubisoft.
"The future of our industry lies in our capacity to create and develop brands that captivate consumers and that present a myriad of opportunities for the full spectrum of entertainment, be it video games, books, movies or other media. The Tom Clancy brand is recognized around the world for offering exciting video games, films and books. The most recent example of such value creation through brand management is the EndWar book, based on the video game story, which has been in the NY Times top 10 Paperback Mass Market Fiction bestseller list for the last four weeks. Capitalizing on the strong franchises that we've built over the past 10 years, we will take the Tom Clancy game brand to the next level of the global entertainment industry."
This might seem crazy, but Tom Clancy games do sell by the boatloads on an year to year basis, not only because of the brand name Mr. Clancy has, but also because the games are good. This also gives Ubisoft the ability to flex their media muscle.
When all is said and done, Ubisoft is going to be rolling in piles of dough. Now might a good time to opt into some of that stock they have going. And if not, it's probably a good time to start working for them.