No Criminal Charges for 38 Studios, Civil Charges Pending - MMORPG.com News

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No Criminal Charges for 38 Studios, Civil Charges Pending - MMORPG.com News

According to the Seattle Times, there will be no criminal charges filed against 38 Studios or Curt Schilling after a long investigation. Investigators wrote that there were "no provable criminal violations" of Rhode Island law.

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Dauzqul

What a sad story ;/ There is no way that game development costs should be so much that it cripples even the wealthiest athletes. He must have been surrounded by the wrong people.

Solar_Prophet

Of course, if government would stop handing taxpayer dollars over to private industries and actually do what it's supposed to, it wouldn't have to spend inordinate amounts of time and additional money trying to get those funds back somehow.

Big government = everybody loses. Except the government, of course.

simsalabim77

Why would state gov't ever fund the development of an MMORPG anyways? The taxpayers should be pissed off with the dumbass politicians who decided it was a good investment of tax payer dollars. Instead of funding an after school program or something that actually benefits the whole community, they hand over millions of dollars to a video game company. Freaking brilliant. 

rojoArcueid

simsalabim77 said:

Why would state gov't ever fund the development of an MMORPG anyways? The taxpayers should be pissed off with the dumbass politicians who decided it was a good investment of tax payer dollars. Instead of funding an after school program or something that actually benefits the whole community, they hand over millions of dollars to a video game company. Freaking brilliant. 

I think the idea was to bring jobs to the state of Rhode Island. The problem is, the developers who also moved to RI, apparently, were hit by double mortgage (both in RI and their home state) and unemployment when all went down. Terrible idea from the beginning.

marcin1509

what a shame that 38 studios is closed.
It published quite fascinating RPG ... And it wanted to do an MMO too... really sad

Wizardry

Dauzqul said:

What a sad story ;/ There is no way that game development costs should be so much that it cripples even the wealthiest athletes. He must have been surrounded by the wrong people.

Most certainly.Last i remember he did have one person he left in charge of most all is finances,i would not doubt for one minute that guy was screwing Curt over big time.

Octagon7711

Same thing with crowd funding in a way, your trusting that this guy with a great idea for a MMORPG is also great at budgeting the money for the game and has no faults or vices or moral problems which would cause them to cheat backers out of their money. Lots of hope and trusting going on.

simsalabim77

rojoArcueid said:

simsalabim77 said:

Why would state gov't ever fund the development of an MMORPG anyways? The taxpayers should be pissed off with the dumbass politicians who decided it was a good investment of tax payer dollars. Instead of funding an after school program or something that actually benefits the whole community, they hand over millions of dollars to a video game company. Freaking brilliant. 

I think the idea was to bring jobs to the state of Rhode Island. The problem is, the developers who also moved to RI, apparently, were hit by double mortgage (both in RI and their home state) and unemployment when all went down. Terrible idea from the beginning.

They chose a developer with absolutely no proven track record and promised them $75 million. Did the company even release their first game before they were handed an enormous sum of money? How can that happen without someone saying, "This is an extremely stupid idea." 
Truly boggles the mind. 

Warlyx

can any1 explain it for the foreigners? i dont get it , the government of Rhode island used public money to pay a developer studio to move to the state and then what? im confused

LIOKI

I read the thread title thinking 38 different game studios were being charged with something.

simsalabim77

Warlyx said:

can any1 explain it for the foreigners? i dont get it , the government of Rhode island used public money to pay a developer studio to move to the state and then what? im confused

Yes, that's pretty much exactly what happened. The government thought it would bring more jobs to the state and pay off in the long term. It didn't and now they've basically squandered millions of tax payers dollars. 

waynejr2

Solar_Prophet said:

Of course, if government would stop handing taxpayer dollars over to private industries and actually do what it's supposed to, it wouldn't have to spend inordinate amounts of time and additional money trying to get those funds back somehow.

Big government = everybody loses. Except the government, of course.

This.   I hate when tax dollars are spent buying stadiums for nfl teams owned by billionaires.  

waynejr2

Warlyx said:

can any1 explain it for the foreigners? i dont get it , the government of Rhode island used public money to pay a developer studio to move to the state and then what? im confused

Well, state tax dollars went towards this project.  At one point, a key extension they committed to was rejected and the company folded.  Now citizens want something in return (investigation, revenge, whatever).  This should end that.

Scorchien

waynejr2 said:

Solar_Prophet said:

Of course, if government would stop handing taxpayer dollars over to private industries and actually do what it's supposed to, it wouldn't have to spend inordinate amounts of time and additional money trying to get those funds back somehow.

