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THQ now selling off Darksiders, Homeworld, Red Faction and More

Grief.exe

Member
If a GOG and Steam release would have netted a decent profit, it makes one wonder why THQ just sat on the IP and never bothered to release them digitally. Especially when they were in dire need of money in some way or another.

I mean THQ is out of business now if that tells you anything.

Their old president, pre-Rubin, just about ran them into the ground with incompetence.

And it wouldn't have been a home run, like they needed late in their existence. Darksiders II needed to be a home run, Saints Row was a home run and wasn't even enough to save them.

Something like Homeworld rerelease on Steam/GoG might net you $100,000. Not enough profit to justify the investment for THQ.
 

lamaroo

Unconfirmed Member
just get uDraw out of lot 5. ,who will even think about getting uDraw?



yeah open world RF:G2 is a must

only Volition can make Red Faction, a Red Faction with geo-mod or Volition is pointless

UDraw would actually make sense on the Wii U. I'm sure it'd be easy to make money off an eShop UDraw game. Get rid of the minigame aspect and give people the ability to create animations. Essentially fill the void left with the absence of flipnote, make sure there's some sort of community integration, and you've got a decent title.
 

sangreal

Member
I take it if you buy red faction you dont get the tech behind it, if so the red faction franchise might not be worth as much.

It's a good question. Using Darksiders as an example, Crytek bought everything (literally) in the Vigil office for $80,000 so the auction can't be for much more than just the trademark/old games. There is an email address for questions about the auction if someone wants to find out
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
I would probably guess that a decision on how to continue with the Homeworld series could be initiated by testing the waters with a GOG and Steam release to see how well-known and how relevant the brand still is today.

This is precisely what I suspect Sega will do, assuming it can buy the IP for a reasonable sum.
 
Is Platinum really going to bid for the IP?

Inaba said he would like to buy it cheap. I guess it depends what cheap means to him and what the asking price is.

Considering Platinum doesn't self publish someone would have to publish the game anyway, so it's hard to see them going for it unless it's dirt cheap.

They've talked about Kickstarter before. I wonder what a Kickstarter for a Darksiders III developed by Platinum would rake in.
 

sangreal

Member
True, one can hope that there's a chance. But the probability is very small, seeing how the majority of the original creative talent is no longer at Relic, while their current focus is on getting Company of Heroes 2 out of the door, and continue the development of Dawn of War 3 (codenamed Atlas) *if* Games Workshop agrees to let Relic/SEGA continue working on the IP. Also, SEGA needs to pick up the Homeworld license in this situation if they ever want to have Relic make a HW3.

Furthermore, the fact that Creative Assemply is already working on a Warhammer game suggests that SEGA might position Relic as the 40K RTS studio.

I would probably guess that a decision on how to continue with the Homeworld series could be initiated by testing the waters with a GOG and Steam release to see how well-known and how relevant the brand still is today. Otherwise there are too many factors against a Relic-made Homeworld 3 scenario.

Games Workshop withdrew their objection entirely on 2/15 so my guess would be they reached an agreement with SEGA. The judge had originally declined to rule on it in order to give them time to figure it out
 

Lime

Member
Games Workshop withdrew their objection entirely on 2/15 so my guess would be they reached an agreement with SEGA. The judge had originally declined to rule on it in order to give them time to figure it out

All right thanks for the confirmation. Great to hear.

This basically confirms that Dawn of War 3 is still in development barring any changes made by SEGA.
 

ArjanN

Member
WB should buy Darksiders.

I don't get why everyone wants Platinum to get it. I can't imagine them doing it without completely changing the style and tone. If they wanted to do a game like Darksiders, they'd be better off just doing their own original thing.

Rocksteady seems like a pretty good fit for that franchise.
 

dr_rus

Member
In an ideal world that'd turn out to be like this:

Homeworld -> Sega/Relic
Red Faction -> Koch/Volition
Darksiders -> Crytek Austin

Unfortunately it's not an ideal world, and all these IPs are probably lost.
 

grumble

Member
?!"?!?!?!?!?!?!

HOMEWORLD?!!!?!?!?!?!



That sounds like them wanting to respect Homeworlds history instead of sequilitising it to death.

