Activision Kills Long-Awaited King's Quest Fan Project

[Erana]

What the fuck guys? Seriously?

You waste 8 years of their lives, for something that probably wouldn't even make a dime.

This is just beyond idiotic, this is god damn Blasphemy.

I'm a freaken ashamed activision, this is low.

Personally, I think Western culture underrates detication. I mean, sure, they are spending years and years of their lives working on the penultimate display of fandom, but the fact that they can do so with such vigor and skill alone...
Well, even if its kind of a silly purpose in life, its better than no purpose...

 

[ark123]

Oh, you damn retards. What exactly would you gain by doing this, other than the hatred of the community? I don't even play this anymore and I hate them for it, I can only imagine the dudes that were making it.
If they make it and it sucks, it reflects badly on THEM, not Activision.

 

[dududf]

And they wonder why I refuse to give up piracy, the asshats...

What exactly does this have to do with piracy?

Just a shot in the dark, but I'm assuming it has to do with him not wanting to give the companies money due to moves demonstrated in the article. Perhaps it conflicts with some principles he has.

What the fuck guys? Seriously?

You waste 8 years of their lives, for something that probably wouldn't even make a dime.

This is just beyond idiotic, this is god damn Blasphemy.

I'm a freaken ashamed activision, this is low.

Personally, I think Western culture underrates detication. I mean, sure, they are spending years and years of their lives working on the penultimate display of fandom, but the fact that they can do so with such vigor and skill alone...
Well, even if its kind of a silly purpose in life, its better than no purpose...

[
I can sort of understand what you mean. I'm assuming you are talking about them having something to do, which surprisingly (to me) is enough for some people.

I just look at this and get disgusted, to rob some one the fruits of their labour, not even ALLOWING them to finish something that they've dedicated such a great amount of time towards. After reading the article, I started feeling sick. It's just wrong.

 

[Bobzer77]

I always knew Activision was evil.... many people forgot but I never did. Now those who once laughed at me for saying such things will be enlightened and finally see how black it's withered old heart is.

 

[bloodychimp]

What the fuck guys? Seriously?

You waste 8 years of their lives, for something that probably wouldn't even make a dime.

This is just beyond idiotic, this is god damn Blasphemy.

I'm a freaken ashamed activision, this is low.

You realize people make games for fun right? I'm sure there's something you've been doing for entertainment for 8 years that wont make money for you.

 

[reg42]

Activision have a reputation of being the devil. They know this right? 'Cause this doesn't help them.

 

[dududf]

What the fuck guys? Seriously?

You waste 8 years of their lives, for something that probably wouldn't even make a dime.

This is just beyond idiotic, this is god damn Blasphemy.

I'm a freaken ashamed activision, this is low.

You realize people make games for fun right? I'm sure there's something you've been doing for entertainment for 8 years that wont make money for you.

It appears my message went over your head, allow me to reiterate in a more blunt manner.

"You squashed on some ones project that does not affect you in the slightest. They were doing this for fun, and would probably not make any money what so ever. This did not affect Activision in the slightest *insert profanities*."

Better?

 

[Bobzer77]

By the way for anyone who's interested I found the petition if you want to sign.

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/savetsl/

 

[unacomn]

Well played Kotick, you win this round. But our day will come, and our stinger missiles will be aimed at your gold plated jet.

 

[Captain Blackout]

And they wonder why I refuse to give up piracy, the asshats...

What exactly does this have to do with piracy?

As long as the corporate world reserves the right to act like pirates, I reserve the right to be a pirate. As near as I can tell, this falls under the rubric of fan fiction. While there are those who condemn fan faction, they're idiots for doing so. It doesn't take away from the original, it can draw new fans in, and in some cases can be a real addition to the original i.e. Mysteries of the Sith. Activision bought the rights to a game that hasn't seen a new release in over decade, unless I missed something. There was a collection released recently, which Silver Lining would be effective advertising for.

