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Square Enix Shuts Down Fan-Made Chrono Trigger Sequel
KIllagouge writes "Just days before the release of Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes, SquareEnix sent a Cease & Desist letter to Chrono Compendium to stop everything to do with Crimson Echoes. People might remember when they did this with Chrono Resurrection. Seems to be the growing trend; instead of listening to their fans, which would net them even more money, game developers continue to lock down old gaming IP. A copy of the C&D letter is available online."
The fan project had been in development since 2004 and was 98% complete.
Seems to be the growing trend; instead of listening to their fans, which would net them even more money, game developers continue to lock down old gaming IP
There is no proof that listening to their fans would net them more money, especially since those fans are creating their own games and not necessarily buying the real product.
It's almost the same argument as the filesharing canard that says that companies need to either give away their music for free or face going out of business.
So I looked at the fan-made sequel... it's a ROM hack. Not that I really have anything against such modifications, they do encourage people to pirate the game (search Google for a ROM, get the game illegally!), especially since hardware to legitimately dump the ROM images are expensive and rare enough that it's unlikely even the mod authors have them.
Square Enix has quite a legitimate case here and I understand it much better than if they shut down a project making a game from scratch (eg, a typical PC game).
Step 1: Find Copyrighted work
Step 2: Create derivative work without appropriate agreements/contracts
Step 3: Get sent cease and deist letter
Come on guys, wake up. This is someone else's work, you obviously misjudged the company you are dealing with. Why not start something from scratch, so that you don't end up in a situation like this.
Now that I have heard of them, and know how they behave towards community projects, I'll avoid them at all costs.
I can make do without their game. Can they make do without my money?
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
No Slashdot, you are the Aliens.
And then CowboyNeal was eaten by an alien.
I see Time Trigger: Crimson Echos being released with similar but distinctly different looking characters.
I mean, come on square - they weren't looking to make money off it, it wasn't costing square anything and if it was good it would only yield positive results surely?
I'd say I'd never buy anything from Square ever again out of protest but they are partners with Gas Powered Games on Supreme Commander II and there is no way I'm missing that.
It always seems the "IP"-holder sends a cease and desist letter when the project is nearly done, almost like they want to cause as much pain as possible to the people trying to remake something.
What frustrates me most is that these projects then aren't worked on to completion and then simply distributed by anonymous torrents, working for several years on something and then getting cut off at the last minute is simply a dick move.
I can see that they'd want to make sure they are still driving the storyline in whatever direction they want it to go...on the other hand, given the costs of developing RPGs (in particular), with an obviously interested fanbase who'd buy something like this, it seems like they're missing an opportunity to get together with the people developing this and put it out on the DS or whatever. IIRC, there was a fan-based mod of Half Life which went on to be sold as a standalone game in its own right (can't remember the name -- like a western in space or something).
Squaresoft used to be a great game maker but went the way platypus and had way to much useless added to it. Now it is an anime company plain and simple. Does it care about the final fantasy series? No has it cared about the legacy of good rpgs? No. It makes games that are anime with no depth.
... they only had it shut down because they are developing their own sequel, right?
Right?
No? Yeah, that's what I thought too.
THE HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS - CC Licensed Sci-Fi Novel
I'd wager that most of the people interested in this project do already own a legal copy of Chrono Trigger for either SNES or Playstation.
But they probably do not own the equipment to copy their Super NES cartridges to the PC. Per UMG v. MP3.com, owning a lawfully made copy doesn't entitle you to download another copy elsewhere.
Dear Square/Enix,
This is a bad move. I would consider it childish. Listen to your fans! Learn how the new economy works or you will fail.
Don't give me that story about your sucessful games. You will go broke if you don't adapt quickly. This is a sign that you're venturing on the wrong path.
This is your wake-up-call Square/Enix, you're about to miss out on new business-opportunities. For which I'm very thankful.
Signed,
A small dutch gamecompany-startup which shall remain nameless.
Replace X characters with new Y characters.
Is it still infringement?
Yes. It's a ROM hack, meaning that it uses most of the same computer program as the original game. Putting new characters in a non-free program doesn't make it not a non-free program.
IIRC, there was a fan-based mod of Half Life which went on to be sold as a standalone game in its own right
That might have been the port of Counter-Strike to Xbox.
