Joystiq

Unlicensed My Little Pony fighter shut down by Hasbro

Jordan Mallory — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 16:30:00 EST

Indie developer/non-profit brony collective Mane6, the folks responsible for the unofficial My Little Pony fighting game MLP: Fighting is Magic, have received a cease and desist order from Hasbro Inc., according to its official blog. As a result, all Fighting is Magic related material has been stripped from Mane6's official YouTube channel and other online media portals.

"We have attempted negotiating with Hasbro for the continued use of the property in our non-profit, voluntary project, but so far we haven't received an answer," the update reads. "As such, we're complying with the contents of the C&D letter until we receive answer from their PR and/or Legal departments."

Whether development on the title continues behind the scenes remains uncertain. MLP: Fighting is Magic was one of the many games under consideration for this year's EVO 2013 Championship Series, with its community raising a total of $5,280 during the tournament's breast cancer research charity drive competition.

[Thanks, Aries!]

Unlicensed My Little Pony fighter shut down by Hasbro originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 09 Feb 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision sends cease-and-desist to Skylanders hacker

Mike Schramm — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:30:00 EST

The very first time we saw Activision's Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure figures at a pre-E3 event earlier this year, it seemed only a matter of time before some enterprising enthusiast cracked open both the toy figures and the "portal" base unit, and figured out how they wirelessly connected. Sure enough, a tinkerer named Brandon Wilson recently did just that, and posted his results on his personal website. In return, he got an official cease-and-desist letter from Activision a few days later, telling him to take the findings down immediately.

Wilson wrote a response to point out that most of Activision's accusations against him are inaccurate: He was not intending to share his findings with others (only saved them in a .zip file for his own personal use), and has no intention to circumvent the game at all, either by using the Skylanders hardware with an iOS device (since the technology is based on RFID), or by "tricking" the portal into thinking he owns a Skylanders figure when he doesn't.

Despite all of that, however, Wilson has agreed to follow the cease-and-desist order. It seems a shame -- some of the most fun hacks have come out of toys both old and new, and if Wilson wants to dissect toys he's purchased for his own enjoyment, that seems reasonable. We've contacted Activision to try and get an official position; it's likely we haven't heard the last of this just yet.

Activision sends cease-and-desist to Skylanders hacker originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unauthorized Sierra adventure games portal Sarien.net ceases upon Activision order

James Ransom-Wiley — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

Sarien.net, "the portal that once stood for reliving classic Sierra On-Line adventure games" (for free), has been shut down following a cease-and-desist order issued by IP owner Activision. The site's creator, Mr. Kool (real name!), has posted the letter from Activision's legal counsel on the Sarien homepage.

"While we appreciate your dedication to the Sierra classic library and understand that you are a fan of these games, Activision has not authorized the development or distribution of these games via your Website," the order reads. "Accordingly, we must demand that you immediately cease any further distribution or exploitation of the Sierra Games on your Website."

Kool launched Sarien way back in April 2009, but it seemingly took this month's implementation of iPhone and iPad browser support (for all of the site's AGI-powered games) for Activision to take notice. "Wait till you see my new World of Warcraft in javascript," Kool quipped in a tweet. "Oh wait, that's Activision too..."

[Thanks, Ryan; image source: MobyGames]

Unauthorized Sierra adventure games portal Sarien.net ceases upon Activision order originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook game Blingville gets cease and desist from Zynga

Griffin McElroy — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 15:30:00 EST

There's an immense power struggle happening right now, in the deep, deep folds of the social gaming universe -- a struggle over ownership of an extremely lucrative word fragment. Zynga recently sent a cease and desist letter to Blingville LLC, the creators of an upcoming Facebook game that shares the name of their company. According to Zynga, the use of "ville" in the game and company's moniker infringes on its own collection of social gaming trademarks.

Blingville, not a-feared of Zynga's assumedly massive litigatory army, has filed a letter to the West Virginia U.S. District Court, seeking a declaration from the court that their game doesn't actually infringe on Zynga's trademarks. The studio also hopes to have Zynga foot the bill for any legal fees potentially accrued during a legal battle. We'll keep you updated on how this turns out -- but until it gets settled, we'd suggest developers and city planners alike avoid using the suffix. (Hear that, Louisville? You're officially on notice.)

Facebook game Blingville gets cease and desist from Zynga originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eric Ruth's 8-bit DJ Hero remake removed thanks to Universal Music

Griffin McElroy — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:30:00 EST

Here's the absolute dumbest thing you'll read this week: Eric Ruth's totally rad 8-bit de-make of DJ Hero has been removed from his official site following the issuing of a Cease and Desist letter from Universal Music Publishing Group. You can read the somewhat entertaining, genuinely frustrating exchange between Ruth and the Universal representative over on PikiGeek. Hey, man, we totally see where Universal is coming from. We were just about to buy the theme to Ghostbusters on iTunes, but we changed our mind at the last minute -- because we heard half of a mashed-up 8-bit version of the song on a freeware PC game.

