Rights: Difference between revisions

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(added back in more historical page links; might have been nice if I hadn't deleted these in the first place)
(restructured and partially rewrote lede; more info on GoD and MediaQuest)
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{{Hatnote|For a list of people who worked on Oni, see [[Credits]].}}
{{Hatnote|For a list of people who worked on Oni, see [[Credits]].}}
This is a list of all known companies involved with [[Oni]]. This information comes from the [[:Category:Manuals|manuals]], the box art, and community knowledge. Some companies' rights may have lapsed since Oni's release in 2001, so in one column we list the rights that were held at one time, then we give the current status of those rights to the best of our knowledge.
Many people erroneously believe that Bungie still owns the [[wp:Intellectual property#Rights|IP rights]] to [[Oni]], or that it's a Rockstar-developed game because they saw the logo on the PS2 version, or that Microsoft owns the title since they bought Bungie before Oni's release. (For the story of how Take-Two came to own Oni, see the Oni article's [[Oni#Buyout|Buyout]] section.) The reality is that the rights to Oni aren't that complicated at the IP level, but many other companies had a hand in the sales, distribution and localization of the game around the world. There was even continued development of the Mac version post-release.


For a table showing which companies' logos appear on different versions of Oni's packaging, see [[Logos]]; for pictures of the boxes and discs, see [[:Category:Packaging images]]. Note that the logos on the boxes are not always thorough or even accurate with regards to rights.
Below is an attempt to list all the companies involved with Oni. This information comes from the [[:Category:Manuals|manuals]], the box art, lots of research, and community knowledge. Some companies' rights have lapsed since Oni's release in 2001, so in one column we list the rights that were held at first, and then we give the current status of those rights (to the best of our knowledge).


Many people erroneously believe that Bungie still owns Oni's [[wp:Intellectual property#Rights|IP]], or that Microsoft owns it since they bought Bungie before Oni's release. For the story of how Take-Two came to own Oni, see the Oni article's [[Oni#Buyout|Buyout]] section.
For pictures of the boxes and discs, see [[:Category:Packaging images]]. Note that the logos on the boxes are not always thorough or even accurate with regards to rights; the [[Logos]] page documents the choices that were made, illogical though they may be.


Since the distributors of the Windows and Mac versions are no longer selling Oni on their online stores, fans who wish to own the game should look for secondhand copies on sites where people re-sell items, such as Amazon and eBay.
Since distributors are no longer selling Oni on their online stores, fans who wish to own the game should look for secondhand copies on sites where people re-sell items, such as Amazon and eBay.


