In a recent update, Kevin Siembieda has claimed that someone (one of the "big boys") is trying to buy Palladium books. He's kind of scoffed at this idea, though he says he expects their offer to be "interesting", but I mean, clearly he's mentioning it publicly for a reason.
This is the thread for speculation, rumour-mongering, and maybe even insider information on that subject.
RPGPundit
Quote from: RPGPundit;468944This is the thread for speculation, rumour-mongering, and maybe even insider information on that subject.
So pretty much the same purpose as KS's update then :)
Ok, so let's figure out what Palladium books has that's worth having.
1. Palladium Fantasy, Heroes Unlimited, Ninjas & Superspies, and a bunch of other older, genre-bound systems that, while still popular in certain quarters, probably aren't worth what KS would want for them.
2. Rifts. One of the most widely recognized names in gaming, with a distinct visual look, and subject to numerous video game and/or movie rumors. Conceivably worthwhile to anyone who wants to keep publishing it, or rebooting it, but probably more worthwhile who says potential in non-gamebook products.
3. Some oddball licenses, like Robotech. Is the TMNT license still a thing?
4. Physical stock. As far as a I know, through ups and downs, Palladium books has managed to keep a lot of their stuff in print.
5. Some newer stuff like Nightbane, Dead Reign, etc.
I could see a lot of companies taking an interest in the Robotech license, if it could be had for a good price. But for the whole package, I think the question is, "Who wants to do something with Rifts?" Who, with money, that is.
Potentially there's some mileage there. Retooling some of these games to other systems would likely be a money-making move. That and the licences could make it appealing.
Who are the 'big boys' these days anyway?
Im guessing its videogame companies after rifts and other licences for future videogame and mmorpg treatments more than for the pen and paper side of things, i doubt anything will come of it though since KS will probably want far more than any licence would be worth.
I think they let the TMNT licence lapse a few years back as i remember they cancelled a second edition in the mid/late ninties due to lack of interest in the turtles at the time, though this may have proved a mistake given the resurgence of the early 00's.
I know a film producer and a couple video game designers who wanted to license Rifts. Siembieda was difficult to deal with, he wanted a boatload of cash and final authorial say.
If someone wanted to make anything Rifts and have it be their project, without having to deal with Siembieda running the thing, they'd pretty much have to buy him out.
On the rpg.net thread similar to this one, Emprint has said that CCP|WW is not considering it.
Maybe it's the RIFT MMO guys :D
I imagine it could be a videogame company. RIFTS and Dead Reign I think are great universes for a video game. Hell, the Rifts NGage game I hear was a pretty good strategy RPG with an 85% aggregate score on gamerankings.com.
The Rifts IP coud literally be anything. As the de facto bar for kitchen sink settings, there is not much you couldn't make out of it.
As for who I think may be interested: Fantasy Flight Games. Especially for Rifts. The amount of board games and expansions they could make for each individual setting book is insane. Not to mention novels, miniatures, miniature wargames and even RPGs ;)
Maybe Catalyst, to be able to have the unseen back?
Mongoose.
Kev wishes.
He seems to like tossing out bullshit every year or two to keep himself in the gamer news. Remember the Great Betrayal and the request for handouts?
Mmm...the Great Betrayal actually happened. You can look it up in court files even.
Quote from: Monster Manuel;468972Mongoose.
Probably. The only way to do it sensibly would be to buy it wholesale, because Kevin will never allow others to have creative control over his baby otherwise... but without Kevin, is it any good? And is it likely to sell in 2011? I don't see much of a market nowadays.
Quote from: Kyle Aaron;468975Kev wishes.
He seems to like tossing out bullshit every year or two to keep himself in the gamer news.
my thoughts exactly :rolleyes:
Put me down for another vote of "Kev's exaggerating".
I don't think he's lying, mind you. Or at least, he doesn't think he is. Kevin's never been good at knowing when he's lying because he's not very self-aware and confuses how he thinks things should be with reality.
I'm guessing its more like someone wants the full rights to Rifts (really, the only property they actually own that's worth anything; I mean, I love some of the other lines, but they aren't very popular).
