Bethesda lose legal battle with Interplay
It’s come to light that Bethesda Softworks, the current holders of the Fallout licence have lost part of their legal battle with the original Fallout franchises holders Interplay.
A few months ago Bethesda Softworks attempted to sue Interplay, and get an injunction to prevent them selling the original PC Fallout titles and the Fallout Trilogy compilation. They claimed that the Fallout Trilogy name was confusing customers and that Interplay had broken a licensing agreement by failing to consult them on the packaging of the re-issued titles. Both things, Bethesda alleged, were causing them harm as a business and they sought damages as well as the injunction.
According to court documents unearthed by a fan site called Duck and Cover however, a District Court Judge in the US has ruled in Interplay’s favour and the developer is still free to publish its Fallout back catalogue. They’ll also still be able to sell the games via Steam and other download services which Bethesda also objected to.
That’s a big win for Interplay, but perhaps an even bigger one is that they’ll also be allowed to continue work on their Fallout Franchise MMO, currently code named Project V13. Bethesda had claimed that the rights to make a Fallout MMO, which Interplay had retained as part of their 2007 licensing agreement, should revert to them as Interplay had failed to start full development on the project. At this point little has been seen of the top secret Project v13, which perhaps prompted the action by Bethesda.
That said there are legions of Fallout fans who would welcome a Fallout MMO, so it’s little wonder both developers are so keen to capitalise on the opportunity.
Whoever gets to make it could pull in a whole heap of bottle caps, so to speak……
Bethesda lose legal battle with Interplay
It’s come to light that Bethesda Softworks, the current holders of the Fallout licence have lost part of their legal battle with the original Fallout franchises holders Interplay.
A few months ago Bethesda Softworks attempted to sue Interplay, and get an injunction to prevent them selling the original PC Fallout titles and the Fallout Trilogy compilation. They claimed that the Fallout Trilogy name was confusing customers and that Interplay had broken a licensing agreement by failing to consult them on the packaging of the re-issued titles. Both things, Bethesda alleged, were causing them harm as a business and they sought damages as well as the injunction.
According to court documents unearthed by a fan site called Duck and Cover however, a District Court Judge in the US has ruled in Interplay’s favour and the developer is still free to publish its Fallout back catalogue. They’ll also still be able to sell the games via Steam and other download services which Bethesda also objected to.
That’s a big win for Interplay, but perhaps an even bigger one is that they’ll also be allowed to continue work on their Fallout Franchise MMO, currently code named Project V13. Bethesda had claimed that the rights to make a Fallout MMO, which Interplay had retained as part of their 2007 licensing agreement, should revert to them as Interplay had failed to start full development on the project. At this point little has been seen of the top secret Project v13, which perhaps prompted the action by Bethesda.
That said there are legions of Fallout fans who would welcome a Fallout MMO, so it’s little wonder both developers are so keen to capitalise on the opportunity.
Whoever gets to make it could pull in a whole heap of bottle caps, so to speak……
Bethesda lose legal battle with Interplay
It’s come to light that Bethesda Softworks, the current holders of the Fallout licence have lost part of their legal battle with the original Fallout franchises holders Interplay.
A few months ago Bethesda Softworks attempted to sue Interplay, and get an injunction to prevent them selling the original PC Fallout titles and the Fallout Trilogy compilation. They claimed that the Fallout Trilogy name was confusing customers and that Interplay had broken a licensing agreement by failing to consult them on the packaging of the re-issued titles. Both things, Bethesda alleged, were causing them harm as a business and they sought damages as well as the injunction.
According to court documents unearthed by a fan site called Duck and Cover however, a District Court Judge in the US has ruled in Interplay’s favour and the developer is still free to publish its Fallout back catalogue. They’ll also still be able to sell the games via Steam and other download services which Bethesda also objected to.
That’s a big win for Interplay, but perhaps an even bigger one is that they’ll also be allowed to continue work on their Fallout Franchise MMO, currently code named Project V13. Bethesda had claimed that the rights to make a Fallout MMO, which Interplay had retained as part of their 2007 licensing agreement, should revert to them as Interplay had failed to start full development on the project. At this point little has been seen of the top secret Project v13, which perhaps prompted the action by Bethesda.
