From:	Lady Jestyr <jestyr@*******.COM.AU>
Subject:	Re: State of the Industry
Date:	Sun, 7 Feb 1999 12:46:34 +1000

>>Put the quotes from Mort together with the trademark line, and it is very
>>clear that FASA kept the RPG's, and MS got the computer games.
>>
>>There is another press release from MS at:
>>http://www.fasa.com/PressReleases/PR%20Microsoft%20Buys.htm
>>
>>But then, we've gone over all of this before on this list....
>
>And FASA has also cited this as the reason for file 13ing Earthdawn. Why
>does MS's computer rights prohibit the selling of Earthdawn? Something is
>being left out.

Or perhaps you're not reading between the lines:

It is reasonable to assume that the sale of the Earthdawn *COMPUTER* rights
to MS made the Earthdawn *RPG* a less appealing bundle, reducing FASA's
chance of selling it. We live in the Age of the Tie-in - computer game
tie-ins (of anything) are all the rage. If potential buyers for Earthdawn
could have been promised the computer game rights as well as the
pen-and-paper RPG, it would have had a much better chance at selling.

(Not to mention the fact that any company who bought Earthdawn would now be
forced to associate with MS, which may scare some off.)

Lady Jestyr

"A true beanie should have a propellor on the top." -- Terry Pratchett
- jestyr@*******.com.au URL: http://www.geocities.com/~jestyr -