Atari halts NWN1 support, in financial ruin
by Alan Rose 
{ May 28th 2006 at 3:00PM }
Just a few days after the announcement of the latest Neverwinter Nights premium module, Infinite Dungeons, Neverwinter Nights Vault is reporting that Atari has ceased support of the popular Dungeons & Dragons RPG. This means no more patches or premium modules for the original game, leaving the planned sequel to Witches Wake in limbo.According to NWN module producer DLA, Atari contacted developer BioWare right before E3 with news that patches and premium content would no longer be authorized. A DLA blogger also has some details on Atari's related financial woes:
"Atari is in a financial crisis and appears to be unable to meet all of its liabilities as they become due. Their principal line of credit has been cancelled and their secured lenders are turning hostile (When the secured creditors are girding for battle - you know it's bad). At the same time, many of their unsecured creditors are going unpaid. This means they have not paid most of their developers the royalties owing to them on published SKUs Atari has sold in previous quarters."
This doesn't sound good for the publisher formerly known as Infogrames, and while they may deserve credit for supporting NWN for nearly four years, that's not nearly as long as the decade of support Blizzard has given Diablo. A previous Atari D&D title, Temple of Elemental Evil, was also plagued with poor support, which ruined an otherwise solid RPG experience. Atari no doubt wishes to focus its efforts on Obsidian's upcoming NWN2, which DLA hints might be rushed out the door this September in an attempt to hasten cash flow. As a fan of the series, I hope this isn't the case, and Atari at least allows BioWare to continue releasing patches for the original NWN as needed.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
student @ May 28th 2006 3:34PM
Obsidian should be wary of getting their title rushed out again. KOTOR 2 was heavily criticized for being unfinished and it would be a shame if NWN2 gets the same treatment. As Troika proved, it's not good to get a reputation for buggy products.
Alas, it all comes down to Atari it seems.
Jaded @ May 28th 2006 4:07PM
Yeah, I never really got why KOTOR II got pushed forward a month. It was clearly not finished. And it seemed to be a pretty good game other than the buggy areas, the messed up parter AI (running through mine fields and the like), and the half finished elements around the end that they didn't even have time to take out (I'm looking at you unresolved droid side mission). I mean it was nice to play it when I had a month long break over Christmas, but I had lots of other games to play at the same time. If it had been pushed a month or three back to the beginning of summer, it would have been a much better game. Although it would have been competing with Jade Empire at that point.
darko82 @ May 28th 2006 5:28PM
They could always release the Witches Wake sequel for NWN2, using the new engine. I wonder if Atari will let that happen.
That post on DLA's web site mentions that BioWare gets the money first from the premium modules sold directly through their store site, but Atari also released a shrinkwrapped package with the first three premium modules.
Why would Atari care if BioWare continues to release patches for the original NWN, as long as BioWare is willing to do the lion's share of the work? The more stable the original game, the more people will go back and buy it, which means Atari makes money as the publisher.
enliven @ May 28th 2006 5:46PM
darko82:
Atari has a new game (NWN2) to shift. NWN has experienced tremendous longetivity and Atari doesn't want it to continue.
While NWN2 is enticing in that it's a major graphical improvement on NWN it's lacking in a number areas. There are hundreds of excellent modules, art assets and scripts that the community has amassed let alone the tools they have developed to facilitate the creation of those assets long after NWN2 is on the shelves.
I'm sure there will be a gradual migration to NWN2 when the existing community upgrade their rigs to be able to run it and the resources available to them equal or surpass that which they currently enjoy. That said Atari needs to ship units now before they go tits up.
I can see the reasoning behind the decision and it makes sense.
Unfortunately it's stiffed the very customers it's trying to attract, upset a number of large mod groups whose contributions to the success of NWN cant be underestimated and doesn't bode well for the support players can expect for NWN2.
Sure NWN is a 4 year old game and it's time was up, but to see Atari being so shaky about it's impact on it's newest incarnation speaks volumes about it's confidence in the product.
If Atari do manage to keep it's head above water I can't see NWN2 enjoying the same support NWN has.
I hope I'm wrong though for Obsidian's sake.
