Hasbro, the owners of Dungeons & Dragons through wholly-owned subsidiary Wizards of the Coast, alleges that Atari may have entered into an unauthorized sublicensing agreement with Namco Bandai Partners. Atari sold it PAL distribution arm to Namco Bandai partners earlier this year, which could very well be one of the causes for Hasbro's concern. Hasbro maintains that a sublicensing agreement with Namco Bandai, one of Hasbro's competitors, is strictly prohibited under the D&D licensing contract.

"While unfortunate that we had to take this action, it is crucial for us to protect the Dungeons & Dragons brand," said Greg Leeds, President of Wizards of the Coast. "We have been working for several months now to reach resolution with Atari, and they have left us with no other choice than to pursue legal action."

Hasbro seeks to terminate Atari's license as well as compensatory damages for economic losses.

Atari responds to these allegations in a statement sent to Kotaku this morning.

"Atari has had a long and rich history with the Dungeons and Dragons franchise, investing millions of dollars into numerous critically acclaimed and commercially successful games that have generated significant revenue for Hasbro. Hasbro has resorted to these meritless allegations, in an apparent attempt to unfairly take back rights granted to Atari. Atari has sought to resolve the matter without cooperation from Hasbro. We regret that our long-time partner has decided to pursue this action. Atari will respond appropriately through its legal counsel in court."

Atari signed a 10-year licensing contract with Hasbro in 2007, the future of which is now uncertain. Through the agreement Atari has produced Dungeons and Dragons Online, Neverwinter Nights II and its expansions, and Dungeons & Dragons Tactics for the PSP. Enjoy them while you can...they might not be around much longer.

Fraud and Breach Complaint Filed Against Atari Over Dungeons & Dragons License [CNN Money]

The SurfaceScapes team at the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University gives us a very clear explanation of how this project works, from the networked Dungeon Master laptop that controls much of the experience to just how the more fleshed-out interface will work. The SurfaceScapes guys have big plans for the project, some of which they tease in the above video.

Team member Michael Lewis offers the official Surface blog some expert insight into the creation of the D&D port, which budding developers and tabletop role-playing gamers with deep pockets will definitely want to read.

New gameplay video with D&D on Surface [Microsoft Surface Blog]

As clearly noted in the below video, this is a work in progress tech demo from a sextet of CMU students that touches on some of the more superficial, but supercool, portions of running a D&D campaign on one of the world's more expensive monitors. (And, for the record, one of those students is the creator of the previously Kotaku featured The Science of the Mushroom Kingdom, so nerd respect up.)

Doubtful that I'll reignite my fleeting elementary school passion in playing a tabletop RPG or be able to afford a Microsoft Surface unit any time soon, but a cool application regardless.

Thanks to Theyab for the heads up!

Announced earlier this summer and opening to the public on September 9th, the new Dungeons and Dragons Online relegates subscription fees to VIP members, allowing anyone to play for free, relying on a cash store that sells extra dungeons, quests, classes, and items for revenue. According to Turbine director of communications Adam Mersky, the early access program is already indicating tremendous success for the new business model.

"They all got a ton of points for being loyal subscribers, for being in the beta. We weren't really expecting a ton of sales...they had no incentive to. They already had access to all of the content as VIP subscribers, and we just gave them a buttload of points."

With a buttload of points and access to all of the premium content through in-game quests, one wouldn't expect the early access folks would need more points. One would also be mistaken, apparently.

"They've gone through their points, and we've already sold millions more Turbine points, and we've not even opened up the world to the public yet."

And what is selling? What would subscribers rather pay for than unlock through in-game means?

"The hottest selling items are the new Favored Soul class, which is unlockable in game, but all of our subs just went ahead and spent points on it, unlocked it, and they're playing it right now. We're real excited for September 9th when we open the world up to everyone else."

It sounds as if DDO, a game that had all but dropped off of our radar, could be coming back in a big way. We'll check back with Turbine once things go live to see if the buying trend continues.

Turbine sued Atari in New York state court on Aug. 24, more or less alleging the Atari invented a ruse to terminate Turbine's sublicense contract to develop a Dungeons & Dragons MMO. The suit implies Atari did this to make way for an upcoming D&D project being developed by Cryptic Studios - which Atari bought in December.

Here's Atari's response, emailed today to Kotaku. One highlight - in addition to filing a motion to dismiss, Atari's also countersuing Turbine for some money "resulting from an independent third party audit of Turbine." Sounds like this is gonna be nasty.

