Opinions of The Witcher Series on Netflix?

[GrimReaper]

10 hours ago, Alkpaz said:

Is that a bad thing? I mean YTers who display mods make money off the mods they display (often times thousands of dollars a month), while the creator of the mod barely makes a dime. The author of The Witcher books probably is in the same situation as a mod creator, compared to the income generated from the games (which probably surpasses a billion and change when adding all 3 games, along with advertisement revenue, etc) I mean ATM his net worth stands at: Andrzej Sapkowski $2.3 Million. GOT actors have more net worth than that. 

 

To put that to scale: "Murderer Jodi Arias had an estimated net worth of over $10 million."

In my opinion, yeah it is. Not that he doesn't make money off of his IP, but how he treats his work. He sold the IP to CDPR when they were still a literally who developer, gave them the license to expand on the source material (the games are original content iirc) for almost nothing - he declined the offer to take a percentage of the profits because he thought the games wouldn't be successful anyway. Keep in mind that the guy doesn't like video games and doesn't like what CDPR did with his source material, yet the only thing that really mattered for him in the end was that he was angry for not getting enough money out of the deal.

 

He also renewed his deal with CDPR despite all the grievances he had with the developer, video games in general and the Witcher games specifically. After all this the claim that Netflix holds this poor guys hostage when everybody knows by now that Netflix puts pseudo-progressiveness before quality products is silly. He could've said no but he didn't. The author is a guy that says yes when the money is right, even if people are bastardizing his work, which in his mind, CDPR already did over the course of three games.

[Wolfstorm321]

Just now, GrimReaper said:

In my opinion, yeah it is. Not that he doesn't make money off of his IP, but how he treats his work. He sold the IP to CDPR when they were still a literally who developer, gave them the license to expand on the source material (the games are original content iirc) for almost nothing - he declined the offer to take a percentage of the profits because he thought the games wouldn't be successful anyway. Keep in mind that the guy doesn't like video games and doesn't like what CDPR did with his source material, yet the only thing that really mattered for him in the end was that he was angry for not getting enough money out of the deal.

 

He also renewed his deal with CDPR despite all the grievances he had with the developer, video games in general and the Witcher games specifically. After all this the claim that Netflix holds this poor guys hostage when everybody knows by now that Netflix puts pseudo-progressiveness before quality products is silly. He could've said no but he didn't. The author is a guy that says yes when the money is right, even if people are bastardizing his work, which in his mind, CDPR already did over the course of three games.

 

I believe he regretted it, and now is accepting anything they throw at him. Add to this the fact he is very old, and old age made you more conformist. And then, there is the politically correct agenda, which is implacable in destroying people's reputations.

Its a know fact that games sell more than books, but he, being from a older generation, does not understand the power of games.

 

I only read "The Last Wish" and can say the games depiction of his characters are better than in his books. He is not a bad writer. His writing is fluid and the book was not a thousand-page brick full of ramblings and psychologisms (looking at GoT here), but the depiction of the world around Geralt was poor, whereas in the game you have a better view of its aesthetics. Coat of arms, for example, are better depicted in the game.

 

Books dont sell. The literary market is saturated. If you release a book, it is like a drop in a ocean, and it will have no visibility if you dont have certain "connections". With this in mind, he should be grateful to CDPR to have his work be know in such a market, not fight with them. He would be selling much less if the games were not created.

[27X]

19 minutes ago, Wolfstorm321 said:

old age made you more conformist. And then, there is the politically correct agenda, which is implacable in destroying people's reputations.

not even kind of. He is literally "I have of no fucks to give you" in Polish form.

[jimmywon34]

3 hours ago, GrimReaper said:

After all this the claim that Netflix holds this poor guys hostage

I'm not entirely sure but I think the old man leans more liberal anyways so it sorta makes sense he was willing to sell out to Netflix. At first I kinda felt sorry for the guy when he was complaining he didn't make much money from CDPR's games(and that he hated the games and what they did with his work) but after he let Netflix trash his work I realized his angle. Most would do the same in his shoes I bet. Who wouldn't want a fat retirement with some change to leave your family with. unless, that is, he doesn't have kids to leave a fortune with.

