| MSNBC December 17, 2001 No 'Ring' Deal Rules
Them All “Lord of the Rings” fans face a decision. Should they buy the “Rings” jigsaw puzzles with scenes from the coming movie? Or the puzzle that springs from the J.R.R. Tolkien novels on which the movie is based? This matters, at least to Ravensburger AG, which makes the movie puzzles, and H.P. Gibson & Sons Ltd., which produces one tied to the books. Gibson development manager Geoff Lee boasts that “purely from a jigsaw point of view,” the puzzle based on the novels is superior because its art is more finely detailed. Not so, counters Ravensburger’s purchasing director, Harald Pfanner, who maintains that his company’s version has an advantage because of its ties to the film characters and Ravensburger’s strong distribution network. |