Where movie studios stand regarding licensing rights, video game publishing

Disney Interactive Studios recently voiced its stance regarding video games, but what about the other movie studios out there? Are they just as enthusiastic about licensing out their movie rights? Or do they actually publish video games themselves?

More on the status quo in the full article, right after the jump.

These days, it isn’t just the “pure” video game publishers that publish video games; movie studios are also in on the business. Thing is, depending on the studio, some may opt to have a sister company do the work instead of going the direct route.

Here’s short summary of how the various movie studios stand with regard to licensing and video game publishing:

• Disney: Walt Disney Studios lets its sister Disney Interactive Studios (DIS) publish a lot of family-oriented games. DIS also publishes other games that aren’t based on Disney titles.
• Fox: This one licenses its properties to video game publishers.
• Lionsgate: Licenses its properties to video game publishers.
• MGM: This studio also licenses its properties to publishers.
• Paramount: While the studio has traditionally licensed out all its properties, it’s also starting to get into video game publishing itself.
• Sony Pictures: Its corporate sibling, Sony Computer Entertainment, is maker of the PlayStation consoles and the games for those consoles. Sony Pictures licenses out its properties to various different videogame publishers.
• Universal: This one also licenses out all its properties to video game publishers.
• Warner Bros.: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) owns developer Monolith. It oversees licensing to other publishers for some Warner. Bros properties that it doesn’t handle. Warner also owns a 10% stake in Eidos.

As you can see from the list above, all of the studios are either into either licensing out movie rights for games, or publishing games themselves, or both. It’s hardly surprising, given how some of the games of today are sometimes marketed as “interactive movies.”