3/10/99

A new alternative Robot Combat event has just surfaced! Today was released the press release for Battlebots!
NOW we're talking! A robot combat event made for the competitors by a competitor! Looks like Trey Roski, creator of LaMachine and other fantastic robots, is the brains behind this operation, so you KNOW it's going to be good. The entire press release is copied for your convenience below:

BATTLING ROBOTS CONVERGE ON THE SOUTHLAND
CHAMPION ANNOUNCES LONG BEACH TOURNAMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 10, 1999

CONTACT: BattleBots, Inc.
info@battlebots.com
(415) 558-8385

SAN FRANCISCO CA. - Trey Roski, champion robot warrior, today announced the launch of "BattleBots™" a new and unique entry into the expanding field of extreme robotic sports. The spectacle of custom-built, battling robots - utilizing destructive weapons such as saws, hammers and spikes - will come to life this August with four steel-crushing events spread over two days at the CSULB Long Beach Pyramid.

Roski, whose robots have fought across Germany, England and the United States said, "Because I have been a contestant, I engineered BattleBots with the contestant in mind. I have adopted rules to cultivate innovation, invention, engineering and challenge for the robot creators. The goal is to survive in uncharted territory."

Radio controlled robots fight their way through various opponents while spectators are protected by the "BattleBox™," a cleverly engineered arena which is larger and more menacing than anything seen before. Three classes of robots, sorted by weight, and reaching two hundred pounds, will make the event a spectacle for the fans and the ultimate challenge for the participants.

"This is the first in a series of ongoing events. My goal is to make BattleBots a regular home to the robotic creators of the world. I'm going to expand the public exposure to Robotic Battle, while increasing the payoff for all builders," Roski said. "I want to send a message to all potential entrants: Start building your BattleBots now! The new millennium of robotic combat starts this summer."

BattleBots challenges you to face off in Long Beach this August. Anyone interested in registering to compete, or looking for more information should visit the BattleBots Website at http://www.battlebots.com

BattleBots has no affiliation with Robot Wars® or any other robotic sports organization.

Yesss! Count ME In!!!! I am SO there! And hey! My robots can gain a little weight too!

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3/9/99 (part 2)

I finished the pages for the FIRST robot competition and the Underground Robot Street Fight! Check 'em out!

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3/9/99

Marc Thorpe's response I was expecting was posted on the Robot Wars Forum this morning. Here it is as posted:

From:   marc (MARCTHORPE)
Posted:   3/9/99 11:17 AM

For personal reasons I have chosen to avoid participation in the RW forum. Profile has asked me make an exception at this time and to post a message clarifying my relationship to the business and to say that I want people to participate in the event Robot Wars is planning for SF this summer. I informed Gary Pini of Profile Holdings which now owns Robot Wars that when people ask me what the situation is I tell them that I am no longer an owner but that I stand to benefit from the success of the business as a royalty participant in all revenue generated by the Robot Wars property. And, regarding participation in RW 99 I tell people that I want them to do what they genuinely want to do and that I will respect their decisions regardless of what they are. I do have an obligation as part of the settlement to promote the business and I intend to do so when interviewed by the press or if I appear in public. Having created the sport and having seen the wonderful community that has grown around it, I will always have good things to say about it. For clarification insofar as RW 99 is concerned Profile is financing and producing the event and I will not be participating in the production. Circumstances permitting, I will be there. In the meantime I wish Profile the best of luck and success with it.

Is it just me, or does this read like Marc had someone pointing a gun at his head while at the keyboard?

I don't know exactly what is going on here, but keep in mind that whatever Marc says publicly about the circumstances has a direct relation to the settlement by the courts, so make sure to do your homework!

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3/8/99

Gary Pini (associate of Steve Plotnicki) has posted a follow-up reply on the Robot Wars Forum, you can read it here.

Reaction to the announcement of the Robot Wars settlement on the Forum has been quite mixed, to say the least. Here is a recent reply of note from Carlo Bertocinni:

From:   Carlo (CARLOBERTO)
Posted:   3/8/99 8:53 AM

I asked Marc Thorpe about the press release and he said that he will have nothing to do with the production of the Robot Wars show.

The Robot Wars company is suing me for about 30 million dollars. I have had no indication that they are going to drop this lawsuit.

You might want to sign up for one of those pre-paid legal services if you are thinking about performing at this event.

