Interplay Claims It Could Take Back Fallout

[Ordinaryundone]

I feel for Interplay, but honestly they need to let it go. As others are saying, Interplay was all too ready to hand out its franchises and assets to anyone who could pay, but now they realize they've sold the golden goose and are suddenly scrambling to get anything out of it they can.

Its not like an Interplay-made Fallout MMO would be any good. They simply don't have the money or resources to build or maintain one. It would inevitably be a cheap cash-in on Fallout's current popularity.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Forget Call of Duty 4.3, this is real world modern warfare.
Legal battles over control of vital resources...in this case, a brand name.

Knowing what I do know about contract law, Bethesda cannot possibly "refund" the value of the Fallout IP (because it has changed. Namely, it has increased in value, tremendously.) so the sale will have to be revoked completely if they fail to let Interplay do their MMO (unless Bethesda can prove Interplay violated the contract first, which changes Bethesda's action from a violation to one of legal necessity).

Due to the nature of the case, I seriously doubt either side will settle out of court, so the war over the brand name continues.

Ethically, it is my opinion that neither side is "innocent" here (based on the previous legal engagements and court records). Economically, I'm convinced that a Fallout based MMORPG would fail, due to the nature of the setting (post-apocalyptic isolation isn't so isolated when there are THOUSANDS of players running around the same area) and because it has to compete directly with WoW (and later, possibly Star Wars:TOR, assuming WoW doesn't smother it to death too).

 

[Cyberjester]

Wow, I bet that's something that Bethesda never considered... honestly, I'd love to see this happen. While I've enjoyed the new fallout games immensely, I'd certainly love to see what Interplay can do with it. Regardless, this is the only MMO i am even remotely interested in right now, despite the ironic nature of a post-apocalyptic MMO.

There already was a post-apocalyptic MMO, and it was awesome. Too bad no-one plays it.

 

[TimeLord]

Children, can we just please get along and share custody of the Fallout children?

 

[TrogzTheTroll]

Ohh this is funny, two big companies acting like children...

Companies act like children towards eachother. Nations act like children towards eachother. Its human nature.

Like when you childishly called a kid dying a moron for a reason that the article stated a few times might not be the exact cause of death?

 

[cainx10a]

Are any of the original Fallout developers still working at Interplay or did they move on to Obsidian after Black Isle collapsed?

 

[Gruchul]

I dislike these cases. I'd like to side with one side or another but am permenantly aware of the fact that who's right will come down to some line in a document I'll likely never see and wouldn't understand if I did. Does it really take this long to read a document and come up with a ruling for a team of legal professionals?

 

[MurderousToaster]

Interplay, those people who ruined Black Isle Studios and made the only shit Fallout game. I find it odd that people seem to forget these facts and support Interplay. I don't care if Bethesda's being dickheaded, Interplay lost the franchise for a fucking reason.

No, Bethesda made Fallout 3, not Interplay. I dunno how you could get that wrong and say that Interplay made the only bad Fallout game.

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel.

That's all I have to say to you.

 

[Kuala BangoDango]

Deal was they complete an MMO in a specific time frame or they lose the rights. Interplay didn't keep up their end of the bargain...

According to the timeline Interplay has until April 2012 to finish the game and so Interplay is still keeping up their end of the bargain.

The initial problem was the time frame to START the game, not complete it. They were supposed to start by April 2009, which they did (actually started in April 2008), but Bethesda said "It's not started enough" and tried taking the rights back which the courts denied them, agreeing with Interplay that the game was far enough along to be considered "started".

Interplay now has 4 years from the time of the start date to release the game. 4 years from April 2008 would be in April 2012 which is currently the expected release time. Whether Interplay will actually meet that date or not, who knows?

 

[Ausir]

Are any of the original Fallout developers still working at Interplay or did they move on to Obsidian after Black Isle collapsed?

Chris Taylor (Fallout 1 lead designer) and Mark O'Green (Fallout 1 and 2 dialogue writer) are at Interplay, working on Fallout Online.

 

[Ausir]

I f Interplay is permitted to "take back" the fallout franchise through legal miandering, doesn't that mean that they have to pay bethesda back the Millions they got in the IP sale in the first place, PLUS interest?

Quite the contrary, Bethesda would have to pay them royalties for Fallout 3 and New Vegas, which would be higher than the purchase price.

 

[Mrsoupcup]

Almost all of Black Isle Studios split with some staying at Interplay and some forming Obsidian. Of course Interplay haven't made anything good in years and Obsidian have never made anything that wasn't broken, buggy and over ambitious. Leave Fallout with Bethesda.

