I will not be purchasing Skyrim.

[thestickman91]

1) The guys in suits that decide whether or not to sue people have nothing to do with the guys that actually make the games.

2)If Bethesda don't sue Mojang now, then when scrolls gets released Morjang COULD sue Bethesda for exactly the same reasons. Bethesda would be leaving themselves very open to attack if they didn't act now.

Didn't a similar kind of thing happen with James Cameron's Avatar and Avatar: The Last Airbender?

 

[Apollo45]

To be fair, when I heard Mojang was coming out with a game called Scrolls, my first thought was "huh, wonder if it'll be anything like The Elder Scrolls."

Now, while I don't necessarily think the lawsuit is the right thing to do, I'm also not a lawyer, nor am I a game developer. Bethesda has been one of the better companies out there, certainly better than EA or Activision. I enjoy their games consistently, and have since I started playing Morrowind on a computer that could barely handle the graphics at the lowest possible quality (I now buy my computers based almost solely on the thought, "will it be able to handle the next Bethesda game?").

As much as I love Minecraft and Mojang, I can see the reason why they're doing it (even if I don't agree), and I love Bethesda games. If you're going to base all your purchasing habits on things like this, then you really shouldn't be buying games from EA, or Activision, or nearly any big publisher out there.

 

[AbsoluteVirtue18]

Bethesda has a decent reason to want Mojang to change the game's name, and it wouldn't be that hard for Mojang to change it. You know how many people would buy Scrolls thinking that it's an Elder Scrolls game? Mojang probably knew ahead of time that some people would do just that, and they probably did it on purpose. So go ahead, don't buy Skyrim. Delete all your save games. Throw your little hissy fit. I don't care.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

what is the point of this thread? the escapist have already covered the lawsuit

 

[silversnake4133]

I really hope Mojang wins this. I mean come on, why is the series named "the Elder Scrolls"? Where are all the scrolls? What are they? Why are they important? Do they tell you where to do? Do they give you messages? Are you supposed to find them? All I've been getting about TES is dungeon crawling, leveling up, character customizations and dragons.

The importance of the "scrolls" as deemed by the plot of every Elder Scrolls game:
The physical Elder Scrolls play a very limited role in the storyline of the series, serving only as framing plot device (i.e., "[the events in this game] were foretold in the Elder Scrolls..."). The Elder Scrolls themselves are rarely referred to in game or even in the in-game literature. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion marked the first actual appearance of the scrolls as a MacGuffin in a quest-line.

Huh, okay, and why was Bethesda bitching again? The article continues by saying that in Oblivion, the character actually is tasked to steal ONE Elder scroll. And even when they do, you can't read it. Wow...our plot device ladies and gentlemen.

In Mojang's "Scrolls" the items are actually a major part of the game. It says directly from the site that the character collects scrolls and uses them in battle.

Scrolls is Mojang's next game and offers a new and unique game play where you fight to outmaneuver your opponent on the battlefield using the destructive powers in your collection of magical scrolls.

So is Konami going to go after them then because of the obscure reference to card games? Is Wizards of the Coast going to go after them because of the obscure relations to Dungeons and Dragons? Heck why not send the proverbial rabid dogs of Blizzard in there as well because it's an RPG. And if the whole big deal is with the word "scrolls" why hasn't the English monarchy attacked Softmax for their Magna Carta series? If you can see what I did there, you get an internet cookie.

There hath be no intellectual words that can describe why this is stupid. If Bethesda is so worried that other people will make video games that are practically rip-offs of their Elder Scrolls series, then they should go after them IF they arise. I bet if they would have just left Mojang alone, there wouldn't be a problem. All this seems to be doing is earning Mojang and Notch great publicity, and Bethesda a rather bad image.

 

[Yopaz]

I find it strange that everyone in this thread is relentlessly mocking this guy over his boycott, but I could barely find a single person willing to even admit they were still buying Diablo 3 during all of its hate threads.

I mean I guess the diablo 3 controversy was over actual elements of the game itself, versus the practice of its developers, but it still seems a little imbalanced.

Selective hatred I guess xD.

Edit: On that note, does anyone else find it weird that nobody has made a boycott thread about gears of war 3 selling those 21 premium weapon skins on day one? Theres like..6 in the actual game, and 3 of those required the beta, and cheevos from gears 1 and 2. So there are really only 3 skins in the game available for unlock without doing extra stuff, and the remaining 21 require a purchase.

it doesn't bother me too much, since they are relatively cheap and I can just buy a few and be done with it, but it seems like the kind of thing people would jump all over considering its similarities to the portal 2 hat fiasco.

OK, so you missed it. Diablo 3 had restrictive DRM.
The developers of Skyrim has done nothing. The publishers are suing a company over reasons that doesn't make sense to someone who hasn't read the copyright and trademark laws in detail.
Gears of War selling skins. That doesn't affect the gameplay at all.

OT: I wont be buying Skyrim simply because I'm not interested.

I didn't miss that, I just don't care. Its nowhere near the deal breaker people have made it out to be. As for the skins, I actually do agree with you on that, but I still expected controversy because, as I said, portal 2 drummed up an unholy level of anger over an almost identical system.