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
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|Gathering of Developers
|Gathering of Developers
|English Windows U.S. release
|English Windows U.S. release
|None<ref>Gathering had been owned by Take-Two since May 2000, and was merged into 2K Games in 2004 or 2005 when 2K was created as a label.</ref>
|None<ref>Gathering had been owned by Take-Two since May 2000, and was [[wp:Gathering of Developers|merged into Global Star Software]], (another subsidiary of Take-Two) in 2004. Global Star was then [[wp:List of Global Star Software games|merged into 2K Games]] in 2007.</ref>
|
|
|-
|-
|[https://www.rockstargames.com/ Rockstar Games]
|[https://www.rockstargames.com/ Rockstar Games]
|English PlayStation 2 U.S. release<ref>Rockstar has been owned by Take-Two since 1998 when T2 bought Rockstar's parent company BMG Interactive. Even though Rockstar is only listed as the PS2 publisher in many places, and Gathering was supposed to be the Windows publisher, most PC boxes only have the Rockstar logo on it and not Gathering's (with the exception of the [[:Image:Windows_%28US%29_box_art_-_back.jpg|US box]]).</ref>
|English PlayStation 2 U.S. release<ref>Rockstar has been [[wp:Rockstar Games|owned by Take-Two]] since 1998 when T2 bought Rockstar's parent company BMG Interactive. Even though Rockstar is only listed as the PS2 publisher in many places, and Gathering was supposed to be the Windows publisher, most PC boxes only have the Rockstar logo on it and not Gathering's (with the exception of the [[:Image:Windows_%28US%29_box_art_-_back.jpg|US box]]).</ref>
|Current (but no longer sold on website)
|Current (but no longer sold on website)
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20160104200105/http://www.rockstarwarehouse.com/store/tk2rstar/en_US/pd/productID.304297400]
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20160104200105/http://www.rockstarwarehouse.com/store/tk2rstar/en_US/pd/productID.304297400]
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|[http://macsoftgames.com MacSoft]
|[http://macsoftgames.com MacSoft]
|English Mac version (North America)
|English Mac version (North America)
|None (company has closed)<ref>MacSoft was owned by Destineer, which seems to have [[wp:MacSoft|closed in 2011]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110705050141/http://www.destineerstudios.com/macsoftgames/ This] is how their site looked before it was closed and replaced by the "''in memoriam''" page linked behind "MacSoft" above.</ref>
|None (company has closed)<ref>MacSoft was owned by Destineer, which [[wp:MacSoft|seems to have closed in 2011]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110705050141/http://www.destineerstudios.com/macsoftgames/ This] is how their site looked before it was closed and replaced by the "''in memoriam''" page linked behind "MacSoft" above.</ref>
|
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|-
|-
|Jack of All Games
|Jack of All Games
|English Mac version (North America)<ref>MacSoft actually sold the game on their store. It seems that JoAG was performing some kind of support on the distribution side (see logo [[:Image:Mac (US) jewel case insert - outside.jpg|here]]), but didn't sell the game themselves. Jack of All Games also had overseas operations by the time Oni came out, so T2 may in fact have used them for distribution support in Europe too and their logo just didn't happen to make it onto the product.</ref>
|English Mac version (North America)<ref>MacSoft actually sold the game on their store. It seems that JoAG was performing some kind of support on the distribution side (see logo on jewel case [[:Image:Mac (US) jewel case insert - outside.jpg|here]]), but didn't sell the game themselves. Jack of All Games also had overseas operations by the time Oni came out, so T2 may in fact have used them for distribution support in Europe too and their logo just didn't happen to make it onto the product.</ref>
|None (company has closed)<ref>Jack of All Games had been owned by Take-Two since 1998, then [[wp:Jack of All Games|sold to IT company Synnex]] in 2010 and folded into their distribution operations.</ref>
|None (company has closed)<ref>Jack of All Games had been owned by Take-Two since 1998, then was [[wp:Jack of All Games|sold to IT company Synnex]] in 2010 and folded into their distribution operations.</ref>
|
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|-
|-
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|MediaQuest
|MediaQuest
|Japanese localization, Mac/Windows
|Japanese localization, Mac/Windows
|Company closed in 2005
|Unknown<ref>The brand name MediaQuest was [https://www.mobygames.com/company/mediaquest retired in 2005] in favor of the label Kids Station, but ownership of MediaQuest properties presumably stayed under the same parent company [[wp:Mitsui & Co.|Mitsui & Co.]] (though if MQ's properties were assigned to Kids Station, then it's worth noting that Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan has [[wp:Kids Station|co-ownership of Kids Station]] now).</ref>
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|-
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|-
|-
|Rockstar Canada (now Rockstar Toronto)
|Rockstar Canada<ref>Now known as Rockstar Toronto.</ref>
|PlayStation 2 port
|PlayStation 2 port
|Rockstar is owned by Take-Two
|Rockstar is owned by Take-Two

Revision as of 21:14, 4 July 2022

For a list of people who worked on Oni, see Credits.

Many people erroneously believe that Bungie still owns the IP rights to Oni, or that it's a Rockstar-developed game because they saw the logo on the PS2 version, or that Microsoft owns the title since they bought Bungie before Oni's release. (For the story of how Take-Two came to own Oni, see the Oni article's Buyout section.) The reality is that the rights to Oni aren't that complicated at the IP level, but many other companies had a hand in the sales, distribution and localization of the game around the world. There was even continued development of the Mac version post-release.

