The situation would be a lot funnier if it wasn't quite so sad.
As most of you know by now, the properties originally held by the bankrupt 38 Studios are now owned by the state of Rhode Island, and the state recently tried to auction off those properties. They got $320,000 for various IPs such as Rise of Nations , but that's a drop in the bucket compared to the $90 million worth of debt generated by this whole fiasco.
Perhaps the biggest problem is that the state wasn't able to sell off the Amalur MMO, "Copernicus." Prior to the auction, 38 Studios co-founder and ex major league baseball pitcher Curt Schilling called it a "billion-dollar" property for the right candidate. But it didn't sell and now, Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee has called the IP "a lot of junk." Chafee was a vocal critic of the $75 million loan that brought 38 Studios from Massachusetts to Rhode Island, which he recently called "insane" and a "historically bad" idea.
"People just panicked and gave a retired baseball player a huge amount of taxpayer money with no experience in this industry or any other businesses. There was this whole groupthink across the business communities."
The state is currently suing Schilling and other individuals behind that loan. As for the former Red Sox ace, he fired back on Twitter :
"Any decision that loses is 'bad' in hindsight. Bet RI would like a 'redo' on Gov election too. He has no clue what he's talking about. Never did."
Schilling also mentioned Chafee's 11 percent approval rating, and he has called the governor "a dunce of epic proportions," too. Yep, there's a war going on and really, it'd be a lot more entertaining if it wasn't so depressing.
