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Sega finally sues over Simpsons Road Rage

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Old 12-05-03, 11:56 AM
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Sega finally sues over Simpsons Road Rage

You have to be kidding me

Sega sues over Simpsons

Sega of America has filed a suit against EA and Fox alleging that The Simpsons Road Rage deliberately copies and imitates its Crazy Taxi games.

According to a recent Reuters report, Sega of America has filed a suit against publisher Electronic Arts, developer Radical Games, the Fox Filmed Entertainment division of Fox Entertainment, and Vivendi Universal's Fox Interactive unit. Filed in a San Francisco federal court, the suit alleges that the 2001 game The Simpsons Road Rage was designed to 'deliberately copy and imitate' its Crazy Taxi games.

Sega holds a U.S. patent known as the '138 patent' on Crazy Taxi, and has cited a number of reviews from video game publications of The Simpsons Road Rage in which the game was described as being very similar to Crazy Taxi. In our own review of Road Rage we noted that the game could perhaps best be described as 'Crazy Taxi in Springfield'.

Sega has requested that the court stop the sale and import of The Simpsons Road Rage, which has sold more than a million copies to date, recall copies of the game currently in retail, and award damages for lost profits. We'll bring you more information on this story as soon as it becomes available.

Was this not obvious two years ago? All of us on this board at one point BEFORE THE GAME EVEN CAME OUT observed that it was an exact clone of Crazy taxi. Every review that has ever been done of this game has mentioned crazy taxi. That was the point. I'm just surprised it took Sega 23 MONTHS to say one word about it.
Old 12-05-03, 12:05 PM
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Yay!!
Old 12-05-03, 12:44 PM
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I thought that every single game that comes out today was copied from an earlier one...
Old 12-05-03, 12:48 PM
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Originally posted by WildcatLH
I thought that every single game that comes out today was copied from an earlier one...
Have you seen Crazy Taxi -> Road Rage.. it's a little more complicated than say, Mario vs Sonic.
Old 12-05-03, 01:08 PM
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And yet, Shane R. Monroe (from RetroGamingRadio.com) is convinced that Sega ripped Space Taxi to make Crazy Taxi.

I don't see it, except for the name and similar passenger/destination goals, but maybe Muse Software has a case.

It's only been 177 months!
Old 12-05-03, 01:13 PM
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Re: Sega finally sues over Simpsons Road Rage

Originally posted by ClarkKentKY
Was this not obvious two years ago? All of us on this board at one point BEFORE THE GAME EVEN CAME OUT observed that it was an exact clone of Crazy taxi. Every review that has ever been done of this game has mentioned crazy taxi. That was the point. I'm just surprised it took Sega 23 MONTHS to say one word about it.
Yes, it was obvious, but at the time Sega was in financial trouble. In fact, it has only been of late that Sega has turned around financially and are able to spend money on other projects. This could just be the first opportunity for them to take action on it. I don't see them stopping sales or recalling, but awarding Sega damages may be the final decision of the courts.

Of course, if this happens, does Take Two have a case against Simpsons Hit and Run? Probably.
Old 12-05-03, 03:49 PM
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This case won't get to trial.
Old 12-05-03, 04:41 PM
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Hey Taxi! Platform 1 please!

Man, Space Taxi was awesome. If Sega has a case, MUSE would have one too. Barring differences in available technology, they are pretty much the same simple concept.

(That it is a fairly simple concept should make it obvious that no one should be suing anyone here).
Old 12-05-03, 05:20 PM
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Space Taxi rules.

I think Sega is going to lose it's case.
Old 12-05-03, 05:27 PM
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So does that mean Rockstar's gonna sue over Simpson's Hit & Run?

The creator of Pitfall should then sue Nintendo over Super Mario Bros.
Old 12-05-03, 05:51 PM
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Sounds like some people were bored
Old 12-05-03, 06:09 PM
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Konami should sue the makers of SNOOD
Old 12-05-03, 06:27 PM
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They're probably still mad because Lady Miss Kier (Deee-Lite) sued them over Space Channel 5.
Old 12-05-03, 06:38 PM
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edit: ah, forget it. I'm in a cynical mood tonight.

Last edited by Outlaw; 12-05-03 at 06:53 PM.
Old 12-05-03, 11:39 PM
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Originally posted by Outlaw
edit: ah, forget it. I'm in a cynical mood tonight.
Old 12-06-03, 01:56 AM
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So is ID software going to sue everyone whose ever made a fps since it's all pretty much the same stuff and a "deliberate" copy of Doom
Old 12-06-03, 02:30 PM
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So fox is getting "foxed".
Old 12-06-03, 02:41 PM
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Originally posted by glassdragon
So is ID software going to sue everyone whose ever made a fps since it's all pretty much the same stuff and a "deliberate" copy of Doom
Doom was not the first FPS.
Old 12-06-03, 03:18 PM
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ok i'm sorry, wolfenstein was i believe.. and i think it was ID that made that also
Old 12-06-03, 03:30 PM
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Sega doesn't have a prayer of winning this one... see the following article for how similar cases in the past have turned out:

http://www.gamespy.com/articles/june.../index10.shtml
Old 12-06-03, 06:02 PM
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Originally posted by glassdragon
ok i'm sorry, wolfenstein was i believe.. and i think it was ID that made that also
I personally consider id's Catacombs 3-D to be the first, although Wolfenstein 3-D was really the game that launched the genre.
Old 12-06-03, 07:54 PM
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Maybe Nintendo will follow suit and sue pretty much everybody that make a go-kart racing game (and there have been TONS)

Give me a break Sega...
Old 12-06-03, 09:37 PM
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Originally posted by Dean Kousoulas
Maybe Nintendo will follow suit and sue pretty much everybody that make a go-kart racing game (and there have been TONS)
Nah, then they'd be going the way of SEGA!
Old 05-12-04, 03:58 PM
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Anything ever happen with this case?

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