Big government = everybody loses. Except the government, of course.

This.   I hate when tax dollars are spent buying stadiums for nfl teams owned by billionaires.  

Stadiums are funded and built primarily fore the city , an NFL team on average only brings revenue into the Stadium 10-16 days a year , the Stadium must have other events to sustain itself , hence why taxes are needed , NFL owners do contribute heavily and really should be thanked .. ex.. S. Ross just put 500 mill out of pocket to upgrade Dolphins Stadium .. He doesnt have to do this , But he knows by doing it .. Its a win/win for City/team ... This applies to most Stadium situation there are a  anomilies that share Sports and teams , Funding gets diverse in these situations

waynejr2

Scorchien said:

waynejr2 said:

Solar_Prophet said:

Of course, if government would stop handing taxpayer dollars over to private industries and actually do what it's supposed to, it wouldn't have to spend inordinate amounts of time and additional money trying to get those funds back somehow.

Big government = everybody loses. Except the government, of course.

This.   I hate when tax dollars are spent buying stadiums for nfl teams owned by billionaires.  

Stadiums are funded and built primarily fore the city , an NFL team on average only uses the Stadium 10-16 days a year , the Stadium must have other events to sustain itself , hence why taxes are needed , NFL owners do contribute heavily and really should be thanked .. ex.. S. Ross just put 500 mill out of pocket to upgrade Dolphins Stadium .. He doesnt have to do this , But he knows by doing it .. Its a win/win for City/team ... This applies to most Stadium situation there are a  anomilies that share Sports and teams , Funding gets diverse in these situations

That is the lie idiots believe.  You very conveniently left out the other special deals they normally make on it like tax breaks and incentives.  All this for a business.  And they try to justify it as something great for the city which fools believe.   So don't try to float that BS with me.  Just don't do it.

Government shouldn't be doing welfare for businesses.  Remember, don't try to spin it.

Scorchien

waynejr2 said:

Scorchien said:

waynejr2 said:

Solar_Prophet said:

Of course, if government would stop handing taxpayer dollars over to private industries and actually do what it's supposed to, it wouldn't have to spend inordinate amounts of time and additional money trying to get those funds back somehow.

Big government = everybody loses. Except the government, of course.

This.   I hate when tax dollars are spent buying stadiums for nfl teams owned by billionaires.  

Stadiums are funded and built primarily fore the city , an NFL team on average only uses the Stadium 10-16 days a year , the Stadium must have other events to sustain itself , hence why taxes are needed , NFL owners do contribute heavily and really should be thanked .. ex.. S. Ross just put 500 mill out of pocket to upgrade Dolphins Stadium .. He doesnt have to do this , But he knows by doing it .. Its a win/win for City/team ... This applies to most Stadium situation there are a  anomilies that share Sports and teams , Funding gets diverse in these situations

That is the lie idiots believe.  You very conveniently left out the other special deals they normally make on it like tax breaks and incentives.  All this for a business.  And they try to justify it as something great for the city which fools believe.   So don't try to float that BS with me.  Just don't do it.

Government shouldn't be doing welfare for businesses.  Remember, don't try to spin it.

waynejr2 said:

Scorchien said:

waynejr2 said:

Solar_Prophet said:

Of course, if government would stop handing taxpayer dollars over to private industries and actually do what it's supposed to, it wouldn't have to spend inordinate amounts of time and additional money trying to get those funds back somehow.

Big government = everybody loses. Except the government, of course.

This.   I hate when tax dollars are spent buying stadiums for nfl teams owned by billionaires.  

Stadiums are funded and built primarily fore the city , an NFL team on average only uses the Stadium 10-16 days a year , the Stadium must have other events to sustain itself , hence why taxes are needed , NFL owners do contribute heavily and really should be thanked .. ex.. S. Ross just put 500 mill out of pocket to upgrade Dolphins Stadium .. He doesnt have to do this , But he knows by doing it .. Its a win/win for City/team ... This applies to most Stadium situation there are a  anomilies that share Sports and teams , Funding gets diverse in these situations

That is the lie idiots believe.  You very conveniently left out the other special deals they normally make on it like tax breaks and incentives.  All this for a business.  And they try to justify it as something great for the city which fools believe.   So don't try to float that BS with me.  Just don't do it.

Government shouldn't be doing welfare for businesses.  Remember, don't try to spin it.

