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Microsoft's intention to "reboot" the MechWarrior franchise would be a good sign of future computer gaming to come, but there are two other issues: copyright and the intentions of the current owners.

The issue is that while the computer gaming rights were being traded around, the MechWarrior name itself was being traded around too. It is currently held by a company called WizKids which has granted full publication rights to Catalyst Game Labs, and is being rather proactive with it.

WizKids was nice enough with Catalyst and the printed game, but I have no idea how they negotiate the licensing of computer games, or how much creative control they're going to exercise over the finished product. Can anyone confirm if this is really a problem?

Wizkids own the board game (and I believe novel rights) but they do not own the rights for Battletech video games. That was owned by Microsoft and purchased by Smith & Tinker (founded by some guys from Fasa the original creators of the universe and the ones doing the reboot, not MS).

Though I know the game hit a snag for an entirely different legal reason. They used a Warhammer in that intro video last year and it is a design from Macross that they agreed to stop using many years ago. But that should be worked out sooner or later.

Microsoft's intention to "reboot" the MechWarrior franchise would be a good sign of future computer gaming to come, but there are two other issues: copyright and the intentions of the current owners.

The issue is that while the computer gaming rights were being traded around, the MechWarrior name itself was being traded around too. It is currently held by a company called WizKids which has granted full publication rights to Catalyst Game Labs, and is being rather proactive with it.

WizKids was nice enough with Catalyst and the printed game, but I have no idea how they negotiate the licensing of computer games, or how much creative control they're going to exercise over the finished product. Can anyone confirm if this is really a problem?

FASA Interactive was a division of FASA Corporation which (along with perpetual rights to the creation of electronic BattleTech and Shadowrun properties) was sold to Microsoft in 1999. MS dissolved FASA Interactive (so that all IP rights would be directly owned by MS) and created FASA Studio which went on to create MechAssault, the Shadowrun FPS, etc. FASA Studio is what this /. article is talking about.

FASA Corporation went out of business in 2001 and sold most of their remaining IP (including BattleTech and Shadowrun RPG properties) to WizKids Games

WizKids currently licenses Shadowrun RPG development to Catalyst Game Labs. The official site is www.shadowrun4.com (at least for now -- www.shadowrunrpg.com and www.srrpg.com will most likely return at some point).

some board games are good too. and card games. dominoes is nice if you can find enough people. that Pirates CCG is enjoyed by many.

I think you get the point, you don't need Windows to enjoy games.

Our public education system doesn't have time to expose kids to music or art anymore, how will they expose them to a bunch of alternative OSes. have you tried Minix3, it's pretty slick. it has working USB support now, and with a little effort can run off a USB key. cram an OS, compiler and all the source in under 70MB. :)

(what's up with your crazy formatting)

Unlike what the article says, Microsoft did not acquire FASA. They only acquired FASA Interactive. FASA itself still exists as a holding company, and still owns the paper versions of their games, which they license to a variety of other companies, including WizKids, who in turn license Shadowrun to the German company FanPro, who is currently publishing the fourth edition of Shadowrun. Earthdawn is licensed to Living Room Games. Other games have been licensed to other companies.

FASA Interactive, and thus Microsoft, only owns the rights to computer games based on these settings.

Each baseball card-sized pack comes with everything needed to play the simple game (my 7 year old loves this version) and lots of on-line expansions are available to add new scenarios, rules, etc. to make more complicated grown-up games. You can keep everything needed to play in a shirt pocket. Quite cool!

The Japanese don't really have battle robots and stuff like that.

But Americans sure do!

Clicky...

It's worse than that, if not quite as described:

For awhile local game retailers got Games Workshop merchandise through their normal supply chain. Then Games Workshop became the primary distributor doing direct sales with the small-time retailers.

They said they wanted to get a better feel for the market.

A little while later Games Workshop stores started popping up, unusually close to small-time retailers who were doing brisk business. In the Edmonton area I believe "Goblin's Lair" and maybe one or two other stores had to kick the can and call it quits. Word on the street is the Games Workshop stores killed them; most people think this was a deliberate act on GWs part. They want the entire pie, and its pretty sick of them.

Of course not all game manufacturers are like this. The biggest exception is WizKids LLC. Their product lines are doing phenomenaly well for product that wasn't on the radar 5 years ago, and have always shown that they have sound relations with their retailers and players. So play Mage Knight, HeroClix, MechWarrior: Dark Age, Crimson Skies, Shadowrun or almost anything else.

As we all know, tabletop gaming hasn't exactly been growing by leaps and bounds lately.

Ahem. Are you really sure about that?

Jack

Obligatory post: the Battletech Treehouse. All other tree houses are inferior :P

Hopefully This might hold you over... Absolutely amazing.

In case you didn't see the slashdot article last summer, here is a big robot for you that some guy built in his back yard.

If you want to find out for yourself, try Heroclix.

If WoTC's plans are to get all these people to come back as freelancers, they're screwed. Microsoft caused a law in Washington to be enacted where dismissed employees cannot freelance for the same department for 1 year. Art department: gutted. RPG R&D: gutted.

I also read last night that WoTC's entire RPG operation may be for sale, with one interested party being Jordan Weisman. See this thread on the RPG.net message boards.

Hey ho!

heres that article Tree Fort Mech

Check out Michael Stackpole's site. He's answered all questions I had about the universe progression.

http://www.stormwolf.com/essays/btechret.html

http://www.stormwolf.com/essays/btechret2.html

And here's a piece of fiction he's written for the new era, but it's on wizkids so I'm not sure if the link still works...

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/battletech/bt_fiction. htm

The first novel based in the new era should be available later this year, IIRC.