Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Message Board

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Posted by Joystiq Feb 06 2014 20:15 GMT
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Curt Schilling, noted pitcher, baseball analyst and video game aficionado, has been diagnosed with cancer. Schilling, 47, revealed the news to ESPN in a statement.

Schilling is most notable in the video game industry for his work with 38 Studios, a game development company he founded in 2006. 38 Studios, formerly Green Monster Games, was responsible for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and had been working on an MMO called Project Copernicus before shutting down in 2012.

The state of Rhode Island, after guaranteeing 38 Studios a $75 million loan to move offices from Maryland, is still trying to figure out what to do with the debt left behind. An auction for 38 Studios' intellectual properties was held late last year, though the only properties known to have been sold off are the Big Huge Games trademark and the Rise of Nations and Rise of Legends properties. [Image: Wikimedia Commons]

Posted by Rock, Paper, Shotgun Dec 16 2013 17:00 GMT
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This is too sad. Kingdoms Of Amalur, the basis for one of the best RPGs in years, has failed to sell in 38 Studios’ assets auction. As reported by Polygon, no one was prepared to put up what current owners Heritage Global Partners were willing to take, despite another $320,000 being raised for other sales, including the Rise Of titles. But poor old Amalur remains on the shelf of the money-eating firm, unloved, and undeveloped.

(more…)


Posted by Joystiq Nov 15 2013 06:00 GMT
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Come December 11, Heritage Global Partners will finally begin selling off the intellectual property of Curt Schilling's 38 Studios.

Initially slated for November, the auction was delayed due to "greater than expected" interest from potential bidders. The state of Rhode Island is hoping that this auction will allow it to recoup some portion of the $75 million it loaned 38 Studios, so it only makes sense to attract as many bidders as possible.

Among the items included in the auction are sequel and licensing rights to Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, rights to Big Huge Games' Rise of Nations and Rise of Legends strategy games, and "Project Copernicus" which the auction house describes as "an in-development Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) including a 10,000 year world history, completed character 'races' and playable 'zones.'"

Full information on the auction can be found at the Heritage Global Partners website. Initial bids will be accepted as late as 5PM EST on December 4.

Posted by Joystiq Nov 07 2013 00:45 GMT
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Richard Land, the court-appointed lawyer for 38 Studios, said he plans to ask a Rhode Island Superior Court judge to delay the now-defunct studio's intellectual property auction. The auction was originally slated to take place on November 14 and include the Project Copernicus MMO that was in development at 38 Studios prior to its May 2012 closure as well as sequel and merchandise rights and revenue for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.

Land told The Providence Journal that interest in the auction has been "greater than expected" from prospective bidders, leading to the request to delay the auction for "a couple weeks." The auction was also slated to include Big Huge Games properties Rise of Nations, Rise of Legends and XBLA game Catan.

Posted by Joystiq Oct 01 2013 02:30 GMT
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PS Plus members will be able to snag a free download of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning on PS3 tomorrow. Reckoning is fantasy action RPG developed by Big Huge Games and 38 Studios.

The State of Rhode Island will auction off 38 Studios' franchises next month, beginning on November 14. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is one such property up for grabs, as is the Project Copernicus MMO that 38 Studios was in the midst of developing prior to closing its doors in May of 2012.

Posted by PlayStation Blog Sep 30 2013 15:00 GMT
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Dive into the expansive realm of Kingdoms of Amalur, a fantasy tale penned by famed author R.A. Salvatore. There are plenty of options to customize your character and the way you defeat your foes, so role-playing fans will be right at home here. Whether you prefer magic, melee weapons or to be a little more rogue-ish, Kingdoms of Amalur’s flexible combat system will let you play how you want. In addition, there are discounts on several titles including Flashback HD, Darksiders II, Red Faction: Armageddon and MX vs. ATV: Alive.

All of these PS Plus benefits will be available after PlayStation Store updates tomorrow, 10/1.