Those lies are facts ... Dont ever let your perceived truth get in the way of the facts ... NFL teams do not generate enough money to sustain a Stadium for a calender year ... Fact is the team itslef makes almost no money or loses in these deals .. All there money is made from television revenue, advertisers and gear/toy memrobilia nd licensing sales .... Stadium is a loss for them

Solar_Prophet

Scorchien said:

waynejr2 said:

Solar_Prophet said:

Of course, if government would stop handing taxpayer dollars over to private industries and actually do what it's supposed to, it wouldn't have to spend inordinate amounts of time and additional money trying to get those funds back somehow.

Big government = everybody loses. Except the government, of course.

This.   I hate when tax dollars are spent buying stadiums for nfl teams owned by billionaires.  

Stadiums are funded and built primarily fore the city , an NFL team on average only brings revenue into the Stadium 10-16 days a year , the Stadium must have other events to sustain itself , hence why taxes are needed , NFL owners do contribute heavily and really should be thanked .. ex.. S. Ross just put 500 mill out of pocket to upgrade Dolphins Stadium .. He doesnt have to do this , But he knows by doing it .. Its a win/win for City/team ... This applies to most Stadium situation there are a  anomilies that share Sports and teams , Funding gets diverse in these situations

Taxes are not needed. If they need more cash, let it come from other non-government sources. Taxpayer money shouldn't be spent on entertainment, period. The absolute most government should do is offer temporary tax breaks, and even that's almost too much IMO.

Almost every single problem with government stems from having too much of it. 

Lleith

I feel terrible for Schilling - he seems like an all-around good guy, but his political views don't jive with much of the rest of New England, and certain people (at ESPN; in Rhode Island) have obviously been out for his head from the get-go. Moreover, he honestly loves MMORPGs - he talks passionately about them, and just wanted to make a contribution to the genre. 

Scorchien

Solar_Prophet said:

Scorchien said:

waynejr2 said:

Solar_Prophet said:

Of course, if government would stop handing taxpayer dollars over to private industries and actually do what it's supposed to, it wouldn't have to spend inordinate amounts of time and additional money trying to get those funds back somehow.

Big government = everybody loses. Except the government, of course.

This.   I hate when tax dollars are spent buying stadiums for nfl teams owned by billionaires.  

Stadiums are funded and built primarily fore the city , an NFL team on average only brings revenue into the Stadium 10-16 days a year , the Stadium must have other events to sustain itself , hence why taxes are needed , NFL owners do contribute heavily and really should be thanked .. ex.. S. Ross just put 500 mill out of pocket to upgrade Dolphins Stadium .. He doesnt have to do this , But he knows by doing it .. Its a win/win for City/team ... This applies to most Stadium situation there are a  anomilies that share Sports and teams , Funding gets diverse in these situations

Taxes are not needed. If they need more cash, let it come from other non-government sources. Taxpayer money shouldn't be spent on entertainment, period. The absolute most government should do is offer temporary tax breaks, and even that's almost too much IMO.

Almost every single problem with government stems from having too much of it. 

The cities make more revenue from the Stadiums than the NFL teams do ... And its an option none of them have to do it .. But obviously the popularity and demand of the NFL product drives it ... These Help pay for Stadiums to keep an NFL team in there City ..  If they dont want to they can let the contracts and leases run there course , But they dont ... Do they .. the Rare situation arises Oakland atm .. But it should get resolved or another city will pony up the cash for a reason ... The Stadium generates revenue for the city .. The tEam generates revenue for the city .. The Stadium DOES NOT Generate postive revenue for the TEAM

 FOr ex.. the Raiders payed in excess of 3 million dollors to Oakland to use the Stadium in 2014  .. Thats not the practice facilty .. thats the Stadium ... They payed there players 150 million alone , this doesnt include Drs , Grounds keepers , referees , Equipment .. Coaches etc ... .. the team make 0 dollars from the Stadium .. The City makes the money ...

Lleith

Solar_Prophet said:

Taxes are not needed. If they need more cash, let it come from other non-government sources. Taxpayer money shouldn't be spent on entertainment, period. The absolute most government should do is offer temporary tax breaks, and even that's almost too much IMO.

Almost every single problem with government stems from having too much of it. 

An utterly short-sighted view. Why don't you talk to the people in Seattle and ask if they could fight this same fight all over again, if they'd see the Sonics go? Or (possibly) fans in San Diego when the Chargers leave town?

You can't stamp your foot in frustration and throw a temper tantrum about stadium dollars when there are 10 other cities cross country lined up, foaming at the mouth, to get their greedy hands on your franchise. Moreover, major public-private partnerships to build large civic projects have existed since long before America was even a country - it isn't going to change.

