[an0n]

Who the **** owns them?

I'd search, but I get the feeling it'll kick up about 40k results.

And, yes, it should be in HL.

[Roanoke]

Last I heard, Interplay. Who are essentially skint. So they may be for sale soon-ish, maybe not.

[an0n]

I seem to remember someone saying something about the "$50k range".

Probably PinkBananas at AV though. So I doubt it's particularly reliable.

[CP5670]

Someone here said that Interplay owns the distribution and FS universe rights but not the FS2 code, or something like that. I'm not really sure.

[an0n]

Yeah, Volition owns the code.

And Interplay did own everything else. But I was wondering if they'd sold them off or transfered them to whoever the **** it was that bailed them out (Vivendi?).

[aldo_14]

DaveB suggested a figure which I *think* was in the $100k range, during the Ego Has Landed fiasco.  Sandwich, who copied (parts of) his email might know better.

[ionia23]

Rights, schmights.  SCP, the modders, campaigners , keep me quite happy.  Those guys can do anything.

I could give a flip which shivan Admiral Bosch gave a knobber to at Capella. 

Let Derek (Not So) Smart have 'em.  I so look forward to FreeSpace: Universal Combat Edition.

[Scuddie]

I wonder if a series or movie can be made with the rights being in a limbo state as they are.  I would love to see Freespace on the silver screen, as portrayed by Uwe Boll, or even *gasp* George Lucas...

[Stealth]

i dunno... $100k+ for a game that flunked royally sounds a bit high.

[CP5670]

yeah, the original DS episode was a few years ago. I doubt the rights are still worth that much given the current state of Interplay. Although it doesn't really matter since none of us could afford them anyway.

[an0n]

Yeah..... 

[Turnsky]

i can just imagine a former interplay employee standing outside the defunct offices, with trenchcoat going up to people "hey, you wanna buy some game rights real cheap?" and opening up one side of the trenchcoat to reveal papers with various game franchises on 'em.

[Mefustae]

If I ever have the money to buy the rights to Freespace, i'm going to post a video here of me eating them.

[BlackDove]

I'd pay to see that.

[aldo_14]

i dunno... $100k+ for a game that flunked royally sounds a bit high.

Can you cite any license costs for other games?  Because, not to be confrontational or owt, we don't really have any way to judge.  $100k is what I think Daveb said, and I think it's worth remembering that a) the first game did well and b)there's definately name recognition and reputation still attached to 'freespace' as a brand.

[an0n]

There's also the SCP to consider.

Given that it'd take maybe 4 years to knock up a new game from scratch and that the SCP is both free and features pretty much every technological thing FS3 could have, any developer would be relying entirely on the strength of the plot for their profits.

And with the modability of the SCP releases, they'd have to expect that the entire FS3 campaign would be mirrored in an SCP campaign inside a week of it's release, complete with any new little innovations in design, control and graphics the developers happened to come up with.

Basically, the only way forward with Freespace would be with the co-operation, support and heavy involvement of the SCPeople. C'z if they kept doing their thing while someone was trying to market FS3, it simply wouldn't sell.

At present, to someone without full SCP support, I'd say the rights are worth maybe $30k tops.

[DeepSpace9er]

Doesnt Derek Smart have one of those money order doctorates?

[an0n]

Yes. No-one cares.

[Grey Wolf]

i can just imagine a former interplay employee standing outside the defunct offices, with trenchcoat going up to people "hey, you wanna buy some game rights real cheap?" and opening up one side of the trenchcoat to reveal papers with various game franchises on 'em.

Bit slow on that: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/07/14

[Black Wolf]

There's also the SCP to consider.

Given that it'd take maybe 4 years to knock up a new game from scratch and that the SCP is both free and features pretty much every technological thing FS3 could have, any developer would be relying entirely on the strength of the plot for their profits.

And with the modability of the SCP releases, they'd have to expect that the entire FS3 campaign would be mirrored in an SCP campaign inside a week of it's release, complete with any new little innovations in design, control and graphics the developers happened to come up with.

Basically, the only way forward with Freespace would be with the co-operation, support and heavy involvement of the SCPeople. C'z if they kept doing their thing while someone was trying to market FS3, it simply wouldn't sell.

At present, to someone without full SCP support, I'd say the rights are worth maybe $30k tops.

Using the SCP to make money would be a legal minefield for everyone involved unless it was [V] making it and they had the full, legal (i.e. written down) support of every SCP contributor (which gets a whole lot harder if you want to include the media VPs).

As I understand it, Volition own the rights to everything except distribution, which is exclusively interplays, but quite neatly prevents anybody from making a Freespace game (or selling on anyway)