9957855476_b6308262f5_z.jpg

Instant Game Collection Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (PS3)

Free for PS Plus members, Regular Price: $19.99

Kingdoms-of-Amalur.jpg Immerse yourself in an all-new massive universe from the minds of bestselling author R.A. Salvatore, world-renowned artist Todd McFarlane, and legendary game designer Ken Rolston. Choose your path and battle through a sprawling master-crafted world featuring some of the most intense, responsive, and customizable RPG combat ever. Discounts Flashback HD (PS3)

PS Plus Price: $7.99, Regular Price: $9.99

Flashback-HD.jpg 20 years after the original game’s launch, Conrad is enlisted back to active service for the triumphant return of one of the most acclaimed franchises in gaming history. It is Flashback re-imagined. The original Core-Team revamped their own creation, leveraging the best of today’s technology while remaining true to the classic side-scroller that set the standards of the genre in the 90’s.

Other Discounts

Game Title Normal Price PS Plus Price Title PS Plus Price Regular Price Wheel Of Fortune Ultimate Edition $17.19 $21.49 Jeopardy! Ultimate Edition $17.19 $21.49 Wheel Of Fortune & Jeopardy! Complete Pack $19.59 $24.49 MX vs. ATV: Alive $8.99 $11.99 MX vs. ATV: Alive Ultimate Edition $19.99 $24.99 Darksiders II $17.99 $23.99 Darksiders II Ultimate Edition $26.99 $35.99 Darksiders + Darksiders 2 Ultimate Edition $31.49 $41.99 Red Faction Armageddon Ultimate Edition $11.24 $14.99

Last Chance (Leaving on 10/8)

Instant Game Collection
Machinarium (PS3)
Discounts
Wheel Of Fortune Ultimate Edition
Jeopardy! Ultimate Edition
Wheel Of Fortune & Jeopardy! Complete Pack
MX Vs. ATV: Alive
MX Vs. ATV: Alive Ultimate Edition
Darksiders II
Darksiders II Ultimate Edition
Darksiders + Darksiders 2 Ultimate Edition
Red Faction Armageddon Ultimate Edition
Lone Survivor: The Director’s Cut
Lone Survivor: The Director’s Cut
Worms Revolution
Pinballistik: Alien Tycoon Bundle
Pinballistik + Dlc Bundle
Pinballistik: Made Of Money
Pinballistik: Sector X
F1 2013 Standard
F1 2013 Classic

8347313262_4aa76e1572_o.jpg What’s your favorite content from this week’s update?

We’ll be back next week with more details on the game arriving to the Instant Game Collection as well as any other benefits we can share.

If you’ve got feedback on today’s Plus update make sure you leave a comment below. To discuss all things PlayStation, including this update, you can also head over to the PlayStation Community Forums where you’ll find topics you can contribute your thoughts to, or start one for yourself.


Posted by Joystiq Sep 26 2013 21:30 GMT
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The 38 Studios and Big Huge Games liquidation auction will begin November 14, according to the Heritage Global Partners auction services page. Among the assets included in the auction from the state of Rhode Island are the Kingdoms of Amalur intellectual property, namely the Project Copernicus MMO that was in development at 38 Studios prior to its closure in May 2012. Additionally, buyers will be able to obtain sequel and merchandise rights and revenue for the developer's lone release, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.

Other assets in the auction include intellectual property rights for Big Huge Games' properties, particularly Rise of Nations, Rise of Legends and Catan in addition to the studio's Big Huge Games Engine and 38 Studios' Helios platform. The liquidation auction begins at 9:00am ET on November 14 and ends November 15 at 12:00pm ET.

Posted by Joystiq May 31 2013 22:00 GMT
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The story of 38 Studios as a video game developer is long over, but the financial fallout from its $75 million in taxpayer-backed loans continues in the state of Rhode Island. The Providence Journal reports two developments this week, as the state will shortly begin a public hearing process over the debacle and consider whether it will pay back the loan.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Michael J. Marcello said the state will launch the hearing process shortly based on the "thousands of pages" of documents it received this week, in response to a public information request made over a month ago.

The committee will focus on two issues: Did the state properly retain an independent, third party to monitor and assess 38 Studios' financial standing? And what happens if the state decides not to pay the loan, which amounts to nearly $113 million after interest.

Governor Lincoln Chafee's administration believes the state, which has no legal necessity to pay the loan, does have a "moral obligation." Chafee's proposed state budget (which needs to be approved by July 1) does factor in an initial $2.5 million payment, with $12.5 million paid out over the next seven years.

Posted by Kotaku Apr 21 2013 18:00 GMT
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Matt Bai of The New York Times has authored a lively, comprehensive deconstruction of the downfall of 38 Studios, makers of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and a planned MMO. The story weaves in Rhode Island's political and cultural forces in explaining the debacle. It's a superb Sunday read.

