Bethesda Sues Interplay Over Use Of Fallout License

[Maharassa]

A wise man once said:
"If you get sued because you were paid to do a job you didn't do, that is not tragic, that is how the world should be."

Bethesda let Interplay keep the license on the condition that they get the funds for the Fallout MMO within 2 years and start developement. Which they didnt do. So they get sued for breach of contract. So while the statement reads like it was copied from the Manual of Douchebaggery, Bethesda is right.

I can't really feel sorry for Interplay, since none of the people who developed Fallout work there anymore.
And as far as I know Bethesda has some staff assigned to develop the MMO, so it will probably still come out some time, although i think it would be quite awful.

 

[FinalHeart95]

Not that I care, the Interplay Fallout games suck

That is blasphemy. *shakes head in disgust...*

rpgs are boring. get with the program.

fps is the way of the warrior

Fallout 3 is A RPG FIRST, FPS SECOND.

 

[Tri Force95]

Well, thats kinda funny. I recently bought the Fallout pack thing that Interplay came out with recently. So far, ehh. Ive only played Fallout 1, and its not that great. Hopefully two is better.

 

[Ausir]

Yeah, that confuses me too. If Bethesda is so uptight about slapping their own name across anything Fallout, why hire out the spinoff to another developer? And if they're not so uptight, well, there's absolutely no other reason for this lawsuit!

In case of Fallout Online, they licensed it out to another publisher under certain conditions and had no control over it. In case of New Vegas they are outsourcing it to another developer, remain the publisher and maintain full control. It's a totally different situation.

Wasn't Fallout an FPS (or third person shooter)?

Only Fallout 3. Fallout 1 and 2 are not.

 

[WorldCritic]

Well this is a crappy mess, I played the first two Fallout games and while they were a lot slower paced than Fallout 3 I had fun with them. Too bad this argument came up.

 

[The Madman]

In case of Fallout Online, they licensed it out to another publisher under certain conditions and had no control over it. In case of New Vegas they are outsourcing it to another developer, remain the publisher and maintain full control. It's a totally different situation.

Except that Bethesda didn't license anything for the Fallout MMO, that was 'supposedly' in the works even prior to Bethesda getting the rights to Fallout. The original agreement was that Bethesda would have the rights to make Fallout 3 and any future iterations of the series *except* for an MMO which Interplay retained the rights towards making. In the contract however it was stated they had to get to work chop-chop on the MMO and now it seems Bethesda is using both that stipulation as well as this 'we gotta see the box art' fine detail to try and pry the full Fallout name from Interplay... over Interplays dead body it seems because let's be honest here; Interplay ain't got much else left by this point!

Legally Bethesda's case is fine. I'm no lawyer, I'm sure they see more into it than I do, but Bethesda's likely got a case from what I can see and if this goes all the way into court I'd bet they'll 'win'. That doesn't make it any less of a douche move though on Bethesda's part, especially the way they're claiming Interplay, selling their own games which Bethesda has no right to, are somehow hurting Bethesda. Please.

Lets just be honest here. The entire thing reads like Bethesda trying to forcefully gain full rights over everything Fallout related, make the entire thing theirs once and for all... and by the sounds of that letter, stomp out the original legacy so they can rebuild it anew in their own vain-glorious image!

Can they? Sure. They own the rights, too bad for Interplay. Still a dick move though!

 

[Ausir]

Except that Bethesda didn't license anything for the Fallout MMO, that was 'supposedly' in the works even prior to Bethesda getting the rights to Fallout. The original agreement was that Bethesda would have the rights to make Fallout 3 and any future iterations of the series *except* for an MMO which Interplay retained the rights towards making.

That was the original agreement in 2004, yes, when Bethesda only licensed the rights to make 3 Fallout games from Interplay. But it changed in 2007, when Bethesda bought full rights to the Fallout franchise from Interplay and only licensed the rights to make a Fallout MMO to Interplay, under certain conditions, which Interplay failed to meet. You can read the whole story at:

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Project_V13
http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Project_V13_FAQ

 

[The Madman]

That was the original agreement in 2004, yes, when Bethesda only licensed the rights to make 3 Fallout games from Interplay. But it changed in 2007, when Bethesda bought full rights to the Fallout franchise from Interplay and only licensed the rights to make a Fallout MMO to Interplay, under certain conditions, which Interplay failed to meet. You can read the whole story at:

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Project_V13
http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Project_V13_FAQ

That, I confess, I did not know!

 

[tsolless]

Ouch, that sucks. Interplay should have followed the contract although I have a feeling that Bethesda was attempting to shut them out completely by making it so that they didn't permit the promotional content. Likely wrong though, but that's a vibe that I get.