Last week, with no warning, Turbine filed what can only be viewed as a frivolous lawsuit against Atari. This action can ultimately do a great disservice to D&D fans and to the MMO community at large. Turbine's actions also appear intended to divert attention from the contractual obligations that Turbine owes to Atari. In response, today Atari served a motion to dismiss the entirety of Turbine's lawsuit. Atari also filed a separate complaint to recover monies owed to Atari resulting from an independent third party audit of Turbine. While Atari hopes for a quick and fair resolution, it remains fully committed to the D&D communities worldwide and will vigorously protect the franchise and its own integrity in this matter.

While the late Gary Gygax, who passed on a little more than a year ago, added fantasy elements to war gaming to create the basis for Dungeons & Dragons, it was Dave Arneson who took those rules and altered them to a point where instead of controlling large armies, players controlled a single character with a role to play, giving birth to the role-playing genre as we know it. It may have taken a 1979 lawsuit to get him listed officially as D&D's co-creator, but role-players around the world will always remember his contributions to gaming, both tabletop and otherwise.

According to a statement issued by Arneson's family, the legend passed away quietly shortly after 11pm on Tuesday, April 7th. You'll find an address to send cards and letters below, along with the location of the April 20th viewing in St. Paul, Minnesota, where fans are invited to pay their final respects.

The clattering of dice falls silent once again, but the rolling, virtual and physical, will never cease, thanks to the contributions of this great man. He will be missed.

Cards and letters can continue to be sent:
Dave Arneson
1043 Grand Avenue
Box #257
St. Paul, MN
55105

Visitation will be on April 20th
Time: yet to be determined
Address:
Bradshaw Funeral Home
687 Snelling Avenue South
St. Paul, MN 55105

Atari revealed its intentions to revisit and resuscitate some of its better known properties at a press conference in the UK today, pointing to some of its most beloved hits as a focus for 2010 and beyond. The rebounding publisher diverted focus to its next-year line-up, according to Eurogamer, which includes Ghostbusters, The Witcher for consoles and the recently announced Ready 2 Rumble Revolution.

While Atari's been supporting Neverwinter Nights 2 in the form of expansion packs, the Baldur's Gate series has been quiet since the release of Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, with the spin-off series Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance petering out in 2004. Sequels to both would be very welcome, my new Atari overlords.

We suppose the only question is: who's going to develop the next Baldur's Gate? BioWare, now owned by EA, has already moved on to its own "spiritual successor" Dragon Age.

As far as another Test Drive, Developer Eden Games is rumored to have already started work on a sequel to Test Drive Unlimited as of earlier this year.

Atari to revisit Baldur's, Test Drive [Eurogamer]

Being inspired by concepts is not just a good idea. When your skill reaches a high enough level, it becomes a state of mind. Start by analyzing games in similar genres for good ideas. Dissect those ideas and learn from them. Then jump to similar games in different genres. Pen and paper role playing games and board games are a great next step.

A true epic-level master of concept-yoinking like Shigeru Miyamoto can take gameplay features from abstract activities like gardening. Pay attention to everything you see, from movies to conversations with friends to patterns in the ceiling tiles. Where do designers get the inspiration for new games? It's all thievery.

OK, I'm not sure it's fair to say it's all thievery (it sounds so bad!), but certainly there's a healthy dose of borrowing and reinterpretation. Anyways, even if you're not a tabletop nerd, it's worth a read through - there are some interesting ideas contained within.

The Adventurer's Guide to Thievery [Gamasutra]

In addition to the Insider promotion, Wizards of the Coast is sponsoring a Worldwide Dungeons & Dragons Game Day tomorrow, Saturday June 7th, during which locations around the world will be hosting special events to help ease players into the new ruleset. Hit the jump for to find out more about this worldwide celebration!

Dungeons & Dragons® 4th Edition Rulebooks Now Available

June 6, 2008 (Renton, WA) – Today Wizards of the Coast announced the release of the highly anticipated 4th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), with the retail availability of new core rulebooks. Tomorrow, June 7, players around the globe will have the chance to experience the new edition of the popular roleplaying game as part of a worldwide D&D event.

D&D 4th Edition is designed to offer more streamlined game play with exciting options for character creation and interaction, while the new rules framework will reduce the prep time needed to run a game and lower the barrier to entry for new players.

In keeping pace with the changing gaming landscape and striving to meet the ever-evolving needs of players, the new edition includes features that will appeal to players who venture into a dragon’s lair every week as well as those who haven’t delved into a dungeon in many years.

“The decision to introduce a 4th Edition of the game came out of the player feedback we’ve been gathering for years,” said Bill Slavicsek, R&D Director of Roleplaying and Miniatures Games at Wizards of the Coast. “We wanted to streamline the D&D game while enhancing the overall play experience. At its heart, it’s still an exciting tabletop game experience that’s now enhanced with online resources that make it easier for players to create characters, run games and interact with the rest of the D&D community.”

