Dawn of the Dead Rising spat intensifies Related content
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Dawn of the Dead Rising spat intensifies News
Xbox 360 News by Robert Purchese
Capcom is seeking a declaration from US courts to prove Dead Rising did not copy Dawn of the Dead films in any way.
The publisher claims the game and the films have "vastly different storylines" and share "only the very general, unprotectible [sic] idea of zombies in a shopping mall".
Capcom was contacted by self-proclaimed owner of the film rights The MKR Group in 2006, and was accused of infringing on copyrights covering both George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead from 1979 and remake Dawn of the Dead from 2004.
According to the Capcom document the two had talked sporadically for the intervening years, until earlier this month MKR said it would file a trademark infringement suit unless Capcom, Microsft and Best Buy reached agreeable terms in the next three weeks.
MKR also said it would no longer turn down requests to be interviewed about the parties' dispute if things were not resolved.
Dead Rising, if you remember, has you play as reporter Frank West who ships up in a mysterious town to investigate some strange goings on. He later finds out zombies are to blame and goes around killing bundles of them with all sorts of handy props.
Dawn of the Dead, the remake - because we've not seen the other one - has the US under attack from a plague that resurrects the dead as zombies. Four survivors use a mall as a fort and spend time whittling away the hours by sniping the walking dead from rooftops and having a good old laugh.
Both are undeniably similar both in tone and content, and we would recommend you rent either for a spot of entertainment.
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Comments: 1-46 of 46 in total
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seasidebaz
14/02/08 @ 11:29
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omg this is silly, although....
the makers of the world's first film featuring a gun that shoots at things should sue every game company EVER for their portrayal of guns that shoot at things. idiots. |
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Der_tolle_Emil
14/02/08 @ 11:30
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I really don't see any differences between the two with the obvious exceptions of the Zombies and the Mall. I'm sure though that there are more movies that feature Zombies in a mall.
Besides, I remember on previews etc. there was always a footnote noting that the game has nothing to do with Dawn of the Dead. |
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The MKR Group is a bunch of greedy lawyers who have NOTHING to do with the makers of the films (like George A. Romero). I wouldn't be surprised if Capcom's game actually made a lot of people buy or rent the two movies after playing. Those MKR idiots should be grateful.
As already stated above, Dead Rising was intended as a tribute to Romero' s Dawn of the Dead. It wasn't even the first time they did this - in many interviews developers of the original Resident Evil admitted that Romero's first two "Dead" films were always a big inspiration. It was George A. Romero who basically invented the slow walking and flesh eating zombie, not some braindead MKR lawyer.
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most recently on 14/02/08 @ 11:56
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@Saladin
Everyone should sue the makes of Meet the Spartans for making such a huge steamer! (In my opinion of course). Dead Rising has a LOT more zombies bet Romero (and whoever made the remake) wish they had thought of that. Dead Rising sold so well because of the zombie/mall thing, hell there was a black and white Spectrum game called I think Zombies that was set it a mall, Romero didn't go after them. Utter shite, just greed, simple. Oh and they should base the next Dead Rising in Manchester Cathedral. |
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They are just trying their luck. Nothing should come of it... but who knows with the law in the colonies ;)
Both are great in their own right and are of detriment to each other, so what's the problem? Oh yeah, greedy motherf*****s. -edit- ^ Awesome idea about the Cathedral ^ That would be stunning.
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most recently on 14/02/08 @ 11:55
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Dawn of the Dead > Day of Dead > any other film > Phantom Menace
Bit late in the day to be getting like this, isn't it? Romero should get together with Capcom - in my mind the two parties who 'reanimated' (sorry) the zombie genre. Romero with 'Night', Capcom with Resi - and build / create something new and zombie. |
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Uncle_Fishboy
14/02/08 @ 12:04
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Erm, there's more than 4 survivors in either DOTD film. And the first one is much better, bar the brief scene in the new one where the blonde chick gets rutted from behind.
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BillyBrush
14/02/08 @ 12:04
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Saladin
14-Feb-08 11:25:05 Dead Rising was more of a tribute or parody than a rip-off. This lawsuit is like the makers of 300 suing over Meet the Spartans. The director of 300 did direct the dawn of the dead remake...not a whole lot to do with this but interesting...pretty good movie, and they might just have watched it..Brad = ving rhames with the suing that happens with americans i wouldn't be surprised if they try and sue for the tonight we dine in hell acheive on DMC! |
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MrChuckles
14/02/08 @ 12:10
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Original Dawn Of The Dead > Day Of The Dead > New Dawn of The Dead.
Nuff said. |
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asphaltcowboy
14/02/08 @ 12:31
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"MKR said it would file a trademark infringement suit unless Capcom, Microsft and Best Buy reached agreeable terms in the next three weeks."