Below is an attempt to list all the companies involved with Oni. This information comes from the manuals, the box art, lots of research, and community knowledge. Some companies' rights have lapsed since Oni's release in 2001, so in one column we list the rights that were held at first, and then we give the current status of those rights (to the best of our knowledge).

For pictures of the boxes and discs, see Category:Packaging images. Note that the logos on the boxes are not always thorough or even accurate with regards to rights; the Logos page documents the choices that were made, illogical though they may be.

Since distributors are no longer selling Oni on their online stores, fans who wish to own the game should look for secondhand copies on sites where people re-sell items, such as Amazon and eBay.

Company Rights (past) Rights (now) Game page
Owners
Bungie, Inc. IP rights (until around June 16, 2000) None [1]
Take-Two Interactive IP rights (starting around June 16, 2000) IP rights
Publishers/Distributors
Gathering of Developers English Windows U.S. release None[1]
Rockstar Games English PlayStation 2 U.S. release[2] Current (but no longer sold on website) [2]
MacSoft English Mac version (North America) None (company has closed)[3]
Jack of All Games English Mac version (North America)[4] None (company has closed)[5]
Feral Interactive EFIGS Mac releases (Europe) Current? (no longer sold on website) [3][4]
Application Systems Heidelberg German Mac release Current? (no longer sold on website) [5]
TalonSoft Distribution, tech support None (company has closed)[6]
Century Thor Chinese localization Unknown
MediaQuest Japanese localization, Mac/Windows Unknown[7]
Buka Entertainment Russian localization Listed on site but no longer sold [6]
King's International Multimedia Taiwanese Windows release 1 (English Euro version) Unknown
Infogrames Taiwan Taiwanese Windows release 2 (Chinese localization) Company was sold to Bandai Namco
Kon Tiki Multimedia Slovak Windows release (localized manual only) Unknown
Proein Spanish Windows, PS2 release Defunct [7][8]
Developers
Bungie, Inc. Windows and Mac OS versions None
Rockstar Canada[8] PlayStation 2 port Rockstar is owned by Take-Two
The Omni Group Maintaining PPC Mac OS X build (2001-2003) Unknown [9]
Feral Interactive Maintaining Intel Mac OS X build (2009-2015) Unknown see above
Localizers
Century Thor Chinese translation N/A N/A
Tarantula Studios UK French, Italian, German, Spanish translations N/A N/A
Elegant Chaos Technical assistance to Tarantula Studios N/A N/A
MediaQuest Japanese localization N/A N/A
Buka Entertainment Russian translation N/A N/A
Kon Tiki Multimedia Slovak localization (manual only) N/A N/A
  1. Gathering had been owned by Take-Two since May 2000, and was merged into Global Star Software, (another subsidiary of Take-Two) in 2004. Global Star was then merged into 2K Games in 2007.
  2. Rockstar has been owned by Take-Two since 1998 when T2 bought Rockstar's parent company BMG Interactive. Even though Rockstar is only listed as the PS2 publisher in many places, and Gathering was supposed to be the Windows publisher, most PC boxes only have the Rockstar logo on it and not Gathering's (with the exception of the US box).
  3. MacSoft was owned by Destineer, which seems to have closed in 2011. This is how their site looked before it was closed and replaced by the "in memoriam" page linked behind "MacSoft" above.
  4. MacSoft actually sold the game on their store. It seems that JoAG was performing some kind of support on the distribution side (see logo on jewel case here), but didn't sell the game themselves. Jack of All Games also had overseas operations by the time Oni came out, so T2 may in fact have used them for distribution support in Europe too and their logo just didn't happen to make it onto the product.
  5. Jack of All Games had been owned by Take-Two since 1998, then was sold to IT company Synnex in 2010 and folded into their distribution operations.
  6. TalonSoft had been owned by Take-Two since December 1998, but closed in 2002.
  7. The brand name MediaQuest was retired in 2005 in favor of the label Kids Station, but ownership of MediaQuest properties presumably stayed under the same parent company Mitsui & Co. (though if MQ's properties were assigned to Kids Station, then it's worth noting that Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan has co-ownership of Kids Station now).
  8. Now known as Rockstar Toronto.