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Caffeine Freak

Bobby Prince files lawsuit against Randy Pitchford, Gearbox and Valve

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I always wondered about stuff like this. I assumed that once the rights to a game were sold, that included the assets such a graphics, sound and music, but I guess it depends based on whatever contractal agreements they decided on.

 

The thought of various assets all having to be bought and sold individually is really weird, but if they weren’t legally allowed to reuse these songs in modern rereleases and did anyway, they simply fucked up.

 

$1 per unit is an excellent deal, by the way. Surely you’d think it would have been a percentage of each sale - if it’s down to 3 bucks on sale, Bobby still gets 1/3rd?! lol this whole agreement seems like it was kinda dumb if that’s accurate but I certainly don’t blame prince for taking that offer! I know I would have!

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When it comes to bypassing laws to use "inspired" music, Bobby Prince is the master. Steal his ideas, not his music.

 

I'm no fan of Randy Pitchford, I'm not surprised he would do something like this. I hope Bobby Prince wins.

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1 hour ago, Doomkid said:

I always wondered about stuff like this. I assumed that once the rights to a game were sold, that included the assets such a graphics, sound and music, but I guess it depends based on whatever contractal agreements they decided on.

 

 

It indeed depends on the contract. If the contract says "$1 per unit sold" that will also apply to all re-releases, unless renegotiated.

Normally with such things the publisher obtains unlimited usage rights with the released title - in that case they'd be clear-  but if it's royalties per sale, things are very different. It's not that they cannot use the music - but they have to do it under the terms of the original contract.

 

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I wonder if there's the same deal with Doom. After all, the PSX/N64 soundtrack by Aubrey Hodges is because Williams/Midway didn't accept Prince's conditions.

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So Randy fucked up once again? My my, how surprising (not).

 

Wasn't there another voice actor who recently claimed (and also filed a lawsuit? Can't remember the details) that Gearbox gave him no money for his work in Borderlands? Hope Bobby wins this. And yes, afaik the contractual obligations from back then still stand even after Gearbox's acquisition of the assets, unless of course the terms are re-negotiated. Zero surprise GB never contacted Bobby.

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4 hours ago, Doomkid said:

 $1 per unit is an excellent deal, by the way. Surely you’d think it would have been a percentage of each sale - if it’s down to 3 bucks on sale, Bobby still gets 1/3rd?! lol this whole agreement seems like it was kinda dumb if that’s accurate but I certainly don’t blame prince for taking that offer! I know I would have!

 

To be fair, back in 1996 I doubt any of them (including Prince) envisioned a future selection of online stores that would forever preserve the legacy of older games. They probably signed that contract on the assumption that, like most of the games in the decades prior to that point, DN3D would someday be obsolete and nearly impossible to obtain.

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Actually, this was probably a low-risk investment for 3DRealms back then. If the game flopped, they wouldn't have to pay much, in that case an one-time up-front payment for the music would have been far more risky. Of course such deals can become a problem if the title becomes really successful.

 

But then, had I been the producer I would never have accepted such terms and looked for cheaper talent.

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3 hours ago, seed said:

So Randy fucked up once again? My my, how surprising (not).

 

Wasn't there another voice actor who recently claimed (and also filed a lawsuit? Can't remember the details) that Gearbox gave him no money for his work in Borderlands?

 

Yeah, that was the guy who did the voice work for Claptrap. He also said Randy assaulted him. I forget what happened after all that...

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18 minutes ago, Doom_Dude said:

Yeah, that was the guy who did the voice work for Claptrap. He also said Randy assaulted him. I forget what happened after all that...

 

Oh yea, even better, also assaulted, I forgot that aspect. Just googled a bit about the incident, and apparently it's still undergowing investigation and waiting to be settled in court though.

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If this is Randy "Aliens:Colonial Marines" Pitchford then I can't say I'm completely shocked. The man is an idiot.

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7 hours ago, Doomkid said:

$1 per unit is an excellent deal, by the way. Surely you’d think it would have been a percentage of each sale - if it’s down to 3 bucks on sale, Bobby still gets 1/3rd?! lol this whole agreement seems like it was kinda dumb if that’s accurate but I certainly don’t blame prince for taking that offer! I know I would have!

 

With the sales of the games he composed for? $1 per copy is enough to have millions haha.

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6 minutes ago, Pegg said:

 

With the sales of the games he composed for? $1 per copy is enough to have millions haha.

 

I don't think he got the same deal for Doom - that's what made him able to charge this much for DN3D, I think.

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Just read this. Hope Bobby wins. That's all

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Here's hoping Bobby tears Randy a new one.

 

It's a shame that the gaming industry in general seems to have reached this point. Greed destroys people.

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56 minutes ago, Graf Zahl said:

 

I don't think he got the same deal for Doom - that's what made him able to charge this much for DN3D, I think.

 

The thing is these games helped him bank off duke. Even if he was salaried or paid upfront instead of royalties.

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It's been 5 hours since I found out about this and I keep imagining Bobby absolutely destroying Pitchford in court while Zero Hour from Wolfenstein 3D plays in the background

 

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I can actually sympathize a little bit with Gearbox. It probably was reasonable for them to assume they owned all assets rather than Bobby Prince keeping the rights to the music.

 

Ignoring takedown requests and not just giving him a bunch of money to correct the mistake are where they went especially wrong.

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On 10/1/2019 at 1:24 AM, BBQgiraffe said:

Randy Pitchford looks like the type of guy that tries to get a little too friendly with your teenage daughter.

 

Nailed it. He might as well be wearing one of the those big round badges saying "I'm a creepy son of a bitch, ask me how"

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On 9/30/2019 at 3:03 PM, chungy said:

I can actually sympathize a little bit with Gearbox. It probably was reasonable for them to assume they owned all assets rather than Bobby Prince keeping the rights to the music.

 

Ignoring takedown requests and not just giving him a bunch of money to correct the mistake are where they went especially wrong.

Problem is, Gearbox has lawyers. Lots of lawers. If they couldn't find this in the original contract, and just assumed that they owned all the assets, well, they better fire their lawyers. I'm not going to sympathize with them at all; they've been outright greedy fucks for quite a while now, and Pitchford is King Douche of Shit Mountain.

 

Now if this would've been the Gearbox that made Opposing Forces, I would see things differently. But it's not, the company has moved on from making good games.

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On 9/30/2019 at 12:06 AM, Armaetus said:

If possible, rip Randy to shreds in the legal battle!

 

Or better yet, take out the shrink ray, aim and shoot it at Randy, then step on him when he's shrunk.

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