[winny257]

1 hour ago, Wolfstorm321 said:

 

I believe he regretted it, and now is accepting anything they throw at him. Add to this the fact he is very old, and old age made you more conformist. And then, there is the politically correct agenda, which is implacable in destroying people's reputations.

Its a know fact that games sell more than books, but he, being from a older generation, does not understand the power of games.

 

I only read "The Last Wish" and can say the games depiction of his characters are better than in his books. He is not a bad writer. His writing is fluid and the book was not a thousand-page brick full of ramblings and psychologisms (looking at GoT here), but the depiction of the world around Geralt was poor, whereas in the game you have a better view of its aesthetics. Coat of arms, for example, are better depicted in the game.

 

Books dont sell. The literary market is saturated. If you release a book, it is like a drop in a ocean, and it will have no visibility if you dont have certain "connections". With this in mind, he should be grateful to CDPR to have his work be know in such a market, not fight with them. He would be selling much less if the games were not created.

that is correct, but I found an article that made me shiver!
do you know what CDPR paid to the author for the book licenses?
8000 Euro, it's only right if Sapkowski sued CDPR for damages!
the article is from a renowned German computer games magazine.
I have translated a part with Google Translate, but I don't know if it's correct!

Spoiler

The Witcher - license dispute: author Andrzej Sapkowski demands 14 million euros from CD Projekt
Andrzej Sapkowski, author of the Witcher novels, is dissatisfied with the license agreement between him and CD Projekt and demands an additional payment in the millions.

 

Discrepancy between license costs and profit
In a Facebook thread, the former managing director of CD Projekt, Sebastian Zielinski, once revealed the concrete amount that the author received for the license years ago. Sapkowski accounted for a total of 8,000 euros in two installments. With over 25 million units sold worldwide, this is of course a negligible contribution.

https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/the-witcher-lizenz-streit-autor-andrzej-sapkowski-fordert-14-millionen-euro-von-cd-projekt,3335405.html

[Tiress]

38 minutes ago, winny257 said:

that is correct, but I found an article that made me shiver!
do you know what CDPR paid to the author for the book licenses?
8000 Euro, it's only right if Sapkowski sued CDPR for damages!
the article is from a renowned German computer games magazine.
I have translated a part with Google Translate, but I don't know if it's correct!

  Reveal hidden contents

The Witcher - license dispute: author Andrzej Sapkowski demands 14 million euros from CD Projekt
Andrzej Sapkowski, author of the Witcher novels, is dissatisfied with the license agreement between him and CD Projekt and demands an additional payment in the millions.

 

Discrepancy between license costs and profit
In a Facebook thread, the former managing director of CD Projekt, Sebastian Zielinski, once revealed the concrete amount that the author received for the license years ago. Sapkowski accounted for a total of 8,000 euros in two installments. With over 25 million units sold worldwide, this is of course a negligible contribution.

https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/the-witcher-lizenz-streit-autor-andrzej-sapkowski-fordert-14-millionen-euro-von-cd-projekt,3335405.html

I suggest you read this article too.

Quote

Sapkowski doesn't remember how the conversation went but he remembers agreeing to the game. "Well they brought a big bag of money!" he says. It was the same reason he said yes to Chmielarz. "What I expect from an adaptation: a big bag of money. That is all."

Quote

"I was stupid enough to sell them rights to the whole bunch," he says. "They offered me a percentage of their profits. I said, 'No, there will be no profit at all - give me all my money right now! The whole amount.' It was stupid. I was stupid enough to leave everything in their hands because I didn't believe in their success. But who could foresee their success? I couldn't."

I can understand why he sued CDPR, he even has my sympathies, but people should also understand that he had a choice and he simply made a poor one.

[spaceman1]

34 minutes ago, winny257 said:

do you know what CDPR paid to the author for the book licenses?
8000 Euro, it's only right if Sapkowski sued CDPR for damages!

They tried to give him a cut of the profit as Royalties but he refused it and instead he demanded 35000 zloty as a one time payment and would not take any other offers. And no he doesn't have the right to sue them as he did it to himself and he even admitted he screwed himself. 

