| Machiavellian said: Are you telling me there is just one standard model. Are you telling me each publisher deals with each developer the same way. Because we seem to be arguing in circle. You made a comment already about what Carmack stated that EA Partners is not a standard publishing agreement but a list of services and options. You seem to have just dismissed that comment. Are you telling me that Respawn cannot make other partnerships with other companies. Are you telling me that Respawn does not have enough control to state what platform they want their game published on. |
I'm telling you it is ludicrous to think that it's literally a loan, as if Respawn went to the Bank of EA and walked out with a wad of cash to the tune of $100 million, and when they burned through all that, they had to go take out another loan at the Bank of Microsoft. EA is making a huge bet on this game, and they are going to see to it that Respawn is going to have the funds necessary to finish it.
And yes. I am telling you that Respawn cannot just take their game over to Activision or whoever and have them publish it, too. Odds are they do not actually own the game, and at least while they are under contract to EA they definitely can't just do whatever they want with it. "Listen up, Mr. Moore! We're Respawn Entertainment, brother! We chart our own course! Wheeeeeeeee!"
You can't compare their arrangement with EA to id's deal for Orcs & Elves, a cheap mobile game. Or Valve's when they just needed a retail distributor. Or even Crytek when they were already an established studio with a hit game under their belt. (And I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts that, although they own the IP, Crytek can't just put the original Crysis on any platform they want without EA's say so.) Respawn didn't even have a studio until EA set them up, and EA is paying for the entire production of their expensive as hell game. The deal between them is going to reflect that.