The bottom line? Activision and anyone else who takes this line is stealing from the people the opportunity to entertain each other when the people aren't stealing from Activision. If that's the standard they want to set, then ethics be damned, I will do whatever the fuck I want to Activision and they can suck it.

 

[Nova5]

It's pretty obvious Activision's turning into the "new EA", and has been for a while. Of course, we all need someone to point to and say "You! You're the bad guy!" But these guys are serious douche-bags. And they'll still remain wildly popular, so whatever. Like a New Yorker who sees someone getting mugged in an alley, let's look the other way and walk by without paying it any mind.

 

[Voltano]

Well, I can't really think of Activision as "evil" on this article as there may be some reason why they filed the Cease & Desist (C&D) order, maybe they have intentions of reviving the old "King's Quest" franchise in the future, or something.

Though the action and result are still disappointing to hear. Could Activision just make a contract or some deal of working with these developers in publishing the game while getting some money? Sure the project could have started as a project of fun with no expectation of money, but I think Activision could find some way of making money off of this while also hiring the developers for possible future games, if this one turns out to be good.

 

[Fniff]

Oh, hello.

Satan appears to have taken over Activision. RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

Seriously, this is LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW. Low!

 

[Johnnyallstar]

This makes me sad. I remember a few years ago EA was the evil empire, but it seems that Activision has been doing everything in it's ability to take that title away from EA.

 

[tkioz]

It really shits me to see this happening so much lately you know? This is what the 5th project shut down in the home stretch recently? I'm fine with them protecting their copyright but there really needs to be some rule, either you step on the project early on, or you STFU, none of this kill a decade old game/movie/whatever days/months away from release because you've got a tiny penis.

And hell the last time a game in the series came out was over a decade ago, I'm pretty sure that should count as "we have no interest in this franchise, so we're just going to be dicks for the sake of being dicks". If they want to pull that crap they should have to bring out there own game using the IP within X amount of time after filing the C&D.

 

[Baby Tea]

Well this is crappy.
I love the King's Quest series, and own them all (Except number 8). King Quest 5, the EGA version, was the first game my dad brought home for us kids. All four of us would huddle around the PC trying to figure out the puzzles, taking turns controlling Graham in his journey. I have a lot of fond memories of that series, and it's a shame to see a lovingly created piece of fan-work go to waste.

I found the trailer here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8806956217213787556#

It had me interested.
Hopefully this can be resolved.

 

[Nuke_em_05]

If they own the copyright/trademark; they can. Especially if they plan on using that IP later.

As far as the full hammer, I don't know if it was the best decision. Obviously there's a lot of backlash. Really, completely scrapping a project seems like such a waste; they could have worked out some sort of deal, a developer license or even had them integrate with/work on a new title (if they do plan on doing a new title).

Sometimes what you are allowed to do, and have a "right" to, just isn't the best thing to do.

 

[Echolocating]

Hmmm... so they sign a contract with Vivendi Universal. Vivendi is then bought by Activision, but doesn't honor the contract that they also purchased at the time. Interesting. I suppose the only reason the project has been halted is because the fan-project doesn't really have any incentive/resources to challenge the C&D letter.

I'm not a fan of people taking existing IPs and trying to pay homage in their own thoughtful way. Honestly, if you have the energy and means to make something... make it your own. That said, Activision are a bunch of jerks for not honoring the contract they bought with the Vivendi purchase.

 

[Gindil]

It's official. Bobby Kotick (Activision head) is a dick.

I'm not a fan of people taking existing IPs and trying to pay homage in their own thoughtful way. Honestly, if you have the energy and means to make something... make it your own. That said, Activision are a bunch of jerks for not honoring the contract they bought with the Vivendi purchase.

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Even though it's a game taking place in the same mythos as King's Quest, I don't believe they should have their stuff removed because of Kotick's desire to continually push for sequels.

 

[Jared]

And there goes all the respect points they had...