They didn't screw him. He pretty much screwed himself, CDPR offered him royalties, he didn't take them.
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CD Projekt RED Will Pay Andrzej Sapkowski Additional Royalties For The Witcher - Report
- Thread starter Deleted member 249
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Yeah, he made a mistake, and cd projekt was going to take advantage from it for all eternity to get millions, just like scummy corporations do. But that's ok because they made a cool game and the old man talks shit about your hobby.
They paid for it, of course they were going to use the license.
What did you want them to do? Force him to sign up for royalties against his will lol?
I'm not mad that the guy that created the thing gets paid. But why are people saying he got screwed, or taken advantage of? He was the one that agreed to the lump sum. He didn't believe in the games, so what? That doesn't mean he was screwed because he turned out wrong.
I just read the first two Witcher books and I really liked them. This seems like a nice ending for both parties.
Except he has built a relationship with the dev team?
- In the Enhanced Edition, the Bonus DVD contains an interview that reveals that Andrzej Sapowski himself had built a relationship with the development team and revealed to them that Geralt did survive the events depicted in the end of the series of books. Despite this, the events depicted in all the games remain non-canon.
Are you less than 18 years old?
Serious question. I'm not trying to ad hominem...I'm genuinely asking myself what your age is.
Because your line 'he made a mistake' sounds like something a 15 yo who doesn't understand how the world works, would say.
Sapkowski sold the rights to CDPR. He got the money according to the contract. He undervalued his work (or didn't have faith in a small company, as cdpr was small at that point) so he refused royalties and opted for a flat fee. HE GOT THE MONEY.
Now he wants money gain. AFTER HE ALREADY SOLD THEM THE RIGHTS.
It's really unfortunate that CDPR caved. I really like Sapkowski's books, but once you sell the rights for pennies, you're not entitled to more money just cuz 'you made a mistake and didn't realize the IP will become huge'. That said, screw Sapkowski.
Man, wtf. The only disgusting attitude is the attitude of Sapkowski who wants money twice, just cuz... Wtf is wrong with some of you?
Stop blaming CDProject. If someone refuses to take my offer because he thinks it turns out shit again then its his fault and maybe it would have been easier if the author wouldnt have been such a jerk in the first place. His whole attitude was kind of not helping him either. He even got paid for the rights.
He can be happy that CDProject jumps over his shadow and offers them now anyway.
First he is dumb, than he turns into a greedy guy that blames CDProject and now everyone defends him? Nothing to be rewarded here in the first place. Not in my world.
Its not like the author has money problems to begin with.
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Man, people are acting as if CDPR is some sort of corp that can do nothing wrong huh? They can't just admit that maybe, they payed too little?
Huge props to CDPR for this. Just because you signed a contract and the guys a jerk, doesn't mean you can't throw the guy more money for the huge success that his creation has brought you.
Feeling a bit conflicted, but in the end, I think its a good idea they came to a mutual understanding. Without Sapkowski Witcher wouldnt exist.
Step one towards CDPR buying the IP outright from him I'd suspect.
Also, based on the passages from Polish IP law dug up during the last time this was in the news cycle and CDPR's willingness to license their depiction of Geralt to other publishers Sapkowski probably had a pretty clear win on his hands. This just saves them both a drawn out legal battle.
Also, based on the passages from Polish IP law dug up during the last time this was in the news cycle and CDPR's willingness to license their depiction of Geralt to other publishers Sapkowski probably had a pretty clear win on his hands. This just saves them both a drawn out legal battle.
They know they paid too little, they gave the option and he took what he believed was right.
He was wrong and missed out on tons of cash.
Hopefully both parties are happy with the outcome now and everyone got what they deserved and Sapkowski doesn't underestimate other mediums going forward.
Yes because it's clearly how all of this work: thanks AAA gaming for saving Polish fantasy litterature. Thanks gaming for preserving Art all over the world...
His case here is only about money and he obviously made a lot more of it thanks to the games....
No, he absolutely doesn't.
Why is everyone so naive?
Do you not know that he actually declined royalties when he signed the original contract, choosing a flat fee? Because he didn't trust the medium and he didn't think the games will make hundreds of millions.
Now, suddenly, he wants royalties. AFTER HE ALREADY FORFEITED ROYALTIES IN THE ORIGINAL CONTRACT.
How in the hell does he deserve it?
He's greedy and he's acting like a child that throws a tantrum after he sees that his original decision was wrong...
