D&D video games license to Infrogames extended til 2017

[marionde]

Hasbro extends D&D and buys back the rights to 9 of their board games. Any thoughts on what this could mean for the D&D brand's future?

Business Wire

This probably could go into the software forum, but I thought it would be of interest to people in here.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

It means we're not going to see a decent D&D computer game till I'm ready to retire.

 

[DemonKing]

It means we're not going to see a decent D&D computer game till I'm ready to retire.

Agreed. Atari/Infogames should be stripped of the licence as they've really done nothing for it.

Hopefully they will go bankrupt soon and someone else can have a crack at it.

 

[Pants]

It means we're not going to see a decent D&D computer game till I'm ready to retire.

Heh.

I find myself agreeing, unfortunately.

 

[MerricB]

The games that they've bought the rights back will most likely be implemented as part of Gleemax (they've already indicated that Axis & Allies and RoboRally will be available to play online).

I wonder how much Atari pay for the D&D Rights; they really should be doing more with them.

Cheers!

 

[Kaodi]

How could anyone think it would be a good idea to sign away exclusive rights for a valuable intellectual property for 10 years, in the realm of computers and consoles. 10 years is a bloody eternity in the gaming world. Cripes, 10 years ago, StarCraft hadn't even come out.

 

[stonehill_troll]

Agreed. Atari/Infogames should be stripped of the licence as they've really done nothing for it.

Hopefully they will go bankrupt soon and someone else can have a crack at it.

Doubtful, as Infogrames is a French company. The French government is very likely to loan them money to keep them afloat indefinitely, no matter how much they screw up.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

You heard it here first: 4E in 2018!

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

Ugh.

WotC's handling of their IPs has been pretty awful outside the stuff they directly control (tabletop games and novels), TSR's was even worse, and Hasbro looks to continue the trend. Unless WotC/Hasbro is getting more from the licensing rights than they would from their take on the games, this seems like a terrible move.

Frankly, I don't understand why this IP is being licensed to *any* one company. Considering the power the D&D brand name once had and to some extent still does, WotC/Hasbro should be able to dangle it in front of a variety of game design companies who could do more justice to a variety of game types.

 

[Banshee16]

Aside from NWN 2, what other decent games have come out under Infogrames? I'm pretty sure the BG series, PS: Torment, and Icewind Dale series were under Interplay, not Infogrames.

Looks like it's going to be a while before we see decent games again. Why extend the license for someone who's really not doing anything with it?

Banshee