Interplay to make Fallout Online

[Darth Drabek]

The more ... intense of the Fallout fans around here may already know this, but when Interplay sold the Fallout IP, they retained the rights to make "Fallout Online." Well, Interplay released its quarterly report yesterday, and now that the company is once again in the black (entirely due to the deal with Bethesda), it's ready to get to work.

 

Interplay CEO Herve Caen said in a statement, "I am pleased with the progress the company has made, particularly with our debt load, which has improved from $59 million in December 2001 to less than $3 million today.

 

"With that difficult period behind us, we are focused on securing funding for development of a Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) based on the popular Fallout franchise. Along with our strategy of leveraging our existing portfolio of intellectual gaming properties, Fallout Online will play a key role in the future of Interplay."

 

Next-Gen.biz

Kotaku

 

 

So is this a good idea? Blasphemy? Doomed for failure? I personally don't care, because I don't play MMO games and I don't have any great love for the Fallout games. So I definitely do not have a horse in this race. However, I figured this would be right in the wheelhouse for some of the community members here, so have at it.

[Zero]

I think its doomed and its a really sh*tty arguement why; their website ( http://www.interplay.com/ ). Just look at it... can a gaming company with such a horrid website possibly make a good game?

 

I think not.

[Cantousent]

So, any of the current devs at Obsidian feel like jumping ship and returning to the Interplay fold?

[Zoma]

If only Obsidian jump the ship just to make sure interplay folds for and buried for good.

 

Just die already Interplay.

[Sand]

I have to agree with Zoma. Herve Caen killed Interplay and FOOL is just stupid.

[mkreku]

It could easily work. Let's see if he can find the funding for this. Remember that Fallout 3 is making huge hype waves around the world right now. If it's released to the same critical acclaim that Oblivion was, Fallout Online could leech off of that and attract a million Bethesda fans at least. Not so sure any Fallout (1 & 2) fans would be very interested.. depending on how well the game is made, of course.

 

Don't dismiss Interplay just yet. I can imagine lots of investors being interested in jumping aboard this hype train.

[Fenghuang]

Wow.

[Gorth]

Interplay is like Jason Voorhees. You just can't kill it!

 

As for Fallout, it died when it was sold to Bethesda. They nailed the spirit of Fallout. You could hear it's desperate screams from within the coffin as they hammered the nails into the lid and dropped it into the ocean...

[Schazzwozzer]

I mainly wonder who they could get to actually develop this thing. Are there any veteran (at least one title under their belt) MMO teams out there with their hands relatively empty?

 

There are probably a lot of interesting directions in which one could take a Fallout MMO, but I don't think you can just trot out an IP these days and say "hey, we're making an MMO!". You've got to identify a reasonable gap in the marketplace you look to target. For example, consider Warhammer Online. They look set to fill the gap between WoW's PvP-lite and the hardcore PvP of games like EVE. If you're just making paint-by-numbers MMO, then you're going up against WoW, and I don't think you'll make a lot of headway there.

 

At this moment it unfortunately sounds like, "let's milk this cow while we can", but we'll see, I suppose.

[Pop]

It really doesn't matter, as Herve's track record speaks volumes. He euthanized Interplay (and Virgin, and Titus) once, he can sure as hell do it again.

As for Fallout, it died when it was sold to Bethesda. They nailed the spirit of Fallout. You could hear it's desperate screams from within the coffin as they hammered the nails into the lid and dropped it into the ocean...

I said the same thing when they added ewoks into the Star Wars universe, and sure enough, nobody ever heard from Star Wars again.

Edited August 15, 2007 by Pop

[Sand]

What is wrong with Ewoks? Ewoks are cool! They can even fly tie fighters! LOOK OUT! Its Lt. Ketch!

 

Yub, yub, Pop.

 

[Morgoth]

What a stupid idea. Does he even have a competent develop team at Interplay? MMO aren't really the sort of cheap games to make, not to mention the incredible logisctic effort and post-supportyou have to put into a MMO. He should have started with handheld games first to gradually increase his revenues. See? Even I have more business sense than Herve.