(can't remember the name -- like a western in space or something).
"Wagon Train to the Stars" would describe Star Trek.
By the by, S-E, how's that mumorpurger of yours going?
Seven years now and it's still rocking...
Vana'dielian Population Tops Two Million! (22/04/2009)
It is our distinct pleasure to announce that during the third week of April, the total number of active characters across all worlds in FINAL FANTASY XI has exceeded the two million mark for the first time!
Since the commencement of service on May 16th, 2002, Vana'diel has gone on to become a vibrant gathering place for adventurers hailing from all corners of the globe. Boasting four expansions and one add-on scenario with two more in the pipes, FINAL FANTASY XI continues to evolve into an ever richer realm of magic and adventure.
Not bad from the development team responsible for making Chrono Cross really.
IIRC, there was a fan-based mod of Half Life which went on to be sold as a standalone game in its own right (can't remember the name -- like a western in space or something).
It's called "Counter-Strike."
They request that all work and copies be deleted.
As far as I know, copyright law doesn't prevent me from doing what I want with the copies I own as far as I don't redistribute it.
Also, they could just say their computers were hacked by some anonymous person that put the file on peer-to-peer websites, hence it can be distributed illegally without them officially doing so.
All that remains is the DMCA that forced them to shut down their website because they explained how to "circumvent" copyright.
They just have to choose a web hosting in a country that doesn't have that kind of stupid law and problem solved.
A lot of great PC games were even more successful than they otherwise might have been because they opened themselves up to the mod community. It's sad and wrong that a fan-produced work that was to be released for free is seen as a threat to the commercial interests of the original IP creator. It's especially bad that Square/Enix decided to wait until the game was nearly completed before the C&D.
I'm afraid that ROM hacking of older systems is going to see this sort of C&D treatment with more frequency. It's the downside of the Virtual Console and the rise in popularity of retro gaming -- when Nintendo put the Virtual Console into the Wii, they basically eliminated the "Abandonware" argument that emulator fans had clung to.
Is there any way they might possibly work a deal out with Square/Enix to have their game put out as an official title, distributed through Virtual Console/Live Arcade?
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
Why would Square Enix allow Chrono Compendium to spend 5 years of development time on a project just to threaten legal action 18 days before release? The only really good explanation is sadism. I really wish that Chrono Compendium didn't omit the name and address of the lawyer(s) responsible for the cease and desist letter, I would have liked to have known these bastards names, perhaps we could have traced back their lineage and gained some crucial insight into what compels people to deliberately and willfully spit on the face of their fellow man. We may have discovered that they were the products of incest, that really would explain a lot. Until the names are uncensored from the cease and desist letter, I'm going to place my money on incest.
It should have been obvious this would happen. A few years back Square shut down a 3D Chrono Trigger remake project.
Assuming they did not rip off too much, they should just rename the game, characters, locations, redraw the character sprites so they bare no resemblance and then release like that. If they are still not happy and are feeling daring, they can later "leak" a patch which changes everything back to as it was originally intended.
I am sure it is pointless. But Kajar Laboratories should at least publicly state their willingness to assign all copyrights on any original work to Square for some nominal fee.
If it is truly of interest to the fans, how much could it cost Square to release it as a legit cart? (V. how much Valve made on CS:Source and TF2:Source)
Can't they just release their work as a patch to the ROM? Then they're not distributing the infringing IP themselves. They'd have to either leave artwork alone or create artwork from scratch but other than that, I'm not sure what Square could do about it. Get your own ROM, patch it, and play the Chrono sequel. Sound pretty straightforward to me but maybe I'm missing something.
I began to write a rather angry email to Square Enix after reading the articles. However, halfway through, I realized where they might be coming from.
They have a DS version of Chrono Trigger that was first released at the end of 2008, and is still fairly "new" around the world. If people download the original ROM in order to hack it, or through CT:Crimson Echoes find out that they can easily play CT for free, the DS version might lose those potential sales.
Personally, I think the value of free advertisement and brand recognition that CT:CE would have given Square Enix would outweigh this. I also believe those people who buy the DS version do so for other reasons, such as portability. But I do see where Square Enix is coming from, and why they chose to stop the project now.
...after all, they did release their own 3D remake of Chrono Trigger after they shut down Chrono Ressurection.... right?
