XBLA’s crown jewel Limbo would have been on PSN first, but talks with Playdead failed because Sony wanted the IP rights to the game. It’s Sony’s policy to get the IP rights of any third-party exclusives. Limbo sold pretty well on PSN and was named the best selling PSN title of 2011.
“I maybe shouldn’t say this, but we had issues when we were trying to sign Limbobecause of the IP,” Sony’s Pete Smith revealed at the Develop conference in Brighton, UK.
“There are obvious benefits to keeping it, but also to giving it up: you’re way more likely to get the deal. Remember: 100 per cent of nothing is nothing. A publisher is much more likely to commit to marketing and merchandising if they own the IP.
“Sometimes all we want is protection so [devs] don’t make a game, finish it then go to one of our rivals. We look at IP on a case by case basis. With a bit of common sense, you can find common ground.”
Thanks, Edge.