Gamertell

The past year hasn’t been too kind for the Bratz franchise. It was just last summer (2007) that Bratz made its debut on the big screen and was widely reviled by critics nationwide as one of the year’s worst films and failed to break $10 million dollars. Now, word comes that Ubisoft, the third-largest game publisher in the industry has won a $13 million payoff from MGA Entertainment, the makers of the popular Bratz line of toys.

The court battle had been fought over the sudden termination of the license that was moved over to THQ back in 2003. Before the breaking of the agreement, Ubisoft had been publishing Bratz games for the original PlayStation and Game Boy Advance. MGA had dropped Ubisoft without giving good cause in the attempt to renegotiate a more favorable deal. The two companies ended up suing each other, and arbitrator sided yesterday with the game publisher to the sum of $13.2 million.

Like most fads, this defeat in court might be the signal that the Bratz license’s best days may be behind it. THQ’s 2005’s Bratz: Rock Angelz and 2006’s Bratz: Forever Diamondz each sold more then 700,000 copies at US retailers. However, in 2007, Bratz: 4 Real, Bratz: The Movie and Bratz: Ponyz didn’t even manage to break 100,000 units sold all together. Combined with the dramatic failure of the movie, the future of the franchises is in doubt. 

Read [GameSpot] Also Read [Game Industry Biz]