Posted by Joystiq Mar 08 2013 21:15 GMT
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This is a weekly column from freelancer Rowan Kaiser, which focuses on "Western" role-playing games: their stories, their histories, their mechanics, their insanity, and their inanity. Recently, I decided to play Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning in remembrance of its one-year anniversary this past February, knowing I'd have to contend with two things that dominated discussion about the game: the politics and failures behind the 38 Studios disaster and dealing with a game I had been warned was filled with fantasy nonsense names and detailed lore - a model of storytelling I find quite annoying. But when I finally played Reckoning, I was surprised to learn how much I enjoyed it. I had an instant gut reaction to the game's beauty. It reminded me of the best times I'd spent in massively multiplayer role-playing games, and that was totally unexpected.

My first character in World of Warcraft, the MMORPG that consumed most of my time with the genre, was a Night Elf starting on the island of Teldrassil. What I remember of that first character's journey wasn't tied to game mechanics, player interaction or even narrative, it was the feel of that starting zone. I remember the lush setting, trees with a slightly exotic, magical tinge, luxurious purples and greens, the seemingly perpetual twilight, the hints of corruption and danger, and the music hinting at all of those things and the history of the Night Elves. Indeed, most of my best experiences while playing WoW solo took place in those verdant, corrupted provinces, with Feralas probably my favorite of the old world.

I didn't expect to ever have the same feeling again, but Reckoning delivered.

Posted by IGN Feb 09 2013 00:17 GMT
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Epic Games has announced that it will close its newest studio, Impossible Studios. Impossible Studios was working on the iOS title Infinity Blade: Dungeons.

Posted by Kotaku Nov 28 2012 16:00 GMT
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#38studios 38 Studios' financial apocalypse has been well-documented. Ultimately, no amount of auctioning and memorabilia sales could redeem all-star pitcher Curt Schilling's game development legacy. Still, you have to wonder who's behind the pricing of the downloadable version being offered on Xbox Live Games on Demand in Australia. Maybe 38 Studios' only release is a collector's item now? More »

Posted by Joystiq Nov 01 2012 17:50 GMT
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The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (EDC), the quasi-public group that granted the $75 million taxpayer-guaranteed loan to 38 Studios, has filed a lawsuit against the architects of the 2010 deal. WPRI reports the defendants include 38 Studios founder Curt Schilling and CEO Jennifer MacLean, former EDC executive director Keith Stokes, Wells Fargo Securities, Barclays Capital and many, many more.

"I know you work hard for your paychecks, and for your tax dollars to be squandered is unacceptable. The board's legal action was taken to rectify a grave injustice put upon the people of Rhode Island," said Governor Lincoln Chafee in a prepared two-and-a-half-minute statement posted on YouTube (found after the break).

The full complaint [PDF] alleges the former EDC board never ordered an independent assessment of 38 Studios' capabilities to finish Project Copernicus before the loan was approved, even though it was to do so. It also claims Wells Fargo received nearly $500,000 "in hidden commission from 38 Studios" that weren't disclosed to the EDC board.

The recent public auction at 38 Studios' former Providence HQ grossed approximately $650,000. The auction at 38 Studios' Big Huge Games division in Maryland brought in $180,000. It's estimated 38 Studios owed $150.7 million when it declared bankruptcy, so far the state of Rhode Island has recovered about $830,000.

...developing..

Posted by Joystiq Oct 26 2012 20:30 GMT
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The public auction held Tuesday at 38 Studios' former headquarters in Providence, Rhode Island, grossed approximately $650,000. The official number comes from the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, which held an auction last week at the former site of 38 Studios' Big Huge Games division in Maryland. That auction brought in $180,000.

The court-appointed receiver who organized the auctions told us earlier this week that the Kingdoms of Amalur intellectual property, which is Rhode Island's best hope for recouping money from its bad investment, will be sold in a negotiated transaction over the next three to six months.

It is estimated that 38 Studios owed $150.7 million when it filed for bankruptcy. The state of Rhode Island has recovered about $830,000 so far, and the remainder of the bill following the IP sale will be swallowed by state tax-payers.

