Update: Interplay reopens offices & Titus declares bankruptcy

[Quixfire]

Just days after California authorities forced Interplay to close its doors, the publisher has apparently reopened them. A late-breaking report from The Orange County Register says that CEO Herve Caen succeeded in acquiring workers' compensation insurance for the financially ailing company, thereby allowing work to resume at its Irvine, CA offices. The offices were forcibly closed Friday by state labor inspectors due to lack of workers' compensation insurance and unpaid wages.


Ironically, the good news for Interplay came on the same day the publisher's majority shareholder, France-based Titus Interactive, declared bankruptcy. Speaking to GameSpot, sources close to the developing story said they heard news of the bankruptcy from Caen himself. Caen founded Titus in 1985 with his brother, Eric.

According to the French news service AOF, the Tribunal of Commerce of Meaux halted the trading of Titus shares midday yesterday at 0.16 euros ($0.20) per share. Titus stock will remain suspended pending a review of Titus' finances and those of its two French subsidiaries, developer Sofra Games and distributor Avalon France.

Until October 6, Titus "will enter into a period of observation during which it intends to continue negotiations on the possible sale of assets." No specific assets were mentioned as being on the block, although last week, Titus founder Herve Caen told GameSpot he was "working on a lot of deals" regarding Interplay and its properties.

By Tor Thorsen -- GameSpot

Update Story

Orginal Story

Wouldn't it be ironic if BioWare bought them out.

 

[Hammer]

wow. i'd hate to work there. you'd have to be pretty dumb to stick around.

 

[DaveSimmons]

It's been a shambling corpse for awhile now, only dropping the occasional rotting body part like "Fallout: POS" into the distribution chain.

Sad to see them descend so far, interplay publsihed some of the all-time best PC RPGs, including Planescape: Torment, Fallout 1-2, and Baldur's Gate 1-2.

 

[FoBoT]

"The company has not shut down. [The state] can?t do that. It can only let me not let employees work," he said.

:shocked:


:laugh:

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: FoBoT

"The company has not shut down. [The state] can?t do that. It can only let me not let employees work," he said.

:shocked:
:laugh:

hehehe 🙂

 

[skace]

Holy hell, Interplay is shady 🙁. They still owe royalties for BG? That game rocked. How can you screw up a good thing when they played a role in releasing some amazing games...

 

[Fingolfin269]

Aww Interplay. You guys think Baldur's Gate and yet I think back to my old C64!

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: Fingolfin269
Aww Interplay. You guys think Baldur's Gate and yet I think back to my old C64!

I used up so much graph paper playing Bard's Tale 1 all the way through on my PC AT box. 12 MHz of power!!!!! 🙂

 

[oLLie]

Maybe now they can sell the license to someone who would do it justice.

 

[MacBaine]

As part of its mid-April financial statements, Interplay declared it only had $1.2 million in cash on hand.

And what's the problem? Use half of that to pay all your rent and crap.... why do they need 1.2 million sitting around?

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: oLLie
Maybe now they can sell the license to someone who would do it justice.

They can't sell it at this point, their creditors likely won't allow it. Interplay's going to fold in to Titus, and then Titus will fold in to VUGames.

 

[Quixfire]

Update ^

 

[LeadMagnet]

Interplay's "Whiplash" also knowen as "Fatal Racing" was the best game ever

 

[Pepsi90919]

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