So much for Interplay

[davidbrit2]

A friend just showed me this article on Game Spot.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/06/04/news_6100019.html

Wow.

[Ed Oscuro]

Woah indeed. I've said before that I'd like to see the Interplay brand name gone, but of course if they can turn things around I'd be happy for them. I'm not actively rooting for the devil here, see :P

Does look pretty darn serious, though. I'm actually rather amazed that they've got folks hanging around still - but I guess you get that when you don't just throw in the towel and give their employees a reason to be hopeful. I guess they suppose they really think they've got a fighting chance to be doing that.

[-hellvin-]

Hmm...might have been a smart move for them to take care of the financial problems within their business eh? Oh well, what goes around comes around.

[EnemyZero]

that sucks, interplay was home of my fav pc series : fallout .....>.< ok so interplay was in my top 5 fav gaming companies 2....damn you people and your financial idiocy!!!!

[davidmt]

I thought Interplay officially changed their name to Atari?

[DasCrewShtool]

the unpaid employees should have just stole their wages worth of stuff from those jackasses, they were stealing time and money from their employees.

[Flack]

Atomic Bomberman
Baldur's Gate 2
Battle Chess 1/2
Battlecruiser 3000 A.D.
Blackthorne
Blood and Magic
Bust A Move 4
Caesar's Palace 2000
Carmageddon 1/2
Castles II
Clayfighter 1/2
Curse of the Azure Bonds
Descent 1/2/3
Dungeon Hack
Earthworm Jim 3-D
Eye of the Beholder 1/2/3
Fallout 1/2
Hillsfar
Icewind Dale
Interplay 15th Anniversary Anthology
Kao The Kangaroo
Lionheart
MDK 1/2
Might and Magic Compilation
Out of this World
Powerboat Racing
Pools of Radiance
Pools of Darkness
Pro-Pinball: Big Race USA
Pro-Pinball: Timeshock
Puzzle Bobble
Raiden 2
Redneck Rampage
Renegade Racers
Rock 'N' Roll Racing
Secret of the Silver Blades
Shogo
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary
Star Trek: Federation Compilation
Star Trek: Judgement Rites
Star Trek: Klingon Academy
Star Trek: New Worlds
Star Trek: Pinball
Star Trek: Starfleet Command
Star Trek: Starfleet Command 2
Stonekeep
Tempest X
Ultimate RPG Archives (Bard's Tale, Wasteland, Dragon Wars, Ultima Underworld, etc)
Ultimate Wizardry Archives
Virtual Pool 1/2
VR Sports Series
Wild 9
Wild Wild Racing ...

These are just some of the Interplay games I've enjoyed over the years. It's hard to see how a company with so many classics under their belt could ever have a hard time selling games or playing employees.

Looking back over this list makes me realize how much I enjoy classic gaming.

[davidbrit2]

I thought Interplay officially changed their name to Atari?

The same thing crossed my mind briefly too, but wasn't that Infogrames?

[Daria]

You know... now I'm kinda glad Interplay fired their Black Isle division, because they've apparently regrouped independantly as Obsidian Entertainment and are making KOTOR 2. Which means unlike the Interplay employees they're doing fine.

[Lady Jaye]

Davidbrit is right. It was Infogrames, not Interplay, who changed their name to Atari.

[Ruudos]

Interplay.
The developer of the most udnerrated game ever:

THE ADVENTURES OF RAD GRAVITY

I want a sequel :angry:

[The Manimal]

I like this company! They make good games.

[Ed Oscuro]

I like this company! They cancel good games.
Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I believe Interplay has been altogether too dependent on Star Trek licenses over the years, which more or less seems to have gone to Activision (or was it Vivendi?) at times. In any case, cancelling Fallout 3 was a big strike against their record.

This company isn't like Microsoft which can afford negative press when they drop a really promising game (Mythica) for business reasons. Microsoft will always have money and the ability to grab more licenses or develop their own. Interplay has been a one-horse show for a while now - at the very least, their stable is pretty small right now. What did they have? Black Isle is gone. 2003 had...Brotherhood of Steel on the XBox and Dark Alliance 2 on the PS2...maybe decent enough games, but very similar, and most certainly NOT Fallout titles.

Interplay really needed to use their big name titles as a wedge, and I think they failed in a major way to do that. They felt Fallout 3 wouldn't make enough money. Perhaps they didn't have enough money or waited too long to make the change to consoles only. Whatever the case, whether or not the community can really forgive them for cancelling this major title, or whether the community will really embrace these no-name titles (Brotherhood of Steel? Eh? Hardly a Baldur's Gate) seems to be moot. Interplay rests in limbo, and I think any day now we could see a final slide into oblivion. Perhaps they'll hang on, so we can be hopeful for a chance to judge them again in the future. That said, I think other groups do stuff much better than Interplay has in recent years.

http://www.intriguing.com/mp/_pictures/compdiff/foot.jpg
*SQUISH*

[SoulBlazer]

The history of Star Trek licences over the years is rather long and convulted, so I'll try to simpily it as best I can.