Some of my best memories in gaming are playing Homeworld 1. When I found out that I could steal ships and they wouldn't add to my maximum count, I almost broke the game with my massive fleet. I dominated everything in the last half of the game haha

That there isn't a Homeworld 3 is a tragedy. It would allow a new generation to experience the game series. I hope it gets sold to a great RTS developer who can make an exciting game.
 

Lime

Member
I hope they go crazy on DoW 3's scale.

I think Company of Heroes 2 will be a good litmus test of what we can expect from Relic in the future, but then again the game was developed during the hardships under THQ, so maybe SEGA will be much better for their creative environment. We may have to wait and see.

?!"?!?!?!?!?!?!

HOMEWORLD?!!!?!?!?!?!

It's these damn kids these days.

That sounds like them wanting to respect Homeworlds history instead of sequilitising it to death.

That is true, yet you also have to realize that it is difficult to do proper respect to a legacy if you are under the watchful eyes of incompetent THQ executives and profit-hungry investors. This might have motivated the comment made by Noun. Under SEGA, this might be different. So if we assume that everything is dandy over at Relic and SEGA right now, then I see the following conditions needing to be fulfilled for a Homeworld 3 to ever be an actual scenario:

  • If SEGA acquires the Homeworld IP,
  • if SEGA sells the Homeworld games on GOG/Steam and recognizes the importance of the IP,
  • if SEGA greenlights the funding of another Homeworld 3 in today's current risk-averse gaming climate,
  • and finally if SEGA gives enough creative freedom for Relic's "new blood" to pay respect to the Homeworld series with the new installment,
  • then we might entertain the possibility of a proper Homeworld 3.
I hope people realize the likelihood of the above being fulfilled.
 

ezekial45

Banned
Who'd exactly be a good fit to make Darksiders? that game series was pretty much defined by Vigil, and having another dev pick up where they left off just seems...wrong. If that makes any sense. Other than trying to emulate the style, they could try rebooting it and making something brand new.
 

sangreal

Member
Who'd exactly be a good fit to make Darksiders? that game series was pretty much defined by Vigil, and having another dev pick up where they left off just seems...wrong. If that makes any sense. Other than trying to emulate the style, they could try rebooting it and making something brand new.

Well I guess Crytek USA would be a good fit
 

C4Lukins

Junior Member
I love Darksiders, but the IP has failed to really catch on. I love the universe, but I doubt a major studio would try and continue the franchise with the required budget a third Darksiders would need. I would like to see someone pick it up and go smaller scale with a Diabloesque clone in that world.
 

DocSeuss

Member
I think Company of Heroes 2 will be a good litmus test of what we can expect from Relic in the future, but then again the game was developed during the hardships under THQ, so maybe SEGA will be much better for their creative environment.



It's these damn kids these days.



That is true, yet you also have to realize that it is difficult to do proper respect to a legacy if you are under the watchful eyes of incompetent THQ executives and profit-hungry investors. This might have motivated the comment made by Noun.

If SEGA acquires the Homeworld IP, if SEGA sells the Homeworld games on GOG/Steam, if SEGA greenlights the funding of another Homeworld 3 in today's current risk-averse gaming climate, and finally if SEGA allows Relic's "new blood" to creatively pay respect to the Homeworld series with the new installment, then we might have the possibility of a proper Homeworld 3.

The stuff they said in the recent RPS interview makes me think that, at least the Black Hawk guys, aren't interested in touching Homeworld again. They've moved on.

Alright guys, in genuine seriousness, is there anyone interested in actively picking up Homeworld's IP rights? How do we do this? What's it take to set up a Kickstarter to get this done? If not a Kickstarter, do we go to investors? How can we make this happen?

There was an indiegogo before, but the pitch was bad ('we'll give it away for free!'), they clearly didn't do their research, and it failed miserably.

I'd like to try. For serious.
 

Lime

Member
The stuff they said in the recent RPS interview makes me think that, at least the Black Hawk guys, aren't interested in touching Homeworld again. They've moved on.

Alright guys, in genuine seriousness, is there anyone interested in actively picking up Homeworld's IP rights? How do we do this? What's it take to set up a Kickstarter to get this done? If not a Kickstarter, do we go to investors? How can we make this happen?

