Rune Factory's Future Looks Troubling

Yesterday was a dark, dark day for everyone, though most people don't even know it.  Neverland, the developer behind the Rune Factory series, announced that it was immediately shutting down and filing for bankruptcy, which...you know, is bad.  It's also completely unexpected because Rune Factory 4, their latest released game, did well enough to greenlight a Rune Factory 5.  It seems that they were simply struggling financially and nothing was helping it, so they're just closing up shop.  It's depressing as hell, because Rune Factory as a series, 2 aside, has pretty much been getting exponentially better with each numbered iteration and would probably continue doing so.  Though, technically, they do still have a chance to do that.

You see, it's simply Neverland, the developer, that's going out.  Marvelous AQL has owned the IP for Rune Factory since the start, I believe, and that's not going to change.  Being that they're the publisher, what it means is just that they need to find a new developer to make future Rune Factory games if that's their choice.  Considering Rune Factory 5 is almost certainly already started and it's a good series that sells well-enough for what it is, it's pretty easy to hope that they will indeed continue making it.  One can simply hope that it won't lose any of its charm with a developer change, if one is indeed going to take into majority effect.  I know, you're just yelling "STOP WITH THE LEAD-INS", but it's as much for my own benefit to assuage my own fears about the situation as anything.

The plot thickened when Yoshifumi Hashimoto, Marvelous AQL producer of the Rune Factory series made a little post on the Rune Factory blog regarding their next project, since things appear up in the air.  If you'll allow me to shamelessly steal Siliconera's translated version of the post...

“Hello, Hashimoto here.

How are you guys enjoying Rune Factory 4?

I’d like to take this occasion to make a comment about the future.

As of now, it’ll still remain a secret as to what kind of title we’ll be releasing next, but I can say that the staff members are still doing great.

I will leave it at that for now, and I thank you for your continued support.

Producer, Yoshifumi Hashimoto”

The part of that message that states "The staff members are still doing great" is what's causing a bit of the rumor mill spinning.  The people in a folding developer are generally not "okay" when the announcement goes out, much less "doing great", so there are two different interpretations of what that actually could mean.  Either he means that the Marvelous AQL staff are okay which is...superfluous to say, or he means Neverland is great as it seems to imply, which would sort of make on think that they're doing great because Marvelous has something to say about it in the matter.  People are speculating that Marvelous might be hiring some, probably not all, of Neverland's staff with the intention on making a new development studio that can continue working on the Rune Factory series.  It might seem a little too good to be true, but it does absolutely no harm to anyone to at least -hope- it's true.  At the worst, we're wrong and Rune Factory 5 will be finished out by a studio unfamiliar with the series (or Marvelous' own in-house studio, but they might be a little busy with the new Harvest Moon at the moment) and at best, we're going to get Rune Factory 5 which is still mostly a Neverland production.  Either way, it still seems like Rune Factory 5 is still a thing that is probably going to happen, and I don't think I'm deluding myself into thinking that.

Still, gotta be honest, when I first heard the news, my reaction was basically this:  (Sorry, Chance, I'm stealing it)

It's good to be optimistic, however.  To hope.  Something something, A New Hope.

I just really want Rune Factory 5 if that wasn't blatantly obvious, and Vita plz if you like, I'll buy both versions

Welp, Nevermind THQ's Done

Remember when THQ filed for Bankruptcy and the President of THQ came forward and said in an open statement to everyone that 'THQ is fine and isn't going anywhere'?  Yeah, well....that is probably not the case anymore.  Some recent developments with that whole situation over the last weekend were made and they are not pleasant ones for any involved.  The plan was pretty much simple, as it was presented.  Jason Rubin said, basically "We had to go into Bankruptcy and look for an investor so that we could quickly repay the folks we owe as soon as possible" which sounds sensible as all hell and should immediately tell you that it's certainly not going to happen that way.  Because why would it?  I mean, why would things just work in ways that are considerate for everyone involved?

Over the weekend, some groups had raised some complaints to THQ's proposed plan to seek investment through Clearlake Capital Group, well a purchase from them I should say, and there was a hearing about it.  Ultimately a Judge decided that the sale wasn't cool to go through when it was scheduled to because, and this is literally the goddamn reason, 'it doesn't make the most money possible'.  With Warner Bros., EA and other publishers sniffing around, there's a very big, very real possibility that piecemeal sale of THQ's assets will ultimately bring in more money than the Clearlake deal would net, making it the more lucrative option for THQ's creditors.  Because, of course, in this economy when everyone is only too happy to chirp up about how nobody wants to protect jobs or this or that, whine about how outsourcing is too big, an actual plan to prevent the loss of jobs shows up and is instantly swatted away.  It's a fickle thing, clearly.

