Bethesda gets FOOL rights, Interplay gets $2 million

[13pm]

I'm pretty sure 1C/Cenega has publishing rights for Bethesda games in that region, even if they don't actually publish it in a given country.

I think Ausir is right (he usually is) and if that's the case there's no point blaming Bethesda.

Yeah, knowing 1C it's the most possible scenario. I assume there are some publishing problems between Steam, 1C and Bethesda, because when Steam officically came to Russia (meaning the prices being reduced and recounted into roubles), all Bethesda games (including FNV, F3, all TES games) have disappeared from the catalog for this region. And for the moment there are only a few Bethesda titles avaiable. Skyrim is not available as a digital purchase anywhere.

 

[Elven6]

Going by what happens on Xbox Live Arcade when rights change hands, games are usually delisted until a new agreement can be worked out with the new rights holder. Those who bought the game can still redownload it though via their download history page.

I assume something similar could happen with the old Fallout titles as well?

 

[LinkPain]

No sure if theres any reason for me to come back to nma now.

Maybe if Bethesda uses it's imaginary dumbass policy > "no Interplay/Troika/Obsidian fan forums should exist or are in violation of existence"

I can come up with even better: "all modifications for original games are illegal/Bethesda legally owns them"

If you have the reason to love Fallout for what it is and not for what the press say, then I see no reason for you to ditch account here. Unless of course NMA sticks Bethesda banner somewhere on the main page of the site.

 

[Bewitched]

So, does this settlement mean that Bethesda will be able to develop more than three Fallouts now?

 

[DevilTakeMe]

So, does this settlement mean that Bethesda will be able to develop more than three Fallouts now?

I do believe it means that Bethesda owns the whole kit and kaboodle now.

I may not like Bethesda, but I do like the fanbase and the modding community.

Oh well.

 

[Ausir]

So, does this settlement mean that Bethesda will be able to develop more than three Fallouts now?

They were only able to develop three Fallout games before they bought the whole franchise in 2007. After that, they are able to make as many as they want to.

 

[Goral]

Wow. So Interplay has lost not only MMO rights but even rights to the old games and all of this for measly 2 million ? What's more they have to pay lawyers and other employers that were working on Fallout MMO... That's so f*cked up it's hilarious. Remind me to not employ the lawyers Interplay was using. Either they were so bad at their job that they allowed for this or they were so good at it that they've seen from the start this case is lost and continued this charade so long as they were sure they could get their fee from the settlement (the longer it took the more money they would get).

Skyrim with guns, here we go...

OK, now try and tell me that Mayans were wrong about the end of the world in 2012.

P.S.
Where's the guy saying he saw iron proof of Interplay being right and it having chances of getting whole IP back?

 

[Kerr-Plomb]

So, does this settlement mean that Bethesda will be able to develop more than three Fallouts now?

They were only able to develop three Fallout games before they bought the whole franchise in 2007. After that, they are able to make as many as they want to.

So that is the case since 2007? Many acted if that was still the case these days, that Beth was still only allowed to do 3 Fallouts and Interplay was to do a MMO, after that all rights back to Interplay.

 

[Ausir]

So that is the case since 2007? Many acted if that was still the case these days, that Beth was still only allowed to do 3 Fallouts and Interplay was to do a MMO, after that all rights back to Interplay.

Yes, it is the case since 2007. Beth would only be allowed to make 3 Fallouts if Interplay had won the lawsuit and the rights reverted back to it, which was rather unlikely.

 

[Brother None]

I don't know about "many acted". Interplay investors, by way of Duck and Cover, were actively pushing the story that the license reverting to Interplay was a likely case scenario. But I don't think anyone else was buying that, as Ausir mentioned.

When it doubt, just look to this article.

 

[Ausir]

Remind me to not employ the lawyers Interplay was using. Either they were so bad at their job that they allowed for this or they were so good at it that they've seen from the start this case is lost and continued this charade so long as they were sure they could get their fee from the settlement (the longer it took the more money they would get).

