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The Simpsons: Road Rage being sued

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Sega Sues Over Road Rage
Lawyers from Sega of America have filed a patent infringement suit, claiming that The Simpsons: Road Rage was designed to "deliberately copy and imitate" the basic concept and gameplay from Crazy Taxi, to which it holds a patent. The suit names publisher Fox Interactive, distributor Electronic Arts and developer Radical Entertainment.

Road Rage was widely criticised at its time of release for being a blatant Crazy Taxi clone and indeed the company is using several such reviews as part of its evidence. If successful the move could have a huge impact on the game industry, which since the earliest days of Pong and Space Invaders has seen successful titles being ?cloned?, copied and adapted by other companies.
-David Jenkins



That's ridiculous, does that mean Unreal, quake, duke nukem and doom should be sued for stealing wolfenstein's idea? (that's the earliest FPS i could think of).


 
rolleye.gif
@ Sega.

 
haha, thats nuts.

I agree with you about the Wolfenstein 3D thing though, if this goes through, I sure hope that all others file suit so the court system can realize what a big douchebag it was and reverse their decision.
 
I played Simpsons: Road Rage.. and I've played Crazy Taxi. Crazy Taxi is NOTHING like Simpsons Road Rage and if anything, Simpsons: Road Rage is just like Grand Theft Auto 3.

Lame lawsuit.
 
I can see where Sega is coming from.

When I first played Road Rage I knew they stole their ideas from Crazy Taxi.. even right down to the glowing borders as to where you need to stop to drop people off. The games were so similar I thought that the Simpsons people must have licensed the Crazy Taxi engine off of Sega... guess not now.
 
Originally posted by: brxndxn
I played Simpsons: Road Rage.. and I've played Crazy Taxi. Crazy Taxi is NOTHING like Simpsons Road Rage and if anything, Simpsons: Road Rage is just like Grand Theft Auto 3.

Lame lawsuit.
Click to expand...

Wrong. Simpson's hit and run is like Grand Theft Auto 3. Simpson's Road Rage is like Crazy Taxi. I always thought that they had gotten permission to clone Crazy Taxi. Guess that wasn't true.
 
Usually, when companies start suing for patent violations, doesn't that usually signal their imminent death in the market? SCO? Netscape?
 
I don't really care if Sega wins or loses...

But maybe now that the precedent has been set, game developers will be leery of litigation and start producing more original games!
 
Originally posted by: brxndxn
I played Simpsons: Road Rage.. and I've played Crazy Taxi. Crazy Taxi is NOTHING like Simpsons Road Rage and if anything, Simpsons: Road Rage is just like Grand Theft Auto 3.

Lame lawsuit.
Click to expand...

 
Originally posted by: SaltBoy
Originally posted by: brxndxn
I played Simpsons: Road Rage.. and I've played Crazy Taxi. Crazy Taxi is NOTHING like Simpsons Road Rage and if anything, Simpsons: Road Rage is just like Grand Theft Auto 3.

Lame lawsuit.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

^--- *points a few posts up*
 
Too bad the Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania didn't have the foresight to patent driving like a moron - they'd have been rolling it in! 😀
 
Originally posted by: Rogue
Usually, when companies start suing for patent violations, doesn't that usually signal their imminent death in the market? SCO? Netscape?
Click to expand...

Sega isnt going anywhere. They made all their money off making games and lost it during console sales...they arent selling consoles anymore, so they just liscence themselves out.
 
so does this mean interplay can sue Sega for stealing the idea from Carmageddon... who can then be sued by the makers of Death Race 2000, who can then sued....

ad nauseum..
 
Since when did Electronic Arts become a distributor (for Fox Interactive, nonetheless)? Perhaps they meant Electronic Boutique?
 
Originally posted by: blakeatwork
so does this mean interplay can sue Sega for stealing the idea from Carmageddon... who can then be sued by the makers of Death Race 2000, who can then sued....

ad nauseum..
Click to expand...

Carmageddon is nothing like Road Rage/Crazy Taxi.
 
maybe its an innoculation lawsuit to protect it from real morons suing them over, oh lets say giant cartoon donut road accidents
 
I'm not saying Sega should be suing necessarily, but have you guys played Road Rage? It looks and feels just like crazy taxi but with simpsons skins....
 
Originally posted by: ATLien247
I don't really care if Sega wins or loses...

But maybe now that the precedent has been set, game developers will be leery of litigation and start producing more original games!
Click to expand...

Yeah they will make crappy original games just to avoid lawsuits. What if Nintendo had sued Sega for copying Mario Bros. with Sonic?
 
Originally posted by: rpc64
I'm not saying Sega should be suing necessarily, but have you guys played Road Rage? It looks and feels just like crazy taxi but with simpsons skins....
Click to expand...

And the buggy gameplay! Don't forget the #1 additional feature of RR: invisible, immovable objects randomly blocking roads! Yay for innovation!
 
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