Gaming monopoly, Hasbro, is suing iconic video game maker, Atari, over the rights to the Dungeons & Dragons branding. Hasbro claims Atari entered a sub-licensing contract with Japanese video game maker, Namco Bandai (NBP), to make D&D games, which violates the original licensing agreement Atari had with Hasbro; Atari basically granted the rights to NBP the way one might sub-let an apartment. Atari calls the allegations "meritless." Namco recently purchase Atari Europe.
Hasbro's suit contains five, separate charges of breach of contract and seeks compensatory damages. Hasbro released a statement saying it regretted having to take these actions, but Atari left them no choice; Atari's statement noted the millions of dollars it has invested in manufacturing D&D video games over the years and that it had tried to work-out a deal with Hasbro, who was the uncooperative party. Atari alleges this is merely an attempt to nullify the companies' long-standing agreement so Hasbro can regain control of the rights it had previously signed-over to Atari.
This is not the first time Atari has had legal troubles concerning the Dungeons & Dragons brand. Earlier this year, the company which helped develop the D&D Online game sued Atari on similar grounds, claiming the video game giant had breached the contract by refusing to promote D&D Online because it wanted to instead promote one Atari created internally. Atari is rumored to have at least two more D&D-branded video games in the works, including one based on the popular Neverwinter Nights game.
© C Harris Lynn, 2009
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