Could Bethesda Lose the Fallout License?
Well, it is a long shot but Could Bethesda Lose the Fallout License? According to Bethesda who point at a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Interplay is once again in debt to the tidy tune of $2.54 million USD, if true Interplay are going to need some serious funding to take on a giant like Bethesda (which has a parent company with a lot of money on tap), maybe that is why Amazon.co.uk is releasing, on behalf of Interplay a UK 4 in 1 Baldur’s Gate Compilation on DVD for the PC which would be Windows XP and Vista compatible. Along with other titles it is either resurrecting and advertising on it’s site now could it raise enough cash to successfully counter sue Bethesda? It’s incredibly hard to imagine but it remains a tiny possibility 
and here’s a brief history rundown of why!
UPDATE:
It seems that Interplay have not released anything recently for Windows XP or Vista but they HAVE for Amazxon.co.uk
Check out the Amazon UK’s Interplay Listing here
A brief History of Interplay and Bethesda
In August 2004 Interplay sold it’s Fallout IP (source) to Bethesda for $5.75 million USD, which would develop Fallout 3, it was not based on the original Fallout 3 by Interplay called “Fallout 3 – Van Buren” which had been in the process of actively being developed by Black Isle Studios until it was closed down by the then then cash strapped Interplay in 2003 as part of Interplay’s cost cutting measures.
The deal with Bethesda led Interplay to boast that it would be seeking to make a Fallout MMO and in 2006 they repeated the claim stating it planned to raise the estimated $75 million USD it would cost to launch by 2010. A contract for licensing the Fallout IP was signed by Interplay on the 4th of April allowing Interplay to develop an MMO for Fallout and work began in earnest on the MMO in November 2007 (source) with Interplay reporting on June 30th that they had reduced their debt from $59 million USD in December 2001 to just $3 million USD and were once again making a tidy profit.
In August of the same year Bethesda parent company ZeniMax Media Company set up a new subsidiary company called ZeniMax Online Studios with the aim of the new company being to develop MMO’s (source) and in October 2007 (source) Bethesda / ZeniMax secured a $300 million USD deal with Providence Equity Partners Inc. in return for shares in what the former described as allowing:
ZeniMax and Bethesda to think several steps ahead and grow.
September 2008 saw the reopening of Interplay’s website (source) and rehired Chris Taylor, (who was one of the developers of the original Fallout), to be lead system designer for the game.
On April 16th 2009 Gamespot reported that Bethesda was intending to terminate the Fallout MMORPG deal with Interplay and stated:
Despite the fact that no formal action is currently pending, Bethesda claims that Interplay is in breach of the trademark license agreement for failure to commence full-scale development of same by April 4, 2009 and to secure certain funding for the MMOG.
Then in September Bethesda turned up the heat on an already hurting Interplay and filed suit against them. Gamestop’s latest update on the subject (at time of posting) was this:
[UPDATE] Fallout 3 developer accuses original publisher of breach of contract, trademark infringement over stillborn MMORPG and selling Fallout games on Steam, GOG.com, and GameTap.
(source)
Bethesda has also accused Interplay of abusing the incredibly positive Fallout 3 hype and repackaging the older Fallout games without their permission, the download which you can find available here at GamesPlanet.com is priced at $19.99 for the trilogy or from Amazon.co.uk
Then, this month, Interplay (source) hit back with a counter suit claiming that Bethesda violated the acquisition agreement and being in breach of contract the Intellectual Property (IP) of Fallout should return immediately to Interplay
Bethesda should win their original suit (source) as Interplay announced a binding letter of intent with Masthead Studios, to develop the Fallout MMO only on the 4th April, exactly 2 years since it was legally required to secure funding for the project and begin full scale development. Interestingly enough, the Masthead Studios press release is dated the 2nd April 2009, the plot thickens!
Fallout 3 ‘Prepare For The Future’ Full Trailer
is due out on the 13th November! Woooo woooo. Now, it is listed as Vista and XP compatible so although I highly doubt that they edited the actual games themselves to be compatible with Vista or XP, they have probably provided the tools for you to get the Original Baldur’s Gate game and Tales of the Sword Coast Expansion working for the Vista OS. I checked out Atari’s official site and found nothing on the UK or North American site that you could vie or buy there at the moment and (EDIT) I have just noticed that This Game is NOT Being Released by Atari but Interplay! There is nothing on the 
available to buy, there is no release date listed but the very first comment is dated January 2008, the UK XP version was released in 2006, so clearly something different to the New UK Release Version in November, somehow, possibly :p
) so will keep you updated as soon as I unwrap the BG goodness with 
in heat like zeal 
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will be released in just a few short days 
will remember him as the loveable but roguish Quark from Star Trek – Deep Space Nine 
, her voice still retains a similar quality but she has so brilliantly added a touch of menace to her voice 
where he played Oz, hopelessly in love with Willow but stricken with the terrible curse of Lycanthropy. If not then you probably know him from 
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as Oracle
He is the single deadliest assassin in the known galaxy. (More details on Thane coming up later today 
