After years of relative silence, Interplay is officially returning as a videogame publisher, but its upcoming titles are much smaller than the projects it used to put out.
It's been a long time since Interplay published a videogame, but the company is proudly stepping back into the business after a six year leave-of-absence. Thanks to its Interplay Discovery Publishing Program, which is designed to help smaller developers get published, the company will be putting out at least two brand new games this year.
The firm has announced that it will be publishing the following games in October: Pinball, Yeah from CodeRunners and Tommy Tronic from Oasis Games. Tommy Tronic will only be released on the PC, but Pinball, Yeah will also come out on iPhone and Mac platforms.
This is the first time Interplay has returned to games publishing since it practically shut down in 2004, though it managed to stave off a corporate death thanks to the sale of the Fallout license to Bethesda in 2007. The company is still working on a Fallout MMO with Masthead Studios, though that title needs to be released before the end of 2011 or Bethesda will reclaim the rights by default.
Until the Fallout MMO is published, it sounds like Interplay's main source of income will be from its Discovery program. It'll be interesting to see how successful this venture proves to be in October.
Now Now, this is just interplay getting back up. If they do well we might see a bright future ahead of them. Best to do right now is to buy their old games and their new intill they can get back on their feet.
However, there's still hope. It's very possible that they're simply cranking out titles like this to bring some cash flow in for the Fallout MMO. If that comes around one day, all sins are forgiven.
Dont forget that it's actually good that smaller companies get a chance at publishing games properly thanks to interplay. Remember how every large studio once started small, and expanded when they got a title just right.
oh lord. Herve Caen is at it again. if you guys thought bobby Kotick was bad, meet the master of jackassery Herve Caen. he invented the formula bobby kotick uses today.
Ultratwinkie: oh lord. Herve Caen is at it again. if you guys thought bobby Kotick was bad, meet the master of jackassery Herve Caen. he invented the formula bobby kotick uses today.
Ultratwinkie: oh lord. Herve Caen is at it again. if you guys thought bobby Kotick was bad, meet the master of jackassery Herve Caen. he invented the formula bobby kotick uses today.
I am suddenly extremely terrified.
he was the one who sold out fallout to be an explosion filled halo wannabe. he put the final bullet in the head of fallout and black isle in a demonstration of greed.
Ultratwinkie: oh lord. Herve Caen is at it again. if you guys thought bobby Kotick was bad, meet the master of jackassery Herve Caen. he invented the formula bobby kotick uses today.
I am suddenly extremely terrified.
he was the one who sold out fallout to be an explosion filled halo wannabe. he put the final bullet in the head of fallout and black isle in a demonstration of greed.
Ultratwinkie: oh lord. Herve Caen is at it again. if you guys thought bobby Kotick was bad, meet the master of jackassery Herve Caen. he invented the formula bobby kotick uses today.
I am suddenly extremely terrified.
he was the one who sold out fallout to be an explosion filled halo wannabe. he put the final bullet in the head of fallout and black isle in a demonstration of greed.
I-wha-bu-....
yes. he was the one who allowed fallout: BOS to be made. that alone is a crime against humanity.
Ultratwinkie: oh lord. Herve Caen is at it again. if you guys thought bobby Kotick was bad, meet the master of jackassery Herve Caen. he invented the formula bobby kotick uses today.
I am suddenly extremely terrified.
he was the one who sold out fallout to be an explosion filled halo wannabe. he put the final bullet in the head of fallout and black isle in a demonstration of greed.
I-wha-bu-....
yes. he was the one who allowed fallout: BOS to be made. that alone is a crime against humanity.
Ultratwinkie: oh lord. Herve Caen is at it again. if you guys thought bobby Kotick was bad, meet the master of jackassery Herve Caen. he invented the formula bobby kotick uses today.
I am suddenly extremely terrified.
he was the one who sold out fallout to be an explosion filled halo wannabe. he put the final bullet in the head of fallout and black isle in a demonstration of greed.
I-wha-bu-....
yes. he was the one who allowed fallout: BOS to be made. that alone is a crime against humanity.
This man must die. Ready the gatling guns.
me or herve caen? or allowed that abomination to leave the idea room?
Ultratwinkie: oh lord. Herve Caen is at it again. if you guys thought bobby Kotick was bad, meet the master of jackassery Herve Caen. he invented the formula bobby kotick uses today.
I am suddenly extremely terrified.
he was the one who sold out fallout to be an explosion filled halo wannabe. he put the final bullet in the head of fallout and black isle in a demonstration of greed.
I-wha-bu-....
yes. he was the one who allowed fallout: BOS to be made. that alone is a crime against humanity.
This man must die. Ready the gatling guns.
me or herve caen? or allowed that abomination to leave the idea room?
Herve Caen. And while I'm at it, might as well remove Kotick from the gaming industry.
Ultratwinkie: oh lord. Herve Caen is at it again. if you guys thought bobby Kotick was bad, meet the master of jackassery Herve Caen. he invented the formula bobby kotick uses today.
