Bethesda moves to rescind FOOL license

There's plenty of fodder.


I'm not suprised, when the IP sale went through and this was discolsed you just knew it was going to end badly.
#1 That Interplay would probably never be able to fulfill the critera.
#2 Bethesda, once they had the rights would push out anyone who they see as damaging to "their" IP.

Bethesda are better marketers than they are game designers and they recognize the value of branding. A company as locked-down and buttoned-up as they are would never let a barely viable Interplay whose design direction without the old guard is highly suspect to coopt the brand image of one of their flagship franchises.
Have you not noticed that this company operates like a paranoid OCD victim? They're going to let Herve steer their ship?


Another thing.
Were people hoping that FOOL or V13 or whatever was going to usher in a Fallout Rennaissance?
Really?

It's fucking over guys.
It ended when they sacked BIS.
Fallout stopped meaning anything many many years ago.
Take away it's creator's and their intent and what's left?
The Elder Scrolls with guns and some non-exclusive PA elements.
Do some of you really have such low standards that you'd lay down for this kind of shit just because it shares the title (but none of the intent or design philosophy) of Fallout?
That's shallow man.

You could call the next game Fallout 4: The Best Game Ever.
It's just a fucking name with numbskulls like Todd and Pete at the helm.

Would a rose by another name smell as sweet?
Damn straight, and half-baked caash-in adventure games or MMOs that are antithetical to Fallout's raison d'etre of recreating the PnP experience are what they are. Slapping the title on it and using some non-exclusive PA content doesn't fool me.

Fallout (and the concepts it stood for) are dead so long as the license is in the hands of these numbnuts.

Wise up mofos.
 
Come on folks, we all knew this was going to happen. Its why the Bethesda deal went down. Herve's failure was foreseen by all. Beth had him over a barrel and they knew it. It was go bankrupt or take their deal, with all its many, many, many clauses on behavior and performance. It was why Bethesda agreed to cut a deal with this stupid french frog who's bankrupted every company he's run.

FO:OL was never going to happen. It was all smoke an mirrors, a performance to an audience of one--Herve's ego.


And, now, Bethesda gets to experience what everbody else has who's been so foolish as to deal with Herve....a courtroom battle for breach of contract.
 
Damn, and here I was holding out a shred of hope that the MMO Masthead was working on would turn out to be something decent. Didn't even have to be 'decent' by modern standards, hell - I would have accepted if it even came close to Ragnarok Online... [Sighs] Soon enough if we keep being put down on our luck this often, we'll turn into S.T.A.L.K.E.Rs, resorting to live in the Zone because we're the only kind of people that the Zone wouldn't harm - the absolutely hopeless who want nothing out of life anymore.

But then again - hoping for anything in today's market is setting yourself up for dissapointment. :(
 
Corith said:
Come on folks, we all knew this was going to happen. Its why the Bethesda deal went down. Herve's failure was foreseen by all. Beth had him over a barrel and they knew it. It was go bankrupt or take their deal, with all its many, many, many clauses on behavior and performance. It was why Bethesda agreed to cut a deal with this stupid french frog who's bankrupted every company he's run.

FO:OL was never going to happen. It was all smoke an mirrors, a performance to an audience of one--Herve's ego.
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and if that wasn't clear enough, alarm bells should've gone off when one of the big wigs left Inneptplay not so long ago after rejoining it for a short stint. ;)
 
DirtyDreamDesigner said:
2. Even if they did, it would unavoidably suck donkey balls.
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Even as a MMO, it couldn't suck more than Beth's Fallout. Beth probably cares enough to do this because they want to make one of their own and THAT will definitely suck more than Interplay's MMO.
 
Ausir said:
Keep in mind that they have not so long ago set up a MMORPG studio of their own, ZeniMax Online.
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That falls under the "at least not with current staff" :P. I hadn't realized that, guess they could be working on FOOL then...

Ausir said:
The filing is for 2008, but it does have legal information from 2009 too.
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But not financial information from 2009, which is the most important bit for this.