To celebrate the release 4th Edition, Wizards of the Coast is sponsoring Worldwide Dungeons & Dragons Game Day (WWDDGD) on Saturday June 7 to give players the opportunity to play 4E adventures with other gamers. Retail partners and special locations around the globe will be hosting events for players; one such location is the WWDDGD Headquarters in Seattle, where Wizards of the Coast staff is taking over Neumos in the Capitol Hill neighborhood to celebrate the 4th Edition launch. For more information on WWDDGD events, visit www.dndgameday.com.

Additionally, Wizards of the Coast is introducing 4th Edition online content in Dragon and Dungeon magazines and the first iteration of the D&D Rules Compendium on D&D Insider®. As additional resources and applications are developed, D&D Insider will grow to include tools for players to design their characters, dungeon, and adventure-building tools for Dungeon Masters and a digital game table for online play.

The Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual and Dungeon Master’s Guide are now available for purchase in retail locations around the world as a set for MSRP $104.95 or individually for MSRP $34.95. D&D Insider will be available for free during a promotional period and will move to a subscription-based fee system as additional components roll out.

Since its first release in 1974, the fantasy roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons has taken millions of players on imaginary adventures of epic scale. Today, D&D is universally regarded as the original game that created the roleplaying game category, and the inspiration for generations of game designers. D&D is enjoyed by millions of players worldwide, while countless more remember it with fond nostalgia.

Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is a worldwide leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories, and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games (TCGs) and their method of play and produces the premier trading card game, Magic: The Gathering®, among many other trading card games and family card and board games. Wizards is also a leading publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times bestsellers. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at www.wizards.com.

1d6 of New Dungeons and Dragons Apps! [Maximum PC]

1971 - Gary Gygax and Jeff Peren create Chainmail, a fantasy miniatures game implementing rules from standard medieval gaming, adding elves, giants, halflings, and other elements borrowed from sources such as Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

1972 - Dave Arneson visits Gygax in order to demonstrate the game that would become Dungeons & Dragons.

1973 - Gygax and Don Kaye found Tactical Studies Rules - TSR.

1974 - TSR publishes the first edition of Dungeons & Dragons.

1976 - Willie Crowther, an early D&D player, creates a text-based game called Crowther's Colossal Cave, which would eventually morph into Adventure, which was a direct influence on the creators of the ultimate text-based game, Zork.

1977 - Young Richard Garriott attends a sumer computer camp, where he earns the nickname Lord British and is exposed to Dungeons & Dragons for the first time. Soon he would be hosting popular D&D weekends at his parents house.

1978 - Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle create the first MUD - Multi-User Dungeon. It is the precursor to the modern MMO.

1980 - Richard Garriott releases one of the first computer role-playing games, Akalabeth: World of Doom. This year also sees the release of Dungeons & Dragons Computer Labyrinth Game, the first computer game using the D&D license. as well as Garriott's Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness - a game that influences the RPG genre to this day.

1982 - The first Dungeons & Dragons console game is released for the Intellivision, simply titled Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Dragonstomper is released for the Atari 2600, widely considered to be the first console RPG. Dragonstomper included gathering experience points and gold, random battles, and multiple ways to solve problems in the game.

1985 - TSR lets developers know that the AD&D license is up for grabs, with big names like Electronic Arts, Origin, and Sierra being beaten out by SSI (Strategic Simulations, Inc.). SSI would go on to create 30 AD&D games.

1988 - SSI releases Pool of Radiance, the first in the Gold Box series of D&D games, which allowed you to import your characters into subsequent games to continue your adventure.

1991 - The first graphical MMORPG is released via America Online - Neverwinter Nights. Based on the Dungeons & Dragons setting The Forgotten Realms, the concept of clans and PVP in online role-playing started here.

1996 - Ultima Online is released, its popularity paving the way for the enormous glut of MMORPG games we're experiencing today.

1998 - A small company called BioWare gets put on the map when it releases the Forgotten Realms game Baldur's Gate - incidentally the first computer game I ever reviewed on a professional basis.

2002 - BioWare releases a new version of Neverwinter Nights, featuring the ability for players to create their own modules and run them via the internet, effectively bringing the tabletop experience online.

2006 - Gary Gygax lends his voice as the Dungeon Master to Turbine for certain quests in Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach, bringing the whole thing full circle.