That said there are legions of Fallout fans who would welcome a Fallout MMO, so it’s little wonder both developers are so keen to capitalise on the opportunity.
Whoever gets to make it could pull in a whole heap of bottle caps, so to speak……
Legal Fall Out: Bethesda Softworks sues Interplay
Bethesda Softworks, the current owners of the rights to the Fallout licence is suing the previous publisher to hold the rights, Interplay, for trademark infringement.
According to allegations in the complaint filed on September the 9th with the District Court of Maryland in the US, and originally picked up by Gamasutra, Bethesda believes Interplay infringed its trademark when it distributed Fallout Trilogy, which packaged together the classic PC games Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics. Bethesda is claiming that while under the agreements back in 2007 when they purchased the Fallout licence for $5.75 million, Interplay was permitted to publish the previous games under certain conditions – namely that they had to seek permission for the trilogy’s packaging, advertising and promotional material prior to release. Interplay failed to do so, says Bethesda, and customers have become confused between it and Bethesda’s more recent and highly successful Fallout 3- a situation they say they wanted to avoid. Bethesda is also unhappy over Interplay’s decision to distribute the old Fallout games digitally through sites like GOG.com and Steam claiming Interplay’s alleged actions have caused the studio “immediate, substantial, and irreparable harm.”
Bethesda Softworks is also asking that the court terminate the existing licensing agreement between the two companies allowing Interplay to licence back rights to the Fallout property in order to develop a Fallout MMO. They claim the original agreement stipulated that Interplay would have secured $30 million of development funding within 24 months of the signing of their agreement and have started full scale development in that time, something Bethesda Soft claims hasn’t happened. The deal also required that Interplay launch the new MMO within four years of signing the agreement, with Bethesda entitled to 12 per cent of the games sales and subscription fees. Interplay currently hasn’t appeared to have made much public progress on the Fallout MMO, but claims it’s dedicated to exploiting the licence, and many have speculated that a title called Project V13 is the Fallout MMO being developed.
Should Bethesda be successful with its multiple legal actions, Interplay would no longer be able to distribute Fallout Trilogy due to an injunction on its sale and would lose the rights to develop the Fallout MMO. The ailing publisher would also be required to pay damages and legal costs to Bethesda.
Legal Fall Out: Bethesda Softworks sues Interplay
Bethesda Softworks, the current owners of the rights to the Fallout licence is suing the previous publisher to hold the rights, Interplay, for trademark infringement.
According to allegations in the complaint filed on September the 9th with the District Court of Maryland in the US, and originally picked up by Gamasutra, Bethesda believes Interplay infringed its trademark when it distributed Fallout Trilogy, which packaged together the classic PC games Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics. Bethesda is claiming that while under the agreements back in 2007 when they purchased the Fallout licence for $5.75 million, Interplay was permitted to publish the previous games under certain conditions – namely that they had to seek permission for the trilogy’s packaging, advertising and promotional material prior to release. Interplay failed to do so, says Bethesda, and customers have become confused between it and Bethesda’s more recent and highly successful Fallout 3- a situation they say they wanted to avoid. Bethesda is also unhappy over Interplay’s decision to distribute the old Fallout games digitally through sites like GOG.com and Steam claiming Interplay’s alleged actions have caused the studio “immediate, substantial, and irreparable harm.”
Bethesda Softworks is also asking that the court terminate the existing licensing agreement between the two companies allowing Interplay to licence back rights to the Fallout property in order to develop a Fallout MMO. They claim the original agreement stipulated that Interplay would have secured $30 million of development funding within 24 months of the signing of their agreement and have started full scale development in that time, something Bethesda Soft claims hasn’t happened. The deal also required that Interplay launch the new MMO within four years of signing the agreement, with Bethesda entitled to 12 per cent of the games sales and subscription fees. Interplay currently hasn’t appeared to have made much public progress on the Fallout MMO, but claims it’s dedicated to exploiting the licence, and many have speculated that a title called Project V13 is the Fallout MMO being developed.
Should Bethesda be successful with its multiple legal actions, Interplay would no longer be able to distribute Fallout Trilogy due to an injunction on its sale and would lose the rights to develop the Fallout MMO. The ailing publisher would also be required to pay damages and legal costs to Bethesda.
