A Fallout MMO game in the works?

[Kashked]

There seems to be a Fallout MMO in the works, appearently from the creators of the original games, appearently Bethseda has and is trying to stop it though, so it isn't a done deal it seems, however you can sign up for beta-testing... http://www.fallout-on-line.com/

 

I'm mainly a fan of the two most recent games, not having played the old ones very much, but the idea certanly seems interesting. Not a fan of MMO's really, but maybe I atleast would give it a try, assuming it is relesed of course.

[Guest Loogie]

What happened in this saga is Bethesda originally licensed to make 4 Fallout games and keep the franchise with Interplay. After that deal was struck, they struck another where they bought the franchise and gave Interplay the right to make an MMO.

 

The conditions for making the MMO were that Bethesda laid out a timetable for funding, staffing and having a semi-functional product, milestones Interplay had all met. This did not stop Bethesda from suing Interplay on the grounds that Bethesda said they didn't meet the milestones. When the court rejected that and two injunctions against Interplay continuing work, Bethesda began claimed they didn't give Interplay the right to use Fallout copyrighted material, just use the name Fallout in the title. Of course, the contract also states that Interplay needs to make a game that functions as a Fallout title, which they cannot do without using the copyright. Which means, according to Bethesda's own words, they tried to trick Interplay into signing an agreement that is impossible to honor.

 

So the idiotic legal maneuver by Bethesda was rejected by the judge. There's been legal wrangling back and forth, which I won't bore you with, but Bethesda's lawyers are so bad and their argument so baseless that the Interplay lawyer is kicking their asses. It has also been hinted that Bethesda is working on their own Fallout MMO; if this is the case, or Bethesda is shown in court to be breaking the agreement in other ways (as Interplay has successfully proven a few times so far that they are not breaking it) then the most likely scenario is Bethesda has to give the rights to Fallout back to Interplay, in addition to most revenues from Fallout 3 and New Vegas. This would also revert back to the original deal where Bethesda has rights to make Fallout 3, NV and two more unannounced titles.

 

Slippery thing about that is, the way I read the contract, Interplay could not release anything but the MMO until the completion of Bethesda's fourth Fallout. So if that occurs, Bethesda could effectively end the franchise by not making the fourth title.

 

Bethesda's legal department seems to be all about preying on targets they think are vulnerable - see their current case against the maker of Minecraft to see that in action. What Bethesda was not banking on is Herve Caen is a slick son of a bitch whose faced bigger battles than this during his tenure at Interplay.

[iron_jack]

Nice summary, very enlightening. I'm glad to hear Interplay is putting up a good fight. I believe Notch is too, right? Well, Mojang I mean. That whole thing was a load of horseshit too, if I understood it correctly.

[Guest Loogie]

What happened with Notch is he copyrighted the name Scrolls for a future game he was creating. Bethesda sued him on the grounds that it's too similar to Elder Scrolls. He said he would give up the copyright claim, and did; Bethesda is still suing him. My theory is they're trying to bleed that company dry via legal fees so they can acquire it, as I can't see any other logical reason for it. If the case is as well-put together as their Fallout case (lewl) it'll get laughed out of court... but only after Notch's company has to spend a ton in legal fees.

 

What I don't understand is why Bethesda feels it's necessary to bully small companies when they could just buy them outright and save the headache. If Bethesda was smart, they could have used the millions they made from Fallout 3 to snatch up a majority stake in Interplay's stock, which would make the current lawsuit absolutely needless.

[iron_jack]

You know, I never really pictured Bethesda as the evil-empire type, but I guess most companies that size probably are.

 

I don't know if you follow Minecraft stuff much, but Notch has never seemed all that worried about the suit. His jimmies were far more rustled about the recent drama with Yogscast, a bunch of Youtube nobodies, than they ever were with the Bethesda thing. If I'm not mistaken, which I very well could be.

[Guest Loogie]

I haven't really followed that or Notch's reaction, I just know the bare minimum. I am, however, following the Bethesda/Interplay thing closely. No matter which of them wins, I lose unless the victorious company just lets Obsidian crank out more Fallouts.

[iron_jack]

Surely whoever wins, it's too big a moneypot to just sit on, right?

[Guest Loogie]

Of course. It's such a huge moneypot that it will probably encourage whichever company gets it to crank out more shit like Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel and Fallout 3, instead of taking the hard route and making a real Fallout title like 1, 2 and NV.

[Sand_Dragon]

I haven't really followed that or Notch's reaction' date=' I just know the bare minimum. I am, however, following the Bethesda/Interplay thing closely. No matter which of them wins, I lose unless the victorious company just lets Obsidian crank out more Fallouts.

[/quote']

 

Seconding this. While I had a lot of fun with FO3, FNV was way better in my opinion. If they let Obsidian handle all future Fallout games, I think we're in for a good ride.

[Guest Loogie]

Looks like I had my facts wrong a little bit. From the Fallout 4 webpage on The Vault wiki:

 

"nitially, in 2004, Bethesda licensed from Interplay the rights to create and publish three Fallout games (Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 4). Later, in 2007, Bethesda purchased the entire franchise, and Interplay licensed back from Bethesda the rights to a Fallout MMORPG. There is currently a legal dispute underway in which Interplay claim that Bethesda breached their contract regarding Fallout Online, and so their later contract is null and void. If Interplay's counter-claim is successful, the companies would revert to their previous contract, whereby Bethesda only has the rights to publish one more Fallout game - Fallout 4."

 

So it looks like under the original deal Interplay can still make Fallout games concurrently with Bethesda.

[Guest Loogie]

And the plot thickens. http://www.duckandcover.cx/forums/viewtopic.php?t=25833

[Sand_Dragon]

And the plot thickens. http://www.duckandcover.cx/forums/viewtopic.php?t=25833

 

I read the link, but I'm bad at, like, laws, so could you explain please what happens if Interplay's contract with Bethesda is indeed voided?

[Guest Loogie]

Interplay gets the rights to Fallout back, and things revert to the original deal where Bethesda can make 3 Fallout titles. I'd imagine Bethesda would also have to pay the legal fees for the whole mess and some sort of damages.

[Sand_Dragon]

So this is the best outcome then? Phew. I was worried that the contract being voided would mean Interplay would lose the rights to Fallout.

[Guest Loogie]

They may have to pay Bethesda back the $5 million they paid for it, but with how much potential profit that IP is worth now I don't think they'd mind.

[Lordhavoc]

what went on with the Yogscast?

and Also as who ever it was said the Bethesda lawyers are useless, i reckon Notch will run circles around them which is probs the reason why he aint bothered much