Actually, judging from the court transcipts etc., Interplay's lawyer, Jeffrey Gersh, was pretty good (and seemed more competent than the Bethesda lawyers, who ended up being replaced twice), and likely did the best he could with such a crappy case he had. I wouldn't be surprised if, were it not for him, it would have ended with Bethesda getting the FOOL rights AND being paid by Interplay.

 

[Brother None]

Sounding like a broken record, but Ausir is right. Interplay clearly did not have any real financing in place for FOOL, and could not make any case for Masthead's side of the deal to be considered $20 million. Given those circumstances, there's nothing any lawyer could have done. Interplay was clearly and completely in the wrong, it's only the difference in lawyers that even let this get this far. Pretty much as I've been saying for years.

 

[maximaz]

I'd say Interplay knew it was coming to this. They worked on their game, avoiding any irreversible ties to Fallout. Now, they not only got some extra change in their pockets but a bit of a promotion for their title as well. They will finish and release this MMO as 'the game that was supposed to be the Fallout MMO'.

I mean, come on. The game never even remotely looked like Fallout to begin with. It was all a very clever marketing move, just to build a little additional hype. It was all lies, nothing is real!

 

[Yazman]

It amazes me that there's still people who are defensive of Interplay and who have any faith at all in them, after all they've done to destroy everything that is Fallout.

Interplay are worse for Fallout than Bethesda could ever be, they've proven that time and again, from FOBOS, to their closure of Black Isle, to cancellation of VB, to their complete abandonment of the PC as a platform.

 

[The Suave Gambler]

WAIT

Does this apply to future titles?! I thought that Bethsoft couldn't make a Fallout title after Fallout 4, and after that it goes back to Interplay.

 

[smejki]

But Bethesda has always seemed pretty open about working with digital download services. If anything, it'll just spread Fallout to more services, like Steam.

Fallout 1/2/Tactics have been available from steam for a long time. And it's Bethesda that is changing its mind about steam lately. Skyrim & RAGE aren't available to quite a few countries in europe, including Estonia where I live.

It is not Bethesda... or not directly. It is because of 1C who publish Beth games exlusively for Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, (Belarus), Poland, Chech republic, Slovakia and maybe Hungary, Moldova and Romania. The contract between those two companies makes it possible... and Steam ability to do so

 

[Elven6]

It amazes me that there's still people who are defensive of Interplay and who have any faith at all in them, after all they've done to destroy everything that is Fallout.

Interplay are worse for Fallout than Bethesda could ever be, they've proven that time and again, from FOBOS, to their closure of Black Isle, to cancellation of VB, to their complete abandonment of the PC as a platform.

Given how Interplay ended up in the end, it's safe to assume Black Isle would have likely closed anyway along with the other Interplay/Titus studios, it's the unfortunate reality of a cash strapped company. Only Van Buren's engine was close to completion (about 90% IIRC) when it was canned so we likely wouldn't have been able to see that release either (Herve did want to outsource the game after the layoffs if I'm remembering right but no one took it, maybe you can count the Bethesda purchase as someone taking the offer albeit with a different idea).

I don't know how you've jumped to the conclusion that they've abandoned the PC, they've had quite a few PC releases since the return.

 

[maximaz]

My oh my, does Herve really believe Earthworm Jim will save us all??

I'd fucking love me some Earthworm Jim actually. That and MDK are two reasons why I'm still hoping Interplay makes it somehow. But I do agree with your overall message.

 

[Brother None]

Does this apply to future titles?! I thought that Bethsoft couldn't make a Fallout title after Fallout 4, and after that it goes back to Interplay.

This was answered literally five posts above your posts.

 

[Kerr-Plomb]

Does this apply to future titles?! I thought that Bethsoft couldn't make a Fallout title after Fallout 4, and after that it goes back to Interplay.

This was answered literally five posts above your posts.

That's what I mean. Many I talked to told me that was still the case, here and in other places as well.