Legal Fall Out: Bethesda Softworks sues Interplay
Bethesda Softworks, the current owners of the rights to the Fallout licence is suing the previous publisher to hold the rights, Interplay, for trademark infringement.
According to allegations in the complaint filed on September the 9th with the District Court of Maryland in the US, and originally picked up by Gamasutra, Bethesda believes Interplay infringed its trademark when it distributed Fallout Trilogy, which packaged together the classic PC games Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics. Bethesda is claiming that while under the agreements back in 2007 when they purchased the Fallout licence for $5.75 million, Interplay was permitted to publish the previous games under certain conditions – namely that they had to seek permission for the trilogy’s packaging, advertising and promotional material prior to release. Interplay failed to do so, says Bethesda, and customers have become confused between it and Bethesda’s more recent and highly successful Fallout 3- a situation they say they wanted to avoid. Bethesda is also unhappy over Interplay’s decision to distribute the old Fallout games digitally through sites like GOG.com and Steam claiming Interplay’s alleged actions have caused the studio “immediate, substantial, and irreparable harm.”
Bethesda Softworks is also asking that the court terminate the existing licensing agreement between the two companies allowing Interplay to licence back rights to the Fallout property in order to develop a Fallout MMO. They claim the original agreement stipulated that Interplay would have secured $30 million of development funding within 24 months of the signing of their agreement and have started full scale development in that time, something Bethesda Soft claims hasn’t happened. The deal also required that Interplay launch the new MMO within four years of signing the agreement, with Bethesda entitled to 12 per cent of the games sales and subscription fees. Interplay currently hasn’t appeared to have made much public progress on the Fallout MMO, but claims it’s dedicated to exploiting the licence, and many have speculated that a title called Project V13 is the Fallout MMO being developed.
Should Bethesda be successful with its multiple legal actions, Interplay would no longer be able to distribute Fallout Trilogy due to an injunction on its sale and would lose the rights to develop the Fallout MMO. The ailing publisher would also be required to pay damages and legal costs to Bethesda.
Legal Fall Out: Bethesda Softworks sues Interplay over Fallout franchise
Bethesda Softworks, the current owners of the rights to the Fallout licence is suing the previous publisher to hold the rights, Interplay, for trademark infringement.
According to allegations in the complaint filed on September the 9th with the District Court of Maryland in the US, and originally picked up by Gamasutra, Bethesda believes Interplay infringed its trademark when it distributed Fallout Trilogy, which packaged together the classic PC games Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics. Bethesda is claiming that while under the agreements back in 2007 when they purchased the Fallout licence for $5.75 million, Interplay was permitted to publish the previous games under certain conditions – namely that they had to seek permission for the trilogy’s packaging, advertising and promotional material prior to release. Interplay failed to do so, says Bethesda, and customers have become confused between it and Bethesda’s more recent and highly successful Fallout 3- a situation they say they wanted to avoid. Bethesda is also unhappy over Interplay’s decision to distribute the old Fallout games digitally through sites like GOG.com and Steam claiming Interplay’s alleged actions have caused the studio “immediate, substantial, and irreparable harm.”
Bethesda Softworks is also asking that the court terminate the existing licensing agreement between the two companies allowing Interplay to licence back rights to the Fallout property in order to develop a Fallout MMO. They claim the original agreement stipulated that Interplay would have secured $30 million of development funding within 24 months of the signing of their agreement and have started full scale development in that time, something Bethesda Soft claims hasn’t happened. The deal also required that Interplay launch the new MMO within four years of signing the agreement, with Bethesda entitled to 12 per cent of the games sales and subscription fees. Interplay currently hasn’t appeared to have made much public progress on the Fallout MMO, but claims it’s dedicated to exploiting the licence, and many have speculated that a title called Project V13 is the Fallout MMO being developed.
Should Bethesda be successful with its multiple legal actions, Interplay would no longer be able to distribute Fallout Trilogy due to an injunction on its sale and would lose the rights to develop the Fallout MMO. The ailing publisher would also be required to pay damages and legal costs to Bethesda.