I, too must urge anyone who is even considering attending this event to do some reasearch on this subject before committing to anything. Much of what you need to know can be found elsewhere on this website, so take some time to look at the old letters and past updates. This is going to become a sore subject in the coming months for a lot of you so make sure you know the facts before you get too excited about getting back in the ring.

I heard from Steve Plotnicki today regarding this whole thing and although his intentions now seem positive, I am remaining cautious for the time being. Lets see what he has in mind to make things right.

If you've been tuned into the Forum lately, you've probably noticed that there has been a flood of flamers, putdowns, and other crap going on in there. I urge anyone who uses the Forum for its intended purpose of enlightenment and current news, to avoid responding to these stupid flames. We all know that these individuals are incapable of making a robot themselves so have to vent their frustrations against those who are more creative and talented than they- there is no reason to continue announcing this to everyone on the Forum. These children (if indeed they are several different individuals) will eventually go away when we ignore them completely, so PLEASE stop encouraging them to continue this foolishness.

I got some parts in for Nightmare today. Got one heck of a big linear actuator, its bigger and stronger than I had expected! It can lift nearly 500lbs and has a travel of 12 inches! I've also started to decide that it will be more practical for me to build Nightmare as a rolling robot instead of my original plan of a walker. It will simply be more cost effective that way.

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3/5/99

A new month. The February updates have been archeved below. And what a way to start a new month....

It's finally over. The courts have announced approval of the agreement between Marc Thorpe and Profile Records regarding the Robot Wars Trademark. The letter is copied in its entirety for your convenience below:

ROBOT WARS LLC
74O BROADWAY
NEW YORK, NY 10003

For immediate release: New York, NY March 5, 1999

Robot Wars Back On Track

Steven Plotnicki, President of Profile Holdings, Inc. (fka as Profile Records) and Marc Thorpe are happy to announce that the United States Bankruptcy Court in Santa Rosa, California, has approved the terms of a settlement that provides for the acquisition of Marc Thorpeïs interest in the Robot Wars Joint Venture. The business will be known as Robot Wars LLC. Thorpe will continue to have a financial interest in Robot Wars through ongoing royalty payments.

Robot Wars was first staged in the summer of 1994 at Fort Mason in San Francisco. It was an immediate artistic as well as critical success. The event was widely reported in the worldwide media and from 1994 through 1997 the live event grew as the number of contestants went from 17 to 70 and attendance increased from 1,000 to over 5,000 people.

In the spring of 1997, the British Broadcasting Company commissioned a television program based on Robot Wars and in November of 1997, Mentorn, Barracough, Carey produced six episodes which were broadcast on the BBC2 in the spring of 1998. The show was met with so much enthusiasm that the BBC ordered eighteen new episodes that began airing in the fall of 1998. Robot Wars is currently a weekly series watched by over 6,000,000 people in the United Kingdom.

Robot Wars is the highest rated childrenïs television program in the UK, with over 2,000,000 children viewing each week. Building on the series success, the show is beginning to spawn licenses around the Robot Wars brand. A book about Robot Wars was just published in the United Kingdom by Boxtree. A home video about Robot Wars is in production and will be released in the UK by Polygram . In addition, a live competition for United Kingdom competitors is in the works for later this year.

³Now that the litigation is behind us, we can finally get the property back on track in the U.S.,² says Plotnicki. Over 7,500 people in the United Kingdom have joined the Robot Wars Club and more than 400 people built robots for last years series. ³Considering that the U.S. television market is more than four times the size of the UKïs, the potential here is enormous,² adds Plotnicki.

³Plans are in motion for a live Robot Wars event to be held in San Francisco this summer. I know that the U.S. robot makers have been anxious for the event to be held. Now they will once again have their chance to compete during the summer of 1999,² says Thorpe. The success of the UK program has created some interest among U.S. broadcasters. ³Discussions are underway to broadcast this summerïs event,² says Plotnicki. In addition, a weekly television program is being planned.

Marc Thorpe will also be connected to the property as its roving ambassador. Robot Wars' Gary Pini says, ³Weïre hoping that we can bring Marcïs original vision into every household in the world. The evolution of the quality of robot building has been phenomenal. We believe we are on the road to finding enough star-quality robots to make Robot Wars a premier television program and live entertainment property throughout the world.²

The Robot Wars website (robotwars.com), will soon be updated to provide more information for contestants as well as fans. For press/media information, please contact Tracey Miller at 201-531-0484. For other inquiries, contact Gary Pini at 212-529-2600.
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I have no comments on this at this time, I will wait to see Marc's reply. It shouldn't be much longer....
-Jim

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