If you ever played Papyrus’ seminal Grand Prix Legends then you’ve read his name. Rich began working as a tester on NASCAR Racing (1994) and was with Papyrus at the end. In this interview, published in 2022, we discuss his time at the legendary studio and the design of Grand Prix Legends, including initial feelings of hurt at not being asked to join iRacing.
As a direct ancestor of iRacing, the ‘Grand Prix Legends engine’ had multiple stock car racing false starts, before eventually releasing as NASCAR Racing 4. The original NASCAR 3, cancelled and replaced by one that used NASCAR 2’s engine, is barely remembered.
Embracer, the parent of Milestone and former parent of Saber Interactive had previously announced that they ceased restructuring, but a few days ago announced a plan to split the company into three standalone entities named Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends.
Reading through the documentation, things get interesting once you note that Asmodee now holds most of the debt of Embracer group and, similar to Toys R Us in the United States, seems poised to be saddled with debt it did not generate, and left to take the fall.
Whoever it was at JP Morgan, BNP Paribas, SEB, Societe Generale and Swedbank that just gave Asmondee a EUR 900 Million loan maturing in 1.5 years that the company couldn’t pay back in less than four even at their best profit projections, must be a big fan of table top gaming.
Who would have thought that such an aggressive period of acquisitions and spending would lead to debt and layoffs? Everyone. It’s only been seen again, and again, and again. Whether it was Papyrus, Geoff Crammond or Motorsport Games, it never ceases to amaze me how often the guy at the top can hold their position or walk away with a big payoff while lower level staff – the ones actually making the product – get to post on LinkedIn about how devastated they are.
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