I am suddenly extremely terrified.
he was the one who sold out fallout to be an explosion filled halo wannabe. he put the final bullet in the head of fallout and black isle in a demonstration of greed.
I-wha-bu-....
yes. he was the one who allowed fallout: BOS to be made. that alone is a crime against humanity.
This man must die. Ready the gatling guns.
me or herve caen? or allowed that abomination to leave the idea room?
Herve Caen. And while I'm at it, might as well remove Kotick from the gaming industry.
did i mention he cancelled fallout 3 to make fallout: BOS?
Ultratwinkie: oh lord. Herve Caen is at it again. if you guys thought bobby Kotick was bad, meet the master of jackassery Herve Caen. he invented the formula bobby kotick uses today.
I am suddenly extremely terrified.
he was the one who sold out fallout to be an explosion filled halo wannabe. he put the final bullet in the head of fallout and black isle in a demonstration of greed.
I-wha-bu-....
yes. he was the one who allowed fallout: BOS to be made. that alone is a crime against humanity.
This man must die. Ready the gatling guns.
me or herve caen? or allowed that abomination to leave the idea room?
Herve Caen. And while I'm at it, might as well remove Kotick from the gaming industry.
did i mention he cancelled fallout 3 to make fallout: BOS?
Which is a shame. Black Isle created 'Fallout' and Snowblind Studios created 'Baulder's Gate: Dark Alliance' (the engine used in Fallout:BOS came from this game). So if they where going to do a BG:DA knock-off in the Fallout universe, they'd have Black Isle or Snowblind do it, right?
Nope.
And that's just how stupid they where. The concept of 'Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel' could have been fun, but you needed to have the right people behind it.
sturryz: Now Now, this is just interplay getting back up. If they do well we might see a bright future ahead of them. Best to do right now is to buy their old games and their new intill they can get back on their feet.
And how would that benefit them? Most of their older products (especially the bigger ones) are now owned by other companies - Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale by Atari, Fallout by Bethesda and so forth, or the amount of money they'd get from sales via outlets like Gog.com would be tiny.
Uhm... as far as I know they announced they're back to publishing in like 2008?
And ultimately the upcoming games they are "working towards" are those:
Earthworm Jim 4 Descent 4 MDK3 Fallout MMO ClayFighter Wii
There's a whole Wiki-section about it:
Re-emergence GameSpot reported on November 13, 2007 that Interplay, using money from its sale of the Fallout IP to Bethesda Softworks, is going to restart its in-basement game development studio and Interplay has plans on developing sequels to some of its classic IPs contingent on if it can secure financing. Gamespot stated:
" Among the projects Interplay has said it wants to develop are sequels to Earthworm Jim, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, Descent, and MDK, provided it can find the financing.[16] "
Interplay Entertainment Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: IPLY) recently announced its earnings for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007, and its plan for the company going forward.[17]
Near the end of March 2008, a controlling interest of stock was reportedly sold to Luxembourg based Financial Planning and Development S.A.[18]
On April 9, 2008, Interplay confirmed that they will undertake sequels for Dark Alliance, Earthworm Jim, Descent and MDK series. They have also announced production of a Fallout MMO.[19]
They later announced that they would support the Wii Virtual Console, with Sega Genesis (aka Mega Drive) versions of Earthworm Jim, Earthworm Jim 2, Boogerman and Clayfighter, as well as the Nintendo 64 game Clayfighter 63 1/3.[20]
On April 22, 2008 Interplay announced that Earthworm Jim 4 is in development with original creator, Doug TenNapel, as a creative consultant. No platform or release date has been set. In addition to the new game, TenNapel will also develop a new animated series and a feature film based on the property.[21]
On September 23, 2008 Interplay relaunched its website, announcing that Chris Taylor, another member of the original Fallout development team, has joined Jason Anderson on the team working on a game codenamed Project V13, which is assumed to be Interplay's Fallout MMORPG, however if Interplay does not produce the game by 2011, it will lose the MMO license to Bethesda.[citation needed]
As of 2008, Interplay's headquarters is located at 100 North Crescent Drive, Suite 324 in Beverly Hills, California according to this USPTO listing for the Descent trademark, status dated on October 21, 2008.[1]
Interplay released a press announcement on January 21, 2010 stating an agreement has been finalised with Masthead Studios for the development on Project: V13.[22]
Quiet Stranger: Of the good things I've heard about FO1 and 2, I hope Bethesda hire them to help make FO 4
Interplay is just a publisher (you know the guys that give money and put up a contract with a developer to make games), the remnants of the company that made Fallout 1+2 are already working on Fallout: New Vegas (Obsidian Entertainment).