Oh, yeah, they didn't.
And we probably won't see a Chrono sequel either. Ever since they simply gave up on the "Chrono Break" trademark, I'm pretty much convinced that the franchise does not interest them anymore. Not enough to work on it beyond releasing ports.
Where's the torrent?
I have this really funny quote that I like to put here. Unfortunately, there's this really annoying thing called a char
I understand the need for people to show off their hard work. In this case however; they could have easily kept it internal/quiet, until the mod was released.
Once out in the open C&D letters aren't even worth the time for a lawyer to write them up.
Will this(among many others) start a trend of keeping these mods/hacks secret to avoid C&D letters?
Of course in a perfect world SE could have offered them a big fat check for all the new material.
Develop the game anonymously using an svn server in the Philippines or something, and then distribute it by BT. Avoid using real names and addresses for all concerned.
Then, let the bastards stew. They can send C&D letters to the entire population of Western Europe, what does it get them?
I can't believe that they spent all that effort developing this game and didn't do so in a way that would let them, at the least, try to stay undetectable.
The good and new comes from no quarter where it is looked for, and is always something different from what is expected.
I have to wonder if silently allowing them to dedicate so much time to the project and then at the very last minute crying foul could have raised estoppel? It probably should.
Another question on copyright is the idea of a diff. If I distribute a diff to a game, the original game is required to create the derived work by applying the diff. I fail to see where the creator of the original work is deprived in that situation. The mod occurs post-licensing. While it is true that the techniques involved in applying my diff could also be used without the patching step to make an unlicensed copy of the game, that is true whether I create the diff or not.
Since the entire point of copyright is to make more works available, compulsory licensing for anyone who wants it for any purpose makes sense.
Who says they waited? Perhaps they just (shock horro) weren't aware of it until now. Just because it's on the internet, doesn't mean they knew about it.
And maybe it's not all about creative interests and more about the author maintaining control of his creations. I once was an aspiring author (until I realised my prose stinks), and given that every character I write is a reflection of some aspect of myself, having someone else rewrite them would feel like defamation or misrepresentation of me. If someone who is supposed to reflect what I see best about myself is outed as an alcoholic child-abuse victim in a fanfic sequel... well, that's not good.
HAL.
Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
And how is doing nothing at all helps this?
Quick way to get 30% Funny 70% Troll: defend Opera browser on
But that doesn't mean that when we are discussing a non-US topic, that US law is somehow automatically applicable!
Nor did it mean that we were even discussing a non-US topic. WHOIS says the domain is registered to a proxy company based in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. And Netcraft's report says the site is hosted in the United States.
We love the old franchises we grew up with and we want to see more of the same, but this has been proven again and again to be a legal dead end. Instead of going underground, forcing the people who worked on this into anonymity, and risking litigation, why not just create a new franchise along the same lines as the old one and distribute that? The gaming industry has done it. How many action RPGs are really just Rogue clones? I'm sure fan productions could do the same.
mmmm...forbidden donut
You know, if the game is 98% done, and S-E doesn't want their 'precious' IP violated, the game developers have a very easy solution - change the name of the game, the name of the character, modify the dialog slightly so it doesn't use the copyrighted character names, and if there are any art assets which are very obviously the same as artwork in any of the Chrono Trigger games, modify the artwork enough that it's 'original', then release. I mean, really, Square-Enix can't stop them from releasing a game - they can only stop them from releasing a game which incorporates Square Enix's copyrights.
Really, just release the game without using any of the Chrono Trigger names, characters, or artwork. Yes, that will delay the release of the game and add more work - but not *that much* additional work. It should be easy enough to make the game original.
If S-E was that bothered by somebody stealing their IP, why wait until now to do something and hence give them bad PR for looking like dicks (even if what they did was the correct move).
Waiting until near completion is seriously a dick move.
If S-E cared that much, they would have stepped in once the project was starting to get momentum, not wait until it was getting close to done.
If I was these guys, I would finish it, change the name of the rom file, and release it anyway.
Besides, S-E is way too over-hypped now-a-days.
Whatever happened to their MMO?
Why is a company known for a RTS more successful in the mmoRPG world than a company known for badass RPG's?
