Turbine Interview
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Q: How did Turbine manage to acquire the licenses for both the D&D Online and Lord of the Rings Online? What's the impact of having both in development at the same time?
A: I always say that we got them because of my good looks, but anyone who knows me realizes that isn't very likely! *laugh* Instead, I credit the development teams at Turbine. The pitches for both projects were exceptional. We did a terrific job presenting a vision for both projects that captured the true essence each franchise.
The path to The Lord of the Rings was a different one entirely. It started out as a development project. About halfway through the project, we were able to acquire the rights from Vivendi and Tolkien Enterprises. We have always been huge fans of the property and jumped at the chance to work directly with the Tolkien folks. They really like the work that we do, and we are perfectly ecstatic to be working with them. Again, we are amazingly lucky with our partners. The Tolkien people are incredible to work with.
Production-wise, we have the common advantage of using some of the same underlying core technologies. That has always been a strength of ours. It allows us to develop much more quickly and efficiently than our competitors. I see that every day with both of the projects. The biggest challenge probably has been managing the business. Both of the titles are very important and very demanding on everyone. Keeping a steady balance is very important and quite time-consuming.