Legal Fall Out: Bethesda Softworks sues Interplay over Fallout franchise
Bethesda Softworks, the current owners of the rights to the Fallout licence is suing the previous publisher to hold the rights, Interplay, for trademark infringement.
According to allegations in the complaint filed on September the 9th with the District Court of Maryland in the US, and originally picked up by Gamasutra, Bethesda believes Interplay infringed its trademark when it distributed Fallout Trilogy, which packaged together the classic PC games Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics. Bethesda is claiming that while under the agreements back in 2007 when they purchased the Fallout licence for $5.75 million, Interplay was permitted to publish the previous games under certain conditions – namely that they had to seek permission for the trilogy’s packaging, advertising and promotional material prior to release. Interplay failed to do so, says Bethesda, and customers have become confused between it and Bethesda’s more recent and highly successful Fallout 3- a situation they say they wanted to avoid. Bethesda is also unhappy over Interplay’s decision to distribute the old Fallout games digitally through sites like GOG.com and Steam claiming Interplay’s alleged actions have caused the studio “immediate, substantial, and irreparable harm.”
Bethesda Softworks is also asking that the court terminate the existing licensing agreement between the two companies allowing Interplay to licence back rights to the Fallout property in order to develop a Fallout MMO. They claim the original agreement stipulated that Interplay would have secured $30 million of development funding within 24 months of the signing of their agreement and have started full scale development in that time, something Bethesda Soft claims hasn’t happened. The deal also required that Interplay launch the new MMO within four years of signing the agreement, with Bethesda entitled to 12 per cent of the games sales and subscription fees. Interplay currently hasn’t appeared to have made much public progress on the Fallout MMO, but claims it’s dedicated to exploiting the licence, and many have speculated that a title called Project V13 is the Fallout MMO being developed.
Should Bethesda be successful with its multiple legal actions, Interplay would no longer be able to distribute Fallout Trilogy due to an injunction on its sale and would lose the rights to develop the Fallout MMO. The ailing publisher would also be required to pay damages and legal costs to Bethesda.
Legal Fall Out: Bethesda Softworks sues Interplay over Fallout franchise
Bethesda Softworks, the current owners of the rights to the Fallout licence is suing the previous publisher to hold the rights, Interplay, for trademark infringement.
According to allegations in the complaint filed on September the 9th with the District Court of Maryland in the US, and originally picked up by Gamasutra, Bethesda believes Interplay infringed its trademark when it distributed Fallout Trilogy, which packaged together the classic PC games Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics. Bethesda is claiming that while under the agreements back in 2007 when they purchased the Fallout licence for $5.75 million, Interplay was permitted to publish the previous games under certain conditions – namely that they had to seek permission for the trilogy’s packaging, advertising and promotional material prior to release. Interplay failed to do so, says Bethesda, and customers have become confused between it and Bethesda’s more recent and highly successful Fallout 3- a situation they say they wanted to avoid. Bethesda is also unhappy over Interplay’s decision to distribute the old Fallout games digitally through sites like GOG.com and Steam claiming Interplay’s alleged actions have caused the studio “immediate, substantial, and irreparable harm.”
Bethesda Softworks is also asking that the court terminate the existing licensing agreement between the two companies allowing Interplay to licence back rights to the Fallout property in order to develop a Fallout MMO. They claim the original agreement stipulated that Interplay would have secured $30 million of development funding within 24 months of the signing of their agreement and have started full scale development in that time, something Bethesda Soft claims hasn’t happened. The deal also required that Interplay launch the new MMO within four years of signing the agreement, with Bethesda entitled to 12 per cent of the games sales and subscription fees. Interplay currently hasn’t appeared to have made much public progress on the Fallout MMO, but claims it’s dedicated to exploiting the licence, and many have speculated that a title called Project V13 is the Fallout MMO being developed.
Should Bethesda be successful with its multiple legal actions, Interplay would no longer be able to distribute Fallout Trilogy due to an injunction on its sale and would lose the rights to develop the Fallout MMO. The ailing publisher would also be required to pay damages and legal costs to Bethesda.
