+Andrew Davie Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 (edited) Boulder Dash® has long been a favourite for many video game enthusiasts. It is one of the most successful and longest-running game titles, having appeared on many, many platforms over its 30+ year history, including the Atari 2600. Recently, BBG Entertainment purchased all rights to Boulder Dash®, starting a new chapter in the game’s history. In response to extremely high demand, BBG Entertainment, Thomas Jentzsch and Andrew Davie have agreed to a new release of the game - with improvements and bug fixes. These changes now having been completed, we are all very pleased to announce that the new improved version of Boulder Dash® for the Atari 2600 will be available early next year. Edited November 25, 2022 by Thomas Jentzsch 42 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rom Hunter Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Wonderful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Novastar Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Huzzah! I can quit my second job, the sole purpose being able to buy the original. That is great news. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark-aleph Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Terrific news! Rockford's back... 39 minutes ago, Andrew Davie said: ...with improvements and bug fixes. Bugs? No problem, they can easily be fixed by dropping a rock on their head. But... it can be improved? ???? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Great job guys! Glad to hear you have this worked out to put more copies of this game into the hands of gamers. EDIT: I forgot to mention, FUCK YOU SCALPERS! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Teams Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Excellent, thanks for putting this together! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
root42 Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 4 hours ago, Andrew Davie said: Boulder Dash® has long been a favourite for many video game enthusiasts. It is one of the most successful and longest-running game titles, having appeared on many, many platforms over its 30+ year history, including the Atari 2600. Recently, BBG Entertainment purchased all rights to Boulder Dash®, starting a new chapter in the game’s history. In response to extremely high demand, BBG Entertainment, Thomas Jentzsch and Andrew Davie have agreed to a new release of the game - with improvements and bug fixes. These changes now having been completed, we are all very pleased to announce that the new improved version of Boulder Dash® for the Atari 2600 will be available early next year. Awesome news. May I ask how you proceed to talk to the IP holders in such cases? Do you have to pay license fees? Are they interested at all? Because I would guess that a 2600 homebrew game will sell ... maybe a few hundred copies? Looking forward to the release! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Andrew Davie Posted November 6, 2019 Author Share Posted November 6, 2019 (edited) 8 minutes ago, root42 said: Awesome news. May I ask how you proceed to talk to the IP holders in such cases? Do you have to pay license fees? Are they interested at all? Because I would guess that a 2600 homebrew game will sell ... maybe a few hundred copies? Looking forward to the release! You do it with respect and by showing absolute trustworthiness, building up a relationship over time. It took quite a few years for us to get the approval for the original Boulder Dash, and that involved working on the game while bound to very stringent requirements about what we could and couldn't show - and also with no guarantee of the game ever being approved for release. Likewise, with the new IP owner, we have been able to use that previous history to negotiate a new release. Half the problem was solved, really, by approaching the IP owner and actually ASKING. Most do not do that. That is a good way to establish some initial contact. If they say NO, then really what's the point of proceeding? Yes, we pay rather hefty license fees. That's fair enough - they are, after all, the owners of the IP. Without their significant financial investment in the IP/product, it wouldn't exist. A few hundred copies is a good ballpark. I think that nobody involved in production, including the IP owners, will really see much take-home from this. Certainly not the programmers - I figured out at one stage years ago that my total income from this was about 5 cents per hour . --- In the case of the '2600, it's a labour of love for everyone - just to pay some love and respect to the old system. Thomas and I are minimising any take-home for this release, so that we can drive the price down as far as we possibly can. Edited November 6, 2019 by Andrew Davie I didn't. 9 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 I suppose you talk to the IP holders completely independently to the talks Elektronite have on the Intellivision side about releasing more copies of that port? At least BBG by now are fully aware about the interest from the retro gaming scene with at least two (what do I know, perhaps there are even more ports for other systems) parties in licensing talks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Andrew Davie Posted November 6, 2019 Author Share Posted November 6, 2019 2 minutes ago, carlsson said: I suppose you talk to the IP holders completely independently to the talks Elektronite have on the Intellivision side about releasing more copies of that port? At least BBG by now are fully aware about the interest from the retro gaming scene with at least two (what do I know, perhaps there are even more ports for other systems) parties in licensing talks. Yes. You'd be surprised how many people independently contact IP owners asking/begging/pushing for releases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBeefy Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 This is great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Not surprised in general, but surprised about the particular Boulder Dash properties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[d2f]Iggy*SJB Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 2 hours ago, root42 said: Awesome news. May I ask how you proceed to talk to the IP holders in such cases? Do you have to pay license fees? Are they interested at all? Because I would guess that a 2600 homebrew game will sell ... maybe a few hundred copies? Looking forward to the release! The first run was 250, but with it coming up “short” of demand, I’m hoping the number will be higher this time. I am DEFINITELY in for this one, even though I have the original release as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skwrl63 Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 This is great news....can't wait to play? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Alexander Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Great, this is awesome news. I definitely want a copy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazzeri Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Incredibly great news. Thank you for that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectorGamer Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 I'll take two. One to play and one to put on my shlef. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BONEMAN Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Will they be sold here on Atari Age? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Andrew Davie Posted November 6, 2019 Author Share Posted November 6, 2019 2 hours ago, [d2f]Iggy*SJB said: The first run was 250, but with it coming up “short” of demand, I’m hoping the number will be higher this time. I am DEFINITELY in for this one, even though I have the original release as well. The plan is for general sale. No limits. We aim to preserve the desirability of the original. The new one won't be quite so fancy in terms of manual/box/contents. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Andrew Davie Posted November 6, 2019 Author Share Posted November 6, 2019 30 minutes ago, BONEMAN said: Will they be sold here on Atari Age? Likely, but the fine details are not worked out yet. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BONEMAN Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Just now, Andrew Davie said: Likely, but the fine details are not worked out yet. Thank you. I plan to buy a copy regardless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Thag Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Yeah I'd like a copy of this as well, I remember the dev blog back in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 59 minutes ago, Andrew Davie said: The new one won't be quite so fancy in terms of manual/box/contents. Thank goodness... I only just recovered from putting together the previous manual. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchevy Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Congratulations! I look forward to purchasing a few copies this time. Thanks for making this become a reality again for those who missed it the first time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Philsan Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Thank you very much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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