Bethesda Calls Fallout MMO Contract "Clear and Unambiguous"

[sunburst]

I don't even care if the contract does say that. Interplay would be massive idiots for signing something saying they can make a Fallout MMO that has nothing to do with the Fallout universe yet Bethesda would be even more massive dicks for trying something like that in the first place.

Unless it turns out Interplay is run by Mecha-Hitler who plans to use this MMO to somehow enslave the world's population, so Bethesda is using sketchy legal arguments in an attempt to save us all, I doubt I'll be buying anything from Bethesda anytime in the foreseeable future.

It's too bad gamers are notoriously apathetic towards douchey companies when it comes time to vote with their wallets. Long live Activision.

 

[thedeathscythe]

That would be like if they said "You can use the Star Wars name, but it cannot take place in the Star Wars universe." It makes no sense. I love Bethesda, but I think they're in the wrong here. The worst thing that could happen? If they still can't use the Fallout universe, yet they make the game Fallout MMO, and let's say they make some weird setting, then they might give the Fallout franchise a bad name. If Bethesda's baby is Fallout, why would they let harm befall it like this? If Fallout were my baby, I would give them the entire universe to use and even help out if there was anything I could do. If the game was unrelated yet named Fallout, it could go so badly for them.

 

[Danpascooch]

Did they actually trademark the terms supermutant and nuka-cola?

Because I think by "elements" Bethesda just means they can't use any existing source code, art, textures, or other property.

Because regardless of what the contract might have said, they have absolutely no right whatsoever to say they can't use anything that they don't own such as "nuka cola" (if it is indeed not trademarked) and Bethesda's legal team couldn't possibly be THAT stupid.

The Trademark License Agreement, when listing such elements, clearly also lists:

Fallout artwork, locations, graphic representations, story lines, creatures, monsters, names, likenesses, behaviors, environments (e.g., vaults), universes, settings, legends, characters, character classes, character professions, packaging, advertisements, text and translations, and any and all Fallout proprietary characters, trademarks, copyrights and artwork.

as things Interplay cannot use in the event that the agreement is terminated. So it's not just about the trademarks, and super mutants and Nuka-Cola falls under that. Even if not trademarked, someone else using "Nuka-Cola" in a similar game could be considered a copyright infringement.

Wow, I guess the Bethesda legal team IS that stupid.

 

[Danpascooch]

you can have the name BUT DONT DARE use anything else? ... so a game called fallout cant have radiation then? that comes under "any" right?.

You realize "radiation" isn't a registered trademark or asset of the Fallout franchise right?

They just mean they can't use any source material, such as source code or art or textures.

I think it's ridiculous too, but get your facts straight.

Actually you're wrong, by source content they mean any use of the past fallout games, story, settings, etc. Thats the absurdity of it all. Read the past article (linked in this one) to read interplay's response.

Bethesda is being ridiculous and is mostly looking for a way to get complete power over the Fallout franchise seeing that its selling really well... maybe they didnt expect it to be this successful and now they want to make their own FO MMO.

Guess I was wrong, I assumed the Bethesda legal department would never take a stance that's THAT retarded, lol

 

[icame]

WHY? Seriously Bethesda, your just being douche bags. Only allowing them to use the Fallout name makes zero sense.

 

[fanklok]

Do you guys really want to see the glory of Fallout further marred by having it put into MMO form? While it may be good chances are it'll be a pitiless atempt to sucker Fallout fans out of their money, that said I'm n of those suckers.

 

[Worgen]

they should have made an isometric perspective turn based strategy game about shooting down ufos and capturing aliens to study and then make better weapons to fight the alien invasion and called it fallout

points if you get the reference

 

[sunburst]

they should have made an isometric perspective turn based strategy game about shooting down ufos and capturing aliens to study and then make better weapons to fight the alien invasion and called it fallout

points if you get the reference

So the "Fallout" MMO would be the real reboot of the X-COM series and the new X-COM game is secretly (i.e. not secretly) a BioShock spin-off, so BioShock Infinite would have to be an open-ended RPG set in the post-apocalypse with turn-based combat and a pointless karma system?