The Game Boy: From Space Invaders to Mothership Zeta – Why Videogame Aliens Suck
Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta’s opening scenes were absolutely out of this world. Within a span of ten minutes, I was torn from the Wasteland, poked and prodded with 100 haystacks’ worth of needles, stripped of the near-impregnable safety blanket I call “Power Armor,” and unceremoniously tossed into a prison cell. Upon awakening, my ragged, desperate human cellmate cowered in fear as some unknown force approached our cell, only to change course at the last second and perform its unspeakable act on some other hapless sap. The poor guy emitted a blood-curdling howl as his frail flesh clunked around in what sounded like a super-powered dryer.
I was absolutely thrilled. Fear, curiosity, and vulnerability hooked me. Adrenaline reeled me in. “Who are these unseen, all-powerful beings?” I wondered. “Why are they doing this?” My interest piqued when my cellmate mentioned our captors’ penchant for tampering with people’s brains. Then I actually saw them. Tiny, green, big heads, round eyes. Beaten and beamed up by God after only two strikes from my pithy 23 unarmed skill. Thrill and intrigue, it was nice knowing you.
What followed was roughly four hours of good old fashioned alien-blasting. Fun, but nothing special. No mind-blowing ulterior motives, no unsettlingly foreign alien culture; the mean, green abducting machines were just a new skin for everyday Fallout 3 enemies. Really, there was nothing "alien" about these aliens. After such a promising opening, I felt more than a little let down.
Upon further thought, though, I realized that Mothership Zeta’s extraterrestrial approach simply mirrored that of nearly every sci-fi videogame since Space Invaders. See, when gamers whine about “ANOTHER sci-fi shooter,” they think they’re doing it because aliens, lasers, and outer-space are played-out. However, like the final frontier it so often focuses on, I think the topic of aliens in videogames could use a whole lot more exploration. We just need to approach it from a different angle, is all.
Since the dawn of the gaming industry, “you = good guy, alien = bad guy” has been the guiding line of thought. And what do we do to baddies? We blast ‘em, of course – no questions asked. Halo, Half-Life, Gears of War, Quake, Metroid – you name it. If it’s not of this world, we like keeping it that way. Sadly, it’s only once you start asking said questions that things get interesting.
Hugely influential novel (and personal favorite) “Ender’s Game” puts forth a great example of extraterrestrial ground videogames have yet to traverse. (Note: Ender’s Game spoilers follow.) The book presents a world semi-recently ravaged by a bug-like alien species, with humanity gearing up to withstand an anticipated second trouncing by these “buggers.” Interestingly, though, the reader never actually encounters a real, exoskeleton-and-blood alien until the latter half of the book. The enemy’s unseen, with only hearsay and propaganda to fill in the blanks. Thus, curiosity propels you through the story. What’s the deal with these aliens? Why did they nearly destroy earth, only to flee when victory was at hand? Where are they now? Etc. I’d love to see this kind of masterful, mystery oriented build-up attempted in a videogame setting.
“Dawn,” by Octavia Butler serves as further food for thought about aliens in videogames. Here, we find main character Lilith Iyapo spirited away from a devastated earth by – what else – aliens. One major problem, though: these aliens are about as far from human as one can get. Little green men these ain’t. Instead, these things are practically made of creepy crawly tentacles, swap genetic information and meld with whatever species they come by, and can be any one of three genders. They are, to put it mildly, hideous, by human standards. Their very existence is an affront to ours. The whole book, then, is about integration with a truly otherworldly culture. What I think games could take away from this isn’t necessarily a totally non-violent alien-based game, but rather, the notion of a world completely unlike our own. Too many games depict aliens and alien cultures as humans with funny skin colors and human-like sets of value to match.
In this respect, I see ACE Team’s Zeno Clash as a step in the right direction – at least, as far as creating a totally foreign, yet shockingly believable world goes. Between the curvy, organic-looking aesthetic, inhuman characters, and oddball philosophy behind it all, Zeno Clash was not a typical first-person videogame. It pulled off its shtick so convincingly, in fact, that multiple people told me that the game scared them, despite the fact that nothing explicitly “scary” ever happens in the game. Why? Because it’s different. Just as non-humanoid creatures like spiders and scorpions unsettle us, so to do utterly strange worlds.
My ideas, of course, are only the tip of a very large iceberg. So, how about you? How would you like to see aliens and other such sci-fi themes handled in modern videogames?