Quote from: pawsplay;4689462. Rifts. One of the most widely recognized names in gaming, with a distinct visual look, and subject to numerous video game and/or movie rumors. Conceivably worthwhile to anyone who wants to keep publishing it, or rebooting it, but probably more worthwhile who says potential in non-gamebook products.
Could be. But would it be cheaper to develop and market your own Rifts-ish game than buy a whole company for it?
Quote from: pawsplay;468946I could see a lot of companies taking an interest in the Robotech license, if it could be had for a good price.
But if you bought Palladium for the Robotech license, then you'd have to still have to re-negotiate and pay for the license when it came due. It seems to me it'd be cheaper, easier, and better just to go to Harmony Gold and out bid Palladium to get Robotech.
Seanchai
I'm just imagining the "RIFTS: Everything's the Same but the Typos that Have Been There Since 1980(or thereabouts) are Fixed" edition.
Quote from: jgants;469004Put me down for another vote of "Kev's exaggerating".
I don't think he's lying, mind you. Or at least, he doesn't think he is. Kevin's never been good at knowing when he's lying because he's not very self-aware and confuses how he thinks things should be with reality.
I'm guessing its more like someone wants the full rights to Rifts (really, the only property they actually own that's worth anything; I mean, I love some of the other lines, but they aren't very popular).
It's not lying if it's not intentional. If I was to buy Palladium/ Rifts, I would eliminate everything but Rifts/ Nightbane, eliminate all Rifts splats, make them non-canon, revamp the core book to be 2 books, one for setting, one for chargen, or eliminate the current system altogether. I would then take the titles I have eliminated, and slowly re-release them w/ a new system in place.
RIFTS is the only Intellectual Property worth a damn- and a lot of that has to do with the Coalition States. I would expect any outside buyer to aim at using only those unique elements to build a film, television series, comic book or novel series, videogame franchise or similar media exploitation and junk the rest as being far too derivative to be marketable. That includes damn near all of the not-Rifts stuff. (Skryapers and Systems Failure might make the cut, but likely would not; Palladium Fantasy in D&D in drag, so no; Nightbane is nothing more than dark-theme supers, so no; Dead Reign is zombies, so no; Splicers is Guyver+Terminator+Dune, so not likely; Mechanoids, on their own, not likely but a better bet than the rest- but it's still "Berserkers+Daleks" and thus easily dismissed.)
I doubt it'd be Fantasy Flight Games. They already have a pretty full plate as partners with Games Workshop. Not to mention all the big IP's they have for board & card games.
Mongoose seems more reasonable, if anyone outside the video games industry.
Quote from: jgants;469004I'm guessing its more like someone wants the full rights to Rifts (really, the only property they actually own that's worth anything; I mean, I love some of the other lines, but they aren't very popular).
Well Palladium potentially has:
1) RIFTS. Let's face it, it's 99% certainty it's RIFTS.
2) Palladium Fantasy is
just different, and more importantly
established, fantasy setting. It would be a cheap version of D&D, with werewolves (Wolfen)! :p
3) Bill Coffin's work in both HU & PF. Both are settings, rather than the more generic fare generally produced.
4) Nightbane. Fits well for a dark, horroresque superhero flick, which is popular right now.
5) Splicers or Systems Failure. Not the most popular products, but both do have an interesting theme.
6) Mechanoids. If someone wants to lose more money on a sci-fi film (and I say that as a sci-fi fan; sci-fi's been tanking badly for the last decade).
Palladium can not sell Robotech or TMNT, as they don't own the IP.
(They currently license Robotech, and previously did with TMNT)
Ninja's and Superspies/Mystic China, After the Bomb, Beyond the Supernatural, and the more generic aspects of HU or PF? Not worth it.
(well, except maybe for the name:
Heroes Unlimited.)
Well, since we're talking speculation...
