It worked exceedingly well for the NBA 2K series, and several other franchises have tried to cash in on the past as of late, so it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if WWE did the same and tailored the upcoming WWE 13 with a focus around the “Attitude Era”. That’s the rumor from Wrestle Zone which takes the opportunity following recent tweets from Sean “X-Pac” Waltman to speculate and drop some inside knowledge on where the product is headed.
Waltman has made news by going off on THQ in a series of tweets that began on Tuesday. A few examples of the dialogue taking place regarding negotiations with THQ:Â
•thq trying to low ball & deny customary royalties to Attitude Era stars who dont happen to be currently under WWE contract or Legends deal.
•The amount of money they are offering. It’s insulting. Actually Im the one embarrassed to even give the figure.
•A dear friend asked me to back off on thq & they would be happy to continue negotiating. What a joke that was. Game back on. Sorry H
If WWE is pushing to bring in “Attitude Era” personalities, which attempting to get X-Pac would seem to suggest, the amount of money they’d be offering per wrestler will probably seem low in the grand scheme of things. They’d have to contract with a large number of people, and each one on their own may not necessarily increase sales, but a large group potentially would and they’d need many if not all to deliver that full authenticity. So both sides are fighting with the limited leverage they have.
Many companies have run into conflicts similar to this one. 2K Sports with All-Pro Football and NBA 2K11/12 and EA Sports with the Fight Night series would be recent examples. When individuals have to be signed the companies have to deal with a wide variety of egos. Some would love to be included and the money isn’t a factor while others view themselves as a brand, more valuable than others, or want their cut of the revenue they see a product they are involved with brings in.