CDPR did settle with him and he now gets Royalties which is what they wanted to give him the first place. They didn't have to give him anything but they choose to handle things amicably and fairly if it had been any other company he would've been shit out of luck.

[winny257]

1 hour ago, Tiress said:

I suggest you read this article too.

I can understand why he sued CDPR, he even has my sympathies, but people should also understand that he had a choice and he simply made a poor one.

for me the action of CDPR was not correct, nobody could foresee, that the The Witcher Game Serie such a big success will, also Sapkowski could not the foresee!
would have been fair CDPR would have paid a profit sharing, no matter what was previously agreed!

Polish legislation

 

In the 14-million-euro claim, Sapkowski's legal counsel not only criticizes the incompleteness of the contract. The 44th article of Polish copyright law also applies. There, authors are offered further remuneration if there is a gross discrepancy between the original payment and the advantages of the license buyer. Based on this considerable discrepancy between the original license costs of 8,000 euros and Witcher games sold a million times, Sapkowski now bases his claim to an additional payment.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, winny257 said:

for me the action of CDPR was not correct, nobody could foresee, that the The Witcher Game Serie such a big success will, also Sapkowski could not the foresee!
would have been fair CDPR would have paid a profit sharing, no matter what was previously agreed!

Polish legislation

 

In the 14-million-euro claim, Sapkowski's legal counsel not only criticizes the incompleteness of the contract. The 44th article of Polish copyright law also applies. There, authors are offered further remuneration if there is a gross discrepancy between the original payment and the advantages of the license buyer. Based on this considerable discrepancy between the original license costs of 8,000 euros and Witcher games sold a million times, Sapkowski now bases his claim to an additional payment.

This is so wrong, in so many levels...

 

First off, The Witcher series was an obscure set of books outside of Poland. I only knew one person that referenced the books before the games and it was a nationalist polak.

As others have said, he was the one that wanted the deal CDPR gave him. If he could've not foreseen the success of the games it was because he neither have faith in his work (if you check out his other books you will understand the why... mediocre writer that even includes fart jokes in his books) nor is he a man of vision.

He should be worshipping CDPR for managing to greatly increase his book sales with a set of mediocre games (interactive movies should be the correct term) in a mediocre setting.

He is your typical boomer, a drunken pompous asshole who doesn't understand shit, but is ready to judge/insult every single person (mainly gamers) who made his work famous.

I bet he sold out to Netflix not only for them woke bucks, but also in spite of gamers.

 

Second, take Games Workshop and the Warhammer settings for example. Do you know how much they charge for those settings to game developers? Pretty much bananas or anything you can find in your pocket.

This is the reason you've so many crappy indie games in a much richer and better developed series of settings.

 

As for the show, yeah, I couldn't care less; It's Netflix after all.

Haven't watched a TV show for about 5 years and haven't watched a new movie for over a decade (The Dark Knight was the last one for me).

Shame that they've also moved to ruining games for the past years.

[GrimReaper]

7 hours ago, winny257 said:

for me the action of CDPR was not correct, nobody could foresee, that the The Witcher Game Serie such a big success will, also Sapkowski could not the foresee!
would have been fair CDPR would have paid a profit sharing, no matter what was previously agreed!

Polish legislation

 

In the 14-million-euro claim, Sapkowski's legal counsel not only criticizes the incompleteness of the contract. The 44th article of Polish copyright law also applies. There, authors are offered further remuneration if there is a gross discrepancy between the original payment and the advantages of the license buyer. Based on this considerable discrepancy between the original license costs of 8,000 euros and Witcher games sold a million times, Sapkowski now bases his claim to an additional payment.

You're just being salty because CDPR didn't release proper modding tools aren't you. You're being delusional if you think CDPR was in the wrong because the author made a poor call of judgment. They didn't want to buy the licence so cheap off of him, it was HIS deal for THEM, not the other way around.

[27X]

9 hours ago, winny257 said:

that is correct, but I found an article that made me shiver!
do you know what CDPR paid to the author for the book licenses?
8000 Euro, it's only right if Sapkowski sued CDPR for damages!
the article is from a renowned German computer games magazine.
I have translated a part with Google Translate, but I don't know if it's correct!

