Someone Wants To Buy Kingdoms of Amalur

The Wooster

King Snap
Jul 15, 2008
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Someone Wants To Buy Kingdoms of Amalur


The skeletal remains of 38 Studios is ready to sell off its only remaining asset.

38 Studios' well-documented meltdown not only left dozens of developers unemployed and Rhode Island politicians scrabbling to find excuses for the fact they gave $75 million to an unproven game development start up, it also left a surprisingly good new IP swaying in the wind.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, the first installment in what was supposed to be a multi-genre fantasy franchise, was launched to a warm critical response [http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/kingdoms-of-amalur-reckoning] and, for a new IP, impressive sales. According to studio head, Curt Schilling, who sadly wasn't quite as good as managing a development studio as he was at throwing a ball really fast, claims the game shifted 1.3 million copies in its first 90 days. Not bad for a new IP from an unproven developer. It wasn't quite enough to save studio, which declared bankruptcy after missing several loan payments to the state.

Fortunately, the end of 38 Studios might not mean the end of Amalur. What remains of the studio is trying to sell off the game and its accompanying assets in an attempt to clear the $130 million debt. According to The Providence Journal, an unnamed party has already shown an interest in the title.

"Who knows what the value ultimately will be," said Providence lawyer, Richard J. Land. "But there is interest in the assets."

Schilling might just need that money too. Last November, the State of Rhode Island sued the former pitcher and 13 others in a separate attempt to recoup the $130 million debt. The next hearing in that case is set for Wednesday.

Source: The Providence Journal [http://news.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/2013/05/ri-prepares-to-sell-38-studios-video-games-to-help-recover-130-million-debt.html] via Polygon [http://www.polygon.com/2013/5/20/4348608/38-studios-kingdoms-of-amalur-sale-pay-off-debt]

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Dr.Awkward

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Mar 27, 2013
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It's got to be EA. They published it as a deal, so hey, why not just buy it since that's the name less-informed people are likely to remember on who made it?

Blizzard Activision is a close second, since it's somewhat close to Blizzard's designs anyway.
 

Goofguy

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Nov 25, 2010
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Good luck to anyone who tries to snap that up. On an other note, $130 million in debt?? Wow, that is a hefty bill to pay off...
 

Kuala BangoDango

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Mar 19, 2009
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Something I don't understand. I keep seeing the $75M loan number and the $130M debt number. Why does RI get to collect $130M if they only gave out $75M? Did they really charge THAT much interest on the loan? That's 73% profit...and that's not even counting the amount that 38 Studios WAS able to pay back when they were still paying. That sounds more like Loan Shark interest numbers to me.

Am I missing something or is "We have to double our money!" standard practice on government loans? Cause if so I think the banks still owe us something on all that bailout money we loaned them. And, if it IS the case that RI really was supposed to double their money, then RI got what it deserved for being greedy. I'm sure if they would have lowered the interest expected back in payments 38 Studios might still be in business with another game out bringing in money.
 

Albino Boo

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Jun 14, 2010
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Kuala BangoDango said:
Something I don't understand. I keep seeing the $75M loan number and the $130M debt number. Why does RI get to collect $130M if they only gave out $75M? Did they really charge THAT much interest on the loan? That's 73% profit...and that's not even counting the amount that 38 Studios WAS able to pay back when they were still paying. That sounds more like Loan Shark interest numbers to me.

Am I missing something or is "We have to double our money!" standard practice on government loans? Cause if so I think the banks still owe us something on all that bailout money we loaned them. And, if it IS the case that RI really was supposed to double their money, then RI got what it deserved for being greedy. I'm sure if they would have lowered the interest expected back in payments 38 Studios might still be in business with another game out bringing in money.
They owe money to other people as well. I believe there is bank loan which Schilling personally guaranteed
 

Kuala BangoDango

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Mar 19, 2009
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albino boo said:
They owe money to other people as well. I believe there is bank loan which Schilling personally guaranteed
If so, why would RI be trying to collect debt money that 38 Studios owes to other people? Can't those people have their own lawsuits without making the state try to collect it for them?
 

Saviordd1

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Jan 2, 2011
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Yes please!

I loved Kingdoms of Amalur and it would make me extremely sad if the IP just died out.
 

Proverbial Jon

Not evil, just mildly malevolent
Nov 10, 2009
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I bought Amalur specifically to support a new studio and IP. I only played it once and never went back to it. There's all kinds of irony going on here.

I really should get back into Amalur...
 

ZeroMachine

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Oct 11, 2008
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I WANT to like Amalur. I really, really do. But every damn time I try it I drop it before I get out of the first dungeon because there's something about it that just legitimately pisses me off.