Watership @ May 28th 2006 5:59PM
Considering other games get abandoned after a year, 4 years is a good run for ANY game.
darko82 @ May 28th 2006 6:09PM
It definitely makes sense for Atari to want to shift its focus to NWN2, but consider this: they just released the NWN Diamond Collection seven months ago in an effort to milk the original a little longer. They released the Kingmaker retail collection in stores at the beginning of the year, and they just authorized the release of the Infinite Dungeon module this past week. What purpose does it serve for Atari to now abandon all the new NWN customers they've attracted in this time? They actually think this will take biz away from NWN2? If anything, it will bring more gamers on board if it's a well-supported franchise.
Atari should follow Blizzard's formula for success: take care of your customers and they'll keep coming back to buy your product.
Evan B @ May 28th 2006 6:10PM
There were reports a while back that NWN2 might ship without a DM Client, with a patch for it showing up sometime later. This is making me nervous.
mac_man @ May 28th 2006 6:11PM
After Atari goes belly up, BioWare-Pandemic and Obsidian should assume full control of the franchise. Don't count BioWare out just yet, they don't give up on their customers so easily.
Premaximum @ May 28th 2006 7:05PM
Evan B: The DM client will not be shipped with NWN 2, it will be available for free download on the day it's realeased.
As for this whole situation...in my opinion it's disgusting. DLA is a hard-workin Mod-Team who got their plug pulled by Atari because they didn't want NWN to detract from the sequel. First of all, more people in NWN is going to mean more people migrating over to NWN 2. It's a great game, and people will realize that, and they'll at least try NWN 2.
The primary reason the DLA Premium Module had it's plug pulled is because it had Horses that DLA made, and NWN 2 had to abandon Horses to get the game out faster. Pretty bad when a prequel has something that the sequel didn't have time for. Granted, the horses are coming 4 years late...
farty @ May 29th 2006 4:58AM
This isn't an issue of simply withdrawing support for a 4 year old game. Form reading the stories it seems that Atari actually pulled the plug on the premium mod having previously approved it, and once it was practically complete and close to release. It wouldn't have taken much to allow it to be released and simply stop future content, but it appears that they may have been running scared of the impact of this mod group module would have on NWN2 sales.
The ZeroCorpse @ May 29th 2006 12:49PM
Oh, what a shock. Atari going bankrupt AGAIN?
What is this... Three? Four times now?
I think the name is cursed.
epobirs @ May 29th 2006 1:17PM
#11
I agree. I'm an Atarian from way back but I'd be perfectly happy to see the brand retired and only used for nostalgia collections. Infogrames was difficult brand to sell outside of Europe but taking on a brand associated with repeated failure as a replacement wasn't a good choice.
In more competent hands this franchise would be thriving and all obligations to contributor paid but the Atari Trainwreck 5.0 is the only project keeping to the schedule for these guys.
Cluckyx @ May 29th 2006 2:35PM
What can I say, I'm disappointed. I'm a huge NWN fan, and have been a membe rof the online community for some time now.
It is obvious that the transition from NWN to NWN 2 will be slow as people have enjoyed a cornucopia of custom content for an age. But Atari don't want that. They want you to switch to their new game NOW, they want you to buy their new stuff NOW. This reflects VERY poorly on Atari's attiutide towards it's fanbase. I havn't seen such a comprehensive modding community so far along the line since the original half life games.
I lost a lot of respect for Atari today
kevlar @ May 29th 2006 3:04PM
For the record, Atari hasn't been supporting NWN for ages. Bioware has been doing it through revenues made through the premium modules, since Atari has also not been fulfilling their even their royalty commitments, as the news item mentions.
This means that Atari is forcing Bioware to stop support that they weren't actually paying for, and cancelling premium modules as they were almost finished them, for fear that their thunder would be stolen in NWN2.
That's as mean-spirited a decision as you can make.
Spec @ May 29th 2006 7:28PM
This kinda strikes me as weird that this is posted now. I worked in Atari's support department and we were all laid off back in February so NWN has (unofficially) been without support for some time.
Either way though, I hope the D&D license gets picked up by a better publisher. Atari dug their own grave long ago. I've never worked for such a mismanaged company that was so out of touch with their customer base.