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Replay Games wants “infringing” Kickstarter campaign taken down (update: Al Lowe’s okay with it)

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Leisure Suit Larry creator Al Lowe and his company Replay Games say they plan to sue Wisecrack Games today to shut down its $500,000 Kickstarter crowdfunding project because it infringes on their copyright and misrepresents Lowe’s participation in the project.

http://venturebeat.com/2012/05/30/leisure-suit-larry-creator-wants-infringing-kickstarter-campaign-taken-down-exclusive/

     

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Wow, that’ll do their PR loads of good.

Neutral

     
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wow!

     

Stuart Bradley Newsom - Naughty Shinobi || Our Game: Shadow Over Isolation

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I feel slightly torn on this issue.

On the one hand, reading the Sam Suede Kickstarter page, it does seem slightly misleading about Al Lowe’s present involvement versus his historic involvement.

On the other hand, Paul Trowe has always struck me as being quite frankly a bit of a dick, with the maturity of a 12 year old. It wouldn’t surprise me if he jumped straight to “let’s sue them!” instead of politely asking them to re-word their campaign for the sake of clarity. Even his tweets “this guy is attempting to capitalize on Al’s good name and our awesome success.” just sound like a jealous infant who doesn’t want to let anyone else play with “his” toys, i.e. a comedy/sex game on Kickstarter.

I think I might pledge to the Sam Suede campaign out of spite, and because Steve Ince is listed on the project, and he used to post on the forums here.

I’d like to hear more from both parties on what exactly is going on; it would have been useful if the author had actually bothered to contact Wisecrack for a comment, instead of writing such a one-side piece. Paul Trowe seems to be hiding behind the “we can’t comment” excuse at present though. This isn’t casting Replay Games in a good light at all, seemingly trying to crush the little guy. I’d be most curious to hear what Al Lowe has to say personally on the matter, as the article implies he’s the one behind it, even errantly referring to Replay Games as “his” company. I’d like to believe that wasn’t the case, as Al always seemed like a pleasant laid-back kind of guy.

Edit: Amusingly one of the backers of the Sam Suede project is Oden Sharon from Adventure Mob - the Israeli studio making the Leisure Suit Larry remake for Replay.

     
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I’m with Jatsie on this one, there’s something really odd about this.

     

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instead of politely asking them to re-word their campaign for the sake of clarity

Exactly. Basically, WTF. It’s not like they’ve done anything worse than perhaps write something a bit misleading, which can be easily rectified. They chose to work together in the beginning, they should be working with each other throughout - IMO this is pompous nonsense.

Someone asked elsewhere - will they now be spending their Kickstarter funds on the lawsuit? Is it the ‘get rich quick’ scheme I had a feeling it was to begin with?  Crazy

     
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Jatsie - 30 May 2012 01:21 PM

On the other hand, Paul Trowe has always struck me as being quite frankly a bit of a dick, with the maturity of a 12 year old. It wouldn’t surprise me if he jumped straight to “let’s sue them!” instead of politely asking them to re-word their campaign for the sake of clarity. Even his tweets “this guy is attempting to capitalize on Al’s good name and our awesome success.” just sound like a jealous infant who doesn’t want to let anyone else play with “his” toys, i.e. a comedy/sex game on Kickstarter.

Agreed!
Although it might be a part of marketing campaign as well. Raising $500000 for a console action/adventure that is not part of Tomb Raider/Uncharted series… A bit too naive)

     
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I doubt they need to sue it. $500,000 for an unknown property is a steep goal for kickstarter.

I doubt it has any chance of succeeding anyway.

     

An adventure game is nothing more than a good story set with engaging puzzles that fit seamlessly in with the story and the characters, and looks and sounds beautiful.
Roberta Williams

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Looks like a cash grab scam to me.

     
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After seeing what happened to one of his creations in the hands of others (LSL) I’m not surprised Al’s not too thrilled with this. The timing and everything (little jabs like “This is not a revival or a remake” aren’t helping either) sure does look like a “cash in” deal alright. Assuming Al really wasn’t aware of this… wonder what’s the actual story here.

What’s troubling me is Steve Ince’ not-too-fortunate first contact with Kickstarter.

     
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inm8#2 - 30 May 2012 02:05 PM

Looks like a cash grab scam to me.

A cash grab scam would have a lower goal, so they’d actually get the money. Usually kickstarter scams have suspiciously low goals and lofty claims.

     
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Wisecrack just posted the following response on their Facebook page.

An official statement from Wisecrack Games:

Wisecrack Games has not infringed or otherwise violated any rights of Replay Games. Wisecrack’s references to Al Lowe’s accomplishments, including his work on the Leisure Suit Larry series, are truthful, come directly from Mr. Lowe’s website with his permission pursuant to a written agreement, and constitute de minimis and fair uses under applicable law. Based on records of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. Copyright Office, Replay Games owns neither the trademark nor copyright to Leisure Suit Larry, so any claim on Replay’s behalf is entirely baseless. As Kickstarter fans are aware, Al is currently working on Leisure Suit Larry. The references to Al Lowe’s extensive work with Ken Wegrzyn on the design of Sam Suede in Undercover Exposure is truthfully stated and a historical fact. The original design and prototyping have been completed by Al and Ken, as well as a written agreement with Al Lowe for the Sam Suede in Undercover Exposure Kickstarter with Wisecrack Games. Upon completion of a successful Kickstarter campaign, Wisecrack Games moves into full production to complete the game.

Sincerely,
Wisecrack Games

     
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Too bad it’s too late to withdraw my Leisure Suit Larry pledge.

     

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The picture of al on the “sam suede” kickstarter is a photoshopped picture of whats on al’s site. Why would they do that? They couldnt get a single decent picture from al so they had to cut and paste things out of one on his site????
See how on the picture of him in the kickstarter it looks like hes missing a couple buttons on his shirt? thats because in the original photo there was somthing around his neck blocking the buttons. This is beyond fishy.

     
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zane - 30 May 2012 04:10 PM

The picture of al on the “sam suede” kickstarter is a photoshopped picture of whats on al’s site. Why would they do that? They couldnt get a single decent picture from al so they had to cut and paste things out of one on his site????

See how on the picture of him in the kickstarter it looks like hes missing a couple buttons on his shirt? thats because in the original photo there was somthing around his neck blocking the buttons. This is beyond fishy.

You’re right that they Photoshopped out the background, but that’s slightly irrelevant because the shirt Al Lowe is wearing even in the original photo has the Sam Suede logo on it. It’s the same shirt Ken Wegrzyn is wearing in part of the pitch video.

     
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it doesn’t feel like a cash grab because Steve Ince is really involved in this.i doubt that well known people in the industry would go that far.their good reputation is on the line.

     

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