Although Interplay has proven that it has a keen sense of talent (at least in the past), they are the ones that made Bioware and Blizzard big with Black Isle Studios a third (unfortunately they went bankrupt and what remained is now Obsidian) in the first place by publishing their first games (like Baldur's Gate, MDK Series, Blackthorne, Lost Vikings, WarCraft I, Rock'N'Roll Racing, Planescape Torment, Icewind Dale Series) and giving them the freedom and finances they needed.
They also head other great titles, among them: Carmageddon, the Descent Series, Cyberia, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary and Judgment Rites etc.
After going public in 1998 with shares being sold on the stockmarket they had a few games that didn't sell that well and reported a lot of losses till they got bought out (majority shares) by "Titus Interactive" and had their titles published by Vivendi at some point with a lot of the Interplay heads (and it's founder) leaving the company at that time. The CEO of the now defunct "Titus Interactive" is unfortunately now the new CEO of Interplay (Herve Caen).
I sense a lot of hatred for Herve Caen and rightfully so but, hey, give'em a chance and let's see where this train wreck goes.
He has no trump cards left with the state Interplay is currently in, he may have to really turn it out.
I remember Titus Interactive... they only had one good game, Titus the Fox on the Amiga, their stupid mascot. I'm proud to say (ashamed?) that I have their questionable RoboCop game for Xbox. Yeah its a piece of shit but I'm a big RoboCop fan and that makes it a notable piece of shit in the long run.
Quiet Stranger: Of the good things I've heard about FO1 and 2, I hope Bethesda hire them to help make FO 4
Interplay is just a publisher (you know the guys that give money and put up a contract with a developer to make games), the remnants of the company that made Fallout 1+2 are already working on Fallout: New Vegas (Obsidian Entertainment).
Although Interplay has proven that it has a keen sense of talent (at least in the past), they are the ones that made Bioware and Blizzard big with Black Isle Studios a third (unfortunately they went bankrupt and what remained is now Obsidian) in the first place by publishing their first games (like Baldur's Gate, MDK Series, Blackthorne, Lost Vikings, WarCraft I, Rock'N'Roll Racing, Planescape Torment, Icewind Dale Series) and giving them the freedom and finances they needed.
They also head other great titles, among them: Carmageddon, the Descent Series, Cyberia, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary and Judgment Rites etc.
After going public in 1998 with shares being sold on the stockmarket they had a few games that didn't sell that well and reported a lot of losses till they got bought out (majority shares) by "Titus Interactive" and had their titles published by Vivendi at some point with a lot of the Interplay heads (and it's founder) leaving the company at that time. The CEO of the now defunct "Titus Interactive" is unfortunately now the new CEO of Interplay (Herve Caen).
All true. But I have to wonder at this junction... what ever happened to all the source material for the "Van Buren" prototype? (That's the real unfinished Fallout 3 for the uninitiated) I mean is Herve still sitting on top of it? Did it go with the guys to Obsidian? Was it just all erased from existence? I'm hoping the Fallout MMO, if it even materializes, will take the form of Fallout 1 and 2 with the top-down isometric view. I'd like to see Mr. Caen not fuck up for once, just once.
robinkom: All true. But I have to wonder at this junction... what ever happened to all the source material for the "Van Buren" prototype? (That's the real unfinished Fallout 3 for the uninitiated) I mean is Herve still sitting on top of it? Did it go with the guys to Obsidian? Was it just all erased from existence? I'm hoping the Fallout MMO, if it even materializes, will take the form of Fallout 1 and 2 with the top-down isometric view. I'd like to see Mr. Caen not fuck up for once, just once.
And there were "proof of concept" screenshots for the Fallout MMO at some point (because they needed some to prove that they started working on it in the lawsuit against Bethesda):
Although I'm still very skeptical about whether it'll ever make it to an actual release or not... an MMO is not exactly a project an (almost) dieing company should undertake lightly, especially not without financial support and with all the legal issues. It could just break their neck completely.
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6 Years Later, Interplay Returns to Publishing
After years of relative silence, Interplay is officially returning as a videogame publisher, but its upcoming titles are much smaller than the projects it used to put out.
It's been a long time since Interplay published a videogame, but the company is proudly stepping back into the business after a six year leave-of-absence. Thanks to its Interplay Discovery Publishing Program, which is designed to help smaller developers get published, the company will be putting out at least two brand new games this year.
The firm has announced that it will be publishing the following games in October: Pinball, Yeah from CodeRunners and Tommy Tronic from Oasis Games. Tommy Tronic will only be released on the PC, but Pinball, Yeah will also come out on iPhone and Mac platforms.
This is the first time Interplay has returned to games publishing since it practically shut down in 2004, though it managed to stave off a corporate death thanks to the sale of the Fallout license to Bethesda in 2007. The company is still working on a Fallout MMO with Masthead Studios, though that title needs to be released before the end of 2011 or Bethesda will reclaim the rights by default.
Until the Fallout MMO is published, it sounds like Interplay's main source of income will be from its Discovery program. It'll be interesting to see how successful this venture proves to be in October.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz
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