I made a few comments over on RPGnet undera similar topic and those comments got me thinking. KS says "Gosh, the stories I could tell you. We have a big company eyeballing us right now. I suspect their offer will be very tempting. We’ll probably talk sometime after Gen Con. Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to big business or making money. I would love to license our I.P.s to any number of companies and expand into new markets like videogames, comic books, toys, and, well everything. Time will tell."
It's just a 'big company'. I'm wondering if Exxodus Pictures (http://www.exxoduspictures.com/) is looking at picking up Palladium since they had already approached Palladium to do the Jinn RPG (http://www.palladium-megaverse.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=118472) but KS turned it down. If they can grab Palladium up completely, then they'd have their own in-house, established RPG company to build on and they'd still be working withing their Michigan-based ideals (http://www.exxoduspictures.com/about-exxodus.aspx). Not only would they be able to build their RPG, but they'd be able to help push Palladium's production since they seem to have a shitload of cash. They are focused on revitalizing Michigan's economy so... maybe? Maybe they'd start by licensing Rifts, Nightbane or any other IP from Palladium. Maybe they'd want to just take the company under its wing to ensure that it grows.
I really can't say. I'm not all that interested in Rifts or Palladium IPs these days so I am pretty underwhelmed in the idea of licensing a Palladium IP to do anything other than video games or comic book, but maybe I'm wrong and this 'big company' has big plans for PB.
According to Matt Sprange:
Quote from: Matt SprangeProject R**
A long running project for Mongoose, this is finally reaching a critical mass where it will go into full development. Already have the core rules and first miniatures done. Predicted release date is a few months after CTA: Star Fleet.
R**= Rifts, Robotech? Sounds like they already had a license since they were working on core rules and miniatures are completed. Maybe Matt got sick of Kevin and wants to buy the damn place. Need for cash would explain jettisoning Runequest and possibly not rebidding on Conan. Hard to believe KS wouldn't have let a rumor slip if there was a license already in place though.
Quote from: CRKrueger;469100. . . jettisoning Runequest
That's not quite accurate. They're getting rid of anything involved with the trade dress, yes. But all the mechanical stuff is getting updated(mostly just errata), repackaged, renamed, and re-released later this year. It's because of the release of Open Quest. They can keep releasing pretty much the same product and keep more of the profits for themselves instead of having to pay license fees.
Trouble is that even if Rifts is popular in the RPG world it's unheard of outside it.
If you wanted to make a Rifts like game becuase by its nature Rifts is loads of bits and peices mixed together you could just do that and there is no way KS could sue you because well its all just too cross culture pop reference stuff.
You want Nazis versus Aliens versus demon stuff then just make a film with em all in.
There are far more compelling IPs out there with this flavour from The Dark Tower to the Fantastic Journey to Amtrak Wars or just doing it yourself like Cowboys versus Aliens.
So I vote for exaggeration and keeping his name in print.
If someone could take the After the Bomb (Second Edition) game and marry it to a decent system I would love them forever. More importantly I would buy a copy of the game. Best mutant animal creation rules ever, tied to a craptastic rules set.
It seems that in any case, the "crisis of treachery" is momentarily past, and from what I've gathered the company has received a (temporary) influx of cash from a combination of another payment from bruckheimer for the rifts movie option, and some money from the settlement against the "Rift:plains of telara" MMO game.
RPGPundit
Can somebody link to Kevin saying he'd sell Palladium?
All I saw is him saying that potential non-RPG licensees have come calling. That would have nothing to do with the RPGs, just using the IP for other stuff.
Quote from: RPGPundit;469322Rift:plains
classic
Quote from: Spinachcat;469340Can somebody link to Kevin saying he'd sell Palladium?
Kevin didn't say he'd sell (quite the opposite, actually), but that others had inquired about purchasing Palladium in total or in part, not just licensing.
Quote from: July 14th Weekly UpdateOver the last year I have turned down offers from people looking to either buy Palladium Books or to buy a piece of the company.
The owner of Palladium is being a Drama King again?
In other news, the sky is still blue and water is still wet.
Quote from: Novastar;469401Kevin didn't say he'd sell (quite the opposite, actually), but that others had inquired about purchasing Palladium in total or in part, not just licensing.