Interplay DID have a licence from Paramount to make Star Trek games in the early 90's. They made some really good games (25th Anniversary and Judgement Rites) and some average ones (Starfleet Academy). The licence was ONLY for the TOS, though. The licence for TNG was given to Microprose about the same time.

And then at around the same time -- I want to say about 1997 or so -- both companies lost their licence and it was awarded to Acitvision, who breathed new life into the game franchise and produced some really wonderfull games. Unforentuly, a falling out caused Activision to drop the licence and sue Paramount in 2003, a case that, last I heard, is still being heard.

The last ST game that Interplay was producing, Shattered Universe, was taking so long in development that it was given to another company, TDK, who finally finished and released it a few months ago. Good thing Interplay gave up on it -- a total turd. One of the worst PS2 games I have yet seen.

In any case, Interplay (as allready mentioned) was resting too much on past success. I've always enjoyed the company, but when Brain Fargo stepped down a couple years ago, I could see the writing was on the wall. Let's hope they can pull out of this somehow.

[Ed Oscuro]

when Brain Fargo stepped down a couple years ago...
Wow @ Name. Sounds like somebody who works at GameSpy xD

Well, yeah, you put it much better than I could've - thanks. I honestly haven't bought an Interplay title for years and I don't think I ever would have given the recent lineup.

[GaijinPunch]

I'm not much of a PC-gamer, but I *LOVED* Descent 3. I used to pull all-day sessions on rainy days.

[SoulBlazer]

Funny, I never cared much for the Descent games.....

Oh, and a :D at Ed. (I know the names of most of the major people with comapnies, really.....)

[xenu]

This sucks. I was so totally waiting for another Carmageddon game. At least Black Isle made it out okay, I also want another Baldur's Gate: DA game! :D

[poe]

I honestly haven't bought an Interplay title for years and I don't think I ever would have given the recent lineup.

I hear ya. I looked at Fallout:Dark Alliance and thought with the progression from Fallout Tactics to *this*, it's pretty obvious they're never giving us a proper Fallout 3. Please let the company die before we get "Fallout:Hentai Dating Sim."

Seriously, though, since their good (IMO) licenses have gone to hell or other companies, I'm not taking this too hard.

[ManekiNeko]

I wonder what's going to happen to Shiny now that Interplay is on its way out. I guess it's not that important... Shiny was big in the mid 90's but they faded away pretty quickly. The same goes for their flagship series, Earthworm Jim. I always wondered what happened to that game to make it fall from grace (yes, I've played Earthworm Jim 3D, but I didn't think it was all that bad).

JR

[DigitalSpace]

Claymates was another good SNES game from Interplay.

For some reason, I thought Interplay folded years ago. I only recently found out that they were still around.

[Flack]

This is the article referred to in the 'other' Interplay thread this morning.

Interplay Reopens, Parent Company Frozen
The developer gets workman's comp, but Titus faces trouble.

June 08, 2004 - A late news item in the Orange County Register confirms that Interplay officially reopened its doors today, having obtained worker's compensation insurance. According to reports earlier this week, the company had been shut down by state authorities for not providing the insurance, as well as for not paying its employees.

However, not all may be on the rise for the long-time developer. Its parent company, French publisher Titus Interactive, today filed for bankruptcy. The Tribunal of Commerce of Meaux froze Titus shares pending investigation.

Still, Interplay CEO Herve Caen maintains that the Titus situation is not connected to Interplay's fate.

"(Titus' bankruptcy) doesn't affect us in any way, shape or form," the Register quotes him as saying. Caen is hoping that funding through investment bank SG Capital will help get the troubled company back on its feet.

Interplay isn't out of the immediate dark. State officials still require the company to pay neglected wages and associated penalties, based on an audit currently in process.

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/522/522098p1.html

[calthaer]

Interplay is back open, at least temporarily:

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/fallout3/news_6100200.html

The loss of Brian Fargo was too big of a loss for them, methinks. What great designers do they have left? Man, so many great games of the past had Interplay on their names...but they were always more of a co-publisher. Now...

[SoulBlazer]

For once I agree with you, calth. ;)

Many, MANY great designers have passed through Interplay over the years, but who do they have left now? Nothing but a shell of a company. I don't imagine to last long. At least that means their franchises like Fallout can pass into someone ELSE's hands....