October 27, 2005
Peter Jackson Disses EA
Peter Jackson was not happy with the relationship with Electronic Arts in making the Lord of Rings games. So for King Kong, he went with Ubisoft and specifically asked for the team that made the critically acclaimed (but commercial flop) Beyond Good and Evil. Jackson clearing is an avid gamer and knows his stuff. Kudos to the King maker. I still have a copy of Beyond Good and Evil for my PS2 which I picked up for $5 at Best Buy during a clearance sale. I still need to play it someday.
So it came as a surprise to many when Jackson announced that Ubisoft, not EA, would be developing and publishing the game version of his remake of King Kong, due out on December 14. However, the primary reason Jackson, an avid gamer himself, gave was perfectly plausible. He said he wanted to work with Ubisoft producer Michel Ancel after having played the acclaimed but unpopular Beyond Good and Evil.
That said, an article in Monday's edition of the New York Times (subscription required) said Jackson had another motivation for going with Ubisoft: Namely, he didn't like working with EA. The article, which dealt with how filmmakers are becoming increasingly enmeshed in game development, said that Jackson "chafed at his dealings with the industry heavyweight."
The article also quoted Ken Kamins, Jackson's manager, as saying that "Electronic Arts was not interested in input from the filmmaker" but had no problem marketing the games as though he was closely involved in their making.