  Reveal hidden contents

The Witcher - license dispute: author Andrzej Sapkowski demands 14 million euros from CD Projekt
Andrzej Sapkowski, author of the Witcher novels, is dissatisfied with the license agreement between him and CD Projekt and demands an additional payment in the millions.

 

Discrepancy between license costs and profit
In a Facebook thread, the former managing director of CD Projekt, Sebastian Zielinski, once revealed the concrete amount that the author received for the license years ago. Sapkowski accounted for a total of 8,000 euros in two installments. With over 25 million units sold worldwide, this is of course a negligible contribution.

https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/the-witcher-lizenz-streit-autor-andrzej-sapkowski-fordert-14-millionen-euro-von-cd-projekt,3335405.html

 

You're full of shit winny. They offered him 12% royalties and he took a flat fee because only pedophiles and losers play video games. He played himself.

[Celedhring]

Initially, I thought Dandelion in The Wild Hunt looked remarkably like Henry Cavill but with a goatee and five o clock shadow. If you've seen him in The Tudors...the resemblance is uncanny.

[dagobaking]

I rate it as somewhat watchable.

 

I've never even finished the games because I can't handle being locked into being a cheeseball with silver hair. So, I can't judge if it does them justice. But, I felt the show did well with what they had. For fantasy, it's a challenge because there aren't really any budget shortcuts (you are creating new worlds, clothes, everything) and the bar has been set really high by other massive budget productions (GoT, LOTR, etc.).

[winny257]

59 minutes ago, GrimReaper said:

You're just being salty because CDPR didn't release proper modding tools aren't you. You're being delusional if you think CDPR was in the wrong because the author made a poor call of judgment. They didn't want to buy the licence so cheap off of him, it was HIS deal for THEM, not the other way around.

So it is not right, CDPR was 1994 founded in Warsaw, a small developer studio, certainly with several million cash money reserves *that was ironic*.
do you know a CDPR game that preceded The Witcher 1, October 26, 2007 appeared?
I not or at least nothing special, so CDPR wasn't exactly wealthy and the purchase of the book licenses was at the time point, reasonable!
what do you think, where would CDPR be today had they not the licenses received from Sabkovski?
they wouldn't be there today, disappeared in the sinking and an American would never have the opportunity, that game concept from CDPR to ruin!
because what is CDPR doing today, a crappy end time game from America, called Cyberpunk 2077! 

[Kentvrio]

I have to say I was not pleased with this first season. The first and sixth episodes were good (Blaviken and the golden dragon one), but otherwise none of the others were even serviceable. I, like many here I'm sure, played the games which led me to the books, and so I was able to pick up what was happening, but even for me the writing and addition of unnecessary OCs made the overall plot-line so convoluted that I cringing every 5 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised with the acting. Admittedly, I was among those who was rather peeved about the race swapping casting choices, but only one of those individuals proved to be a disappointment (Triss). Mr. Cavil knocks Geralt out of the fucking park and just about single-handedly carries the show. I also approved of how the world was portrayed and I thought remained very true to both the books and games.

 

Bottom line, I think they should have written a more concise story focusing on the extremely under-utilized assets that are Geralt and Dandelion. The initial Cintra flashback was fine, but the time jumping after that was wholly unnecessary, as was the entire Yennefer backstory that was lifted from what amounts to barely a paragraph in the book. While I understand Hissrich's intent with trying to have multiple perspectives, I think it was a mistake and that the audience should have been allowed to discover the world and characters with Geralt.

[GrimReaper]

5 minutes ago, winny257 said:

So it is not right, CDPR was 1994 founded in Warsaw, a small developer studio, certainly with several million cash money reserves *that was ironic*.
do you know a CDPR game that preceded The Witcher 1, October 26, 2007 appeared?
I not or at least nothing special, so CDPR wasn't exactly wealthy and the purchase of the book licenses was at the time point, reasonable!
what do you think, where would CDPR be today had they not the licenses received from Sabkovski?
they wouldn't be there today, disappeared in the sinking and an American would never have the opportunity, that game concept from CDPR to ruin!
because what is CDPR doing today, a crappy end time game from America, called Cyberpunk 2077! 