Eric Ruth contacted us with his comment on the ordeal, explaining that even though he's disappointed, "Between mirroring, uploading, fttps, and torrents, I know that Pixel Force: DJ Hero will live on through the vast reaches of the internet long after Mr Grannis and Universal Music go to bed at night." The legal hurdle didn't seem to break his developmental stride, either -- he added that his next project, Pixel Force: Halo, is well underway, with a trailer planned for later this month and a tentative release window of January 2011. Now, let's just hope this one doesn't have any illicit Ray Parker, Jr. covers.

Eric Ruth's 8-bit DJ Hero remake removed thanks to Universal Music originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo shuts down fan-made Pokemon MMO

JC Fletcher — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:45:00 EST

Another fan project based on a beloved game series has fallen. Nintendo has issued a cease-and-desist notice to the creators of the open source Pokémon MMO Pokenet (Google cache of the site here), requiring that they take down their website and surrender the pokedev.org domain name used for the game, claiming unauthorized use of Nintendo trademarks.

Pokenet was a work in progress, with the "Valiant Venonat" version of the beta nearing release, but it was already operating online at the time of shutdown. "Nushio," one of the programmers on the project, told us that over 7,000 players had logged time in the game, which set every player as a Pokémon trainer in the regions of Kanto and Johto (with more coming later). "You could even catch, evolve, trade," Nushio told Joystiq.

Continue reading Nintendo shuts down fan-made Pokemon MMO

Nintendo shuts down fan-made Pokemon MMO originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision shuts down fan-made King's Quest sequel

Xav de Matos — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:30:00 EST

After successfully fighting a cease and desist order by Vivendi Universal five years ago, the unofficial continuation to the King's Quest series has been shut down for good. In 2005, fans successfully convinced Vivendi to allow the indie team behind The Silver Lining to continue development, thanks in part to a letter writing campaign. The original deal would see the game's authorized release as part of a non-commercial fan license; however, current King's Quest IP holder Activision has decided (after "talks and negotiations") it is not interested in entering a similar agreement with the indie team. In 2008, Activision said it didn't have any immediate plans to utilize the classic licenses (including King's Quest) it received in the infamous $18 billion merger with Vivendi.

What concludes is eight long years of development by a dedicated fan base. On the fan project's official site, a letter from the development team thanks fans for their continued support and shares its disappointment in the decision. It's always difficult when hard work goes unnoticed and we wish everyone involved the best of luck.

[Thanks, Chris]

Activision shuts down fan-made King's Quest sequel originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MechWarrior reboot could be caught in trademark dispute

Justin McElroy — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:01:00 EST

If you were excited about the MechWarrior reboot being teased by Piranha Games, we've got some possibly unfortunate news. Apparently, IGN received a cease-and-desist order from Harmony Gold, the unfortunately named co-owner of the Robotech universe, regarding some imagery in a recent trailer teasing Piranha's project.

There's no relation between the two 'verses, but Harmony Gold claims that some of the bots in the trailer are a little too close to a few from Robotech. At this point, we don't know: 1) if those characters really are infringing on Harmony Gold's trademark; or 2) how difficult it would be to remove said characters from the game. So, there's still a chance this dispute may go away. We'll keep an eye on things for you.

MechWarrior reboot could be caught in trademark dispute originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Square Enix pulls the trigger on Chrono Trigger fan projects

JC Fletcher — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:15:00 EST

Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes was to be an original sequel to Chrono Trigger, created by a team of fans using Chrono Trigger sprites. We say was, because on the 8th, just weeks away from the game's scheduled release date, Square Enix sent the team a frightening cease-and-desist letter (PDF) ordering the project to be halted and all known copies to be destroyed.

Square Enix also sent letters to other fan projects, including the Chrono Compendium, which responded by taking down all pages and forums related to rom-hacking projects. "We do not accept the validity of Square Enix's claims," Chrono Compendium's ZeaLitY said, "nor the legal rationale underpinning their position. Nonetheless, we are complying with their demands so as to avoid the expenses and burdens of litigation, because, frankly, they can afford a frivolous lawsuit more than we can." After the break, footage of the promising, but now dead, Crimson Echoes, made by people who, until last week, liked Chrono Trigger a lot.

[Via Kombo; thanks, Booxatron!]

Continue reading Square Enix pulls the trigger on Chrono Trigger fan projects

Square Enix pulls the trigger on Chrono Trigger fan projects originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 12 May 2009 23:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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