Lichbane said:
Absolutely 100% agree. Why drag down Masthead's game ... which incidentally actually looks like it has promise as a product able to stand on it's own two legs!
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Err, what? They partnered with Masthead most likely for money and the engine, it wouldn't drag down Earthrise. The most it would do is put Masthead out of business and thus kill Earthrise that way, but that would be a few years down the road anyway (not that it would be good).

Eternal said:
As for point 2. There is NO indication of that, especially with Chris T taking a position as lead designer there is a good chance the game may very well have been AWESOME. Of course it prob wouldn't have been very popular (CURSE YOU WOW AND YOUR SIREN SONG!) but it could have been a very good game.
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There's a chance, I wouldn't go so far as to add the qualifier good (as much as I respect Chris). It all depends on how big of a budget the game has, the bigger the budget the greater the chance of failure and the more likely that it will be more like WoW.

Per said:
Even if it was written on the moon that V13 is FOOL, getting the license back doesn't give Bethesda ownership of anything Interplay did with it, unless for some strange reason it's written into their contract.
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Well it looks like anything that uses Fallout IP has to be disposed of within 30days while anything not can be retained.
3.4 INTERPLAY-DERIVED MMOG ELEMENTS. In the event this
Agreement terminates prior to the Commercial Launch of the FALLOUT MMOG,
Bethesda agrees that nothing in this Agreement limits or is intended to limit
the rights of Interplay to use in a non-FALLOUT MMOG, INTER ALIA, any or all
locations, graphic representations, creatures, monsters, names, likenesses,
behaviors, religions, deities, environments, legends, fairy tales, stories,
universes, character classes or character professions that are in the public
domain, are owned by any entity other than Bethesda and/or its affiliates and/or
licensors or otherwise are not subject to copyright or trademark protection. For
purposes of a non-FALLOUT MMOG, Interplay shall own all rights in any computer
software code (object or source code), game play software routines, game or
graphics engines, as well as any designs, likenesses, sound and visual
representations or other intellectual property rights that are created after the
Effective Date by or on behalf of Interplay and which do not include, refer or
relate to the Licensed Marks (the "INTERPLAY-DERIVED MMOG ELEMENTS"), provided,
however, that the Interplay-Derived MMOG Elements do not use, incorporate, trade
on or otherwise exploit any Fallout-related
intellectual property created by Interplay or by Bethesda or by their respective
parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, successors or assigns, including without
limitation any Fallout artwork, locations, graphic representations, story lines,
creatures, monsters, names, likenesses, behaviors, environments (e.g., vaults),
universes, settings, legends, characters, character classes, character
professions, packaging, advertisements, text and translations, and any and all
Fallout proprietary characters, trademarks, copyrights and artwork listed in
Exhibit C-2 to the APA, it being understood and agreed by the parties that all
such property is and shall remain exclusively owned by Bethesda. Interplay shall
be free to continue to exploit the Interplay-Derived MMOG Elements or not, at
will and in its sole discretion as provided herein. Subject to the foregoing,
each party reserves and expressly does not waive any rights that either may have
to take action against the other for copyright infringement, trademark
infringement, dilution, unfair competition, false advertising and/or any related
claims in connection with the other's exercise of the rights available herein.
...
9.3.2 Within thirty (30) days after termination of
this Agreement, Interplay shall provide Bethesda with a complete schedule of all
materials bearing the Licensed Marks then on hand or in inventory (including
inventory of its subcontractors or agents) including, but not limited to, the
Licensed Product, packaging, and advertising and promotional materials. Upon
request and at Bethesda's sole discretion, Interplay promptly shall deliver to
Bethesda or dispose of at the direction of Bethesda, without charge, all
existing inventory of Licensed Product bearing the Licensed Marks within its
possession or control, all related materials bearing the Licensed Marks, and
instruments used for the purposes of affixing or displaying the Licensed Marks,
including, but not limited to, artwork, transparencies, negatives, dies, molds
and screens, for disposition by Bethesda, along with copies of all inventory
records relating thereto.
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Per said:
I don't see any reason to be angry with Bethesda for any of this. Interplay made a vanity deal with them, now it's coming to its logical conclusion.
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Indeed, it was a stupid contract to sign as $30 million was way more than they should have agreed to.

