Originally posted by Doc Nickel
Okay, first, we only know of this $75 fee as a rumor. But, coming from a company that sold $100 Shocker circuit boards and $200 FA circuit boards where the only difference was a single miniature switch, I doubt it's off by much, if at all.
The problem is, if it is indeed a major license fee- even half a million is serious coin even for larger companies like AGD and W'Orr Games- plus a per-unit royalty, that's a great big hit.
Look at the Advent. The gun's an obvious rough prototype, and OTB is, while an established company, a very small established company.
Do you think the Advent will get released if OTB has to fork out $1,015,000 just in licensing and royalties for the first run of 200 guns? Which, of course, doesn't even count the actual production costs, material costs and what they have invested in R&D.
Look at the ICE Epic. The inventor of that is trying to do it himself, or in a low-cost, low-volume way. Movin' right along, isn't he? Ever seen one on the field?
Now think of what would have happened if he'd had to pay a million bucks just for the rights to produce it, before he'd ever made a single production unit.
Look at Thorpydo in the Workshop forum. Made his own gun, sounds like he's thinking of trying to produce it. Any bets that he doesn't have around $1,000,000 to pay SP for the privlege of producing more?
Basically we'd say goodbye to any new designs from anyone but maybe Kingman, and of course SP themselves.
Doc.