Also the last Fallout game by Interplay was the 360 game "Brotherhood of Steel". Which sucked big dino balls.

 

[uppitycracker]

Wow, I bet that's something that Bethesda never considered... honestly, I'd love to see this happen. While I've enjoyed the new fallout games immensely, I'd certainly love to see what Interplay can do with it. Regardless, this is the only MMO i am even remotely interested in right now, despite the ironic nature of a post-apocalyptic MMO.

There already was a post-apocalyptic MMO, and it was awesome. Too bad no-one plays it.

which one? i remember reading about one a while back that really caught my attention but i can't remember what it was.

 

[Ewyx]

Interplay get fallout back. Hire bethesda, give them a good QA team. Make the best rpg in years.

This must happen.

p.s. Obsidian can also hire Tim Cain et al.

 

[MurderousToaster]

Interplay, those people who ruined Black Isle Studios and made the only shit Fallout game. I find it odd that people seem to forget these facts and support Interplay. I don't care if Bethesda's being dickheaded, Interplay lost the franchise for a fucking reason.

No, Bethesda made Fallout 3, not Interplay. I dunno how you could get that wrong and say that Interplay made the only bad Fallout game.

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel.

That's all I have to say to you.

BoS isn't the only bad game, and even so, it's not the worst Fallout. That game was still made by Bethesda.

Are you angry with Bethesda because they made an actually bad game, or because they made a Fallout game that wasn't the "real" Fallout?

Because, in all seriousness, it is entirely Interplay's fault that Bethesda even got the rights to Fallout in the first place. If Interplay hadn't royally fucked up Black Isle, they'd still be making Fallout.

 

[Hybridwolf]

Hey interplay. I've got a solution for ya. Wasteland MMO. Considering it's the father of Fallout, there is going to be fuck all difference and the fans will know what you mean. Why do that? Because you are going to lose this battle, and you haven't got a recent title to your name to support you. Hell, you should have died when you ran Fallout into the ground in the first place.

 

[SimuLord]

Part of the deal was the conditional right to do the Fallout MMO. So far as I can gather, Interplay hasn't gotten the job done according to the contract terms, so Bethesda's within its rights to stop development for the good of the brand.

I hope Bethesda crushes Interplay on this one, because the latter is not financially or resource-wise in any position at all to do any good for that franchise.

 

[wammnebu]

Dear Bethesda. I had respect for you. Then you made oblivioon. I thought it was ok, but nowhere near as good as Morrowind. Then you made Fallout 3. I thought it was ok, but nowhere near as good as Fallout 1-2. Please let Interplay do this project in peace. Don't act like an ass. You make pretty good RPG's. So did Interplay. Let them try with the Fallout MMO. I am mildly excited about it. I really, really want it made.

Key word: did

Black Isle don't exist anymore (A number of them formed Obsidian), and Interplay are a shell of what they were. If you want Fallout games, you'll back Bethesda because they have the funds, the skill and the ability to make the games happen. Interplay have two French twits who headed the company that made Superman 64.

Now, really, who would you want in charge? The people who made Superman 64 or the people who made Morrowind?

Coldalarm is right. The major writers of fallout 2 made New Vegas. Fallout: New Vegas was probably the closest thing to Van Buren that you are going to get. No one expects Atari, or Activision to behave like they did in the 90's and 80's, so why is Interplay (whose most recent projects include Earthworm Jim and MDK) hailed like Christ on the donkey

 

[II2]

Why is everyone jumping up to defend Interplay? They're an incompetent, largely dead publisher. I'd imagine the motivation behind Bethesda's action against them is to prevent them from doing any further damage to the Fallout franchise. They've NOT been kind to it.

Anyone remember Interplay laying off Black Isle, who made the classic Fallouts we know and love while giving the greenlight to THIS, when forced to downsize:


Do you really WANT Interplay to make a Fallout MMO? Sure, Bethesda's "case" is at this point whitewash for a process-as-punishment legal money-burning dick move, but in a way, I can't help feel it's for the greater good.

I think Tycho's got a decent grasp on their nature as a company.

This comic was from 2004 FOR FUCKS SAKE!!!

 

[JEBWrench]

Bethesda needs to honor its agreement with Interplay whilst Interplay needs to make Descent 4

Bethesda isn't the one that failed to honor the agreement.

Myself and quite a few others have already pointed this out - Interplay did not hold up their end of the bargain. Which makes me wonder what grounds people seem to think Interplay actually is standing on.