SuAside said:
and if that wasn't clear enough, alarm bells should've gone off when one of the big wigs left Inneptplay not so long ago after rejoining it for a short stint. ;)
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Indeed, that kind of suggested that FOOL wasn't doing so hot for one reason or another.
 
zioburosky13 said:
I wouldn't surprise if Bethesda plans to do a Fallout MMO game after this. Zenimax has http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/zenimax-forms-new-mmo-studio]another studio dedicating to create MMO game

*the possibility of seeing unique master-crafted bradhim armor in the future does exist now* :shock:
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That is a fairly old news post I'd like to point out. Its from the very beginning of '07. However there is another article that came out 2 days ago that sadly shows its still relevant.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/bethesda-softworks-pete-hines

Q: Bethesda has focused on single player experiences, yet a lot of content found in Oblivion has ties to traditional fantasy MMO games. How closely is Bethesda watching the MMO space?

Pete Hines: We have a sister company owned by our parent company ZeniMax, ZeniMax Online Studios, whose purpose and function is to develop MMOs. They are working on stuff in the MMO space. They have not announced what they're working on, but it would be a title that Bethesda Softworks would publish with them. We don't have any details on that yet.

Bethesda Games Studio is not going to suddenly turn around and do MMOs. That is not what that group of folks is known for doing. They're going to stick to the kinds of things that they want to work on, and we now have somebody else that is focused on the MMO space.

Q: Is there any truth to the rumors that Bethesda is working on two new Elder Scrolls games, one of which is an MMO?

Pete Hines: I have not heard that rumor, so I can not comment on it. But we have not said what we're up to next. We're working on this Fallout [downloadable content] and we'll let everybody know when we're ready to talk about what's up next.
 
UncannyGarlic said:
Ausir said:
The filing is for 2008, but it does have legal information from 2009 too.
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But not financial information from 2009, which is the most important bit for this.
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They mention the Masthead deal, which is recent. If there were any related funding I believe they would have put it in there (although this may be why no one asks me to draft 10-Ks).
 
Per said:
They mention the Masthead deal, which is recent. If there were any related funding I believe they would have put it in there (although this may be why no one asks me to draft 10-Ks).
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They wouldn't because it's financial information for the year ending in December 31, 2008 and the financial statements are the same information that is used to determine taxes, amongst other things. Besides which, I believe that they would be in breach of US law if they included information from after the year end. We should keep an eye out for their 10-Q statement though as the first quarter should have ended on April 4 (if their fiscal quarter is a true quarter) and it needs to be filed within 45 days of the end of the quarter. They're less detailed so we may not be able to find the individual transaction (I've never looked at a 10-Q report so I can't say) but it would be obvious anyway.
 
I think a part of me died seeing that news report. I hope somehow Iplay can make it work...or at the very least release another game that is a spiritual successor to fallout if not a direct. But if not oh well...i think i may finally be giving up on Fallout. Tis a sad sad day.
 
Maybe its time for Iplay to get away from Fallout finally and concentrate on new projects with the same target. Meaning true role playing games.

I dont say Fallout should be forgoten we have 2 pretty good games and a few (more or less) good spinoofs including Fallout 3.

But sometimes new projects give you a opportunity for new story lines and completely new content without the preasure of "canon" in your head. I say forget about F3. Love F1/2 and hope someone in Interplay wants to make new great RPGs ...
 
Crni Vuk said:
Maybe its time for Iplay to get away from Fallout finally and concentrate on new projects with the same target. Meaning true role playing games.

I dont say Fallout should be forgoten we have 2 pretty good games and a few (more or less) good spinoofs including Fallout 3.