I don't even know what. I think the graphics are shit, but that isn't a problem. I think the art style is a complete and poorly done ripoff of Warcraft's, but that isn't that big of an issue with me, and it helps cover up the blatant graphical issues.

All I can think of is that the game's opening is atrocious and the story seems to copy-paste. I've heard countless times that it gets better, but I've just yet been able to soldier through it.

But I've said that only to be able to say this: I sincerely hope it's bought by a good company and finds a good home, and even retains some of it's former creators.

It was an ambitious as fuck project, and their product is superb for a first-time game, so I'd love to see what they can do with some practice.
 

NathLines

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May 23, 2010
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For a moment there, I thought the article was going to be about me. I've been waiting for a really good deal on Amalur so I've been looking around frequently.

Anyhow, I hope that they'll be able to sell the IP and settle at least some of the debt.
 

Pebkio

The Purple Mage
Nov 9, 2009
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...Aaron, is this you? I know we were kinda joking around but... tell me this isn't you. Just drop me a line: "Pebkio, no, I didn't really go make an offer." Please.

Anyway, yeah, I liked it, it's one of the only four games I've ever bought at full retail. I got all the original achievements... except the herb gathering one, because it just won't give it to me. I'd look forward to playing the continuation, but certainly not for the story or setting. Meaning I'll want it to have a similar play-style to Reckoning.

Seriously, the setting was terrible. As Yathzee put it:
"The Tuatha are engaged in a conflict with the Seelie Fae and the Juton in the lands Nick-Nack-Knocky and Bingly-Bongly-Boo." A bunch of rolly-polly hills covered in grass and maybe some trees sporting a mass variety of things that have weird names.

If we learned anything from this game it's to never let a 700-page book writer develop the story for an interactive toy. Also to be weary of people who throw balls really fast for a living trying to start a multimillion dollar company instantly from scratch. If I WERE buying this IP, I'd have the sequel take place in the sixties, Watchmen style. The Vietcong could be the remnants of the Summer Fae, Russia is what's become of the Jotun and China can be the future version of Rithen... but the bigger war is magic versus machine.
 

gamernerdtg2

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Jan 2, 2013
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I enjoyed the game. It has it's moments where it really shines, like the Balor part of the game.
I enjoyed the combat, which is what sold the game for me.

I don't understand the complaints about the graphics or the story - I thought it was all done well enough. Especially the Teeth of Naros story.

I see a sequel to this game as pure win. Warcraft is a PC game just like Skyrim, so I'm glad to see games like Amalur and Dragon's Dogma on consoles. We sorely needed them.
 

piinyouri

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Mar 18, 2012
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It was a fun little Fable-esque RPG that I greatly enjoyed for what it was.
It could be vastly improved with a sequel and given a chance to really shine though, so this makes me hopeful.
 

RedmistSM

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Jan 30, 2010
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Hope it gets sold to someone who gets what was good about it and what needs to go. It wasn't a bad game, and I played through the entirety of it and it's DLC, but it's sort of boring, and for its dumb huge amount of backstory, rarely gets engaging in anything else than the basic combat mechanics. And about those: Enemy and boss variety was way too small for the world, and it got very easy pretty fast. Even the exploration was simple, since you couldn't jump or climb, you only moved on plains and could jump down from some spots. It was the game that made me start listening to podcasts while playing games. I could get into a sequel, but I hope the people who make that are better at either storytelling, exploration or combat mechanics. Any of them would do.
 

kailus13

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Mar 3, 2013
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If someone does get the Amalur IP, I hope they make a way to ensure you don't have to fight every enemy in a given area. It got especially annoying when you're overpowered for an area and you can just curbstomp everyone. I just want to explore!
 

LiMaSaRe

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Mar 6, 2012
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Yes! WOOOooooooooo hell yeah! Do not let Amalur die I love that setting, I don't care what game they make for it. Those gnomes man.
 

Maxtro

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Feb 13, 2011
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I had a lot of fun with Amalur. I would like more.

The only real thing that I had a problem with was quests sending you far off into different zones, and if you went to said zone, you set the level of that zone pretty low.

Overall it was just too easy, even playing on Hard.
 

walrusaurus

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Mar 1, 2011
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Grey Carter said:
it also left a surprisingly good new IP swaying in the wind.
Really? People liked that game? I had it as top contender for biggest disappointment of 2012 coming in second only to Diablo. The concept was interesting, but -while i liked the combat- the gameplay and the whole realization of the world design was soo soo generic. The game was trying so hard to be Elder Scrolls meets Warcraft that it didn't have really anything new to show for itself at all.