Epic Phail! *EDIT* Now EPIC WIN?

**SpaceGhost2K** · 08-11-2008

OK, you guys have all heard the Epic plate story, with eBay, ChickenOwnzYew, Epic's lawyers, etc. In a nutshell, I made one, Cliff B signed it, I gave it to Chicken, he attepmted to sell it, and Epic shut down his auction.

Epic and I talked about the possibility of actually licensing the rights to make custom plates. MadCatz agreement is non-exclusive, allowing them the opportunity to at least consider other possibilities. However, for me because of the small number of plates, Epic wants a 50% royalty. That means if I sell a plate for $50, I write them a check for $25. Since I rarely sell a custom for over $50 or $60 and they usually cost me $20-$30 to make, Epic would get $25 for my hard work, and I'd get nothing. So I had to sadly decline.

I suppose if I was making 5,000 plates with a printing process, and they cost me $3 each and I sold them for $10 each to retailers, I could take my two bucks x 5,000 plates and sleep well. Or, if I was selling plates for $200 that cost me $20 to make, I could gladly give up another $100 of that and live with $80 profit. So in come instance, I suppose, their agreement makes sense. But not for my particular instance.

That's too bad. It was worth checking into, though.

I did ask about the possibility of making something like four plates for the devs to sign, and then give them away. But then if the winner decides to sell it, we're back where we started. But I asked, so we'll see.

**JakofallAces** · 08-11-2008

that sucks and who does epic think they are its your hard work and they are just cheating you out of half of it because of a name??? wtf

**Symmetric-XBA** · 08-12-2008

Originally Posted by JakofallAces

that sucks and who does epic think they are its your hard work and they are just cheating you out of half of it because of a name??? wtf

yeah that is partly true, but you have to remember that the "name" is what their business is based around. Epic makes some amazing titles and since it is their property to begin with they can set whatever terms they see fit, and when you go at it from a business standpoint they're only doing things to try and further their own company in the big picture. Space why don't you ask for stock options in the company? Granted taxes would be a bigger pain at the end of the year but have your money work for you.

**wicked_d365** · 08-12-2008

That sucks Space. Damn Epic and their royalties. At least they were cool with you and made you an offer instead of telling you to shove it, or we'll see you in court. Maybe you'll get lucky on the autographs, that would rock.

**cin84_12** · 08-12-2008

That's ridiculous. I thought that since these faceplates are fan made, you can sell them? I guess Epic is all about the money and nothing else. What a bunch of jerks.

**wicked_d365** · 08-12-2008

Originally Posted by cin84_12

That's ridiculous. I thought that since these faceplates are fan made, you can sell them? I guess Epic is all about the money and nothing else. What a bunch of jerks.

Legally, they can sue him, if they wish, because they own the name, likeness, and rights to Gears. It's like the crap you hear during a ball game "This telecast cannot be duplicated without the expressed, written consent", blah blah. I don't think they care if you make one for yourself, or give some away, but they don't want you making money off of what they can be making money off of. Their just being really cool about it all.

**SpaceGhost2K** · 08-12-2008

I received a follow up to my "thank you but no thank you" offer and they'd still like to work something out. They're not going to make any real money on this. It's about protecting their IP while still allowing fans to do SOMETHING. They also can't just give it away, or the people who are paying real money for real licenses will have issues. Epic has a line they have to walk and I respect that.

I never was one to just crank out a bunch of one kind of faceplate just to make money (although one would wonder with all the requests I had for those Halo plates). There isn't a "deal" done yet, but it looks like I will be able to do the occasional plate for Epic IP's. I'll be frank, it's probably going to cost more. If someone things they can get a custom Gears 2 plate for $40, it's probably not going to happen.

Anyway, from here on out, I probably won't be able to comment publickly on any details of an agreement. It looks like there WILL be one, though, so yay.