Face it, S-E sucks now, and they need to save every single good game they have so that they can continue to port it to their later systems since their newer rpg's blow goats for nickels.
Question: Who here plays FF:O?
Better question: Name an awesome RPG franchise that is still out selling games by S-E besides FF?
The last S-E game I played and really enjoyed was Project Sylpheed, and that has nothing to do with RPG's.
I will say it as well, I don't play WoW. I hate WoW, but I am more willing to play WoW than a S-E game
S-E is worse than Sega right now.
At least Sega is willing to release their badass 16-bit IP's for pretty much any system you own, where as S-E did FF Anthology and some GBA and DS games, and that is about it.
S-E goes to where they think the money is, not where the good games are. Perfect example: N64 vs ps1. S-E knew that the ps1 would be successful and cheaper to program games for, so they went ahead and skipped Nintendo when they had their N64.
That was a bigger mistake than Sega making the 32X or Sega CD a peripheral add-on instead of its own console.
Face it, protecting that company means you are nothing more than a whiney fanboy.
Don't protect S-E, they truly suck.
I will be downloading the completed CE when it is done.
Screw S-E
The fact that it "uses most of the same computer program" is irrelevant, as surely that is what is installed in the user's machine, and therefore is not distributed by them?
Because Super NES cartridge copiers (Pro Fighter, Super Magicom, Super Wild Card, etc.) are uncommon in English-speaking countries, most users will obtain "what is installed in the user's machine" by downloading it from a ROM site. This is copyright infringement, even if you already own a legit Game Pak. Universal Music Group v. MP3.com.
The question is whether (a) their ROM hack itself includes copyrighted material
It's likely, given that the IPS format has no way of moving data from one place to another place in a ROM. It's just a list of runs of bytes that are replaced. Besides, new poses of existing characters are probably "non-literal copies" of the existing data.
Here is a theory I have: I believe Video Game Manufactures are trying to go the way of movie Studios (like Disney) where they can put their products in a vault and re-release them every few years. In this case, they will do little more than re-compile it for a new platform when they re-release it. They will get the same few customers to buy the game over and over again.
The C&D letter also included Prophet's Guile (another great CT fan game) and Temporal Flux (program used to make the hack)
I wonder what Square Enix's answer for the Chrono Trigger Novel Project will be.
Just call it 'Time Switch', change the names and faces of the characters slightly and they are golden.
"since 2004 and was 98% complete" so only another 5 years development to go...
need a free COBOL editor for Windows?
To be fair, "active characters" is a very bad metric for FFXI, seeing as most people probably have at least one mule, if not more; I had three, two of which had an 80+ crafting skill, and I doubt I was unique.
I guess Square Enix is a bit more interested in taking down ROM crackers than Nintendo was.
I don't say that to be snarky; if you google Pokemon ROM and spend a few hours surfing, you'll discover hundreds of "new" story lines. One of them in progress was called Naranja and featured the Orange Islands, complete with funky skins on the Pokemon as shown in the TV series.
Maybe this one was easier to find, I don't know. But what I do know is that Nintendo hasn't told the thousands of fan generated games (be they places like Pokemon Crater or ROMs like Naranja) to C&D.
Why doesn't Square Enix hire the developers and license it? If it is 98% complete, and it is decent, then it seems like everybody wins.
The ROM Editor (Temporal Flux) they use and the Manual for it's use can be found at http://geigercount.net/crypt/
Looks neat.
Enemy Name: The Empire of Square-X
Enemy Purpose: Kidnap characters and using mind control will take over the world!
Main aggressors: Freedom loving Pirates of the Fan Sea. Use Dark Lawjers to destroy them!
lol.
a "leak" of said 98% game. :) Or even the source!
Meridian 59. EPIC WIN. http://openmeridian.org
Maybe but the point is that they're making money from the game and it's played by a lot of people, whereas the original poster implied that it failed. A failed game doesn't get 4 expansions and two more coming.
Mada mada dane.
I'll be sure to load as many Square Unix games on my Nintendo DS Flashcard for this dick move.
How many hundreds of dollars I spent on them... like a hacked rom is a threat.
Square Enix has quite a legitimate case here and I understand it much better than if they shut down a project making a game from scratch (eg, a typical PC game).