But sometimes new projects give you a opportunity for new story lines and completely new content without the preasure of "canon" in your head. I say forget about F3. Love F1/2 and hope someone in Interplay wants to make new great RPGs ...
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Totally, I love Fallout (just started a fallout 2 game, which i have not played in years) but I would love to see them do a game about ANYTHING that allows a lot of freedom of choice while somehow giving you a well thought repercussion to any action. I would gladly play a WW2 rpg, a Fantasy RPG, a gang war RPG... anything that is well made and deep.
 
Interplay is not a healthy developer. There's little chance that they would release a quality product. I can understand why a big MMO fan might look forward to this game, but I suspect that we'll see a Fallout MMO at some point either way. And it actually might come sooner rather than later if Beth can get the license.
 
How about Fallout Pinball too?
A Fallout Saturday morning cartoon.
Fallout plush dolls.
Fallout breakfast cereal.
Fallout T-shirts and Lunchboxes and alarm clocks (just checking if you're paying attention)

Without the involvement of any of the original talent who created the game, or any fidelity to the design principles that they espoused as the foundation of the series.

It's just a fucking name on a box.

When the name is being used for it's own sake, but not to actually maintain any kind of coherent, consistency in game play and vision. It doesn't mean anything.


Bethesda or Interplay.
MMO or Adventure game.

The point is moot.
Fallout is dead and gone and buried.
What you see now is an exhumed corpse, propped-up, dumbed-down and pimped-out.
Whether Todd pulls the strings to make it dance like Oblivion. Or Herve ineptly drops the puppet into a lifeless lump. It's irrelevant.

Stop fooling yourselves into thinking that this actually matters.
Fallout was done 8 years ago. That it continues to circle the drain in the form of MMORPG rumors from Interplay or Bethesda or anyone shouldn't be held up as a sign of hope for anyone.
 
MrBumble said:
It's a sad situation, but I understand Bethesda's position too...even if I hate that it's only a matter of weeks before Fallout belongs 100% to them.
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Bethsoft will never "own" Fallout, even if it's just in my own mind. Just because they paid money for the IP paperwork doesn't make it their's. It will always be Black Isle's (R.I.P) and ours.

It's like "owning" property in the United States, you never really own it because you're always paying property tax (rent) to keep it, lest they take it back from you.

Besides, I'm kind of sick of all these people raping and marketing our memories... especially when they have no regard for them at all.
 
That's how business works.
Don't like it, don't buy it. Tell other people not to buy it.
Eventually it will go away. (See: New Coke, Ford Pinto)

If you buy their shit, you really have no right to complain because you're responsible for companies like Bethesda continuing to make shit games.
It's that simple.

Some of you would've actually bought an Interplay MMO I'm sure. What you'd be expecting outof it I can't say. But just like picking the drunk up off the floor, by giving Herve money you're giving your tacit approval of his actions.
 
Dionysus said:
Interplay is not a healthy developer. There's little chance that they would release a quality product. I can understand why a big MMO fan might look forward to this game, but I suspect that we'll see a Fallout MMO at some point either way. And it actually might come sooner rather than later if Beth can get the license.
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In addition to being an incompetent businessman, he also isn't a gamer. His arrogant mind firmly believes he can tell the mindless marching morons what they want and they will eat it up like candy (sounds like several high profile game designers I know).

When his Eric Caen was told by the french to liquidate Titus, he appointed Herve to handle the liquidation. Instead of going into the pockets of French investors, the funds from the liquidation went into the coffers of Interplay, who, instead of paying bills, squandered the money on a failed RTS MMO, Ballerium.

Time and time again, Herve's shown, in every deed, he has no concept on game quality, storyline, production standards, or anything other than -- "hehe, I make zee games, that zee peoplez vont. ' Cauze, I tell them sowz."

Anything IPLY produced with Herve at the helm is going to be (and has been) crap. Much as some of you dislike Bethesda, no matter how bad a job they do at a FallOut MMO, it will be 1,000,000 times better than anything to roll out of Herve's grubby little fingers.
 
I just hope that if it tanks, at least some of Chris Taylor and Jason Anderson's designs will be leaked.
 
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