**wicked_d365** · 08-12-2008

Originally Posted by SpaceGhost2K-XBA

I received a follow up to my "thank you but no thank you" offer and they'd still like to work something out. They're not going to make any real money on this. It's about protecting their IP while still allowing fans to do SOMETHING. They also can't just give it away, or the people who are paying real money for real licenses will have issues. Epic has a line they have to walk and I respect that.

I never was one to just crank out a bunch of one kind of faceplate just to make money (although one would wonder with all the requests I had for those Halo plates). There isn't a "deal" done yet, but it looks like I will be able to do the occasional plate for Epic IP's. I'll be frank, it's probably going to cost more. If someone things they can get a custom Gears 2 plate for $40, it's probably not going to happen.

Anyway, from here on out, I probably won't be able to comment publickly on any details of an agreement. It looks like there WILL be one, though, so yay.

Awesome, glad to hear that.

**cin84_12** · 08-13-2008

Originally Posted by wicked_d365

Legally, they can sue him, if they wish, because they own the name, likeness, and rights to Gears. It's like the crap you hear during a ball game "This telecast cannot be duplicated without the expressed, written consent", blah blah. I don't think they care if you make one for yourself, or give some away, but they don't want you making money off of what they can be making money off of. Their just being really cool about it all.

Well it still shows they're all about the money. What a disappointing thing to hear about them. Make me like Gears a bit less.

Originally Posted by SpaceGhost2K-XBA

I received a follow up to my "thank you but no thank you" offer and they'd still like to work something out. They're not going to make any real money on this. It's about protecting their IP while still allowing fans to do SOMETHING. They also can't just give it away, or the people who are paying real money for real licenses will have issues. Epic has a line they have to walk and I respect that.

I never was one to just crank out a bunch of one kind of faceplate just to make money (although one would wonder with all the requests I had for those Halo plates). There isn't a "deal" done yet, but it looks like I will be able to do the occasional plate for Epic IP's. I'll be frank, it's probably going to cost more. If someone things they can get a custom Gears 2 plate for $40, it's probably not going to happen.

Anyway, from here on out, I probably won't be able to comment publickly on any details of an agreement. It looks like there WILL be one, though, so yay.

That's also sad to hear. If they were just protecting themselves they would have gave you permission for free, but the fact is they're not and that price will be passed on to the customer making them available only to the folks with lots of cash to blow. I was really looking forward to a Gears 2 plate of some kind (I've played the first one every day since it came out minus the 2 weeks my 360 went in to MS) and now I and possible many others won't get that chance because of this. I think it's a poor choice to agree to this Space.

**SpaceGhost2K** · 08-13-2008

Originally Posted by cin84_12

Well it still shows they're all about the money. What a disappointing thing to hear about them. Make me like Gears a bit less.

That's also sad to hear. If they were just protecting themselves they would have gave you permission for free, but the fact is they're not and that price will be passed on to the customer making them available only to the folks with lots of cash to blow. I was really looking forward to a Gears 2 plate of some kind (I've played the first one every day since it came out minus the 2 weeks my 360 went in to MS) and now I and possible many others won't get that chance because of this. I think it's a poor choice to agree to this Space.

Well, let's say they let me do it for free. Then what happens when Mad Catz wants to make plates and says "We know you just give permission and we don't have to pay royalties" ? The amount of money can vary at their discretion, but if they set a precedent of making it free, it would be an enormous error on their part.

I am content in knowing that they encourage fan creations and that they have some sort of plan in place for allowing it. That's a lot better than all the other companies that would just say "no," and then you can't make them as ALL - without breaking the law, anyway.

**UNV Superkid** · 08-18-2008

even though this is a minor set back i still see it as a plus for you Spacey....You have earned the respect of the Gaming community so much that they are willing to make royalty deals with you on your custom plates instead of telling you talk to my lawyer.

This could lead in the right direction for you GOOD LUCK!!! and keep us posted on the results

**Chris W** · 08-19-2008

well done, i like you even more that you aren't doing it just for the money, you do it for the love.

keep it up

on a side note i'll be doing my first custom faceplate soon