I don't know well this peculiar ROM hack. But from the length of development time for the project and from the description (Same cast going into completely new adventures), I'm under the impression that they have almost completely redone a new game, creating new characters, writing new dialogues, etc...
Their only problem seems that they slapped all these new assets on the original engine as found in the ROM - the code and the sprites of the original cast are maybe the only thing left.
Given all the work already poured into the project, they could try to keep only the newly created assets.
Perhaps, if the ROM hack is as big as the delay and the information on the website let us think, it won't be that much complicated to remove the latest bit that tie the game to Square Enyx franchise :
- change the trademarked names
- create new sprites for the main cast
- use another engine. Preferably an open source one which is provably free of any S.E. content and can be audited. There are lots of open-source turn-based RPG engine. Given the popularity of Chrono Trigger, probably a couple of them can be configured to be close to that game's mechanics.
This will probably add another 2 years of development. But if this time S.E.'s lawyers clearly state what exactly caused the C&D letter and to what extent modification need to be made to make the project IP-law compliant, then the past 4-5 years that went into developing this will still give a result that the fan community will be able to enjoy.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
Yep, was wondering the same thing. One day the IP will expire, so they have to take good care of it and make sure that it still exists then. If they just keep it themselves the chances that it will survive are greatly lessened. Courts may subpoena the material, and yes you can secretly hide a copy somewhere but what if they find it, or you die?
Uh, no, it was Gunman Chronicles. The last battle in that game pissed me the hell off. Not because it was hard, but because it was stupid. (Oh no, YOU can't shoot the big ass robot, only your buddy can)
It's a ROM hack, meaning that it uses most of the same computer program as the original game. Putting new characters in a non-free program doesn't make it not a non-free program.
I really, really wish they had a way of moving their operations offshore {...} Alas, I doubt they have the funds for such a thing.
On the other hand, they could move *the assets* they created, instead of moving themselves.
They should slap all the new graphics on some open-source RPG engine.
From what I understand, the main problem is that their fangame uses the original code from the original game's ROM.
If they change the copyrighted names and replace the SNES ROM engine with an open-source PC one, the last bits of Square Enyx Intellectual Property would get removed and thus the Lawyers should be pleased.
(Newer engine should better be open source thus making it easier to prove that nothing was carried over from the original ROM)
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
I'm not a serious gamer (anymore--still nursing an old Quake injury :-), but lately I've been picking up a few titles. One of the ones I was considering was a Final Fantasy game. I might have bought it soon. Now I never will. I'm aware that Square Enix simply doesn't care about people like me, but it's still $10 or whatever straight out of their bottom line, and I get to feel good about acting congruently with respect to my principles.
There are a lot of problems with capitalism, but one of the really great things is that frequently you get to choose where to spend your dollars, and when you withhold them, that's coming straight out of the company's hide. You don't get that kind of control with voting.
"Not an actor, but he plays one on TV."
Stop buying S-E products. Enough people quit buying their stuff, they go out of business. I play namco games, and they are better than S-E games by far IMO. S-E has lost its way since FF6/7. Playing RPG is suppose to be an experience that invokes the full range of human emotions. The player is suppose to feel the joy and pain of the main characters. However, most of the current S-E games are nothing but empty shells of the IP franchises they own. Most of them are more about fancy graphics and angst than try to sway and inspire. Feeding the continuation of sub-par factory clones will only land you with worse and worse products.
Where is the "Ignorant" mod tag?
Let it be known to Square-Enix that this was the straw the broke the camel's back. I've been less than happy with Square shutting down Chrono Resurrection and giving us that half-assed non-remake for the DS, now they're shutting down another harmless fan project literally days from release? Enough Square! I was planning a few major purchases this year and next, but not now. I can't support a company that does this shit. They're joining Microsoft on my active boycott list. It may not make much of a difference, but I refuse to give my monetary support to a company I'm this pissed at.
The same laws that apply to music should apply here.
It should be legal to make derivative works!
We have sampled electronica and hip-hop. Without samples much of these genres would not exist. There is a band, Girl Talk, who ONLY uses samples for his music. The music industry is SCREAMING to nail this guy, but he's so popular that he fills concert halls with dancing, crazy fun times and has released at least 4 albums. They're really good although it could be argued that he is riding on the popularity of the songs he samples.