You went into enough detail to explain why it was a deal breaker and that Diablo 3's DRM would affect the game. You missed the difference between publisher and developer. Most here defend the developer and the game, since neither got anything to do with the lawsuit.

 

[Lejsen]

I just think the idea of having the title ELDER SCROLLS copyrighted immediately gives you control over the individual words as well is ridiculous.

 

[DocBalance]

I'm trying really hard to care, but I don't.

Really, you aren't trying to convince us to follow you. You've said so yourself. So why do this? Yeah, you have an opinion, but what's the point of it other than you having an opinion?

You won't be buying Skyrim. Enough people to populate a moderate third-world nation will. Do the math.

 

[Epona]

Look at it this way, Bethesda is the name of the company doing this, while Bethesda Softworks is the name of the company that actually made Skyrim. The game itself (the people who made it etc.) has nothing to do with the overly zealous corporate branch causing these court problems past some copyright definitions. Do you think you're going to see Tod Howard in that court room being a dick? Well you won't. If you want to punish yourself by not buying Skyrim over some moral conviction, fine, but know that it accomplishes absolutely nothing on any scale other than you missing out.

Bethesda is also the name of the company who will get money if you buy Skyrim. How is "it's not the dev team, it's the legal team" even a defense. Talk about apologists.

Yeah, but how is not buying a game, when you were really looking forward to it and liked the last few games from them, just to make a point that will have no financial impact on the offending company whatsoever, accomplishing ANYTHING?? Talk about futile and empty gestures.

How about using the only consumer rights to not buy something for whatever reason we want? Why is that frowned upon and really if it is futile, why do YOU even care?

 

[Mark Hardigan]

So because Bethesda is certain that Scrolls not only infringes on their trademark but that they believe that it will confuse gamers... they are bad people? Really? So they weren't evil when they sued Interplay over Fallout because they believed that Interplay breached contract and was using the license in a way they disliked... but they're evil when they sue a smaller developer over trademark infringement? WHAT.

Companies do this all the time. Minecraft is huge. Especially for an independent game. From Bethesda's standpoint, Scrolls stands to become just as huge. If it does so, there is a very good chance that there will be confusion between the two games because of the fame and longevity that The Elder Scrolls has. Bethesda is doing what any other company in the same situation would do. Just because Mojang disagrees with Bethesda's logic does not mean there is a clear-cut bad guy and good guy here.

 

[Kakashi on crack]

Even though this means I will never play Skyrim, I will no longer support Bethesda in any way.

There's ways to play the game without supporting the company (and before someone reports me for suggesting that thing we aren't supposed to publically support, I was suggesting USED games. )

OT: Go for it *shrug* don't play what you don't agree with.

 

[Headsprouter]

It's stupid, very stupid. But you can like a game but not the company that makes it. I'm sure many of us use windows operating systems, but dispise microsoft for it's moneygrabbing and tendency to throw it's weight around. Skyrim is gonna be awesome. You're just going through a phase. You'll be back soon enough. Hopefully.

...now where was I? Oh, yes! I SMITE THEE, DRAGON! -skips off, merrily-

 

[razer17]

Character creation, primarily. If they're sticking to the 'lore' I keep hearing about and dreading, then all of the races from Oblivion will be cast aside so that you can be some random Dragonborn which is just a human with a spiffy name apparently.

EDIT: Waitwot? There was someone above me mentioning it, I just went with the flow. Apologies on my hand then.

I did it for New Vegas but ended up buying it anyways.

I'm not sure what you mean, because there are the same races as in Oblivion, and the character creation is still there. I played the beta on a timed demo, so I didn't really bother messing with sliders, but it looks like you can customise your character just as much as before, and you can still be a Nord or Dark Elf or creepy lizard man.

 

[you rolled a one]

Im going to buy the game used, I haven't bought a used game in three years, normally i buy my games new to support the developer but im not going to be doing it this time.

 

[SUPA FRANKY]

Um...wow. Do you really care that much? Are you really going to miss out on a game your excited for just because some people you don't and probably never will know got screwed over?

Now that is what i call dedicated.

 

[Doom-Slayer]

-snip-

Quite simply, listen to the escapist podcast about this and they explain it quite clearly. The holders of the IP Zenimax(I think), basically are in a positive where they HAVE to protect it. This is probably not something they want to do but are basically legally required to do it by the way IP works in the US. If your going to boycott, please boycott for informed reasons.

For instance, I am boycotting BF3. Why? Multiple reasons actually. The Origin EULA, no in-game server searching thing and essentially Origin in itself. I have looked up as much info as I can on this and I am not giving them my money because they are basically treating us like thieves. You...have not looked up all information good sir, and should probably do so.

 

[Pandabearparade]

I hope Bethesda crush Mojang like the insignificant worm he is.

Heard of a little game called Minecraft, hombre?

 

[Soxafloppin]

Buy it second hand then!

 

[Zack1501]

Just because lawyers are ass**** doesn't mean we should make the game developers suffer.

 

[blaqknoise]

Lol, I don't even care about that stuff. I just play vidya games.