FASA

FASA Corporation was an American publisher of role-playing games, wargames and board games between 1980 and 2001, after which they closed publishing operations for several years, becoming an IP holding company under the name FASA Inc. In 2012, a wholly owned subsidiary called FASA Games Inc. went into operation, using the name and logo under license from the parent company. FASA Games Inc. works alongside Ral Partha Europe, also a subsidiary of FASA Corporation, to bring out new editions of existing properties such as Earthdawn and Demonworld, and to develop new properties within the FASA cosmology.

FASA first appeared as a '' Traveller'' licensee, producing supplements for that Game Designers' Workshop role-playing game, especially the work of the Keith Brothers. The company went on to establish itself as a major gaming company with the publication of the ''Star Trek'' RPG, then several successful original games. Noteworthy lines included ''BattleTech'' and ''Shadowrun''. Their ''Star Trek'' role-playing supplements and tactical ship game enjoyed popularity outside the wargaming community since, at the time, official descriptions of the ''Star Trek'' universe were not common, and the gaming supplements offered details fans craved.

The highly successful ''BattleTech'' line led to a series of video games, some of the first virtual reality gaming suites, called Virtual World (created by a subdivision of the company known at the time of development as ESP, an acronym for "Extremely Secret Project") and a Saturday-morning animated TV series.

Originally, the name FASA was an acronym for " Freedonian Aeronautics and Space Administration", a joking allusion to the Marx Brothers film '' Duck Soup''. This tongue-in-cheek attitude was carried over in humorous self-references in its games. For example, in ''Shadowrun'', a tactical nuclear device was detonated near FASA's offices at 1026 W. Van Buren St in Chicago, Illinois.

History

FASA Corporation was founded by Jordan Weisman and L. Ross Babcock III in 1980 with a starting capital of $350 ($1,200 adjusted for inflation). The two were fellow gamers at the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Mort Weisman, Jordan's father, joined the company in 1985 to lead the company's operational management, having sold his book publishing business, Swallow Press.

Under the new commercial direction and with Mort's capital injection, the company diversified into books and miniature figures. After consulting their UK distributor, Chart Hobby Distributors, FASA licensed the manufacture of its ''BattleTech'' figurines to Miniature Figurines (also known as Minifigs). FASA would later acquire the U.S. figures manufacturer Ral Partha, which was the US manufacturer of Minifigs. While Mort ran the paper and metal based sides of the business, the company's founders focused on the development of computer-based games. They were particularly interested in virtual reality (particularly the BattleTech Centers / Virtual World) but also developed desktop computer games.

When Microsoft acquired the FASA Interactive subsidiary, Babcock went with that company. After the sale of Virtual World, Jordan turned his attention to the founding of a new games venture called WizKids.

Current status and intellectual property

FASA unexpectedly ceased active operations on April 30, 2001, but still exists as a corporation holding intellectual property rights, which it licenses to other publishers. Contrary to popular belief, the company did not go bankrupt. Allegedly, the owners decided to quit while the company was still financially sound in a market they perceived as going downhill. Mort Weisman had been talking of retirement for some years, and his confidence in the future of the paper-based games business was low. He considered the intellectual property of FASA to be of high value, but did not wish to continue working as he had been for the last decade or more. Unwilling to wrestle with the complexities of dividing up the going concern, the owners issued a press release on January 25, 2001, announcing the immediate closure of the business.

The ''BattleTech'' and ''Shadowrun'' properties were sold to WizKids, who in turn licensed their publication to FanPro LLC and then to Catalyst Game Labs

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