The same should go for games. Just keep making derivative works to overwhelm the system. Sooner or later the companies that aren't using ANY of that content will begin to relent. For that matter, ignore the C&D. OOPS! I left a copy of the dev files on CD in a cafe somewhere and someone just *happened* to walk off with it and finish developing the ROM. Sorry!
As the great Andrew Jackson said: It's their law. Now let them enforce it.[sic]
-
Wait, so let me get this straight; If Crimson Echoes got released, the devs would get hit with around $150 000 of fines? ...
Can you say pledge drive? If 7 500 people paid $20 each, this would be a non-issue. I know I want to see this game that badly. Though, IANAL and more importantly, IANFA (I Am Not From America), so there might be something I'm overlooking.
Still, it seems like it'd be possible to get the fans to release this one regardless. SE sure as hell ain't.
systemd is not an init system. It's a GNU replacement.
It seems that the cease and desist letter may have been a hoax.
http://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,8582.msg134196.html#msg134196
I don't see why they just don't release it anyway, if it's a rom hack then release an IPS file and have someone in another country do it, you know some disgruntled Swedish member of the team.
I'd like to see square stop it.
... release a full install of some newer game like Fallout 3 with a weapons mod, then they also shouldn't be able to release Crono Trigger with some story mods.
Really, the only difference is the age of the game.
while(1) attack(People.Sandy);
Why pay for it when you can sue and take possession of the entire derived work FOR FREE?
ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI!?
I had been aware of this production for 3 or 4 years now, and while it wouldn't have been another Chrono Trigger I really would've enjoyed playing it. I had always thought this kind of derivative work would be covered by fair use. I guess it doesn't really matter since the Chrono Compendium probably couldn't afford to fight Square on it if they were in the right. For those of you interested there is a longish thread over on ROM Hacks covering this, I only mention it because Compendium admins seem to be dropping in there: http://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,8582.0.html
Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges
Maybe they're already doing this...
What I'd do, in that position: Investigate the mod, first. If it's a good one, then talk to them about becoming official. Either give them a license or hire them outright.
Of course, you may want to intimidate people. You could send them a C&D along with this, reminding them that if they decline the job, the mod is very well dead.
But, I agree with the summary -- done right, this is more money for them.
And no, I don't think it's covered under fair use. It's a bit like fan fiction -- probably fine if you release it online, anonymously, but you probably wouldn't be able to sell it without a license. (Example: Star wars slash fic vs actual expanded universe.)
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
I think this is pretty shitty of Square. They aren't currently making any money on the chrono serious, if they are it's a drop in a bucket to someone that big. If they are planning a sequel, this isn't going to hurt sales, the fans will still buy and play their game just as much, I imagine a fan sequel will only help revive interest if anything.
but here is what I think is really shitty. Fans have been working and dedicating their time to this project since 2004, they were 98% of the way finished, days before the release date, and Square chooses this time to tell them NO YOU CAN'T DO IT! Thats not protecting your interest, thats being an asshat. Protecting your interest would have been stopping it right away, at 1% completion. Hey, that's our stuff, you need to stop. You can't tell me with all the copyright lawyers they have running around they just now noticed this. The only thing I can think of is that they purposefully waited till the last minute to crush the dreams of the fans that have been working on this. Thanks Square.
I can't think of a better way to turn love into hate.
I think this shows the mindset of console developers when compared to some of the PC ones. Seems to me PC developers realize that giving their fans the ability to take what they've created and run with it can only open possibilities and draw more people into their games. Quake CTF was a mod, and now it's a fairly standard multi-player part of FPS games. Maybe iD software is on the far end of that spectrum though...
*DrugCheese rants*
And Team Fortress Classic, which evolved into the absurdly popular Team Fortress 2.
Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
As someone who loved the first Thief and Deus Ex games, it scares me that these people "own them" now. Square is *mostly* a console developer. I fully expect the sequels to be console-ized ports with tiny environments and poor perform... wait... that already happened!
A) This copyright is 14 years old; it's not worth a thing as far as I'm concerned.
B) Derivative work rights have always been bullshit.
C) How long till this gets "leaked" to all the major trackers?
I have a solution, inspired by TPB's recent idea.
