March 31st, 2008 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Brand Licensing | No Comments »
As long as I know, THQ has always created motor racing games based on the MotoGP. Today however, the news was released that Capcom has gained world-wide exclusive rights to the name on all platforms.
Capcom has signed a five year agreement which supersedes the rights granted to publish titles on the Playstation platforms. Last year, MotoGP 07 was successfully launched on the Playstation 2.
MotoGP is the world’s premier motorcycling championship consisting of 18 Grands Prix hosted around the globe. It features the world’s top motorcycle manufacturers such as Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Ducati, Kawasaki, KTM and Aprilia, who provide machinery for the world’s best riders, including reigning World Champion Casey Stoner, Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa.
The 2008 grid also includes Japan’s Shinya Nakano, plus newcomers for the new season, such as 250cc World Champion Jorge Lorenzo and last year’s World Superbike Champion, James Toseland, from the UK.
Commenting on the announcement Mark Beaumont, executive vice president, officer and head of Capcom consumer software publishing in the Americas and Europe said: “We are very excited to have signed this long term agreement with Dorna Sports, which for the first time grants one publisher worldwide multi-platform rights to the adrenaline fuelled world of MotoGP. We feel this move to a single publisher will greatly benefit our ability to develop titles that deliver more authenticity and excitement to the consumer”.
Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, the exclusive holder of all commercial and TV rights to MotoGP commented: “Capcom has already shown its ability to deliver a title that captures the essence of MotoGP and we look forward to working with them over the next five years”.
