Remember back in 2012 when Activision was in a legal battle over Call of Duty franchise makers Vince Zampella and Jason West? As part of the court case, Activision was ordered to share details of its original contract with Bungie for Destiny.
Not only were the franchise’s entire lifespan revealed in the public documents, but it even mentioned the bonuses Bungie would receive if and when Destiny averaged a 90 on reviews.
Activision shall pay to Licensor a quality bonus (the “Quality Bonus”) in the amount of Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($2,500,000) should Destiny Game #1 achieve a rating of at least 90 as determined by gamerankings.com (or equivalent reputable services if gamerankings.com is no longer in sen/ice) as of thirty (30) days following the commercial release of Destiny Game #1 on Xbox 360.
As it stands now, Destiny is nowhere near a 90 average. On Metacritic, it’s at a middling 76, while it’s at 76.51% on GameRankings, which, unless a miracle happens, means that it won’t reach the 90 score average the game needs in order for Bungie to get that $2.5 million bonus.
However, it’s worth noting that the numbers listed in the documents are old (2010), and Kotaku has “heard” that it’s been reworked since then. Unfortunately, we still don’t know if this review bonus has been altered or taken out completely, and Activision hasn’t been forthcoming with specifics when reached for clarification.
Just in case you’re curious, PlayStation LifeStyle gave Destiny an 8.5, and an Editor’s Choice award. While Bungie may not bank on its bonuses if the contract still holds up, the shooter has been very successful at retail earning more than $325 million over the span of five days.
Does Destiny deserve the “low” scores it’s currently getting or are some media outlets being too harsh with the game given the hype it has received before launch?
[Source: Kotaku]