Doesn't deserve it imo. He went for the quick and easy pay out since he had no confidence in his own work or the developers making an adaption of it. Probably felt like a good idea at the time. But It's a decision he made and should have to live with, just like most people who make these sorts of decisions do. As people have said. It sets a shitty precedent when you can make a lucrative up-front deal and then come running back 10 years later demanding more...regardless of the contract you signed and the money you initially made.
People are allowed to be wrong about things in their lifetimes and still be compensated for their hard work.
because he created the characters, I don't care what he signed or didn't sign. I just think he deserves it, personally
The writing in the games is great because they're a natural extension of the foundation created by the author in the books. I'd feel differently if the games were inspired by the books and created something completely different. The author being compensated is the right thing and I hope the deal allows there to be less divide between the two works.
Hold on, I'm going to sign a legally binding contract and sell you something, and a few years later I'm going to ask you for more money cuz 'I was wrong and made a mistake and undervalued my asset/work/IP'.
Yeah, no. That's not how life works.
I know right? Who cares about signing legally binding documents like contracts? Life isn't about that amiright?
I am shocked at how oblivious some of you are to real life. You seem to have some ideas that will be detrimental to your future financial decisions. Even a high schooler has more sense than that. Seriously...I honestly hope that you'll care and pay attention to what contracts you sign.
And yeah, Sapkowski is a greedy asshole. He should've accepted royalties from the beginning, not ask for them when he saw the games mde big money, after he already forfeited royalties.
He was alredy compensated, according to the terms of his own choosing. Asking for more money later is just greed.
I' not 18 years old and your attittude is actually disgusting, as the other user said. Lots of people (ignorant, old, or simply dumb) are being taken adantadge from because of contracts like that. The moment they stopped bein an "indie company" and they started to get billions with the ip and the author asked for royalties, they should have accepted.
He got paid again, right?
Apparently that is how life works sometimes.
They're going to pay him again too.
This is how I feel, especially with how much shit talking hes done on gaming in general.
What? Is that what you think? That he was taken advantage of? Wtf mate?
They OFFERED him royalties. They motherfuckingly offered him royalties and what did he do? He REFUSED.
Think about it like this: if he would've accepted 10% of lifetime sales of the Witcher game series, he'd have...probably over 100 million dollars.
But no. He refused royalties. Nobody took advantage of him. He just made a poor financial decision and decided to sell the gaming rights to his IP for a flat fee (which was more attractive to him at the time).
And now he wants royalties. And your take is that he was taken advantage of? Wow...just wow
ITT: people are defending an old man's greed...
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The way I see it, CDPR chose to pay him again, in order to keep their public image.
It's better to not have to go through a lawsuit with the IP's owner (which would be detrimental to the company's public image) and just give him some money instead.
But that doesn't mean it's deserved. I reiterate: he's just a greedy asshole.
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Wanting more than $10k isn't greedy when the videogame IP blows up more than was ever expected and has earned hundreds of millions.
They thought he deserved it enough to pay him, they didn't have to and he had no legal avenue to sue.
Well acording to some people there's a polish law that basically says that, so yes thats how life works.
He very clearly had the legal grounds to sue otherwise he would have not gotten paid, companies don't pay money out of the kindness of their hearts.
People have acted like this since Witcher 3 came out. Any other company and people would be clamouring for him to get his money, but CDPR are god's gift to man so they should keep it.
Apparently it is how life works. Nothing he did here was illegal. He's well within his rights and considering the outcome apparently he did have a leg to stand on considering the law of the land in the country he signed that legally binding contract.
What are you talking about? Of course he had legal avenue to sue. Like, even if things came out against him he would have had "legs avenue to sue." We don't know whether they had to pay him or not because they reached a settlement. Obviously they thought it was in their best interest to do so either because polish law was indeed on his side even somewhat or for PR reasons... or a combination of the two.
Yep, it's the explosive combination of this being CPDR and the author talking negatively of the games. If this was EA, oh boy, just imagine the outrage it would have been against them.
Hopefully he's getting a nice chunk of cash for the TV show too. You deserve recognition for your work.
No, sorry but I'd side with any other company in the same situation. IMO Sapkowski's demand is akin to placing a bet on a fairly safe runner in a race, then demanding to retroactively change that bet after the race because the 1000/1 shot that you ignored a tip about won.
I have big problems with the idea that someone can willingly accept a deal that's risk free and advantageous to them in the short term, then demand more money years later when it turns out that the riskier deal that they refused would have paid off in the long term.
He could have accepted royalties, or he could have negotiated time or sales based renegotiation clauses in the contract, but no, he signed over the rights in perpetuity for a tiny amount because he thought that the game would fail, the rights would return to him, and he'd be quids in with no risk.
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