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.
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15 comments
Bad things have been said about Atari, probably for good reason, but it seems like they're building up some cool retro portfolio?
1 Likes, Who?
soulsource Nov 4
I hope this isn't bad news for the OpenTTD project.
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I hope this isn't bad news for the OpenTTD project.Why would it be? It's an original open source project.
5 Likes, Who?
The 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 anymore
1 Likes, Who?
The 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.
2 Likes, Who?
I 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
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junibegood Nov 4
It would be interesting to know how much the license for a 30 years old game is worth.
Unfortunately, I can't find this information anywhere. They probably didn't (and won't) make it public.
Unfortunately, I can't find this information anywhere. They probably didn't (and won't) make it public.
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Atari 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.I 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.
1 Likes, Who?
Last 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.
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
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
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soulsource Nov 5
Last 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.
0 Likes
soulsource Nov 5
I'm not a lawyer - no clue what attack vectors would exist if Atari had a reason to. However, I don't think it would be in their interest to target the project. But maybe some weird legal necessity?I hope this isn't bad news for the OpenTTD project.Why would it be? It's an original open source project.
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Caldathras Nov 5
such is correct. To my knowledge, Chris Sawyer has never expressed a public opinion regarding the various open source projects related to his software. Chris' legal team has always been very attentive to the protection of his interests. I have read the opinion issued by his legal team. While it is written in a manner intended to protect Chris' interests, there is nothing in it to suggest that they are hostile enough to take legal action at the first opportunity. If they were so inclined, they would have already done so as Chris retains the trademark and IP rights to RCT. The license agreement with Atari would not prevent them from taking action.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.Atari 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.
For general knowledge, Atari purchased the publishing rights for RCT3 this year, not the trademark and IP rights for the RCT franchise. They already have the publishing rights for the other RCT games.
Last edited by Caldathras on 5 November 2024 at 6:59 pm UTC
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Caldathras Nov 5
This is not the same Atari that was involved in the lawsuit back then. Atari has changed hands so many times at this point that you practically need a genealogy degree to work out who did what and when. To make matters even more confusing, there also used to be an "Atari Games" that owned the arcade stuff post-1984 or so. That company is now part of what used to be Midway and in the hands of Netherrealm Studios, I believe.
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