[Gorth]

Technically, Interplay still owns the Black Isle name and brand, don't they?

 

It might just be a bit "understaffed" at the moment

[mkreku]

Morgoth is right. I've always thought Fallout would make a great little turn-based RPG on a Gameboy or Nintendo DS or PSP. Turn-based games work well on handhelds because they're seldom dependent on precise player input or time restraints so you can easily play them during bumpy car rides or other travels. DO IT, Herv

[Tale]

Go Interplay! I think it's a brilliant idea, you just went from 59 million in debt to 3 million, it's time to go back to 70 million in debt now!

[Hurlshort]

I love MMO's, but I have very little confidence in this. I actually agree with Morgoth, this is way too difficult of a financial undertaking for a messed up company. If it sees the light of day, think Matrix Online.

[Dark_Raven]

Interplay CEO Herve Caen said in a statement, "I am pleased with the progress the company has made, particularly with our debt load, which has improved from $59 million in December 2001 to less than $3 million today.

 

"With that difficult period behind us, we are focused on securing funding for development of a Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) based on the popular Fallout franchise. Along with our strategy of leveraging our existing portfolio of intellectual gaming properties, Fallout Online will play a key role in the future of Interplay."

OMFG it still breathes? Die already. Its bad enough some clowns are making Fallout 3 and now to really soil the good Fallout name with a ****ing MMO?????????????????????

[Xard]

"$59 million in December 2001 to less than $3 million today."

 

Bull**** or how this happened?

[Rhomal]

It could easily work. Let's see if he can find the funding for this. Remember that Fallout 3 is making huge hype waves around the world right now. If it's released to the same critical acclaim that Oblivion was, Fallout Online could leech off of that and attract a million Bethesda fans at least. Not so sure any Fallout (1 & 2) fans would be very interested.. depending on how well the game is made, of course.

 

Don't dismiss Interplay just yet. I can imagine lots of investors being interested in jumping aboard this hype train.

 

Lets be honest, as J.E. said a while back 'the fallout fans are small in number but have mighty voices' (at least I think it was J.E... perhaps Ferret... Either way it was a OEI dev). Point being the number of original FO 1/2 peeps still around and active in the net community is small. Small enough where except for their soapbox at NMA or rpgcodex (their last 2 centers for FO 1/2 fans to cry among themselves about the lack of 'good crpgs') they really are drowned out but the wave of new gamers. No serious dev team would give them any more consideration then anyone else when it came to their wants and opinions. It is a bitter pill, and a ego bruiser to them (myself included as a original FO 1/2 player) but reality is reality. It been so long since the FO games the community has lost most of its pull due to simple lack of no fresh blood and attrition as members move on over the yrs to other games/interests. Leaving a very small core that is overshadowed by all the new people jumping on board.

 

Plus they have not done themselves any favors past several yrs, some of the temper tantrums they have thrown over at NMA and rpgcodex (the admins included). If I was a developer I'd tend to take their over board fanboi, almost delusional rantings at times with a grain of salt. And sadly that hurts them when they do have a valid point to make.

[Aram]

If they're actually going to attempt this, and aren't just doing it to raise their stock enough to dump it all and flee the country, I predict that it will fail horribly and finally destroy the company anyway.

[Tale]

Wasn't their stock delisted, anyway?

Edited August 15, 2007 by Tale

[kirottu]

Morgoth is right. I've always thought Fallout would make a great little turn-based RPG on a Gameboy or Nintendo DS or PSP. Turn-based games work well on handhelds because they're seldom dependent on precise player input or time restraints so you can easily play them during bumpy car rides or other travels. DO IT, Herv

[Tigranes]

You could play the Fallout Boy in a cell-shaded world.

Edited August 15, 2007 by Tigranes

[Slowtrain]

I think the question is less could FO be transformed into a fun mmorpg but rather is Interplay the publisher to make it happen. Personally, I think using 20 milliion one dollar bills as a lifetime supply of toilet paper is a more profitable use for it than giving it to Herve.

[Sand]

Besides, isn't the MMORPG market flooded with MMORPGs of all different types. There are just too many to support any more.