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Man Sues Rockstar Saying GTA:SA Is Based On His Life
dotarray writes "From the article: 'Rockstar Games are no strangers to legal action, but it doesn't come stranger than this. An American model, Michael Washington (known as "Shagg") is suing the publisher — as well as parent company Take Two Interactive — because they based Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on his life.'" It's a good thing Washington never learned the infinite ammo cheat.
You know, judging by the nickname he chose and the general air of machismo he tries to project, I can't help but feel he's trying to compensate for something.
At a guess, he possibly never managed to unlock the real life version of "hot coffee".
to Rockstar, sues drink maker, game developer and Motely Crue.
I went to battle M.C. Escher, but drew a blank.
Didn't he see the frame that briefly flashes up before starting the game?
"The following story is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event. Any similarities to actual people, places or events is purely coincidental." /facetiousness
If GTA: SA is based on his life, then he must be the most dangerous man alive. Not only must he have committed thousands of murders, assault and batteries, vehicular homicide, and grand larceny, he must also have infiltrated Area 51 and stole military aircraft and vehicles. The man must be a greater threat than Al Qaeda and American Idol put together.
My postings are informational and does not constitute legal advice. Act on it at your risk.
Sometimes I feel like all my sexual encounters have to be unlocked using a cheat code too.
Since I spend a lot of time jumping on step pyramids and being chased by snakes, I was going to bring the same lawsuit against the makers of QBert.
Step into a huge movement. Don't Tread In Me.
Claiming Grand Theft Auto III: Vice City based on his life.
Aren't you basically confessing dozens/hundreds of murders just by saying that?
'He based his life on our video game?'
Seriously? Since when were unauthorized biographies actionable?
pretty difficult to dig up an image - best I could find: http://media.rockstarwatch.net/news/9806741532.png not much resemblance... also the article points out you can adjust the character's appearance (i've never played it personally).
I should sue the maker of Leisure Suit Larry.
I've been trying to do the cheat code for bi-plane IRL for years. ):
THL phish sticks
Actually, he sued Nickelback, not Motley Crue ;-)
Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
If GTA was really based off of this man's life, he wouldn't be suing Rockstar in the court of law. Rockstar's HQ would be full of bullet holes.
Or just never died?
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
...and get nets. When this guy walks by *wap* to the sanitarium.
Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
Despite what this guy claims, they have that disclaimer at the startup that has all that "not based off real events, any that do are coincidence, blah blah blah"
Plus, if what this guy is saying is true, does that mean he's confessing to murder, pushing drugs and stealing cars?
Bizarre taste in nicknames. Perhaps he is thinking of Sherlock Holmes' well known habit:
"And now, my dear Watson, it's time for a shag ..."
Because I life in a custom build house with a half a dozen young ladies? Well yeah, partly but mostly because I get lost looking for the bathroom and pee my pants. Also my oven has a direct connection to the fire department.
If this guys life is GTA:SA, he should get a huge settlement and the chair.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
As nuts as the initial claim sounds, if the guy actually met up with them before they made the game, interviewed with him, and then didn't credit him appropriately, even if only on verbal agreement, there could be some legal obligation on the part of the company.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
FTA, it sounds like he is suing because they used his likeness and not really claiming it's based on his life. I haven't read the actual court papers. He did meet with Rockstar games and without seeing a actual picture of him, it's hard to say weather or not Rockstar did use his likeness. Now as far as suing for 250 Million, that's just stupid, but that is American. Of course he might win, if someone can sue a automotive company because the manually didn't say you must drive while cruise control is on, and win, then why not this guy. I will clarify that I am in no way siding with this guy and I think all such lawsuits are a waste of the courts time and money.
Man prosecuted for countless acts of criminal behavior due to recent confession in suit vs. Rockstar Games.
Just predicting right now. "Shagg" will release a rap album featuring his latest track "Sued yo @$$, Rockstar" where, just like every other bad rapper, he'll proclaim how he was thuggin before anyone else, and how he's such an original G that they made GTA based on him. "I put the G in GTA" or some trash.
Album releasing in 3...2....1...
Sokoban must be based on my sorry life.
Only I seem to live in a buggy level with one more crate than there are spots.
You guessed it, I should sue.
I hadn't the slightest objection to his spending his time planning massacres for the bourgeoisie... (P.G. Wodehouse)
Surprised he's suing too, cause last I checked when I was done with the game he was a billionaire due to big bets at at the OTB and the ability to restore the previous game whenever those big bets lost.
On a more serious note, this guy's a jackass.
-- A computer without COBOL and Fortran is like a piece of chocolate cake without ketchup and mustard
My life has been about me saying stuff and people modding me down.
Have gnu, will travel.
show up to court in his Harrier jet or dune buggy?
Involved bicycling on the freeway for hours and training to jump on your bicycle 20 feet up in the air. Because thinking back that's probably at least 30% of my GTA:SA play time.
If Rockstar worked like the music industry, they would sue HIM for basing his life on their game.
No-Talent-Hack needs more money for weed. More at 11
Stupidity only gets you so far, then you've gotta try
MC Hawking, infamous gangster scientist nerdcore hip hop star, has already laid claim to the "GTA was written about me" idea. And did it ten years ago in "GTA3" on "A Brief History of Rhyme: MC Hawking's Greatest Hits"
Trashy comments are one thing. Trashy mods are something else. So much for Slashdot management having any class.
Before setting fire to the man, let's see a picture of Washington.
You don't have a picture or other documentation to show? Then how can you meaningfully comment?
Little late for that now isn't it?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_penis_rule
In a nut shell. Whenever creating fiction that is based on an existing person, you should always state [in the story] that this person has a small penis. No man will ever claim they are who the character is based on.
All those years I played Tetris... oh wait, I worked in a warehouse.
I played (and greatly enjoyed) GTA:SA. Among many of the amusing anticdotes in the game, were the many MANY references to popular culture. You had all of your rap music references, many movie references, rednecks, Area 51, junkies, the mafia, the CIA, the military, and countless others. And the main character has to embark on a great adventure that winds through a complex story that ties all of these elements together in the most rediculously unrealistic way possible, and mow down a few hookers while he's at it. I don't even know of any FICTIONAL character's life for which the entire story could apply to, let alone someone who's real. But hey, Rockstar has a lot of money, and those lawyers need to get fed.
-Restil
Play with my webcams and lights here
He wouldn't be suing Rockstar.
He'd just come visit in his stolen chevy, and murder the crap out of everyone in the office!