South Park Studio contesting sale of South Park: The Stick of Truth game
By Tim Colwill on January 23, 2013 at 7:15 pm
As the piecemeal auction of THQ’s assets continues to go ahead, South Park Studios, the owners of the South Park brand, are arguing that THQ don’t have the rights to sell their Stick of Truth RPG to anybody else and that, if push comes to shove, they’ll take it back for themselves.
“Under section 365(c)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code,” reads the filing spotted by NeoGAF, “the Debtors cannot assume or assign the Deal Memo without Licensor’s consent because, as set forth below, applicable law excuses Licensor from accepting performance from or rendering performance to a party other than THQ”.
The filing goes on to read that South Park Studio reserves the rights to retrieve all assets to the game if they so choose. Meanwhile, THQ has issued their own filing in response, claiming that while they’d love to come to a mutual agreement with South Park Studios, as far as they’re concerned they do have the right to sell on and they’ll do it if they dang well want.
South Park: The Stick of Truth trailer introduces us to some of the story
And to you, the new kid!
The South Park RPG previewed: Can you handle the Stick of Truth?
Can Obsidian make a South Park RPG work? Toby McCasker has all the details.
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Apparently Ubisoft is interested in buying it if it’s allowed to be sold.
DO NOT WANT!
With the greatest respect, is there a major publisher you would want to see pick up this (or any of THQ’s brands)?
Whats wrong with ubi ?
I quite like U-play
Tim Colwill,
I already dropped a few names in the THQ thread on the forums. Needless to say, it doesn’t matter who picks up THQ’s IPs as someone will complain.
I honestly hope Relic doesn’t go anywhere, I want my stinking Homeworld 3!
The rest, I don’t really personally care for.
Tim Colwill,
Atlus obviously. Atlus cared more than any other publisher.
This is going to be a massive mindfuck of a legal case when it finally hits. Dare I say it could result in the game never being released (which’d suck because its already finished, they just have to release it).
I think there would actually be a good chance of Relic being taken over by Activision, mainly because of Relics association with the now dead Seirra. So it’d make sense for them to take it over. Of course I doubt anyone would be happy about this happening since Activision has proven time and time again of a complete lack of ethical leadership. I’m wondering actually what Relic would be like under 2K, I think that relationship could work- but be a bit sloppy around the edges like they are with Irrational and Firaxis.
Actually I’d love it if Paradox took over Relic lol, now that relationship would be awesome.
Check the forums to see on what went where (or the GON article when it comes up). Ubi gets South Park but hopefully these guys are successful in contesting it.
Ubisoft paid $3.2 million for South Park
just want to say.. thank fuck Zenimax didn’t get Relic. That could’ve been a disaster.
But Sega ain’t much better, look at Creative Assembly for example.
Overall I feel really dirty about what just went down.
Yep, Southpark to Ubisoft, the letter to employees from management (on gameinformer). Probably a real one, but on the net you never know!
To All THQ Employees:
We now have the answers we’ve been seeking through our financial restructuring and Chapter 11 case. While much will be written, here are the facts of the bids and auction that occurred:
Yesterday morning, we received a competing bid for the operating business, along with Clearlake’s offer, and numerous offers for separate assets. During an auction process that lasted over 22 hours, the final conclusion was that the separate-asset bids would net more than a single buyer for the majority of the company.
Shortly, we will present the results to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which must concur with our assessment.
The proposed sales of multiple assets is as follows :
Sega agreed to purchase Relic
Koch Media agreed to purchase Volition and Metro
Crytek agreed to purchase Homefront
Take 2 agreed purchase Evolve
Ubisoft agreed to purchase Montreal and South Park
We expect these sales to close this week.
Some assets, including our publishing businesses and Vigil, along with some other intellectual properties are not included in the sale agreements. They will remain part of the Chapter 11 case. We will make every effort to find appropriate buyers, if possible.
What this means for employees
We expect that most employees of the entities included in the sale will be offered employment by the new owners. However, we cannot say what these owners may intend, and there will likely be some positions that will not be needed under the new ownership. You should receive notice this week or early next week if the new owners intend to extend employment to you. Please note that the terms of your new employment, including pay and benefits, may be different from the current terms of your employment with THQ.
If you are an employee of an entity that is not included in the sale, we regret that your position will end. A small number of our headquarters staff will continue to be employed by THQ beyond January 25 to assist with the transition. THQ has sufficient resources to pay these employees for work going forward, and we will be contacting these employees immediately to ensure their continued employment during this transition period. We are requesting the ability to offer certain severance pay to minimize disruption for employees of non-included entities as they determine the next steps in their careers.
We know you will have many questions about this news. We’ll be meeting tomorrow when we return to talk through this announcement and to answer any questions you have. You will receive a benefits fact sheet and FAQs with answers to some questions that may be on your mind. Please review these materials closely.
A personal note
The work that you all have done as part of the THQ family is imaginative, creative, artistic and highly valued by our loyal gamers. We are proud of what we have accomplished despite today’s outcome.
It has been our privilege to work alongside the entire THQ team. While the company will cease to exist, we are heartened that the majority of our studios and games will continue under new ownership. We were hoping that the entire company would remain intact, but we expect to hear good news from each of the separate entities that will be operating as part of new organizations.
For those THQ employees who are part of entities that are not included in the sale, we are confident that the talent you have displayed as part of THQ will be recognized as you take the next steps in your career.
Thank you all for your dedication and for sharing your talent with the THQ team. We wish you the best of luck and hope you will keep in touch.
Sincerely,
Brian Farrell
Chief Executive Officer
Jason Rubin
President