GOG - Fallout Games Removed

Couchpotato

Part-Time News-bot
Joined
October 1, 2010
Messages
36,178
Location
Spudlandia
GOG.com has news that every Fallout game has been pulled off their gaming catalogue.
Removed from catalog: Fallout 1, 2, & Tactics

Today, we bid farewell to the legendary post-apocalyptic 2D classics.

Due to circumstances beyond our control, we needed to pull the three classic Fallout games, that is Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics, from sale and remove them from our DRM-free catalog. These classic titles have been with us since day one, that is for over 5 years now, and they were always one of the highlights of the selection of games that we offer. There are very few titles in the history of computer role-playing games, that have had so much impact on the gaming landscape, players' expectations, and even the popular culture. The iconic setting, the memorable quotes, and unparalleled amount of fun and challenge these games provide—it's all burned in the memory of a whole generation of gamers. Probably even more than just one generation. It was an honor to have you here, Fallout. Take good care of yourself out there, try not to mistake a gecko for G.E.C.K. (not even remotely the same thing!), and remember to take your Rad-X pills!

All those who acquired Fallout, Fallout 2, or Fallout Tactics on GOG.com prior to the date of removal (that is before Tuesday, December 31st 2013, at 3:59PM GMT), will still be able to download the games' install files (as well as the bonus content) via the "My Games" section of their user accounts. Gift-codes for these three games acquired in our recent giveaway are no longer valid. However, if you own a gift-code for any or all of them that was purchased outside of the said giveaway, you'll still be able to redeem it in the foreseeable future.
More information.

Update- Removed the last sentence in the post due to people misunderstanding.:)
 
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 1, 2010
Messages
36,178
Location
Spudlandia
Hrm, do you really think that it is related to the fact that they gave it away for free?
I mean it's not like GoG can decide what they want to do with the games. It's the publisher who decides which prices and special offers gog/ steam can use.

It's also not the first time gog gave away a fallout title for free.

For me it seems like the neverending story of licensing troubles with the Fallout franchise is going on. Maybe Bethesda was pissed again and told them to stop it.

In Germany there is a big (not gaming related) news site called Spiegel.de which for example had the news of getting Fallout for free - and combined that with a Screenshot of a bethesda Fallout. My guess is that they were not the only ones and Bethesda once again wants to avoid "confusion".
 
Joined
Jun 2, 2012
Messages
4,691
The rights owner would have had to agree to giving it away for free, so GOG's not to blame, or at least isn't the only culprit - I'm guessing (and it's only a guess) that the freebie was a tactic by the now previous rights-owner to devalue the worth of the old fallout catalogue before rights (and profits therein) transferred over to Bethesda.
 
Joined
Mar 23, 2012
Messages
361
Yep, or maybe it was within an old contract GoG made use of and Bethesda wasn't aware of.
 
Joined
Jun 2, 2012
Messages
4,691
I think Interplay's rights to sell the old Fallouts expired yesterday. Maybe giving the games away for free was their way of thanking Bethesda for all the legal trouble over the years.

AFAIK Bethesda isn't selling games through GOG yet.
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
7,830
Hrm, do you really think that it is related to the fact that they gave it away for free?

I mean it's not like GoG can decide what they want to do with the games. It's the publisher who decides which prices and special offers gog/ steam can use..

Yes it's common knowledge Interplay owned the rights, and now Bethesda owns the rights. Think of it as Interplay's last middle finger to them.

Just look at the long legal battle for more information
Interplay was threatened with bankruptcy and sold the full Fallout franchise to Bethesda, but kept the rights to the Fallout MMO through a back license in April 2007 and began work on the MMO later that year. Bethesda Softworks sued Interplay Entertainment for copyright infringement on September 8, 2009, regarding the Fallout Online license and selling of Fallout Trilogy and sought an injunction to stop development of Fallout Online and sales of Fallout Trilogy. Key points that Bethesda were trying to argue is that Interplay did not have the right to sell Fallout Trilogy on the Internet via Steam, Good Old Games or other online services. Bethesda also said that "full scale" development on Fallout Online was not met and that the minimum financing of 30 million of "secured funding" was not met. Interplay launched a counter suit claiming that Bethesda's claims were meritless and that it did have the right to sell Fallout Trilogy via online stores via its contract with Bethesda.

Interplay also claimed secure funding had been met and the game was in full scale development by the cut off date. Interplay argued to have the second contract that sold Fallout voided which would result in the first contract that licensed Fallout to come back into effect. This would mean that Fallout would revert to Interplay. Bethesda would be allowed to make Fallout 5. Bethesda would also have to pay 12% of royalties on Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4 and expansions plus interest on the money owed. On December 10, 2009, Bethesda lost the first injunction.

Bethesda shortly afterward tried a new tactic and fired its first lawyer, replacing him and filing a second injunction, claiming that Bethesda had only back licensed the name Fallout but no content. Interplay has countered showing that the contract states that they must make Fallout Online that has the look and feel of Fallout and that in the event Interplay fails to meet the requirements (30 million minimum secure funding and "full scale" development by X date) that Interplay can still release the MMO but they have to remove all Fallout content. The contract then goes on to list all Fallout content as locations, monsters, settings and lore. Bethesda has known that Interplay would use Fallout elements via internet emails shown in court documents and that the contract was not just for the name.The second injunction by Bethesda was denied on August 4, 2011 by the courts. Bethesda then appealed the denial of their second preliminary injunction. Bethesda then sued Masthead Studios and asked for a restraining order against the company. Bethesda was denied this restraining order before Masthead Studios could call a counter-suit.Bethesda then lost its appeal of the second injunction.