Posted by Kotaku Oct 13 2012 01:30 GMT
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#kingdomsofamalur Online auction-goers will be able to bid on the firesale of 38 Studios, makers of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning which collapsed in bankruptcy back in May. More »

Posted by Kotaku Oct 04 2012 22:00 GMT
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#38studios Whether mocked, doubted or venerated, The Bloody Sock is a unique piece of sports memorabilia and it is the symbol of the Boston Red Sox' cathartic championship of 2004, the one that ended 86 years of aching near-misses and collapses. And the reddest of socks may be put up for sale, collateral damage in the notorious collapse of the defunct game maker 38 Studios. More »

Posted by Kotaku Sep 30 2012 18:00 GMT
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#38studios In the aftermath of 38 Studios' collapse, a slew of government investigators said they were probing the maker of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning for its attempts to secure loans using tax credits that never were issued. Tax credits are the biggest reason the studio, founded by former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, became such a scandal in its home state of Rhode Island when everything went bust. More »

Posted by Joystiq Sep 27 2012 19:53 GMT
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Microsoft is requesting Rhode Island return the Xbox developer kits the state is attempting to sell at auction to recoup losses from the defaulted multi-million dollar loan to shuttered 38 Studios. In the listing of items up for auction October 23, the firm hired to facilitate the auction lists "Gaming consoles: Xbox 360 XDK consoles." Only problem is those are the property of Microsoft.

"Xbox 360 Development Kits (XDK) are the property of Microsoft and are only licensed to authorized studios and may not be assigned or sold to any third party without the written consent of Microsoft," the company told Joystiq in a prepared statement. "We will be contacting the appropriate parties involved in the auction of 38 Studios' assets to remove the XDK units from the auction listing and to secure the return of the consoles to Microsoft."

Posted by Joystiq Sep 27 2012 19:53 GMT
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Microsoft is requesting Rhode Island return the Xbox developer kits the state is attempting to sell at auction to recoup losses from the defaulted multi-million dollar loan to shuttered 38 Studios. In the listing of items up for auction October 23, the firm hired to facilitate the auction lists "Gaming consoles: Xbox 360 XDK consoles." Only problem is those are the property of Microsoft.

"Xbox 360 Development Kits (XDK) are the property of Microsoft and are only licensed to authorized studios and may not be assigned or sold to any third party without the written consent of Microsoft," the company told Joystiq in a prepared statement. "We will be contacting the appropriate parties involved in the auction of 38 Studios' assets to remove the XDK units from the auction listing and to secure the return of the consoles to Microsoft."

Posted by IGN Aug 09 2012 15:05 GMT
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Employees from Big Huge Games have been offered a new home at Epic, working on the next Infinity Blade title.


Posted by Kotaku Jul 23 2012 22:30 GMT
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#projectcopernicus Curt Schilling's 38 Studios fell apart due to a combination of poor management, bad decisions, and a whole lot of missed deadlines. And Schilling says their massively multiplayer online game—which was shuttered when the studio shut down earlier this year—just wasn't fun. More »

Posted by Kotaku Jul 01 2012 19:30 GMT
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#38studios I've been cleaning out my hard drive lately and when doing so I tend to come across folders upon folders of old pictures. Recently, one in particular caught my eye. It was titled Comic Con 2010. More »

Posted by Kotaku May 29 2012 16:45 GMT
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Baseball star Curt Schilling is finally talking about the crumbling of his gaming company, 38 Studios, telling the Providence Journalthat comments about 38 by R.I. governor Lincoln Chafee killed a $35 million deal for a Kingdoms of Amalur sequel. More »

Posted by Rock, Paper, Shotgun May 29 2012 10:00 GMT
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The saga of 38 Studios continues to be an eternally springing font of sad. A wrenching 379 layoffs are, of course, the centerpiece of this Shakespearean tragedy, but further fallout has revealed incredibly sketchy mortgage practices for relocated employees, and now, Joystiq‘s reporting that Reckoning 2 was in pre-production before Curt Schilling’s money Titanic collided with an iceberg that was also the apocalypse. And, to make matters – in retrospect – worse, it sounded fairly promising.

(more…)


Posted by Joystiq May 28 2012 14:35 GMT
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Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning 2 was in "pre-production" at 38 Studios' Big Huge Games studio in Maryland before all employees were let go last week. Several sources with knowledge of the situation tell Joystiq that the company was in advanced talks with a publisher before the events that led to the dissolution of the studio.

