Interplay On Verge Of Bankruptcy? 50
EvilDonut writes "According to Gamesindustry.biz, long-time publisher Interplay is facing possible bankruptcy. Apparently, the company is three months behind in rent, owes almost $280,000 in a mix of outstanding payroll taxes and non-payment penalties for those taxes, and failed to meet its payroll obligations in the middle of this month. Heavy stuff." The piece also notes that, following "the asset-stripping antics of parent company Titus", the company has "lost the rights to publish Baldur's Gate 3 and other future D&D properties, and it may lose the right to continue publishing its Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance titles if it cannot settle a lawsuit from Atari which accuses it of failing to pay royalties on the D&D license." We've previously covered Black Isle's de facto demise, another key part of Interplay's woes.
It gets worse: (Score:3, Redundant)
Re:It gets worse: (Score:2)
It'd be nice if someone munged the Fallout license out of it, but eh, still dead.
An example to others (Score:5, Insightful)
Let it be a lesson to the other publishers.. when you publish crap, you go to crap.
Re:An example to others (Score:5, Funny)
So then how do you explain the rampant success of the 'Left Behind' series????
Re:An example to others (Score:2)
Re:An example to others (Score:2)
Re:An example to others (Score:2)
Re:An example to others (Score:2)
Dare it be said? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Dare it be said? (Score:2)
That was a pun, goddamnit!
Joke goes over head (Score:2)
Re:Dare it be said? (Score:5, Funny)
Perhaps... and there may be some Fallout from this crash.
Re:Dare it be said? (Score:3, Funny)
Oh! The Torment!
Re:Dare it be said? (Score:2)
Now we watch and see... (Score:2)
It's good for a bad business to die. It's bad for a good business to go bad. It's good for a dead business to... wait, where was I again?
-Adam
Re:Now we watch and see... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Now we watch and see... (Score:2, Interesting)
A new title? (Score:2)
At least they might get a few ideas!
Re:A new title? (Score:2)
What, like SEGA GaGa [mobygames.com]. Although it's a management sim not an RPG. Released at about the same time SEGA dropped out of the console making business as well.
Re:A new title? (Score:1)
You don't have to limit yourself to game companies or software companies, it works for any company:
Sim MBA - some golfing buddies get you a cushy C*O position at a Reasonably Successful Company... you make various short-sighted decisions, ridiculous cuts, etc. to drive up the stock price, take a huge bonus and exit with a golden handshake, then move on to rape another company...
Interplay effectively dead for a while now (Score:4, Insightful)
If a company can't continue to publish new titles based on one of its own self-developed intellectual assets, you know its just about done.
Seen it coming for a long time (Score:5, Interesting)
Then there was the whole going public thing, and some really bad development choices. They split up all the devlopment teams into "studios" Which is where Black Isle came from. They scrapped some pretty big projects that already had 2 years dev time into them (Stonekeep 2 jumps to mind), and started releasing extremely dated material (Descent to Undermountain). I was lucky enough to leave before the first big round of layoffs.
Last I heard, the company was down to about 40 employees or so, and from this it sounds like they won't be around much longer. Hopefully someone will get in there and buy the remaining licenses they have with any sort of value.
Re:Seen it coming for a long time (Score:1)
Interplay started going downhill when it went public and stoped making games for gamers by gamers. They had the share holders to deal with and wouldn't take chances.
Re:Seen it coming for a long time (Score:1)
Re:Seen it coming for a long time (Score:2)
Re:Seen it coming for a long time (Score:2)
The implication of the story, however, seems to be that their parent company seems more than willing to sell off whatever someone is willing to buy.
Back in my day.... (Score:1)
Re:Back in my day.... (Score:3, Interesting)
On a related tangent, I curse Google's founders for not thinking that $100+ million net profit was enough and filing for their IPO.
Re:Back in my day.... (Score:1)
Heh. (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Heh. (Score:1)
Re:Heh. (Score:2)
So, while it could conceivably be true, that particular rumor isn't actually legit. [The same person also posted a 'Half-Life slips to 2005' rumor which caused similar consternation.]
Descent is what MADE Interplay what it is today (Score:4, Insightful)
Did Interplay even publish Freespace and Freespace 2? I never played Freespace 2, but I was a Freespace fan and it was a good game too.
If Interplay wants to save themselves, they need to talk someone into, namely Volition or whatever the other split of Parallax software was, to try and develop a good Descent IV and maybe another Freespace game? Those were great, and I think that's the entire reason Interplay ever became as well-known as they are.
Re:Descent is what MADE Interplay what it is today (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Descent is what MADE Interplay what it is today (Score:2)
Man, I just replayed Freespace 2 recently. Great stuff. They even released the source.
I'd love to play a Freespace 3. Imagine the massively detailed capital ships you could do with modern video cards!
Re:Descent is what MADE Interplay what it is today (Score:1)
D3 is a good game, don't be dissing it.
Outrage, one half of Parallax (the other half being Volition which took Freespace) got bought by THQ and closed down a year later, a sad day for gamers here in A2.
-B
Re:Descent is what MADE Interplay what it is today (Score:1)
Re:Descent is what MADE Interplay what it is today (Score:2)
Info here [planetdescent.com] and here [planetdescent.com].
Sigh. Coulda been.
More and more PC-game companies fold ... (Score:2, Insightful)
Maybe a solution is to release games on X-Box or other console, and then on the PC? BioWare has done this with KOTOR, and they just might be onto something here
Re:More and more PC-game companies fold ... (Score:3, Interesting)
As for their PC games, money doesn't grow on names. And making a sequel which fans of the previous won't tear apart is expensive.
Re:More and more PC-game companies fold ... (Score:1)
I don't think that there is no profit in PC games anymore, I think that the companies are trying to come out with the same games on the PC as they are on platforms. Then that puts them in direct competition with the console instead of isolating the market.
To me it seems that the games that are now being created on the PC are better played on a console. (more action less strategy) - PS not a fan of FP games more o