AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2003 From Gamespot: Sega sues over Simpsons Sega of America has filed a suit against EA and Fox alleging that The Simpsons Road Rage deliberately copies and imitates its Crazy Taxi games. According to a recent Reuters report, Sega of America has filed a suit against publisher Electronic Arts, developer Radical Games, the Fox Filmed Entertainment division of Fox Entertainment, and Vivendi Universal's Fox Interactive unit. Filed in a San Francisco federal court, the suit alleges that the 2001 game The Simpsons Road Rage was designed to 'deliberately copy and imitate' its Crazy Taxi games. Sega holds a U.S. patent known as the '138 patent' on Crazy Taxi, and has cited a number of reviews from video game publications of The Simpsons Road Rage in which the game was described as being very similar to Crazy Taxi. In our own review of Road Rage we noted that the game could perhaps best be described as 'Crazy Taxi in Springfield'. Sega has requested that the court stop the sale and import of The Simpsons Road Rage, which has sold more than a million copies to date, recall copies of the game currently in retail, and award damages for lost profits. We'll bring you more information on this story as soon as it becomes available. I would have expected that they'd have gotten permission for this beforehand. Guess not. Well, unless protection can be awarded for it being a parody, looks like they're gonna lose and we may even see Rockstar sue for Hit and Run, unless they paid royalties to use/replicate the GTA engine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ripper 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2003 The saddest part of all of this is such a minimal amount of changes to a game engine that you have to change to make it legal, it is ridiculous. Anyone that gets sued and found guilty of this are beyound lazy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Renegade 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2003 This is EA, the laziest, most untalented fucks in the gaming industry. I hope Sega sues them good and hard. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2003 This is EA, the laziest, most untalented fucks in the gaming industry. I hope Sega sues them good and hard. Worse than Acclaim? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Renegade 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2003 This is EA, the laziest, most untalented fucks in the gaming industry. I hope Sega sues them good and hard. Worse than Acclaim? Imo yes, but they come a close second. I have actually banned my friends from ever bringing EA games to my house. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0 Report post Posted December 6, 2003 What took them so long to sue? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anya 0 Report post Posted December 6, 2003 Back in the day Capcom did this to Data East over their SF clone Fighter's History. They lost. The courts ruled that consumers could tell them apart and so Capcom didn't actually lose any profit. I bet the same thing happens here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted December 6, 2003 What took them so long to sue? My thoughts exactly... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DangerousDamon 0 Report post Posted December 6, 2003 So how come 1st person shooter companies don't start suing each other.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Karnage 0 Report post Posted December 6, 2003 What took them so long to sue? My thoughts exactly... Well Sega did have financial problems back then but now they turned that around, its safe to sue. Still, Sega should of done something a long time ago, every review of Hit and Run out there mentions Crazy Taxi. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarvinisaLunatic 0 Report post Posted December 6, 2003 How long before Rockstar sues whoever made Simpsons Hit and Run? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slayer 0 Report post Posted December 6, 2003 How long before Rockstar sues whoever made Simpsons Hit and Run? I'm not so sure it may happen. Rockstar seems like a fairly cool group of young programmers who wouldn't take this kind of thing that seriously (if they did, I doubt SHAR would've seen production even) Kinda like a couple years back when someone made a combined parody of South Park and Star Wars, and the Star Wars people were shitting themselves over the copyright (all for naught, thanks to parody laws) while Matt and Trey just laughed it off. I could be wrong though. Back to the main subject: Any word as to why it took two years for Sega to sue? Are they that hard-up for cash right now? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Kamui Report post Posted December 6, 2003 I'm not so sure it may happen. Rockstar seems like a fairly cool group of young programmers who wouldn't take this kind of thing that seriously (if they did, I doubt SHAR would've seen production even) Because there's nothing more uncool then protecting your intellecutal properties! Back to the main subject: Any word as to why it took two years for Sega to sue? Are they that hard-up for cash right now? As far as I know they're in a MUCH better financial situation then they were 2 years ago, so I don't think that's it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slayer 0 Report post Posted December 6, 2003 I'm not so sure it may happen. Rockstar seems like a fairly cool group of young programmers who wouldn't take this kind of thing that seriously (if they did, I doubt SHAR would've seen production even) Because there's nothing more uncool then protecting your intellecutal properties! Damn right, now if you'll excuse me, I have to go d/l every single song off every CD on Billboard's top 10 list. You ignored my second paragraph talking about the parody exception in copyright laws. Some people recognize the futility in suing over parody and therefore save themselves the trouble of looking like a jackass... even better people (like Matt and Trey) actually appreciate parody of their material in the first place (unlike EVIL FACELESS CORPORATIONS), hence my "cool young guys" remark Back to the main subject: Any word as to why it took two years for Sega to sue? Are they that hard-up for cash right now? As far as I know they're in a MUCH better financial situation then they were 2 years ago, so I don't think that's it. Boredom? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Kamui Report post Posted December 6, 2003 Boredom? Or maybe some Sega lawyer lost a bet? "Dude, if you lose, I get to fuck your wife. Man, is she hot." "Fine, but if YOU lose, you have to sue Fox for that crappy Crazy Taxi rip-off they made." "FINE!" Guess who lost. