Atari have announced they've now acquired Chris Sawyer's Transport Tycoon, as Atari continue building themselves back up.
This follows on from other acquisitions from Atari including the Surgeon Simulator franchise under Infogrames, the Intellivision brand and over 200 games, Totally Reliable Delivery Service, Awesomenauts, Swords & Soldiers and Digital Eclipse and Night Dive Studios.
From the press release: "We are honored that Chris has entrusted us with Transport Tycoon and our team is committed to both honoring and advancing his groundbreaking creation." said Atari Chairman and CEO Wade Rosen.
Pictured - Transport Tycoon, taken by me.
They said they plan to "expand digital and physical distribution, potentially develop new titles or content, and explore brand and merchandising collaborations as part of a long-term plan to preserve and expand this classic sim".
Makes sense for Atari to grab it since they were the publisher for Chris Sawyer's Locomotion too. On top of that Atari also currently control the licensing for RollerCoaster Tycoon as well, although they don't own it as Sawyer still does.
A bit of a colourful history between Sawyer and Atari though, as Sawyer actually sued Atari back in 2005 for unpaid royalties. Atari then counter-sued for damages in 2007, and later it was settled out of court in 2008 with an undisclosed sum paid to Sawyer.
Worth nothing that OpenTTD exists, it's an open source simulation game based upon Transport Tycoon Deluxe, and it's pretty darn popular.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
soulsource Nov 4
Quoting: soulsourceI hope this isn't bad news for the OpenTTD project.Why would it be? It's an original open source project.
Quoting: hjahreThe image in the article is from Locomotion, right? Transport Tycoon is more or less the same as Transport Tycoon Deluxe. But I guess it's not abandonware anymoreWas supplied by Atari, replaced with a correct one I just took.
Quoting: soulsourceI hope this isn't bad news for the OpenTTD project.
I don't believe it'll be a problem. They've known about OpenRCT2 and OpenTTD for awhile now and not had a problem.
The real problem is if Sawyer ever takes the rights to RCT away from Atari. Apparently he's extremely hostile to OpenRCT2's existence and will go after it if Atari ever loses the rights. So it's in everybody's best interest that Atari keeps the rights, or is able to outright purchase the rest of his games from him.
Last edited by Leahi84 on 4 November 2024 at 5:39 pm UTC
junibegood Nov 4
Unfortunately, I can't find this information anywhere. They probably didn't (and won't) make it public.
Quoting: Leahi84Atari bought the publishing rights to RCT this year, apparently. Sawyer's alleged stance quoted here and there seems more lawyer than human (and indeed appears to be signed to that effect), so I hope that's not his actual (informed) take on the situation. Extremely dispiriting and about as out of touch if that were the case.Quoting: soulsourceI hope this isn't bad news for the OpenTTD project.
I don't believe it'll be a problem. They've known about OpenRCT2 and OpenTTD for awhile now and not had a problem.
The real problem is if Sawyer ever takes the rights to RCT away from Atari. Apparently he's extremely hostile to OpenRCT2's existence and will go after it if Atari ever loses the rights. So it's in everybody's best interest that Atari keeps the rights, or is able to outright purchase the rest of his games from him.
That said, aggressive representation is probably the sole reason Sawyer is able to earn a living off RCT still, after all those years. Here's hoping it doesn't get out of hand for the wrong/stupid reasons.
Openttd may include its own graphics and music, but my nostalgia brain prefers to use the original data.
On a side note: the remastered music in the mobile version is excellent (the mobile game itself is meh). A bit of a pain to extract it and play it during play (openttd still doesn't support ogg, flac, or even wav music playback), but well worth it imo.
Last edited by emphy on 5 November 2024 at 6:40 am UTC
soulsource Nov 5
Quoting: emphyLast time that I attempted to find the original ttd I was very surprised to not encountering it in any digital store. I can't be the only one for who it would have been a near-insta-buy.Can OpenTTD still use the original game files?
Openttd may include its own graphics and music, but my nostalgia brain prefers to use the original data.
On a side note: the remastered music in the mobile version is excellent (the mobile game itself is meh). A bit of a pain to extract it and play it during play (openttd still doesn't support ogg, flac, or even wav music playback), but well worth it imo.
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