He would've gotten way more than 8k bucks if the games were even remotely successful, especially since developing games was so cheap in eastern europe at that time at least. See, you simply don't like CDPR and that's why you side with the sleazy greaseball that wrote the books. It's fine to not like someone but it shouldn't cloud your judgment like that. If you've liked any of the games, the dude hates you.

[winny257]

59 minutes ago, 27X said:

 

You're full of shit winny. They offered him 12% royalties and he took a flat fee because only pedophiles and losers play video games. He played himself.

lol, do you actually know that CDPR paid compensation?
12. 21. 2019
the dispute was settled, amount of compensation is not known. 

https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/the-witcher-sapkowski-rechtsstreit-ende,3352632.html

[winny257]

16 minutes ago, GrimReaper said:

He would've gotten way more than 8k bucks if the games were even remotely successful, especially since developing games was so cheap in eastern europe at that time at least. See, you simply don't like CDPR and that's why you side with the sleazy greaseball that wrote the books. It's fine to not like someone but it shouldn't cloud your judgment like that. If you've liked any of the games, the dude hates you.

I'll answer that tomorrow 

[Guest]

CDPR settled out of court not because they were in the wrong or were to lose it, but because a court battle with Sapkowski would bring them a huge amount of bad press.

Look at another example, Riot is paying 10 millions to wahmen only because of some "gender discrimination" crap, and they are doing this out of court to avoid the bad press; I am fairly sure they would win this case if they continued on court.

 

As for where they would be, well, the same place as they are now. The reason you don't know any games from them before the first The Witcher is because The Witcher was their first game. They were mainly a game publisher in Poland that risked entering the development market, and for that they needed a cheap license (ala Warhammer).

CDPR is better known today for their practices (No DRMs, not charging for DLCs, etc). They were the ones that made The Witcher famous outside of Poland, not the other way around. Cyberpunk has already been hyped like crazy for some years now and it isn't related to Sapkowski at all and will probably sell more than all The Witcher games combined.

 

I am not a fan of CDPR "games", with The Witcher 1 being the only game that I actually enjoyed playing (also never managed to finish The Witcher 3), but it's ridiculous to think that CDPR owns the drunken asshole anything. They paid Sapkowski for the setting and characters (and wanted to give him royalties from the very beginning), CDPR did all the game development and writing.

[RitualClarity]

2 hours ago, Alkpaz said:

Seems like people love the series: (vid released an hour ago)

 

For Winny, I know you hate videos (English), but the point is that the all time peak players has been surpassed just recently, in part, due to the Netflix series. 

How far will it go? https://steamcharts.com/app/292030

Compare that to Skyrim LE: https://steamcharts.com/app/72850

CDPR beats Bethesda when looking at player numbers. 

 

An apt comment by a viewer: "CDPR owned 2019 without even releasing a game."

I am interested if there are any here that read this thread .. watched the Witcher from Netflix and played the game at the same time discovering the Witcher universe and what their thoughts are on the differences and similarities.

 

Also.. nice that Bethesda got bitch slapped....

[RitualClarity]

3 hours ago, winny257 said:

lol, do you actually know that CDPR paid compensation?
12. 21. 2019
the dispute was settled, amount of compensation is not known. 

https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/the-witcher-sapkowski-rechtsstreit-ende,3352632.html

 

3 hours ago, Hawk9969 said:

CDPR settled out of court not because they were in the wrong or were to lose it, but because a court battle with Sapkowski would bring them a huge amount of bad press.

Look at another example, Riot is paying 10 millions to wahmen only because of some "gender discrimination" crap, and they are doing this out of court to avoid the bad press; I am fairly sure they would win this case if they continued on court.

 

As for where they would be, well, the same place as they are now. The reason you don't know any games from them before the first The Witcher is because The Witcher was their first game. They were mainly a game publisher in Poland that risked entering the development market, and for that they needed a cheap license (ala Warhammer).