 

[Worgen]

they should have made an isometric perspective turn based strategy game about shooting down ufos and capturing aliens to study and then make better weapons to fight the alien invasion and called it fallout

points if you get the reference

So the "Fallout" MMO would be the real reboot of the X-COM series and the new X-COM game is secretly (i.e. not secretly) a BioShock spin-off, so BioShock Infinite would have to be an open-ended RPG set in the post-apocalypse with turn-based combat and a pointless karma system?

exactly

and the next final fantasy would be a dark gritty cover based shooter that had guns with chainsaws on them

 

[ChupathingyX]

they should have made an isometric perspective turn based strategy game about shooting down ufos and capturing aliens to study and then make better weapons to fight the alien invasion and called it fallout

points if you get the reference

I thought that was a joke about how bad Mothership Zeta was by Bethesda :/

Anyway Bethesda have already ruined many things about the Fallout universe, I'd really hate to see them do it again.

 

[wildmandan]

Their legal argument doesn't even make sense - why would you allow dilution of a strong IP by licensing the naming rights to another company, but not use of any elements of the IP itself?

-m

My thoughts exactly, many lawsuits have been filed for Trademark Dilution, why would any company willingly create a contract to purposefully dilute their own IP?

Unless Bethesda is having second thoughts over signing the contract in the first place and is just trying to get out of it so they could pursue their own mmo, this is completely insane.

 

[Vanuslux]

The upshot of this is that either Interplay is right, and Bethesda is trying to screw them and Fallout fans over or Bethesda is right and they were just trying to screw Fallout fans over by profiting off another company slapping a Fallout label on a product guaranteed to disappoint the Fallout fans that bought it expecting the setting they know and love. Regardless of the outcome of this, Bethesda still comes out looking like monumental jackasses.

 

[pneuma08]

Does anyone really believe that Bethesda honestly thought that Interplay would want to make an MMO named "Fallout" without any reference to their original IP?

Seriously, Bethesda, you're painting yourself into a corner. If you do honestly believe that, you're an idiot, and if you don't, then you're a jerk.

 

[pneuma08]

Their legal argument doesn't even make sense - why would you allow dilution of a strong IP by licensing the naming rights to another company, but not use of any elements of the IP itself?

-m

The problem lies in the fact that if they say that wasn't their intention all along, then they don't have any justification to take the proverbial ball away from Interplay.

 

[Lucifron]

You show those devs Bethesda! We can't have a mature Fallout-game that is true to the originals, now can we? That would make you look like complete assholes.

 

[znix]

Bethesda are being really sore about this. Too bad. Just more reason to not support them financially.

 

[poiuppx]

I'm a huge Fallout geek, but I gotta say... the phrase 'And nothing of value was lost' keeps coming to mind when I think about Bethesda putting a stopper on this. Everything that's come out about the game just rubs me the wrong way, like the shell is there but no spirit. Maybe I'll end up wrong on this, but assuming Interplay gets to go through with this, I can't help but think we'll be seeing something that even the most die-hard Fallout nuts like myself wouldn't stick with. And I even frelling played Brotherhood of Steel through twice.

 

[Flamex]

isnt interplay broke and run by like 4 people? how would they pull off an mmo and why would they even try? imo betheseda is doing us a favor here.

 

[NLS]

Without Bethesda though, there would be no Fallout 3 or Fallout MMO, because Interplay was already "bankrupt" a few years ago.

 

[EvolutionKills]

Rofl. Why can't they just work together to make something amazing? I mean, they -were- pretty much one entity before.

Wait, what?

Interplay and Bethesda aren't at all related, nor have they ever been.

The team at Interplay that created Fallout was Black Isle Studios. They created Fallout 1 & 2, the Icewind Dale Trilogy, and Planescape: Torment. Interplay eventually closed down the studio while it was having it's own money hemorrhaging problems. The former heads of the studios went on to found two other studios. These where Troika (Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura,and Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines; studio is now defunct) and Obsidian Entertainment (Star Wars Knight of the Old Republic II: the Sith Lords, Neverwinter Nights 2, Alpha Protocol, and Fallout: New Vegas).


So I'm assuming that you're confusing Bethesda Softworks with Obsidian Entertainment on this one.