That, and (from the same Update (http://www.palladiumbooks.com/index.php/about-palladium/weekly-updates/544-palladium-booksr-weekly-update-july-14-2011)):
QuoteWe have a big company eyeballing us right now. I suspect their offer will be very tempting. We'll probably talk sometime after Gen Con.
What a shameless whore Siembieda is. Sad, because the man can be a mad genius at times.
If I were to buy Palladium it would only be to make their IP into video games, mmorpgs and other properties to make money.
I would kill the rpg side of it because, lets face it, RPGS dont make any real money. But video games, movies, etc do.
Quote from: Novastar;469401Kevin didn't say he'd sell (quite the opposite, actually), but that others had inquired about purchasing Palladium in total or in part, not just licensing.
Interesting.
Remember Champions Online? I heard the deal was structured that they bought all the rights to Hero Games and "sold back" the RPG rights to Hero. I thought that was a novel approach although I wonder if its true.
Either way, I am enjoying a Spaten beer stein full of Mexican brew with lime. My buddy picked it up in Munich because he didn't think anyone at home would believe him that's what they were drinking from at Oktoberfest. Those crazy guys know how to make an awesome mega-mug. It's over two Imperial pints!
Oops, now I gotta either invade Poland or eat nachos!
Quote from: Spinachcat;469721Oops, now I gotta either invade Poland or eat nachos!
Why choose? :)
Parting it out would wreck Palladium.
Quote from: Spinachcat;469721Interesting.
Remember Champions Online? I heard the deal was structured that they bought all the rights to Hero Games and "sold back" the RPG rights to Hero. I thought that was a novel approach although I wonder if its true.
Either way, I am enjoying a Spaten beer stein full of Mexican brew with lime. My buddy picked it up in Munich because he didn't think anyone at home would believe him that's what they were drinking from at Oktoberfest. Those crazy guys know how to make an awesome mega-mug. It's over two Imperial pints!
Oops, now I gotta either invade Poland or eat nachos!
Sorta true on the Hero Games/Champions Online thing.
Noting that this all is "As I understand it" - "Champions" is the "Supers" setting IP for the RPG "Hero System". Cryptic Studios bought the Champions setting (but not the Hero System RPG) outright from Hero Games, then licensed it back in perpetuity to Hero Games.
So:
Start - Hero Games owns the Champions setting and the Hero System RPG.
Mid - Cryptic Studios buys the Champions setting.
Finish - Cryptic Studios licenses the Champions setting back to Hero Games. Hero Games still owns the Hero System RPG.
Timeline because it's 11PM and I'm not certain how (in)coherent I'm being.
There's probably a bit of confusion, as the Hero System RPG was originally the Champions RPG, but when they went full generic (with, I think, the release of 4th Edition), they renamed the RPG to Hero System and used the name Champions for the supers setting.
(This, by the way, is why the Champions books released for 6th Edition Hero System, and some of the Hero System books themselves, have the MMO art in them)
So, if we're not all left thinking left is right, hopefully I explained it. :)
Quote from: Spinachcat;469721Interesting.
Remember Champions Online? I heard the deal was structured that they bought all the rights to Hero Games and "sold back" the RPG rights to Hero. I thought that was a novel approach although I wonder if its true.
It's no big secret, it is true.
Cryptic bought the IP, and sold it back for $1.
(and the understanding HERO would make crossover RPG material)
I will however, daresay it is a HIGHLY UNUSUAL situation.
Quote from: Novastar;469731It's no big secret, it is true.
Cryptic bought the IP, and sold it back for $1.
(and the understanding HERO would make crossover RPG material)
I will however, daresay it is a HIGHLY UNUSUAL situation.
Dude. *Points to his own post, just above yours*
Quote from: Narf the Mouse;469787Dude. *Points to his own post, just above yours*
Was replying to a bunch of things, and didn't see your response till after hitting "Reply". ;)
Quote from: Novastar;469831Was replying to a bunch of things, and didn't see your response till after hitting "Reply". ;)
Well, that explains it. :)