/loves how "agreeable terms == money" "Dead Rising, if you remember, has you play as reporter Frank West who ships up in a mysterious town to investigate some strange goings on." He's covered wars y'know! |
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well, I'm sure this whole deal happend because the MKR group lawyers where having a blast drinking loads of beer and playing Dead Rising when one of them suddenly made a comment on how Dawn of the dead also featured a mall and zombies.
Then they were all suddenly angry that Dead Rising is just a hell of lot more fun than any of the movies. I know - Sad, but true.
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most recently on 14/02/08 @ 12:41
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@Skeletor
You pretty much said was I was about to say. If you've never seen Dawn of the Dead, and you played (and liked) Dead Rising, then the warnings all over the place saying "Nothing to do with George A. Romero or Dawn of the Dead btw" would make you want to go get Dawn of the Dead. Of course they're similar ideas, no doubt, but like everyone is saying, I've always seen it as more of a homage than a rip-off. Besides, if what Capcom says is true and the idea of zombies in a mall isn't protectable, then this whole endeavor is fucking pointless anyway. |
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If you can sue a company for making something that has similar ideas and locations to theirs would FPS publishers be suing each other left right and centre??
Ridiculous, Dead Rising has a simular Mall and idea of having hordes of Zombies. But the stories couldn't be more different. Dead Rising is about insects infecting people, which are a by product from a failed goverment experiment to increase meat production from cows . Dawn of the dead mean while is about a disease that has spread throughout a city/town and follows the survival of a few survivors who take refuge in a mall and later get attacked by a group of motor cyclists. They're just two seperate ideas in the same genre, black comedy/ zombie horror. Thats all. |
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kangarootoo
14/02/08 @ 14:03
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"Dead Rising has a LOT more zombies bet Romero (and whoever made the remake) wish they had thought of that. "
Lol. I like the idea that the film makers sat there looking at the final edit and said "I can't believe it didn't occur to us to put EVEN MORE zombies in our zombie film". |
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kangarootoo
14/02/08 @ 14:12
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@daveo
Jumper is based on a novel of the same name. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumper_%28n... So someone should maybe be suing Steven Gould. |
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@Dr_Wadd
That's the kiddie, glad you are old enough to remember this as well. You're right it did follow the film quite closely from what I remember. I think Capcom did things the way they did them as there are so many fans of Dawn of the Dead (just the original alone) that people would buy it but the story is so far removed from the plot of either film to avoid too much trouble. I'd been crying out for a game like this for years and then when I saw it on a friends 360 I was dead sad as it wasn't really the game I wanted to play (due mainly to the constant phone rining thing).. If MKR win watch out for zombie films set bloody everywhere so that Resident Evil or Dead Rising will be so limited to where they are set for fear of beng sued.
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most recently on 14/02/08 @ 14:28
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@kangarootoo
And I bet they wish they'd have thought of spawn points as well, that would have made the mall clearing scene a bit longer!!! I didn't play Dead Rising all the way through so sorry if facts are a little off but the bit I played I killed like 100 zombies in one corridor to go to another part of the mall, straight back and there they are again. |
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Triggerhappytel
14/02/08 @ 14:32
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So, if you were to remove the mall setting, does this leave any similarities? Not really, apart from generic zombie cliches. Capcom knowingly made this game as a slightly satirical tribute, but then (somewhat ironically) went to great lengths to distance themselves from the movie (with disclaimers saying it had nothing to do with the movie all over the place). Surely people can't sue over a concept or setting, or else the Tolkien company would probably be sueing every fantasy book and movie of the last fifty years.
I hope these wankers get nothing out of Capcom. |
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Ubisoft better watch out; their first game involved a reporter and three survivors fending off zombies in a shopping centre.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 14/02/08 @ 14:34
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Triggerhappytel
14/02/08 @ 14:35
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Oh, and for the record I preferred the remake to the original DotD. In the original it had the useless old zombies who shuffle along at about 2mph and whose reactions are slower than a ninety year old - they just weren't scary. The post-28 Days Later fast zombies in the remake were better, and overall I just thought it was a better-produced film with a decent cast and good special effects.
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i dunno... that safe room at the top of the mall (where rescued survivors hung out) felt awfully similar to the room that they lived in in the original DotD movie. Even the fact that you had to use the air ducts to get around?
I hope nothing comes of this, i'd hate to see it that people stop making great games just because they border roughly on a mildly similar concept... |
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@kangarootoo
"Jumper is based on a novel of the same name. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumper_%28n... But as daveo rightly pointed out this Jumper book which I've never read sounds almost identical to The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester which was written in, er, 1956. |
Comments: 1-46 of 46 in total
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