Bethesda then filed motion in limine against Interplay. Interplay then filed a motion in limine against Bethesda the day after. Shortly after, the trial by jury which Bethesda requested on October 26, 2010 was changed to a trial by court because the APA contract (aka the second contract that sold Fallout to Bethesda) stated that all legal matters would be resolved via a trial by court and not a trial by jury. The trial by court began on December 12. In 2012, in a press conference Bethesda revealed that in exchange for 2 million dollars, Interplay gave to them full rights for Fallout Online. Interplay's rights to sell and merchandise Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel expired on December 31, 2013.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 1, 2010
Messages
36,178
Location
Spudlandia
Ouch (to the article about the litigation battles).

Whatever their motives, I'm glad Interplay and GOG decided to give us a chance to get the games for free. If you want to look at it optimistically, maybe they wanted to say 'thank you' to the fans (at the same time as the middle finger mentioned above).

I'd definitely rather not buy them from Bethesda. They're trying too hard to emulate Blizzard and EA.
 
Joined
Dec 16, 2013
Messages
2,789
Location
1920
They are still on Steam, but as Gorath pointed out Bethesda does not have any games on GoG, where they do on Steam. They already have a distribution agreement in place with Steam and I guess they could use that to continue to sell them there.

I hate to see games being pulled - I want to see more games and more publishers coming to GoG.
 
Joined
Jan 14, 2010
Messages
586
Location
Tennessee, United States
I can't conceive a possible reason why a company that owns the right to some popular old games would not like to collaborate with GOG (except hatred for money perhaps?). Some people in GOG forums mentioned that Bethesda is not dealing with GOG because they're supporting Steam. But seriously, how can that help Steam to become bigger than what it is already? I never imagined there is a rivalry going on between these two.
 
Joined
Feb 19, 2011
Messages
210
Location
Iran
But seriously, how can that help Steam to become bigger than what it is already? I never imagined there is a rivalry going on between these two.

If your aim is to create a monopoly, then everyone in the market is a rival.
 
Joined
Feb 20, 2009
Messages
635
Location
Germany
@Couchpotato
Actually that is what I said (in the part you did not copy ^^)
It just sounded in the initial post a little like "GoG: We are giving the game out for free to everone now, harhar! Bethesda: We hate you! You can't just give our game away for free! Now you will not be able to sell the game ever again!"

@Aubrielle
Emulate Blizzard? Why that? Because of the DOTA clash? I don't think that is really comparable.
 
Joined
Jun 2, 2012
Messages
4,691
I'm sure Bethesda would like to sell on any additional platform. They just dont like DRM-free.
 
Joined
May 18, 2012
Messages
2,315
I guess this is one reason for me to not try Elder Scrolls Online, I hate when companies pull BS like this. What ever the issue is between Bethesda and Interplay, the shouldn’t take it out on the customers.
 
Joined
Aug 13, 2011
Messages
119
I am trying not to blow this out of proportion, and really hope BethSoft stops making this anti-consumer move and allows the games DRM-free back on GoG.com.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
14,930
I'm sure Bethesda would like to sell on any additional platform. They just dont like DRM-free.

I thought Bethesda was pretty lenient on their DRM. For instance the DRM on Oblivion was only on the launcher on the original release. You could run the game executable directly without the launcher and it didn't do a DVD check, though that was later changed for the GOTY version. I think Skyrim was the same way - only the launcher had Steamworks tied to it but Valve made them change it later.
 
Joined
Jan 14, 2010
Messages
586
Location
Tennessee, United States
Little or unobstrusive DRM is not the same as no DRM.

Anyways, the only other explanation would be that they have a contract with Steam that does not allow them to sell online on any other platform. I dont know how common that is, there are several games being sold on both platforms.

If its not that nor the DRM, they'd sell on GOG. They want to make money, as much as everyone else does. Maybe even a little more. ;)
 
Joined
May 18, 2012
Messages
2,315
@Kordanor: You're right, maybe I blew it out of proportion a bit. But these huge corporate turf wars come off as greedy and monopolistic to me, and it doesn't feel much different than something Blizzard (or any other huge, faceless corporation) would do. And like others here have pointed out, if you'd rather pull a game from a DRM-free store than continue to sell it DRM-free, then what does that say about how you see your potential customers? Does this company hate money? Is it spite? Do they really think DRM works? Regardless, I won't support them. Not after how they became in the days after Skyrim's release.
 
Joined
Dec 16, 2013
Messages
2,789
Location
1920
The removal of the FO games was announced prior to the "grab Fallout for free thing", so clearly the two were connected. Anyway, I fail to understand what Bethesda is gaining here - they're not likely to open their own GOG competitor any time soon, so they might as well sell their older games there.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
7,583
Location
Bergen
Back
Top Bottom