Of course Interplay hasn't been a good company for a very long time. Fallout and Fallout 2 are their only good games. Ever.

 

[The Madman]

Of course Interplay hasn't been a good company for a very long time. Fallout and Fallout 2 are their only good games. Ever.

Interplay may be a hollow husk now, but believe it or not in the PC gaming world they once were kings. Some of the games they published and helped develop were:

Alone in the Dark
Bard's Tale
The Lost Vikings
Redneck Rampage
Carmageddon
Descent
FREESPACE 2
*PLANESCAPE: TORMENT*
-> ***BALDUR'S GATE*** <-

How sad that they went from that... to bickering over the rights to Fallout with Bethesda.

 

[MrSnugglesworth]

Its not like it'd be good.


Because it wouldn't be.


(The fallout MMO)

 

[SendMeNoodz84]

Bethesda bought the Fallout license for 5 million.
It's their property.
If they had an agreement, and Interplay violated that agreement, Bethesda has all the right to sue.
Bethesda just wanted to make it clear that they did not develop the original games.

 

[tsolless]

Of course Interplay hasn't been a good company for a very long time. Fallout and Fallout 2 are their only good games. Ever.

Interplay may be a hollow husk now, but believe it or not in the PC gaming world they once were kings. Some of the games they published and helped develop were:

Alone in the Dark
Bard's Tale
The Lost Vikings
Redneck Rampage
Carmageddon
Descent
FREESPACE 2
*PLANESCAPE: TORMENT*
-> ***BALDUR'S GATE*** <-

How sad that they went from that... to bickering over the rights to Fallout with Bethesda.

Oh shit, you're right I forgot about those games somehow. Personally I'm only hugely a fan of any of the games except for Planescape and Freespace but I admit the worthiness of the other games.

Thanks for calling me out on my bullshit.

 

[Disaster Button]

I'm fine with this. A post apocalyptic world with a sudden million survivors always seemed like a bit of a weird idea..

Bear in mind that's a few million down from a population of 6 billion. That's a paradigm shift if there ever was one.

Yeah but I sitll tihnk it's a bit much. Besides I tihnk that's a bit unfair cos you could never get 6 billion people in an MMO, so it's kinda hard to compare.

I know what you mean though and it's still a bit of a dick move by Bethesda.

 

[GenHellspawn]

Welcome to but one of the many issues that come with capitalism.

I get a strong feeling that you have no opinion on the matter, and are only posting because the sight of your own text amuses you. If you're going to make a generic, knee-jerk post, at least make it relevant to the topic.

As for Bethesda's actions, I can't clearly state how I feel. On one hand, they took away the Fallout franchise from it's creators, took a dump on it, and are now suing the original creators so they can buy another expensive car. But on the other hand, Interplay was the one that signed the deal and failed to pull through, so must now suffer legal consequence.

 

[Akai Shizuku]

Welcome to but one of the many issues that come with capitalism.

I get a strong feeling that you have no opinion on the matter, and are only posting because the sight of your own text amuses you. If you're going to make a generic, knee-jerk post, at least make it relevant to the topic.

As for Bethesda's actions, I can't clearly state how I feel. On one hand, they took away the Fallout franchise from it's creators, took a dump on it, and are now suing the original creators so they can buy another expensive car. But on the other hand, Interplay was the one that signed the deal and failed to pull through, so must now suffer legal consequence.

It is very relevant to the topic. My point was that the issues stated in the original post would not have happened without capitalism. That is my opinion.

 

[Professor M]

Not that I care, the Interplay Fallout games suck

That is blasphemy. *shakes head in disgust...*

rpgs are boring. get with the program.

fps is the way of the warrior

To each their own. If fps is the way of the warrior then RPG's are the way of the intellectual.

Boom! I am so quoting that at some point

 

[Dragonearl]

Welcome to but one of the many issues that come with capitalism.

I get a strong feeling that you have no opinion on the matter, and are only posting because the sight of your own text amuses you. If you're going to make a generic, knee-jerk post, at least make it relevant to the topic.

As for Bethesda's actions, I can't clearly state how I feel. On one hand, they took away the Fallout franchise from it's creators, took a dump on it, and are now suing the original creators so they can buy another expensive car. But on the other hand, Interplay was the one that signed the deal and failed to pull through, so must now suffer legal consequence.

It is very relevant to the topic. My point was that the issues stated in the original post would not have happened without capitalism. That is my opinion.

Saving that!. You should go on to inspirational posters with such sage advice.

 

[GenHellspawn]

My point was that the issues stated in the original post would not have happened without capitalism.

You see? You have no opinion on Bethesda or Interplay, you're just using a news event to further a political agenda.
That's not relevant, that's just being an attention whore.