CDPR is better known today for their practices (No DRMs, not charging for DLCs, etc). They were the ones that made The Witcher famous outside of Poland, not the other way around. Cyberpunk has already been hyped like crazy for some years now and it isn't related to Sapkowski at all and will probably sell more than all The Witcher games combined.

 

I am not a fan of CDPR "games", with The Witcher 1 being the only game that I actually enjoyed playing (also never managed to finish The Witcher 3), but it's ridiculous to think that CDPR owns the drunken asshole anything. They paid Sapkowski for the setting and characters (and wanted to give him royalties from the very beginning), CDPR did all the game development and writing.

They settled because they could.. and to make their life and PR (Public Relations) solid.

 

It is well reported that they wanted to pay him royalties, etc etc. They wanted to make sure he was well compensated. If for anything, to be sure that he can't come back later and win a battle and get more and more from their company.  they made money hand over fist and had plenty to pay off this small settlement. It is a common business practice.

 

 

[27X]

4 hours ago, winny257 said:

lol, do you actually know that CDPR paid compensation?
12. 21. 2019
the dispute was settled, amount of compensation is not known. 

https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/the-witcher-sapkowski-rechtsstreit-ende,3352632.html

Winny. You're deliberately avoiding that none of your answer is true. None. CDPR offered Sapkowski royalties or a flat fee. He refused. In writing. As delivered by a lawyer. The end. He fucked himself. He hates video games. That's it, that's all.

[spaceman1]

7 hours ago, winny257 said:

So it is not right, CDPR was 1994 founded in Warsaw, a small developer studio, certainly with several million cash money reserves *that was ironic*.
do you know a CDPR game that preceded The Witcher 1, October 26, 2007 appeared?
I not or at least nothing special, so CDPR wasn't exactly wealthy and the purchase of the book licenses was at the time point, reasonable!
what do you think, where would CDPR be today had they not the licenses received from Sabkovski?
they wouldn't be there today, disappeared in the sinking and an American would never have the opportunity, that game concept from CDPR to ruin!
because what is CDPR doing today, a crappy end time game from America, called Cyberpunk 2077! 

No they started off originally as importers not as a development studio they are one of the first companies to localize games in Poland. 

The Witcher was their first game they never made any before that.

If they hadn't gotten the licenses from Sabkovski they would still be importers and running GoG as they already had the money needed to start that up. 

Cyberpunk 2077 isn't even out yet so you have no idea what the game is like. Mike Pondsmith has say about what happens to the game and was the one who authorized all the changes to the game.

You don't know what you're talking about. You're acting like a spoiled brat because you didn't get official modding tools for the Witcher 3 and talking bullshit.

[KoolHndLuke]

7 hours ago, Alkpaz said:

Seems like people love the series: (vid released an hour ago)

I'm just super hyped about the extra exposure because it will help motivate CDPR to double down on a forth Witcher title. As long as the show doesn't completely fubar things, it can only help to build a much bigger fan base. The timing couldn't have been better coming off the close of the GOT series. 

[FauxFurry]

19 hours ago, winny257 said:

that is correct, but I found an article that made me shiver!
do you know what CDPR paid to the author for the book licenses?
8000 Euro, it's only right if Sapkowski sued CDPR for damages!
the article is from a renowned German computer games magazine.
I have translated a part with Google Translate, but I don't know if it's correct!

  Reveal hidden contents

The Witcher - license dispute: author Andrzej Sapkowski demands 14 million euros from CD Projekt
Andrzej Sapkowski, author of the Witcher novels, is dissatisfied with the license agreement between him and CD Projekt and demands an additional payment in the millions.

 

Discrepancy between license costs and profit
In a Facebook thread, the former managing director of CD Projekt, Sebastian Zielinski, once revealed the concrete amount that the author received for the license years ago. Sapkowski accounted for a total of 8,000 euros in two installments. With over 25 million units sold worldwide, this is of course a negligible contribution.

https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/the-witcher-lizenz-streit-autor-andrzej-sapkowski-fordert-14-millionen-euro-von-cd-projekt,3335405.html