When a municipality lays out the dough for a new venue, they are paying for a lot of both tangible and intangible results: tax returns on ticket, food and merchandise sales, hotel rooms, prestige, popular contentment  - revisiting Seattle, who has neither a basketball nor NHL franchise, there are a lot of long, cold, dreary months when the local sports scene is essentially reduced to the WNBA (and it's SAD). No fanbase should be forced to suffer through that simply because a few curmudgeons like yourself get into a huff - it's not your money, it's our money.

FlyByKnight

This happens all the time. States and cities screw off tax payer dollars giving large businesses absorbant amounts of funding PLUS tax incentives and perks to bring in business and "jobs". It's that dumb ass trickle down theory which doesn't actually exist. When actual useful small business owners try to get grants and funding (tiny amounts in comparison) they get pissed around and denied. The big businesses end up tanking off into oblivion while the people are left with the bill. 

This doesn't have to do with "big government" or Murica arguments. It has to do with crooked local politicians on city level pushing worthless business through because they're getting their palms and anuses greased.

Rhode Island should have demanded all the source code, art, etc. for that Knights of Amalur MMORPG and sold it off to the highest bidder to get some money back.

Horusra

Trickle down does not work?   Tell that to ex-Bowing employees in Washington.

Cygi

Kingdom of Amalur, one of the underrated gem in video gaming.

SavageHorizon

marcin1509 said:

what a shame that 38 studios is closed.
It published quite fascinating RPG ... And it wanted to do an MMO too... really sad

...........

The game wasn't that good, pretty standard hack and slash RPG lacking any depth. 

LIOKI

Scorchien said:

waynejr2 said:

Scorchien said:

waynejr2 said:

Solar_Prophet said:

Of course, if government would stop handing taxpayer dollars over to private industries and actually do what it's supposed to, it wouldn't have to spend inordinate amounts of time and additional money trying to get those funds back somehow.

Big government = everybody loses. Except the government, of course.

This.   I hate when tax dollars are spent buying stadiums for nfl teams owned by billionaires.  

Stadiums are funded and built primarily fore the city , an NFL team on average only uses the Stadium 10-16 days a year , the Stadium must have other events to sustain itself , hence why taxes are needed , NFL owners do contribute heavily and really should be thanked .. ex.. S. Ross just put 500 mill out of pocket to upgrade Dolphins Stadium .. He doesnt have to do this , But he knows by doing it .. Its a win/win for City/team ... This applies to most Stadium situation there are a  anomilies that share Sports and teams , Funding gets diverse in these situations

That is the lie idiots believe.  You very conveniently left out the other special deals they normally make on it like tax breaks and incentives.  All this for a business.  And they try to justify it as something great for the city which fools believe.   So don't try to float that BS with me.  Just don't do it.

Government shouldn't be doing welfare for businesses.  Remember, don't try to spin it.

waynejr2 said:

Scorchien said:

waynejr2 said:

Solar_Prophet said:

Of course, if government would stop handing taxpayer dollars over to private industries and actually do what it's supposed to, it wouldn't have to spend inordinate amounts of time and additional money trying to get those funds back somehow.

Big government = everybody loses. Except the government, of course.

This.   I hate when tax dollars are spent buying stadiums for nfl teams owned by billionaires.  

Stadiums are funded and built primarily fore the city , an NFL team on average only uses the Stadium 10-16 days a year , the Stadium must have other events to sustain itself , hence why taxes are needed , NFL owners do contribute heavily and really should be thanked .. ex.. S. Ross just put 500 mill out of pocket to upgrade Dolphins Stadium .. He doesnt have to do this , But he knows by doing it .. Its a win/win for City/team ... This applies to most Stadium situation there are a  anomilies that share Sports and teams , Funding gets diverse in these situations

That is the lie idiots believe.  You very conveniently left out the other special deals they normally make on it like tax breaks and incentives.  All this for a business.  And they try to justify it as something great for the city which fools believe.   So don't try to float that BS with me.  Just don't do it.

Government shouldn't be doing welfare for businesses.  Remember, don't try to spin it.

Those lies are facts ... Dont ever let your perceived truth get in the way of the facts ... NFL teams do not generate enough money to sustain a Stadium for a calender year ... Fact is the team itslef makes almost no money or loses in these deals .. All there money is made from television revenue, advertisers and gear/toy memrobilia nd licensing sales .... Stadium is a loss for them

Baseball on the other hand.....