Confused squinting at legal dispute time! We’ve known for a while that Fallout 1/2 publishers Interplay had clung onto rights for a Fallout MMO as part of their skin-saving deal to flog the Fallout 3 license to Bethesda, and a few months back the reborn publisher had coolly revealed they have one ‘Project V13‘ in the pipeline. Deal done, right? Apparently not. Bethesda may now dispute Interplay’s right to make Fallout Online…
(In a rare moment of objectivity, I’ll attempt to keep my own opinions in check here, as they’re likely entirely irrelevant in the face of the legal issues around this.) Motivating Bethesda’s possible about-face is a clause stating Interplay had to have secured $30m funding and commenced full-scale development of a Fallout MMO by April 4th this year, otherwise the rights would revert to the big B.
And here it gets muddy. Interplay have made a fair amount of noise about working on an MMO, hiring two of the original Fallout team (one of which has since walked out in favour of an RPG that some have speculated is a sequel to Wasteland, the original inspiration for the Fallout series) and bringing in Masthead, the Bulgarian studio currently working on Earthrise to provide legwork and funding. Plus, Interactive Game Group (headed up by a former Atari CEO) last year purchased 2,000,000 Interplay shares. Sounds like enough, right?
Well, Masthead only came onboard on April 2, which is perilously close to that April 4th deadline. So the question is whether Interplay really has fired up its engines yet, or if they’re still at the planning stages – in which case they haven’t met the conditions of the 2007 Bethesda agreement.
So far, Bethesda have only made noises about cancelling the agreement as a result, rather than going ahead with any legal action just yet. Interplay certainly seem to think it’s coming, however.
Who’s right? Well, if Interplay genuinely haven’t got anything solid to show yet then they’ve not met their half of the bargain. On the other hand, there clearly is something in motion, and for Bethesda to potentially axe someone else’s in-development project seems pretty harsh. Again though, opinions scarcely matter in the face of a binding contract. Just as well, really – it’s rather tricky to work out who’s the good guy in this particular fight.
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Interplay would of never made the game in the first place.
They’re operating out of a cardboard box for Christ’s sake!
Their “staff” are a bunch of homeless people they pay in beer and cigarettes. They program their games on typewriters. Their concept art is drawn with magic markers. Their writers are on contract from FanFiction.net. Their water cooler is a garbage bag full of ice. They go dumpster diving during lunch breaks.
And that’s AFTER Bethesda bought the rights for Fallout 3.
Actually, I’d say the reception of Fallout 3 (much like Morrowind and Oblivion) amidst the non-AIM section of the gaming community is around 85-90% positive.
I hang out with a lot of gamers, they all loved Fallout 3, all loved Bioshock and Morrowind got at least three of them into console RPGs, with Oblivion sealing the deal. FO3 was at least 3 of their GOTYs (as it was mine).
We should be wary of assuming that what messageboard commenters think of games is what the general public thinks of games.
Am I the only one here who just dimissed the majority of nerd waffling on the internet and enjoy all three Fallout games?
I doubt Inerplay could make a good Fallout 3 mod to get out a wet paper bag. I mean, look at the damn time they have wasted. I’m more concerned at the lack of news on ANOTHER beloved post apocalyptic sci-fi shooter.
Where is that episode 3 trailer dammit VALVE!?
Nah Nurdbot, i’m the same. Although even I have to admit the writing in fallout 3 was BAD. still, i’ve loved all three.
Interplay is nothing like it was when it made Fallout 1/2. The only thing the same is the name. They could never make a game to rival fallout 1/2 in the eyes of the fallout 1/2 fan boys, Nor could they make a game to rival fallout 3.
I’d rather have a fallout online made by Bethesda which the interplay fan boys hated, then a 2nd rate fallout online made by a team no one has ever heard of, who have never worked in the fallout universe and the only thing going for them is that interplay managed to find enough cash to outsource to them.
Signing two previous Fallout dev team members does not a competent developer make. Especially if one of them ups and leaves for better pastures.
If anything, these signings just shows how desperate Interplay are to keep the license by playing the continuity card.
“Oh look, we have hired members of the mythical original Fallout team to work on our MMO. Surely nothing can go wrong if these gods among men lead us forward in the days ahead!”
I agree with Nurdbot, in that I doubt Interplay could scrape up a Fallout 3 mod of any size or substance, never mind a full blown MMO.
Interplay have had years since that deal was signed to get their butts in gear, now it seems that off the back of the success of FO3 they’re just throwing together any old crap to keep the MMO rights so they can churn out some garbage to profit off the back of Bethesda.
Though the amount of hatred for FO3 is ridiculous, love or hate the game only a idiot would call it a poorly made game (not perfect no, but far from bad). It’s okay not to like a good game due to personal tastes people, you don’t have to to Simpsons comic guy “worst game evar!” it.
Then again is more people could separate their subjective opinion from objective assessment there’d be a lot less amusing internet drama to chuckle at.
yes Oblivion was flawed (I hated oblivious, bored me apathy, but I can see why some people would love it) – Still the greatest thing about Bethesda is that like Valve they GET the PC modding scene.
They create a world, bare bones and flawed – they set the tone, the palate and then hand the tools out to the world and I love them for that.
While I enjoyed FO3 by itself, some of the things coming out of the community (thanks to a small army of very experienced TES engine modders from Oblivion) are stunning and I love that the game I purchased while great but no perfect, will be so much more in a year or 2.
With the mod communities work FO3 will be huge compared to any other sandbox title, even MMO like in scale.
Already you can have NPC companions, Military Squads, New monsters and creatures, drivable vehicles, airstrikes, bullet time and so much more…
“FO3’s reception by gamers (not reviewers) is pretty much split 50/50 love/hate.”
Ah, we must be using the “volume (in both posts and decibels) of comments on internet message boards” method of measurement. Grod knows, that’s statistically representative.
I liked FO3 for what it was, I don’t tend to get worked up when a sequel doesn’t live up to/isn’t the same thing as it’s predecessor(s), I mean hell a sequel getting made doesn’t prevent me from playing the original.
That said. Can you IMAGINE Bethesda making an MMO? Their games are already as something-isn’t-quite-solid-here wonky as most release day mmo’s and their SINGLE PLAYER GAMES for chrissakes. I have NO faith in their ability to make even a small-group multiplayer game.
@drewski & Fox1
Please enlighten the folks currently demonstrating in favor of a proper recognition of Bethesda’s manifold merits. Somebody should tell them that they don’t need to pass themselves off as the underdog anymore.