After many years of waiting, it looks like a Silicon Knights lawsuit against Epic Games has been given the green light by a judge. You may recall the 2007 lawsuit in which Too human developer Silicon Knights alleged that Epic Games had neglected Unreal Engine licensees to develop its own game, Gears of War.
The Canadian studio alleged the four-year development period for Too Human was due to Epic misleading the company about what Unreal Engine 3 was capable of. Further, SK alleges that Epic prioritized the development of Gears of War above all the development studios that had licensed Unreal Engine 3. Curiously enough, no other development studio sued Epic.
Because the company didn't get the support it deserved or the engine it was promised the company is seeking a cut of the profits from Gears of War. It's certainly one of the boldest requests from a developer in a court case involving a product it had nothing to do with..
Here's what Silicon Knights president Denis Dyack told Kotaku related to the recent court victory:
"When Epic first went public about our case to the press, they said that our claims were without merit," said Silicon Knights president Denis Dyack in a statement. "Two separate federal court judges have now disagreed with Epic, and have ruled that the case does have merit." "Silicon Knights has always wanted to have our focus be on making great games, not litigation. This ruling will allow us to have our day in court, before a jury, and to shine the light publicly on Epic’s conduct," Dyack continued. "We are very confident the jury will see the truth behind Epic’s actions."
While Silicon Knights will get its day in court, it's tough to see a jury giving them profits from Gears of War. It just seems beyond the realm of possibility.
Source: Kotaku
Comments
Re: Too Human Makers Get Green Light on Epic Lawsuit
Well, if the claims are true, then Silicon Knights has a pretty solid case. There's at least the appearance of a conflict of interest on the part of Epic when they are developing games in direct competition with their engine licensees. If SK can prove that Epic oversold any part of the engine's capabilities, or if they neglected to provide support for the engine in a timely manner, then it should be a slam dunk.
For the record, Too Human really did stink out loud though.
Re: Too Human Makers Get Green Light on Epic Lawsuit
Odd that not one other company who used Unreal 3 in this timeframe is not suing.
Is it not a shoddy carpenter who blames his tools anyways? Maybe I "just don't get it."
Re: Too Human Makers Get Green Light on Epic Lawsuit
When the 'shoddy' carpenter doesn't get the tools he paid for is it his fault.
Re: Too Human Makers Get Green Light on Epic Lawsuit
Agree 100%. Just seems like Denis wants someone(with money) to blame for how his game turned out.
Also this: http://www.joystiq.com/2007/03/23/too-humans-denis-dyack-pokes-fun-at-penny-arcade-game/
Re: Too Human Makers Get Green Light on Epic Lawsuit
The lawyer for Silicon Knights had better keep Denis Dyack on a short leash- that guy is certifiably insane, and his obsession with Too Human is borderline obsessive. Just take a listen to that episode of 1up Yours he was a guest on...or read about his antics against NeoGaf.
Given the psychological profile demonstrated by his actions, I'd say Dyack is just trying to find someone else to blame for his shitty game. Too Human was in trouble long before it went to Unreal Engine 3. Remember, this is the guy who blamed the media for noticing how poor the preview version of the game was at that E3.
Re: Too Human Makers Get Green Light on Epic Lawsuit
Explain why it, to my knowledge at leas,t never had a demo.
Re: Too Human Makers Get Green Light on Epic Lawsuit
I'm really surprised to see that this is still around, never mind that it's actually going ahead.
As I recall, Dyack was very vocal about the criticism he and SK received about Too Human (surely everyone remembers the EGM podcast he guested on a couple of years back?), and it's only to be expected that he'd passionately defend something he'd poured his life into.
But if his form in any upcoming trial is anything like that which was on display towards EGM et al previously, it looks like we could be in for our most interesting games-related court shennanigans since,... well, you know who I'm talking about.