Posted by Dan on
April 16, 2009
Kotaku brings word of a spat between IP owner Bethesda and licensee Interplay over the Fallout MMO Interplay is allegedly developing. I say allegedly, because whether Interplay is doing anything is the crux of Bethesda’s dispute. The history between the two firms and the Fallout brand is somewhat convoluted, but the end result is, Bethesda now owns the rights for the name and the IP, but Interplay has a license to create the MMO. Bethesda is threatening to terminate the license because Interplay has failed to secure funding or to start work.
What’s interesting here is two-fold. First, Bethesda (through their parent company Zenimax) certainly has publishing capability. Why haven’t they stepped in and said “fine, we’ll publish it, you develop it”? The question bodes ominously for the fate of the game… is Zenimax scared to touch it?
Second, it appears that Bethesda negotiated terms to the license agreement that would put Interplay, allegedly, in material breach of the license terms. Under contract law, a material breach allows the licensor/offeror in a contract to terminate the contract (as opposed to a partial/non-material breach, which merely allows monetary damages as remedy for breach, but not termination of the agreement). Now, I’m under the impression that Interplay is somewhat strapped for cash, so damages are not really the big concern for Zenimax since they’d likely not get anything great. So what’s the play here? Is it over the real value (the IP?) It will be interesting to see what Bethesda’s goal is here.
If anyone can point us towards a copy of the licensing agreement, or the SEC filings regarding the sale of the IP between Bethesda and Interplay, that’d be awesome.
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Posted by Dan on
October 26, 2008
Unbelievable. Is the 9/11 style New Yorker paranoia starting to reach D.C? GamePolitics is reporting that a D.C. Metro rider has written a letter to the Washington Post complaining about the imagery from a Fallout 3 advertisement depicting a Washington post-apocalyptic wasteland.
It’s absolutely astounding that someone who rides the metro in the district would be complaining about an advertisement. This is the same metro that has allowed advertisements from the “God Hates Fags” crowd, a bobblehead Pope, direct attacks accusing Washington Post staff of corruption, or chastising women who get abortions.
Metrorail riders who have passed through Metro Center over the past several weeks may have noticed signs throughout the station advertising a video game called “Fallout 3.” A heavily armored enemy soldier appears in the foreground of the ads, and the background includes images of seemingly war-ravaged national landmarks.
In one ad, the Washington Monument and the American flags surrounding it stand ravaged, as if hit by missiles. In another, the Capitol dome is partially caved in, while the rest of the building and the city behind it lie in ruins.
The people of our city do not need a daily reminder that Washington is a prime target for an attack. We do not need a daily reminder of what our worst fears look like. Since any First Amendment objection would be irrelevant (the ads do not present a true viewpoint or political message and would therefore not be protected), there is no reason for these ads to be part of our daily panorama.
The ads should be removed, and the appropriate office at Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority should be directed to exercise better judgment regarding what can be displayed in our transportation system.
JOSEPH ANZALONE
Ignoring for a second the horrid misconception of what the First Amendment covers or not, this guy is displaying the same paranoid anti-terrorism fear-mongering that has so dominated the last 7 years of this country. As a D.C. resident, I’m personally offended by this man’s arguments. Thankfully, the majority of D.C. residents I’ve spoken to about the ads think either that they are intriguing, (actually, most think that it’s for a movie or a TV show…obviously not gamers), or simply don’t care.
And what’s with the Brotherhood of Steel soldier being “a heavily armored enemy soldier”? Does he know something we don’t? Maybe this guy was the source of the Bethesda Softworks leak!
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