Capcom says that it is "saddened" by the controversy surrounding its mobile division's game, "MaXplosion" for iOS platforms. The company has every reason to be, I guess. Many in the community have called it a blatant rip-off of Twisted Pixel's popular Xbox Live Arcade game 'Splosion Man. But what's worse is that Twisted Pixel has had a few things to say about Capcom's game in a very public way.
While the company has said that it won't sue Capcom for its game (Twisted Pixel CEO Mike Wilford says the company is too small to take Capcom on in court), many members of the company have had harsh things to say in the media and on Twitter. One Twisted Pixel developer went so far as to call it "complete theft." Wilford also said that his company pitched 'Splosion Man to Capcom, who passed on the game. That fact adds insult to the perceived injury.
Capcom isn't saying much about that stuff, but it did issue the following statement to GameSpot:
"While Twisted Pixel did have discussions with our console game team about publishing Splosion Man on game consoles, Capcom Mobile is a different division of Capcom with separate offices and as such, had no prior knowledge of any meetings between the console game team and Twisted Pixel. MaXplosion was developed independently by Capcom Mobile. Nonetheless, we are saddened by this situation and hope to rebuild the trust of our fans and friends in the gaming community."
Commentary: If Capcom is really troubled and saddened by this whole affair, it could make amends by publishing a Twisted Pixel game.
Comments
Re: Capcom 'Saddened' by MaXplosion Controversy
You can't copy right like designs or themes, get over it.....
I have a dream, break the chains of copy right oppression! http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/cigital-disobedience/
Copyright infringement is nothing more than civil disobedience to a bad set of laws. Let's renegotiate them.
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http://zippydsm.deviantart.com/
Re: Capcom 'Saddened' by MaXplosion Controversy
They are totally saddened by these events. Not saddened enough to take down the game, or to give the profits to some charity, but saddened enough to talk about how sad they are.
---You are likely to be eaten by a Grue.
Re: Capcom 'Saddened' by MaXplosion Controversy
I find it implausible that Capcom's mobile division was unaware of 'Splosion Man. But at the same time I don't think there are grounds for a lawsuit. Both games feature a character that explodes to move around and interact. Both games plot is about said character escaping from a laboratory. One is some kind of burning energy man and the other is a devil man.
It is harder to prove plagiarism in games than with books or music. Rip off movies are made all the time (Transmorfers, anyone?) and they are pretty much ignored. Copyright law protects the specific expression of an idea from being copied, not the underlying idea itself.
At the end, after looking at the game's page in the App Store on my phone, it does come across as a rip off, and a poor one at that - going by the screencaps.