I agree that the ships from my game and the original Asteroids are very close in shape, not exactly so, but close. I've also always acknowledged the influence of that game, and indeed yes it's why I included that quote in the trailer. The quote wasnt from me, BTW, it was from a friend who played the game a few weeks before I released it. Good point, I'll actually go ahead and do that right away. BTW, all this just reminds me of the sad state of our copyright system... where a simple video game from 33 years ago that literally has like 4 or 5 elements in it (total) isnt just in the public domain by now. So much for "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts".
Ha, Ha! All this is doing is just gonna make gamers buy this because for some reason we all like the idea of getting something before it's banned whether or not the game is good in itself. But, for the indie developer, in any event, I hope he scores BIG!
Wow, this is sad. There's been plenty of games that have taken "inspiration" from Asteroids, but Alien Space Retro has so much different going on for it that I'll be really pissed if Atari wins this battle. Something like Smasheroids (which is basically Asteroids in reverse) is closer in my opinion. Wonder if they got a letter. Honestly, I don't think either game deserves the wrath of Atari. It's funny how a smaller company like Vlambeer has more of a case against Gamenauts over the Radical Fishing vs. Ninja Fishing debate. Yet, as far as I know, they aren't going to sue because legal battles cost money. And here's a big game developer picking on a small dev for a game that may have some similar artwork, but is clearly much more than Asteroids ever was. Don't let the big guns push you around!
Oh, never mind! Today a game called Retro Dust came out and it's a cross between Asteroids AND Space Invaders! Ha!! GOTTA go after THEM! Also, check out this dev's other games on the left! When you see this, you can't help but wonder why Atari is going after the dev of THIS game ASR! Maybe if Atari went after every single developer whose games they feel are remotely similar to theirs, they'd get so much money in lawsuits they could actually be a viable force to be reckoned with again! :/ Kill all the little guys to become big again! Sounds just like a video game, huh? Well, guess what, Atari, ANOTHER bad idea! Obviously no good creative ideas left in THEM.
I actually wouldnt be surprised, this seems to be a trend among copyright trolls lately... just look at Righthaven. At least they have been getting smacked down pretty hard in court lately. These companies need to learn that extortion and lawsuits are not a good way to make a living. Maybe if they spent all that time, effort, and money on creating better products they would actually come out ahead.
well, definitely glad (and surprised) to hear that Apple gave you the chance to claim you weren't infringing, rather than just immediately shut you down and let you fend for yourself. Might be a sign of the times, the old stodgy giant is softening up a bit on the lil' guy. As for Atari, and their lawyer in question.. one needs to note that Atari such as it is now and the Atari of old have little relation to one another. Few game companies have had a more, um, schizophrenic history that I can recall. In fact their current configuration is fairly unrelated, to the core, from any of the previous versions (the ones which, you know, made many of the games which became much of the cornerstone of the culture of this industry). As for their lawyer, my friend summed it up best - "billable hours," this person has to justify their job and a good way to do that is seeking out little developers to pester and give a tough time to. I am sure they don't care one way or the other about the actual games in question. Overall I take it as a good sign after reading some things in this thread, and especially that Apple hasn't had their usually typical knee-jerk reaction. Keep us posted
Hi Owens Stick to your guns my friend Retro hasnt left my iphone since day one I also think its the "billable" hours thing and if the worst comes to the worst i would just remove the name from the app description and not alter the game in any way shape or form! you have a lot of support here and rightly so Let us know whats happening when you can
I too am glad that Apple is actually showing signs of not trying to immediately take down a game as soon as someone shouts foul. Hopefully it is a full policy change and not just this one instance. I am also glad that you don't plan on changing anything. Don't give in to them or let them bully you around! Stick to your principles!
totally... really surprised that Apple hasn't just said "we're removing it because Atari said they wanted us to..." - but so freak'n glad too. I hope this is the new norm for Apple. And yup, I'll chime in... - stick to your guns, don't let those bastards push you around just because they think they can.
I have to say I don't know where Apple's reputation for insta-removing apps comes from. I had a trademark-based request to remove an app of mine as well. I simply issued an update, changing the potential source of the issue. Apple took no action and the app is still in the store.
Luxor vs. Stoneloops of Jurassica was a famous case.. also early this year when it was Doodle Jump vs. everyone, if I recall Apple pretty much had their finger on the trigger to remove a bunch of apps, when Lima Sky suddenly backed off their claim..
It wasn't necassarily insta-removing. They did give you some time to comply, like you did and then not have a problem. But if you didn't comply with their changes in the short time they gave you, they would remove it.
Atari should know better. Even though the company from now is not related to the one from the 70/80s, if I remember my video games history, Asteroids looks remarkably similar to Space Wars, as in the ship and physics. And didn't Nolan Bushnell see a prototype of Pong for the home market and decided to rip it off for the arcades... that is basically double standards. All you need to do is remove any reference to the name Asteroids and you should be ok.
dude i feel your pain, and your app doesn't deserve this and if they say that your ship looks like theirs simply point to space wars which came out 2 years before asteroids in 1977. i cant see how they can copyright something after the event it was inspired but you can see that atari themselves were inspired by it. oh and for the record check this out. http://www.patentarcade.com/2005/04/case-atari-v-amusement-world-c-d-md.html
Very interesting case, thanks for posting this. I'm not really sure what this game "Meteors" looks like, but the above description I think would pretty much apply to the similarities between Asteroids and my game. Like you pointed out, Space Wars already had a similar spaceship years before. Even if not, there's only so many ways you can show a directional spaceship-looking object in a simple vector form. A triangular form is common, just look at the Apollo Command Module... what the astronauts rode to the Moon and back. That was in the 60's. http://www.hobbyspace.com/AAdmin/Images/History/ApolloBP-04AtDowney_md.jpg As far as the asteroid shapes themselves... well, how many ways are there to draw an outlined rock?
a asteroid is a 'celestial body' you can't copyright that idea. it would be like putting a copyright on a planet design or the concept of a soldier, both have been round way longer than copright laws of 70 years. you dont see company's put law suits on the idea of putting human soldiers in their games so whats wrong with 'concepts' of asteroids. your asteroids also feature more sides and dont share the original graphics. i think using a appolo capsuel is a case in point design wise, and was also the inspiration to atari and space wars.
couldnt find any images for 'meteors' but found reference for 'meteor' made me chuckle a little. I dont know whats worse the identical copy of a image or the miss use of a image for advertising. I think this is a genuine arcade game too... WOW!.... like... WOW! http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=63030
