Interview Matt Chat 366: Jon Van Caneghem on Might and Magic

[Infinitron]

Tags: 3DO; Heroes of Might and Magic; Jon Van Caneghem; Matt Barton; Might and Magic I: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum; Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World; Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra; Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen; Might and Magic Online; Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen; Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven; New World Computing

Matt Barton has been interviewing Might and Magic series creator Jon Van Caneghem, his first major RPG interview in quite a while. The first part of the interview was about Creature Quest, Jon's new free-to-play mobile game, and wasn't of much interest to the Codex. Now Matt has uploaded the second part, where they talk about his past career. It's clear that Matt is a big fan of the series, and there's lots of goofing off as Jon shares anecdotes about the development of the early Might and Magic games as well as the first Heroes of Might and Magic. He also talks about his attempt to produce a Might and Magic Online MMO that failed due to 3DO's reluctance to provide a sufficient budget for the project.

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Jon is an easy-going guy who appears to bear no ill-will towards 3DO, so there's not much here for all you drama-seekers. He does reveal that he was under pressure to turn Heroes into an RTS (which he staved off by citing the success of the Civilization series) and that in the final days of 3DO there was an attempt to buy New World Computing from them which failed. On the topic of Kickstarters and spiritual successors, Jon says he's aware of the success his genre pioneering colleagues Brian Fargo and Richard Garriott have had, but that he's busy doing other things. He would be willing to consider that route if he was able to buy the Might and Magic brand from Ubisoft.

 

[Diggfinger]

So cool to finally see JVC on Matt Chat, especially given the rarity of such long interviews.

Also, you might be pleased to know that yours truly played a part in making this happen. In episode 365 (32min) Matt thanks me, because I introduced him to the marketing guy at VC Mobile, which is what got the ball rolling.

Also helped Matt set up an interview with MMIX lead designer Tim Lang (guy who submitted a question at the end of episode 366). So stay tuned for more Might and Magic...

 

[Dorateen]

Can we have a fundraiser to help Jon van Caneghem buy back the Might & Magic brand from Ubisoft?

 

[Q]

I want Might & Magic: New Vegas (of Xeen)

 

[VioletShadow]

What an awesome episode! I love love love MM6

 

[Humanity has risen!]

This would never happen, Ubisoft bought the brand for I think 1.7 millions back then and it certainly is worth more now, because Heroes is still valuable in markets like Germany, Eastern Europe and Russia.

 

[Q]

Fuck Heroes, sell him the right to do M&M blobbers or smth.

 

[:Flash:]

Corporations never sell IP. The only chance of him getting it is Ubi going bankrupt, like the Appeal guys got Outcast back when Atari was in liquidation.

 

[mondblut]

Can we have a fundraiser to help Jon van Caneghem buy back the Might & Magic brand from Ubisoft?

And make Might & Magic Online: The Mobile Facebook Game?

 

[Heretic]

If he wanted to create RPGs, not having the rights to the name wouldn't stop him. The name is not important, the will is.

 

[Lady_Error]

Since Ubisoft decided that they will not make any more Might & Magic blobbers after MMX, what do they have to lose by at least licensing it to him and getting some more profit out of the brand this way?

 

[FeelTheRads]

- I'm pretty sure he wants full control of the rights not a license to have Ubishit breathing down his neck
- Even if not, licenses are not just given away on a "what do I have to lose" basis. That's not how the reptilian works. In fact, Ubishit would probably think the reputation of the franchise would suffer if it was used by a small, crowdfunded company.

But yeah, if he wanted to do RPGs he could do it. I guess he doesn't believe he can attract enough attention without a big franchise.

 

[Zeriel]

This would never happen, Ubisoft bought the brand for I think 1.7 millions back then and it certainly is worth more now, because Heroes is still valuable in markets like Germany, Eastern Europe and Russia.

The last Heroes spinoff we have solid data for was less successful than Age of Decadence.

Heroes 7 sold less than M&M X Legacy, a title they themselves said didn't sell enough to warrant a sequel. The thing to keep in mind there is that Heroes used to be the blockbuster franchise that sold way more than the RPGs, which shows you how much Ubisoft has run the brand into the ground.

I agree that they won't sell it to JVC, and besides I doubt JVC really wants to buy it, but the brand value of Might & Magic is pretty poor at this point.