Moneyboy 3000
Among my favorite quotes the first is the one above. The second is from the same source; cuddle up to your cash register, it’s a little lumpy but it rings. (One “no prize” if you can guess where the two quotes are from)
Play it again Sam…maybe
It is a constant source of amazement that constantly has me scratching my head in wonder. A typical example of “it” can be found right in the lobby of the building where I have been a project manager for some years. Off to one side on the upper level there is a coffee shop right as you enter the food court. Normally you would think this would be a wonderful location for such a business – normally. It appears, however, that this is not the case. Over the years there has been three business’ located in that location, all of them coffee shops…and all of them have gone out of business. What I find so interesting is that no one ever seems to give thought to what they are going to do that is different than the last person in the same place that had a dismal time attempting the same thing.
At least one person at Interplay, former president Brian Fargo, at least pondered something similar:
“The reason at the time, because I would have loved to have made a Fallout MMO, was that I believed that Interplay was just not in a situation where they had the resources to do it. When you go off to do an MMO it’s going to cost $100 million before you get it on the shelf; you’ve gotta buy servers and you’ve gotta have service people, and you have to have Game Masters. It’s an undertaking, and on top of that, it means that you do have to do all that stuff so what else are you going to focus on? What other games are you going to be able to make?” – Brian Fargo, former president of Interplay
This was, of course, before a game called Fallen Earth was launched by a company named Icarus Studios. As those who stay up with the news know, it was not that long ago that Icarus Studios had layoffs. Now as those who listen to our show know, we are big fans of independent game developers and especially this particular one . We will be the first to point out that Fallen Earth Online is not Fallout Online (in fact we did). However it IS a post apocalyptic mmo, and at some point you would think that Interplay might want to ask themselves if this particular ship has sailed already before they launch another post apocalyptic mmo.
Know your Fallout History
In April 2007, Bethesda Softworks, the developer of Fallout 3, purchased full rights to the Fallout IP for $5.75 million USD. While Bethesda now owned the rights to the Fallout MMO IP as well, clauses
in the purchase agreement state allowed Interplay to license the rights to the development of the MMO. Specific requirements were stated in the agreement that if not met, Interplay would immediately
lose and forfeit its license rights for Fallout. Development must have begun within 24 months of the date of the agreement (April 4, 2007), and Interplay must have secured $30 million within that time frame or forfeit its rights to license. Interplay would furthermore need to launch the MMOG within 4 years of the beginning of development, and pay Bethesda 12 percent of sales and subscription fees for the use of the IP.
On April 15, 2009, it was announced that Bethesda Softworks moved to rescind the Fallout MMORPG license. Interplay received notice from Bethesda that it intends to terminate the trademark license agreement, claiming that Interplay is in breach of the agreement for failure to commence full scale development by April 4, 2009 and to secure certain funding for the game. Interplay disputes these claims.
It ain’t over ‘til it’s over
There are numerous sources around the Internet that claim the lawsuit between Interplay and Bethesda Softworks LLC has ended (I noted that the trademark acknowledgement on the Fallout Online website). Many of the articles I read that announced the lawsuit as over cited the ruling on December 10, 2009 by Maryland District court denying a request for a preliminary injunction by Bethesda Softworks. However, Bethesda themselves say this isn’t the case.
“A Bethesda spokesperson told Joystiq, ‘It’s an ongoing legal matter. I don’t know where whoever reported that got their information, but it is ongoing and we are going to see how it plays out in court.’ So there you have it – Interplay and Bethesda haven’t made nice just yet.”
Most sources around the internet give the release date as some time in 2012. At least one web site claims before April 2011. Either way, as much as I want to see a Fallout Online game I am not going to hold my breath, even if I do wait with bated breath . Yes, I do love the post apocolyptic genre, and the news coming out of E3 about Fallout New Vegas (more about this later today) looks exciting. Still, lets hope that interplay is spreading around cash to make things grow and not just heaping manure about it’s offices.
See you online,
Julie Whitefeather
(posted for Julie Whitefeather by the Webmaster)