While certainly not a complete listing, you can easily see how the creation of Dungeons & Dragons influenced the video game industry. Every time you gain hit points, or generate your numeric attributes, or choose what type of elf you want to be in the latest fantasy MMO, you're dealing with concepts that spawned from that weekend in 1972. Even when you play a game that isn't an RPG, there's a good chance that someone involved in the creation of that game wouldn't be here today if the works of Gary Gygax hadn't inspired them to dream up their own fantastical worlds. He will be missed, but more importantly - he will forever be remembered.

Portions of this article were referenced from Brad King and John Borland's excellent 2003 book Dungeons and Dreamers. The book explores gaming from those early days in Wisconsin up to today's massive online communities, and is a must read for anyone interested in the roots of gaming.

Gary Gygax [Troll Lord Games Forums]
Photo by Alan De Smet

The rights to said games were originally transferred back in 2001 when Infogrames purchased Hasbro Interactive, which gave them MicroProse, Games.com, and the Atari name in the first place. So basically Hasbro is buying back rights they sold in a package deal six years ago.

I am wondering if this means the Hasbro buyback titles will all be disappearing from Games.com now and possibly moved over to the new Gleemax strategy gaming site recently launched by the Hasbro-owned Wizards of the Coast. Would certainly be a sound strategy for raising awareness of the fledgling gaming portal. We'll just have to wait and see.

New Strategic Agreement With Hasbro Concerning The Dungeons & Dragons Franchise

DIGITAL GAMING RIGHTS TO BE SOLD BACK TO HASBRO FOR 19.5 MILLION US DOLLARS

Lyon, France, July 18, 2007 - As part of the relaunch strategy announced by the Group on June 21 and the Group's plan to focus its investment on major franchises with significant potential, Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext 5257) today announced the signing of a new agreement with Hasbro concerning:

- the extension until 2017 of the exploitation of the intellectual property rights to the Dungeons & Dragons universe, under an exclusive license covering all interactive formats, including online and wireless.

The agreement covers all current and future products that are part of this universe, including NeverWinter Nights, Baldur's Gate, etc.

Two new games have already been announced for fiscal 2007-2008: NeverWinter Nights 2 Expansion Pack for PC and Dungeons & Dragons Tactics for PSP.

- the purchase by Hasbro of digital gaming rights (online and wireless) to nine franchises (Monopoly, Scrabble, Risk, Game of Life, Clue, Yahtzee, Battleship, Boggle and Simon), for 19.5 million dollars (*). This sale will have no significant impact on revenue for the current fiscal year.

"This agreement represents a reaffirmation of our partnership with Hasbro. It is an important step in our business strategy that will allow us to keep and strengthen a franchise with significant potential, while giving the Group additional resources to invest in the relaunch of its publishing business. Dungeons & Dragons is one of the Group's historic intellectual properties on which we plan to expand our business, relying on one of the largest and most active gamer communities in the world of video games," commented Patrick Leleu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

(*) of which, 4 million dollars shall be paid to Atari Inc

For those of you unfamiliar with Dungeons and Dragons, I shall translate: They've screwed up the game since I used to play it - humorous anecdote.

Despite the ruined nostalgia factor, there is a certain allure to having grid-based D&D battles at my fingertips. The promise of alignment making an actual difference in gameplay is certainly novel, and the promise of downloadable content has a lot of potential. Well see when the game hits next month. For now, check out nine new screens of square dancing goodness. Michael Fahey

Current and returning players will also enjoy a +50% XP and +1 to loot all weekend long, as well as special live events.

Meanwhile all European players who left get a full 10 days reactivation, because a European is apparently worth roughly three North Americans. Michael Fahey

Welcome Back Weekend! [Dungeons & Dragons Online]

Atari just announced that they will be releasing a Dungeons & Dragons game for the Playstation Portable.

Dungeons & Dragons: Tactics will use the D&D 3.5 rule-set and let players take a party of six through a world of turn-based adventure. It sounds a little like LOTR: Tactics.

D&D: Tactics offers an original, intriguing DUNGEONS & DRAGONS storyline. Players take on the role of a mortal child caught in a conflict of two competing dragons striving for godhood. Alignment is critical, as it affects the end of the story and allows players to change from good to evil, or the other way around, depending on which quests they choose. Gamers will play through a series of adventures, completing various objectives along the way. D&D: Tactics offers all the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS base character classes including Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer and Wizard. Five Prestige Classes are available, as are two Psionic classes, the Psion and the Psychic Warrior. Players will be able to customize their characters and store as many as their memory stick can handle.

D&D: Tactics will support wireless play and include a multiplayer modes. Gamers can play through the campaign in Co-Op mode or take each other on in deathmatch mode in a series of special arenas. The game will also suport downloadable maps.

Check back tonight for the first screens.