We cause a Distributed Denial of ca$h attack. We start writing drafts and bills to put before our representatives to be voted upon. We start sucking away the money that these companies have by forcing them to lobby against the bills. We flood the system with bills designed to label these companies as dangerous to American Ideals of Freedom and force them to be removed. They'll have to pay out the nose to get these bills struck down, and quite quickly they will run out of money.
And they will get the point when we start calling for their heads or their exile in our submitted bills.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
The group at AGDInteractive has released remakes of King's Quest I, King's Quest II, and Quest for Glory II with the permission of the copyright holders. They pulled it off by approaching the company directly and working out a fan license. The release of those freeware games actually increased the sales for the titles in the same series, it was a boost for the fans and the copyright owners. Another fan-project, King's Quest IX got hit with a cease and desist since they hadn't done their legal homework, but they managed to work out a deal where they changed the name of the game to avoid confusion and could proceed with the permission of the parent company.
It is possible to get stuff like this to work out, and it's often in the best interests of all parties to foster a community that takes an interest in their work. Copyright-holders are also within their legal rights to shut-down fan-fiction being made about their works but it's seldom worth the bad press or harming the community that builds up around such things. But it's crazy to put years of effort into a project without exploring its legality and advertise it before completion so that it can get shut down. The worst part is the same thing already happened to another Chrono Trigger project, a 3d remake of the game called Chrono Trigger resurrection. The lawyers only swooped in when it looked like it had a chance of being completed, apparently like this title
buy them? I mean, Square-Enix buying their idea/game and releasing it as what it is, a game made from fans, sell it at a low price, but we all now this won't happen.
My son was partially involved in this (I saw a pdf of the C&D right after they got it).
The kid is making his old man proud. You're not a true programmer unless you get some letter from some lawyer before you turn 21.
I try to feel sympathy but I cant. In most cases, fan games are crap, and often create storylines that are about as engaging as watching grass grow, and full of fandom cliches.
Square-Enix isnt bad for scorning the fans. I've seen other companies kow-tow to fanboys and watched entire game series go to complete shit.
I learned long ago "fandoms" are often the death of things because they're prone to groupthink. Only out of groupthink can you get results where the game's original story is in fact, totally wrong because the main character is gay and wants to have sex with all the other male characters (or female) and wants to really do things with the antagonist of the series too. I'm not stretching things with that either. Hell there are earthbound fans that insist that the series' main antagonist during the first 2 games is actually female, and that the game is wrong, and that this other antagonist who is fat and greedy is actually skinny and has known the antagonist their whole lives and have sex with each other. and insists that's the reality of the games.
Playing the games says otherwise. Also notice a pattern forming with fan based cliches?
Yeah I don't blame square enix at all.
It's a rom hack. I can explain what happened here very easily:
1. They were never going to finish it.
2. They make up an excuse that isn't "we suck" or "we lied".
3. Profit!
Remember that Ocarina of Time 2D game? Of course you do! Lots of hype, never existed beyond a few screenshots. It's easy to mock something up that looks good, infinitely harder to spend the thousand+ hours it takes to follow through.
Just look at DNF..
I think the argument for killing these sort of projects in order to protect your IP has long been dis-proven. Valve is the most potent example, their engine is used for mods, their own IP is used to make high quality videos, and much more. They don't only allow this, but embrace it and foster it. And it has made them one of the most important and successful gaming companies out there. How about the Mega Man "Mega Ran" remix? That was embraced and both parties benefited. Should Square allow people to use their IP willy-nilly? No. But they could embrace it, and control it to some extent. Foster a community around their IP. A response as drastic as this is just bad PR over an issue that was in no way going to deprive them of sales nor allow others to profit from their IP and tech. Bad move Square, get with the times.
However they probably do own the equipment to copy their Playstation CD to PC, which just requires a CD-ROM drive. Curious that you forgot to mention that.
I forgot to mention the PlayStation version because I would be surprised if this were made available as a patch against the PlayStation version, rather than only against the Super NES version.
We're a bunch of angry nerds, we just need to organize and DDOS Square-Enix into oblivion.
On the other side of the coin, Square could have simply realized that a move like this would generate neutral publicity at best.
If you were Square Enix, would you make such a move before it was necessary and risk the PR fallout for something that may have never gone through to completion anyway?
I think not.
Nuff said.