More Fun To Compute
Member
I hope that if relic get bought by EA they have the good sense to jump ship and start a new operation at the earliest.
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THQ in default with Wells Fargo over $50 million credit facility
exmachina64
Banned
Pretty much.
Roland Deschain
Member
There might be hope yet for a decent wrestling game.
I just don't see EA getting the WWE licence. For some reason it just seems like a really odd combination. Imagining the WWE and EA Logos together on the same packaging feels bizarre and I can't figure out why I think that. Maybe it's too obvious or maybe I don't think the two brands are on the same level, like one thinks they're too good for the other or one feels like they won't get what they think they deserve out of the deal. It just seems like there is something incompatable between EA and WWE. I'll be happy to be proven wrong though.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
Please try not to speculate on the company I work for as my posting rights may be revoked and I won't be able to share any information at all.
This. Any info?
zomgbbqftw
Banned
Ubisoft have declared their interest in unnamed THQ IPs. If I were to venture a guess I would say they are interested in Saint's Row, Red Faction and possibly Darksiders. However, when I asked yesterday our guy did not mention them. As I said previously, it is a developing situation, I expect by the end of the process Saint's Row will have around 8-10 interested parties and Darksiders around 3-5 interested parties.
Baron_Calamity
Member
At this point, either it will end up at Warner Games or with the developer closing. I hope I'm wrong but I don't see it going another way.
Obsidian got Project Eternity, get your facts straight.
It'll get picked up by another publisher without a doubt.
They'll downsize, they have the perfect transitional title with PE.
Baron_Calamity
Member
That wont save them. Maybe they will last long enough to get that title out but unless South Park is picked up or they get some other work, they will likely fold.
Downsize is a given, don't think they'll fold though. The Project Eternity success can turn them into a viable niche/PC exclusive RPG developer with corresponding smaller team sizes. More agile development, more frequent releases, and smaller budgets with lower risks.
There is no magical legal protection for Kickstarter funds. I don't know what Obsidian's financial situation is, but the money they raised for PE is just cash on the balance sheet in the eyes of the law. If they have creditors or employees they can't pay without using that money, they will have to use that money. Nor can they just discharge their obligations because there publisher didn't make their milestone payments.
Money is money, and those 4 millions are in Obsidian account and will be used to other operational expenses, but 4 million dollars need to be accounted to PE. If they burn through that money without reserving that amount to PE game then they might as well close the studio. People will never forgive them.
Of course I am talking about a studio death scenario. I am responding to people who think that the rest of the studio can die but PE will continue with its funds untouched.
As I've said before, I have no doubt that they'll let South Park die and downsize to the 22-person PE team before using KS money for SP barring other possible obligations.
Basically, I cannot see them using that money simply to complete South Park for the sake of completing South Park, because they probably get little to no money on the backend. If it comes down to SP or PE, they'll most likely gladly put a bullet in South Park's head and walk away without regrets.
Delusibeta
Banned
I don't know how that game is getting funded, but considering we're talking about a company in Ukrane founded by former GSC dudes, I would reckon that it'll still be released, albeit with a different publisher. THQ only has a publishing agreement, and if they go under I would imagine 4A will be free to look for a replacement publisher.
I am not talking about them finishing any games. You are not understanding what I am saying. Unless Obsidian has large cash reserves unrelated to PE, they cannot simply lay off a majority of the studio and leave the PE funds untouched.
Stuff they can't just discharge without a bankruptcy (In a bankruptcy they would have the PE funds confiscated to meet obligations anyway.):
1. Unemployment insurance payments to government. (goes up in the future the more you lay people off)
2. Contractual agreements with employees on severance, if any
3. Loan balances, if any
4. Lease on building until lease runs out. Not an insignificant cost to have a building for 100+ people be split between only 20 employees.
None of us know the financial condition of Obisidian, but it is a fair guess that it is poor given the well publicized string of project cancellations they have incurred and the comments about how important PE was to the health of that company from their leaders. Obsidian has a large payroll, and we know they have had several stretches in the recent past after a project cancellation where they must have been paying their employees out of their own company cash instead of publisher cash. If they took loans during this period, with the hopes of paying those loans interest with the milestone payments from South Park development, things don't look good for PE.
I understand what you're saying now.
Shit. Obsidian's going to die because of THQ, isn't it?
Sounds like Obsidian would have been smarter to create a new company to take in the KS funds, then contract Obsidian to do the game, thus sheltering the funds from any fallout from the main studio.
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
Damn...
Sad thing is though, Darksiders 2 pretty much proved that the IP is bereft of anything appealing to sell it outside of Joe Madureira's artwork, which is already pretty aesthetically divisive among the consumers. And now that he's departed Vigil, well, I'm pretty sure the IP is dead unless another publisher really wants it.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves yet. There are too many assumptions and variables in there at this point. As more info comes out things might start to look very bleak, until then we are assuming things about Obsidian's finances that we don't know and that South Park won't be picked up quickly by someone else, etc. Hell it might even be possible that Matt and Trey(South Park creators) front some money themselves to keep it going.
As it sounds like The Stick of Truth is more or less their project. If what people are saying is accurate they are the ones who recruited Obsidian and then went to THQ. It doesn't sound like it was just another licensed IP THQ picked up one day. So I think it is just as possible(as Obsidian going bankrupt) at this point based on the info we have that they would front some cash (they have the personal interest in the project and the money to do it) if needed to keep the game going until they find a new publisher.
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
Joe Mad's artwork is awful, but the first Darksiders was actually pretty darn good, basically God of Zelda. The sequel is just too long for its own good, with boring fetch quests galore, boring realms besides the first one and a boring story that doesn't even follow up on the ending of the first game, since it's basically a side story. It's not the worst game ever made obviously, but I really don't think it's worth $60. I don't know how the Wii U version will run, but the PS360 versions run like ass, sadly.
Tallshortman
Member
That would destroy the point of securing funding for employees and projects. Relic employees get no share of the studio purchase price so if they were planning on jumping ship because they don't like the idea of being owned by another publisher they may as well do it as soon as they know they're getting sold.
When you buy IP you buy a brand name, trademarks, characters, etc. None of those are worth a damn in the case of Darksiders.
The strength of Darksiders is almost solely the concept of a Zelda / God of War mashup, and maybe the development talent behind it if you think the games are good. But the name brand and characters are almost completely worthless - the game has little cachet with anyone, is not a critical or commercial success, doesn't have even a niche rabid fan base.
I mean FFS the main characters are "War" and "Death." Who is going to fork over money for generic characters based in literature that already appear in games from competing products?
The strength of Darksiders is almost solely the concept of a Zelda / God of War mashup, and maybe the development talent behind it if you think the games are good. But the name brand and characters are almost completely worthless - the game has little cachet with anyone, is not a critical or commercial success, doesn't have even a niche rabid fan base.
I mean FFS the main characters are "War" and "Death." Who is going to fork over money for generic characters based in literature that already appear in games from competing products?
exmachina64
Banned
And I just gave them all that money...damn.