True Crime punished
Novelist accuses game of pinching main character. Activision shrugs and releases soundtrack disc.
A popular American crime writer has taken legal action against Activision over Christmas heavyweight True Crime: The Streets of LA. According to reports, Robert Crais, author of books including LA Requiem and Free Fall, is seeking an injunction to stop Activision shipping the game, undisclosed monetary damages and destruction of all infringing works, on the grounds that the game's star Nick Kang is a little too close to the author's own creation Elvis Cole.
Elvis Cole, for those who haven't read Crais' novels, seems to share a fondness for mirrored sunglasses and violence on the job, and the lawsuit accuses Activision of copying these "protectable expressions". And of course he's part of the oft-documented LAPD. Although Activision would not comment on the ongoing legal action, the publisher did apparently tell GameSpot that it didn't expect to delay the game on account of it.
Indeed, Activision hasn't let Robert Crais' lawsuit upset its promotional efforts, announcing plans to release a 20-track compilation of the game's West Coast hip hop through KOCH Entertainment to go with the game. Instead of drawing exclusively upon existing anthems, the album is said to include a mixture of original material and, er, "old school licks". Snoop Dogg, Westside Connection, Jayo Felony, Warren G. and Bizzy Bone have all contributed original material.
True Crime: The Streets of LA is due out in November.