| Kevin Siembieda |
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| Written by Todd | |
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Palladium made its mark in 1985 with the release of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles® RPG. The Robotech® RPG followed the next year. Both games would eventually sell over 150,000 copies of the core rule books alone and spawn dozens of sourcebooks. Other original games include fan faves and evergreen titles like Heroes Unlimited., Ninjas & Superspies., The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, Nightbane®, Beyond the Supernatural., and others, most of which have been continuously in print. Rifts® would eclipse everything that had come before it. Rifts® encompasses every genre . science fiction, fantasy, horror, superheroes, and post-apocalyptic adventure . in a plausible and thrilling setting that offers the players unique characters and truly limitless possibilities for adventure. Rifts® exploded onto the gaming scene in August, 1990, its initial 10,000 copy press run selling out in three weeks. Since then, Rifts® has sold more than 250,000 copies and has been played by an estimated 1.5+ million gamers. Advertisements in comic books and gaming magazines make the brand name known by millions more, and Rifts® is about to get BIGGER! There has been the promise of a Rifts® movie ever since Palladium signed a film option with Walt Disney Pictures to have Jerry Bruckheimer Films (Pirates of the Carribean, Top Gun) develop a live-action, major motion picture based on the Rifts® RPG. Writer, David Franzoni (Gladiator) was hired to develop the Rifts® movie script. However, JB Films doesn't appear to be any closer to starting production on a movie. We can only keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. Rifts® RPG Ultimate Edition . released in August 2005 has breathed new life into Rifts® as Kevin and Palladium freelancers under his guidance continue to publish exciting new sourcebooks for the line. This past April, Kevin Siembieda shocked the gaming community when he reported that embezzlement, theft and related damages caused by a trusted, long-time employee had cost the company dearly and threatened to put Palladium out of business. The spectacular and immediate outpouring of support from Palladium fans around the world has helped Kevin and crew weather the storm and keep going. The fate of this 25 year RPG institution remains in question, but with the continuing help of fans everywhere, hard work by Kevin and the Palladium crew, and a little luck, they hope to get Palladium Books back on its feet. Despite the crisis Palladium has a new role-playing game in the works (Warpath: Urban Jungle.) and a vast array of sourcebooks for all of Palladium.s game lines planned for the next 12 months. .The creative teams and I are more revved up than ever. We.re exploding with new ideas and doing some of our best work ever,. said Mr. Siembieda, adding, .We.re not out of the woods yet, but we are optimistic about our future. Time will tell.. Coming full circle, Kevin Siembieda is negotiating with Harmony Gold, USA, to reacquire the Robotech® license and hopes to release a new series of Robotech® role-playing games and sourcebooks starting Spring 2007. He is currently working on various Rifts® projects, co-writing Warpath: Urban Jungle (a game of modern combat and treachery), and orchestrating the return of the Robotech® RPG.  |
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