Big film or TV licences are often seen as a quick and easy way for publishers to score a hit, as they either hook into existing audiences or parallel marketing.
But an increasingly savvy audience is aware such games aren't focused on quality; in face it's often the opposite.
That's one of the reasons Turner's Adult Swim channel most recently behind Erasure-obsessed unicorn fest Robot Unicorn Attack on iOS has concluded that games based on licences are often far less lucrative than original content.
License to sell?
"License games don't have a great track record," Jeff Olsen, VP of Adult Swim Digital and Games, told Joystiq.
"The audience for a casual game based on completely original IP, in my experience, is almost unlimited. If you're basing it on a show, you're probably shutting more people out than letting them in."
As a result, after initially releasing games based on franchises such as Cartoon Network's Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Hanna-Barbera character Harvey Birdman, Adult Swim has shifted to publishing original content.
Faster, faster
"We're trying to get to the point where we can release a new mobile game a month," he said of the firm's current strategy to accelerate its footprint.
The firm is also currently in the process of targeting Android, with Robot Unicorn Attack set to hit Google's platform on April 19.
[source: Joystiq]
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With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.
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