I guess I shouldn't be too annoyed just yet since there's absolutely nothing stating that the IPs are the -only- things that will go on sale, unless I missed it.  If you all remember when Midway went under, Warner Bros. stepped in and bought the MK IP, but they also got the development team which we now know as Netherrealm Studios and they're doing pretty spiffy, I should say.  So -technically- we could assume that any potential publisher that purchases up the rights to the individual series that will go on sale might also bring the talent over as well, one way or another.  The Netherrealm Studios example isn't the only one of course, as even when Squeenix bought up True Crime:  Hong Kong (later the amazing Sleeping Dogs), they helped United Front Games continue work on it so that they could finish it regardless.  They didn't acquire UFG, but I would assume if a Sleeping Dogs 2 was ever in the works (please let there be a Sleeping Dogs 2 in the works), Squeenix would tap them for a return as well.  If nothing else, perhaps we could assume that sort of situation for whomever picks up these IPs.

Because the IPs are definitely on sale - I mean, it's pretty much a done deal, I would assume.  The end-goal is, I believe, finding out which option will pay more between the Clearlake deal and interested parties purchasing franchises individually.  Whichever one has the biggest bottom line will be the plan that goes forward so that THQ can just funnel that money directly to the people their creditors.  So while it's still technically possible that the Clearlake deal -will- go through, it's highly unlikely as every franchise individually will probably be quite a bit more than a package deal.  As is the case, generally with package deals, which, I suggest is why they are called deals.  At this point it's pretty much just a matter of thinking about who will buy up what and doing a whole lot of hoping and finger crossing.  As much as I don't hop onto the EA Hate Train whenever it rolls around, I'm not at all enthused with entertaining the thought of an EA published Saint's Row 4, for instance.  Picking up the WWE license, however, is a lot more believable and palatable because EA already has like every other sport and they do alright.  I'd just like to think Warner Bros. will do up a thing like they did with Netherrealm Studios.

The ink isn't dry on the deals and there's still a lot of room for the situation to resume changing dramatically, but it's more or less a lot more real now than it was.  I'm pretty bummed, since I really believed Jason Rubin, but at the same time, there wasn't a whole lot to doubt based on what he presented.  He was saying if they didn't do the sale by a certain date, it would cause a lot of problems and that's basically the lynchpin here in that the Judge and others don't agree with that date.  As such, it's basically still up in the air, but I'm pretty sure it's looking like the chips are going to fall on this latter side now, rather than the shiny, bright side that was presented first.  It's a real shame in a sense, but we won't really know the extent of the damages until the actual dust settles.  Whatever happens, it's going to have a rather big impact all around, though, and that's probably going to be a hard show to watch.

Update!:  Well, things are pretty much like it seemed, since it was confirmed that this is a most money wins situation.  The amount of money Clearlake has put up is apparently $60 Million, so that is the number to beat.  If anyone bids -more- than $60 Million for the whole of THQ, they'll acquire everything as Clearlake would, -or- if the sum of the bids for individual franchises from the likes of Warner Bros., EA and such exceeds $60 Million, then that's how that'll play out.  $60 Million is a -lot- of money, so this might be a closer race than anyone could have figured on.  But it just relies on the bids because not only are the companies against one another, but up against this potential $60 Million figure or even more if someone puts in for a whole bid of more than that.  We'll find out around January 23rd just what's going to happen to THQ, so start hoping for whatever outcome you want now.

Okay Fine, I'm Sorry THQ

I complain about not having anything news-wise to talk about and THQ goes and files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.  Possibly -only- to make me feel bad.  (Or try to, but the Christmas Fuzzies are still in full-force)  Or you know, possibly as an attempt to get out from the crushing debt the company was under.  That is the more possible reason, but I'm not putting anything past them.  This is, obviously very big news and while I honestly -could- write about other things tonight, it probably wouldn't be in my best interest to do so because this is like, front-and-center material right here.  Strictly from a "I need things to talk about" stand-point, this is a thing that doesn't happen very often and, dire as it is, it is certainly -something- that should be talked of, if only -because- of how dire it is.