There was an indiegogo before, but the pitch was bad ('we'll give it away for free!'), they clearly didn't do their research, and it failed miserably.

I'd like to try. For serious.

I admire your ambition, DocSeuss, but I cannot participate in such an endeavour at the moment. The pitch video and a carefully laid out plan would be extremely crucial for such a Kickstarter to be perfectly executed. Moreover, the Indiegogo probably deflated any hype balloon we should have moved to, we would need to pay the Kickstarter fees, we would need to pay the lawyers participating in the process, etc.

However, if anyone ever decides to do a Kickstarter for getting the IP, I would suggest some of the the following that I made in the other thread:

If the guys really wanted to do this fundraiser as efficiently and acceptable as possible, they should have:

  • Contacted a lot of the key members of the Homeworld team. Get them on board, let them be the frontmen. If not, have them officially approve of the project.
  • Started by simply aiming for obtaining the Homeworld IP. Their only goal should have been to get these games released digitally. DO NOT make lofty goals or even talk about making Homeworld 3.
  • Be clear in their communication, do a more well-produced pitch video, and offer rewards or the like for the backers
  • Show that they will and are legally obliged to hold the promise of a money back guarantee. That would instil much more confidence into the project.
  • Promise to use the money earned from selling the Homeworld games on GOG and Steam to re-pay the backers.

And if that is sufficiently successful, they could get a lot of people with proven credentials and experience to help support a potential Homeworld 3 game.

That would be my recommendation to these guys if next time they want to be more serious about approaching their goals in a more realistic way.

I think the part about getting a former Relic employee, like Alex Gardner or Rob Cunningham to approve of the project would go a long way to instil confidence in potential backers.
 

Harlequin

Member
Didn't most of the employees from the DarkSiders developer end up being hired by Crytek? Would be cool if the guys got to continue that series themselves. So I hope Crytek buys that IP (even though I've never actually played the games :p).

EDIT: Ah, it's already being discussed, I see.
 
I will buy ping pals.

What is "written evidence of authority to enter into the anticipated transaction" and how do I get it?

I am so serious right now I swear it will be mine.

Edit: After actually reading they split it up into lots fuck you thq.
 
Who'd exactly be a good fit to make Darksiders? that game series was pretty much defined by Vigil, and having another dev pick up where they left off just seems...wrong. If that makes any sense. Other than trying to emulate the style, they could try rebooting it and making something brand new.



visceral would do good with it.
 

SapientWolf

Trucker Sexologist
YES. Give Red Faction a good home! It needs to return to its former glory with that 8GB GDDR5 memory goodness.

Can you imagine a proper Red Faction with all that ram??
Most of RF's value is in the engine and its custom Havok physics, which probably won't come with the sale. The IP itself is pretty unexciting.
 

Nemo

Will Eat Your Children
Apart from getting some more sales out of it through the brand, if Platinum wanted Darksiders they could very well just make one themselves without getting the IP
 

TaroYamada

Member
Did Sega get the Warhammer license? Or is Dawn of War III dead?

They have the previous WH40k games by Relic, they purchased the previous DoW games anyways. Not sure if they purchased Space Marine, I don't remember despite reading the press release. They'll likely need to re-negotiate terms with Games Workshop for future entries in the DoW franchise however, which should be easy enough assuming they are willing to cut a fat check like they probably did for WH Fantasy rights.
 

Vilam

Maxis Redwood
I know they're just selling IPs, but do we know what happens to the engines? I imagine having GeoMod 2.0 would be a huge help in figuring out how to go even further on the destruction. I fear whoever gets the Red Faction franchise will do "cheap" destruction like say in Battlefield where a few pre-determined things can get destroyed in always destroy in pretty much the same way.

I believe Volition's tech was part of the package when they were sold. Whoever picks up the Red Faction IP doesn't get GeoMod, just the name and rights to past games.
 

Kuroyume

Banned
Can't believe so many people on here are asking for Darksiders to be saved instead of Red Faction. Red Faction at least has something unique going for it with destruction. A trademark of the series since the original. Darksiders is just some Zelda/GOW rip off without doing anything that great. Not to mention that the artist that gave that game series an identity left the dev after the second game was released.
 
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