Even if the Big Huge Games team could be salvaged under a different banner, it is unlikely that they could work on Reckoning 2. The intellectual property, tech and code (the latter used as a springboard) required to make a sequel is still owned by 38 Studios for the time being, but will likely soon be owned by the state of Rhode Island. Sources close to discussions with Rhode Island tell us that the state's asking price to release assets is too high.

Elements tested for the sequel were higher graphics quality across the board, no loading screens between zones, expanded and improved combat animations, fewer branching quests and greater effect on the world by players.

Posted by Kotaku May 26 2012 00:30 GMT
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#guesteditorial For me, this week was great. The iOS title I am working on, Foodie Truck, is coming along great. The FPS that I am working on, ReKoil—Sorry, Adam—is also looking really amazing; both teams are killing it. More »

Posted by Joystiq May 25 2012 23:00 GMT
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Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training director Charles Fogarty said today that the staff of 38 Studios, all of whom were laid off yesterday, will be able to find new jobs because they are "highly skilled."

"The individuals in question, most of them are pretty highly skilled," Fogarty said. "They've already been contacted by a number of employers. Our department has been contacted by folks looking for people with that type of skill."

Governor Lincoln Chafee and his team today held another press conference to address 38 Studios' financial situation, leading with the information that his office wasn't informed of the layoffs yesterday. Chafee held a press conference one hour after news of the firings broke yesterday; just under 300 people in Rhode Island and almost 100 more from Big Huge Games in Maryland lost their jobs.

Today, Fogarty said he didn't think it would be difficult for these former employees to find new work.

"I don't expect that they're going to be unemployed for all that length of time," he said. "So far there's only been a small number who've actually applied for unemployment benefits at this point."

Fogarty didn't say how many former 38 Studios employees had applied for unemployment. To allay concerns of a wider economic impact from supporting an influx of people through unemployment, Fogarty said the following: "Don't forget, a number of them are not Rhode Islanders. They worked here but they were not Rhode Islanders."

Of the unspecific number of people who filed for unemployment, about half were Rhode Islanders, he said, responding to questions about the "jobs for Rhode Islanders" pitch that came with 38 Studios' founding.

Gov. Chafee doesn't think it's futile to attempt to find investors in 38 Studios, saying that when a studio is basically defunct and has no employees, "some might argue that that's the time for an investor to come in, when you can get it for pennies on the dollar, but we're still fairly pessimistic."

Unfortunately, even if an investor did jump in, Rhode Island would be the "pennies" part of that analogy, not the dollar.

Posted by Joystiq May 25 2012 02:45 GMT
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The sudden firing of all 379 employees at 38 Studios and Big Huge Games today was a blow to the industry, even for those of us who expected it. Soon after news broke, many developers, artists, designers, PR people, journalists and fans took to the Internet to express frustration and anger -- and to help.

On Twitter, the hashtag "#38jobs" rose to trending in the US, with people shouting out which studios were hiring and generally sending support to those let go today. A Facebook group titled "38Jobs" popped up around the same time. Freelance games journo Alex Rubens gathered all of these jobs tips into a Google Doc that currently sports 84 studios with openings, including Irrational Games, Bungie, Activision, Klei Entertainment, Rockstar and other major and indie companies.

Access the full list here; it is still in the process of being updated and refined, courtesy of Rubens and The Side Of The Gaming Industry That Proves We're Not All Trolling Douchebags.

Posted by Joystiq May 24 2012 23:15 GMT
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Despite Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning selling "1.22 million copies in its first 90 days" according to 38 Studios head Curt Schilling, it apparently never crested the 3 million mark it needed to break even. "The game failed, the game failed," Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee told attendees of a press conference this afternoon.

According to "experts" speaking with Chafee's office, Reckoning needed to sell over 3 million copies "just to break even," never mind profit. The action RPG was released this past February to critical praise and modest initial financial success. It was credited with saving Big Huge Games from destruction back in 2009 when 38 Studios picked up the Baltimore studio, primarily for repurposing an already-in-production RPG into what we now know was Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.

Both 38 Studios and Big Huge Games laid off their staffs this afternoon amidst major financial trouble at 38.

Posted by Kotaku May 24 2012 22:16 GMT
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#breaking Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning needed to sell three million copies just to break even, Rhode Island government Lincoln Chafee told reporters today during a press conference about the game studio run by Curt Schilling that has all but collapsed. More »