Bethesda Loses Latest Appeal Against Fallout MMO Devs
- Thread starter Hevva
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Okay here is the long story.Aizsaule said:
When Interplay Fell into bankruptcy in 2004 they sold off their IP Fallout to the highest bidder, that was Zenimax. The agreement of the IP was for Bethesda to have exclusive rights to the brand, but with the rights for making a MMO game being kept with Interplay. The other agreement was to have it in full production by 2009, or face legal action. According to Zenimax that agreement was breached (Which Interplay disputes), So in April 2009 Zenimax filled a lawsuit against the company for breaking legal agreements, and now Zenimax wants full rights to the series, which being the MMO. Zenimax is also making a counter argument that Interplay have no rights to any of the fallout assets, which is in fact a load of old cobblers.
Yeah, and suddenly Zenimax is interested in obtaining the MMO rights (which with the loose agreement gave Zenimax a good reason to back their argument). Zenimax is looking to shut it down, get the rights, and profit from it by developing one themselves. Which could totally kill off Interplay for good.
In court, screenshots were shown of the game as evidence of development. This screenshot is a very early alpha build.
The fallout MMO has been in development hell, and has been currently moved over to Masthead Studios for development, but don't hold your breath that the beta will ever come out next year.
True, but there really is such a thing as bad publicity. Having a lot of people calling your marketing moronic isn't exactly going to boost sales.dogstile said:I still don't see why people think their PR department is bad, they're like Jim Sterling, they generate controversy and people talk about whatever the hell they've stirred up. Just sayin'
Why does bethesda care? Anything interplay makes will sell in the dozens, and won't affect bethesda's game sales at all, and maybe one of the 32 people who join the fallout MMO will come and play some of bethesda's fallout games.
Hehehe this is funnybrainslurper said:
Also, it's Masthead who are doing the developpement now, i guess the 6 lawyers and 3 managers left at interplay are too busy to make games anymore.
It's really reassuring that they gave the job to a very young bulgarian studio, with only 1 game ever released, which also got a whooping 5.5/10 on metacritic, it surely inspires confidence and it dosen't sound at all like they shopped for the cheapest alternative possible...
"claiming that doing so would infringe on canon elements of future Fallout games"
Now THAT'S dumb. They can't allow artistic interpretation? Evolution of folklore? If they based their lawsuit on the idea that, "The game will suck and soil the reputation of the IP." that would be a little bit understandable.
I hope the game designers at Bathesda working hard to make the games so good aren't the same people as the lawyers and executives who are working hard to go around suing people like a bunch of wieners. But of course if the other, unrelated lawsuit is more legitimate, then that's ok.
Now THAT'S dumb. They can't allow artistic interpretation? Evolution of folklore? If they based their lawsuit on the idea that, "The game will suck and soil the reputation of the IP." that would be a little bit understandable.
I hope the game designers at Bathesda working hard to make the games so good aren't the same people as the lawyers and executives who are working hard to go around suing people like a bunch of wieners. But of course if the other, unrelated lawsuit is more legitimate, then that's ok.
I don't think the people who want Interplay to make the MMO realize that they're so pathetically small and poor that they've outsourced the MMO to a nobody company called Masthead that has made nothing good or of note. As a result, I also believe Bethesda deserves to win this case, as the contract requires that Interplay be making a good faith effort to produce the game. They are not; they are making a half-assed effort and a game as bad as this one will be if it is released will definitely hurt the Fallout brand.
IMO, Interplay is just trying to outlast this court case so they can sell the MMO rights to Bethesda for enough money to possibly keep afloat.
IMO, Interplay is just trying to outlast this court case so they can sell the MMO rights to Bethesda for enough money to possibly keep afloat.
all of this because Bethesda wanted Interplay to prove it had the money to develop the MMO, so it would not end up with unpaid Interplay employees suing Bethesda down the line for unpaid wages as the IP holder.
Had Interplay just provided the financial statements showing the money was there this would not have happened.
Had Interplay just provided the financial statements showing the money was there this would not have happened.
I really don't understand what the fuss is about. Everyone wants to see a Fallout MMO, but it's not like the concept will just die if Interplay doesn't have the rights. Someone else will pick them up. Secondly, Interplay are mainly publishes, they have developed maybe 2-3 memorable games in their entire career. I don't see why it's so important to have them involved in the project. It's like saying that it's EXTREMELY important that the action movie you are going to see is produced by rich bastard x and not rich bastard y. Who cares, honestly?
What happened was metroid prime came out, a game which I failed to enjoy in any way for any length of time. Besides, think of it this way: if Prime hadn't happened, Other M wouldn't have happened.WhiteTigerShiro said:
Anyway, yes, the logistics of an rpg for fallout would require ultra-careful handling, and that's not going to happen. The fallout MMO will be a cash grab that will just be WoW with guns in the desert.
I like how you had to be all dodgy and answer my question with your own personal opinion about a game that was widely received both from within, and outside of, its respective fandom. And for all I know you made-up that opinion on the spot to avoid having to admit that I have a point. And Other M is neither here nor there. I'm not going to scorn Game A just because it may have possibly lead to the creation of Game B. I'll just ignore Game B and continue playing Game A. Although at this point I'm giving too much screen time to your attempts to distract me from the point I was making.8-Bit_Jack said:
Mind that I'm not saying the Fallout MMO will be good. I'm just saying that the gaming industry has shocked us before on something that "couldn't possibly be good", and then got rave reviews, and that there exists at least one formula that can lead to a good Fallout MMO.