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Askewniverse Report post Posted December 7, 2003 This is EA, the laziest, most untalented fucks in the gaming industry. I hope Sega sues them good and hard. Worse than Acclaim? Imo yes, but they come a close second. I have actually banned my friends from ever bringing EA games to my house. I don't see how anyone can objectively say that EA is lazy or untalented. Just this year alone, EA released quality games such as Madden 2004, NHL 2004, NBA Street Vol. 2, and Need for Speed Underground. I'd add SSX 3 to the list, but it wouldn't be fair to do so, since I haven't played it yet. I can understand people not liking EA games, but calling them "the laziest, most untalented fucks in the gaming industry" seems a bit biased and harsh. Back to the original topic- for some reason, I doubt this case will even go to trial. If it does, Sega and EA will probably settle out of court. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmy no nose 0 Report post Posted December 7, 2003 I'm thinking what took them so long to sue was they were waiting for the game to sell a lot of copies. By now pretty much everyone who wants the game has it, so they chose to sue now. You can't sue for a part of the profits when there are no profits yet, so they wait until they feel like they maximized profit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2GOLD 0 Report post Posted December 7, 2003 Is the game still on the shelves? Cause frankly, I'd rather have a Crazy Taxi rip-off with the Simpsons than Crazy taxi. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted December 8, 2003 Back in the day Capcom did this to Data East over their SF clone Fighter's History. They lost. The courts ruled that consumers could tell them apart and so Capcom didn't actually lose any profit. I bet the same thing happens here. I could have sworn Capcom won that. At any rate, didn't Capcom also sue over Art of Fighting, namely Ryo? For years to come they would become heated rivals of course. Still, I think it depends just one what grounds you're suing on. If you were suing on the basic of consumers being unable to tell the games apart, that wouldn't work I don't think. It's gotta be a tricky issue since games are going to naturally fall within different genres, and many games in that genre are going to be alike. If Capcom could sue any company to release a one-on-one fighting game featuring wildly unrealistic attacks executed by quarter/half/360 motions they'd be suing a lot of companies. However, if it was clear a number of characters' designs, specific attacks, etc were ripped off of Capcom, they'd have a good case. Similarly if backgrounds and the game logo was very similar ("Street Fighting: The World's Warriors"). Those are more clear-cut types of intellectual property. Plus, when a game is released that nearly creates an entirely new genre (i.e. Capcom and the classic 2D fighting game genre), any new entry into that genre could be almost considered a ripoff of the original. Game engines aren't as easy to sue over than visual trademarks As Angelslayer mentioned, I said in the original post that parody could be a defense. Not sure, though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewTS 0 Report post Posted December 8, 2003 Is the game still on the shelves? Cause frankly, I'd rather have a Crazy Taxi rip-off with the Simpsons than Crazy taxi. I believe both games are--although not the DC versions of Crazy Taxi. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpikeFayeJettEdBebop 0 Report post Posted December 8, 2003 I personally, like Road Rage and the Crazy Taxi games. I beat Road Rage twice in one night so it's not exactly that long of a game. I like Crazy Taxi too(It offers alot most of the time) so I dont really have a preference. I know it was off topic, but just thought I would mention it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ripper 0 Report post Posted December 8, 2003 This is EA, the laziest, most untalented fucks in the gaming industry. I hope Sega sues them good and hard. Worse than Acclaim? Imo yes, but they come a close second. I have actually banned my friends from ever bringing EA games to my house. I don't see how anyone can objectively say that EA is lazy or untalented. Just this year alone, EA released quality games such as Madden 2004, NHL 2004, NBA Street Vol. 2, and Need for Speed Underground. I'd add SSX 3 to the list, but it wouldn't be fair to do so, since I haven't played it yet. I can understand people not liking EA games, but calling them "the laziest, most untalented fucks in the gaming industry" seems a bit biased and harsh. Back to the original topic- for some reason, I doubt this case will even go to trial. If it does, Sega and EA will probably settle out of court. I don't know about untalented, but lazy certainly is the case. Madden, Live and SSX Trickey are basically all the same games as their predicessors. In Maddens Case, the game hasn't changed since abou 2000 or 2001. All the while, other companies are making better games and EA is living off their name. Their Canadian brothers EA BIG however are the SHIOT and are the bright spot from their company IMO. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Downhome 0 Report post Posted December 8, 2003 I don't see how anyone can objectively say that EA is lazy or untalented. Just this year alone, EA released quality games such as Madden 2004, NHL 2004, NBA Street Vol. 2, and Need for Speed Underground. I'd add SSX 3 to the list, but it wouldn't be fair to do so, since I haven't played it yet. I can understand people not liking EA games, but calling them "the laziest, most untalented fucks in the gaming industry" seems a bit biased and harsh. I'm with you. I have no idea why some people REFUSE to play EA games. I mean, what the fuck. Do some people just NOT like playing fun video games? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Kamui Report post Posted December 8, 2003 I don't see how anyone can objectively say that EA is lazy or untalented. Just this year alone, EA released quality games such as Madden 2004, NHL 2004, NBA Street Vol. 2, and Need for Speed Underground. I'd add SSX 3 to the list, but it wouldn't be fair to do so, since I haven't played it yet. I can understand people not liking EA games, but calling them "the laziest, most untalented fucks in the gaming industry" seems a bit biased and harsh. I'm with you. I have no idea why some people REFUSE to play EA games. I mean, what the fuck. Do some people just NOT like playing fun video games? 99% of the time I avoid North American games like the plague but even I liked SSX Tricky. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Renegade 0 Report post Posted December 8, 2003 I don't see how anyone can objectively say that EA is lazy or untalented. Just this year alone, EA released quality games such as Madden 2004, NHL 2004, NBA Street Vol. 2, and Need for Speed Underground. I'd add SSX 3 to the list, but it wouldn't be fair to do so, since I haven't played it yet. I can understand people not liking EA games, but calling them "the laziest, most untalented fucks in the gaming industry" seems a bit biased and harsh. I'm with you. I have no idea why some people REFUSE to play EA games. I mean, what the fuck. Do some people just NOT like playing fun video games? What might be "fun" in your opinion is not what I find fun. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest hhheld_down Report post Posted December 9, 2003 Def Jam Vendetta is still my favorite wrestling game and its by EA Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
