The results are not very good for the group Embracerwhile the CEO of the group, Lars Wingeforshas an idea of the cause: average results for the license of the Lord of the Ringsand lower than usual activity in the area. But is it still possible to do something good around Tolkien's work?
Disappointing results for Lord of the Rings in video games?
Embracer acquired the rights to Lord of the Rings a few years ago for a little less than 400 million dollarsand since then the video game projects have followed one another. Unfortunately, as explained by the sources of Variety : the results are not good, and Embracer boss blames lack of activity around Lord of the Rings.
“In its entertainment and services division, which also includes comics publisher Dark Horse Media, Embracer reported a 14% decline in organic growth, which it attributes to “weaker activity and difficult comparative figures from 'year to year' within the Middle-earth Enterprises subsidiary, the holding company for 'Lord of the Rings'.”
(Source)
A complicated production for games based on Tolkien's books, and yet the potential is enormous. Despite the good performance of the game “Return to the Moria” released this year, the license has difficulty producing good games, and it is rather flops one after another, let's not even talk about the game Gollum.
Great future prospects for Lord of the Rings, but in terms of animation?
If the Lord of the Rings video games are having trouble getting people to talk about them, it is perhaps in another way that the license will make noise in entertainment. Indeed, Embracer seems believe in the success of the anime future !
The company is pinning its hopes on the upcoming animated film “The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim,” which will be released in the United States and around the world next month, and Mr. Wingefors said it will Expected to see “notable year-over-year earnings growth” from the film, Embracer's quarterly report also indicates that the film's release is increasingly anticipated and fan response is encouraging. “
(Source)
No doubt about it, an anime about the Lord of the Rings, with an original story and interesting characters, could completely convince many fans, and compensate for the lack of decisive video games.
There is no doubt that the license still has enormous potential and that it would be possible to make good games, but not sure that Embracer will take the risk of a blockbuster after the mixed results of the license in games.