Well, perhaps dire is pushing it just a little, but this is as much of a bad thing as it is a good thing for THQ and it's sort of a thing that you have to wait for the dust to settle on before you can really call it.  While it does indeed say Bankruptcy, which probably evokes images of chaos and such as people jump from the sinking ship, it's not quite like that.  Chapter 11 Bankruptcy is just a restructuring phase which companies can, and oftentimes do, work through and come out on the other end as a healthy, profitable business again.  Businesses that you might never expect to have -needed- Chapter 11, even, so it's not necessarily a mark of death or even something to fully worry about.  I know the first instinct is to take the news, look at the games you have with a THQ logo on them, or even games that are so close you can almost taste them and despair, but you might not have to do that.  Honest.

In fact, in a direct message to all of us from Jason Rubin, President of THQ, we are assured that this is the -opposite- of the truth of the matter.  I'll cherry-pick a few quotes here before I sort of explain the contents of the article for those who don't want to read the whole of it.

Today THQ announced that it has secured an investor, a private equity firm named Clearlake Capital Group, who is interested in purchasing most of what you think makes up THQ:  the teams that make the games (Relic, THQ Montreal, Vigil and Volition), THQ’s Intellectual Property (titles, source code, etc.), THQ’s contracts (like the ones with Crytek, South Park Digital Studios, 4A games, Obsidian, and Turtle Rock) and the support staff that are required to help the teams succeed. 

In fact, Clearlake is even providing the company the money it needs to keep working on the products as the process plays itself out. And importantly, when the purchase is complete, Clearlake has committed to invest additional ample capital to let us finish the games we are making and continue making games going forward. [...]

[...]The most important thing to understand is that Chapter 11 does not mean the end of the THQ story or the end of the titles you love.  Quite the opposite is true, actually.

Chapter 11 is a safety net for U.S. companies. American Airlines is currently in Chapter 11 restructuring, yet I flew back and forth on that airline when I visited Volition two weeks ago.  Donald Trump and his companies have been in Chapter 11 four times.  You can add to that list household names such as Macy’s, Eddie Bauer, the Chicago Cubs, Chrysler, Delta Airlines, General Motors, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Marvel Studios, and MGM, among many others.

MGM filed Chapter 11 two years ago, and this year it released “Skyfall” and “The Hobbit,” two of the biggest titles of the year. That’s what I mean when I say new start![...]

[...]Whatever happens, the teams and products look likely to end up together and in good hands.  That means you can still pre-order Metro: Last Light, Company of Heroes 2, and South Park: The Stick of Truth. Our teams are still working on those titles as you read this, and all other rumored titles, like the fourth Saints Row, the Homefront sequel, and a lot more are also still in the works.

From what I can tell here, the basic gist of the whole thing is that THQ filed for Chapter 11 so that somebody could come in and run some money into the company to keep it alive while it puts out product that will, presumably, also bring in profits.  I might be wrong, and in fact I probably am, as there's likely a little more to it than that, but this isn't a deal where some company (or multiple companies even) get to come in and buy this and that so that THQ can throw a little money at the pit of debt it'll face beyond its demise like some sort of Yard Sale.  Clearlake Capital Group, whoever they are, seems poised to 'buy' THQ so that THQ can resume doing what it's been doing.  And when I say what they've been doing, I mean the positive direction they've been moving in in the previous few months.  Kind of.  Pretty much just the positive direction that involves releasing South Park:  The Stick of Truth and confirming that another Saint's Row title is in the works.

There is a very real possibility that THQ is going into this with us all feeling doom and gloomy about it and will come out of it on the other side as a company like we haven't seen them be before.  As Jason Rubin said it, several businesses that are big deals out there have gone through Chapter 11 before and are still around, and in a big way, so this is likely not going to put a dent into anything you're expecting from THQ in the near future.  That alone is a strange thought but, as I said, with South Park:  The Stick of Truth on the horizon, it's a comforting one as well.  THQ does make some good games, which I think we might forget sometimes, and if the situation were any worse of one, it'd be a real blow for the general landscape of gaming as a whole.  We can only really hope that this thing is as positive as we're being led to believe, since if it is, it could really simply save the company and let it keep putting out those good games.  Like possibly Darksiders 3.  Maybe.