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[lexi]

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=5010

Officials from Nintendo have raised concerns through its Korean distributor Daiwon C.I. that characters in forthcoming Webzen-published South Korean PC online game Wiki may violate trademarks from its GameCube title The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker.

It was only a matter of time.

Edit: Shit, old. Missed it in the old topic that was bumped.

 

[Baconäger]

Rightfully so.

 

[Vibri]

Nah.... you think?

 

[bishoptl]

:lol

 

[Justin Bailey]

I wonder if it has a kid with snot hanging from his nose.

 

[truesayian]

if this is true, then what's the probem?...

However, despite this, a spokesperson from developer Webzen claims that the hero of the game does not have any fixed image, and is created by the player to be their avatar in the game world. "The number of variables [for hairstyles, clothes and facial features] are in the tens of thousands," said Webzen's spokesperson Choi Hyun-woo in an interview with Korean newspaper JoongAng Daily, also commenting: "We are still in the middle of developing the game, which will begin closed testing services in December."

 

[Odnetnin]

I hope they can also explain why their logo looks like the WIndwaker clouds.. If that town has a windmill... :O

 

[Gaia Theory]

That's ridiculous. Personally, I have a beef with not just the character design, but the entire game aesthetic. If I was an artist working on Wiki, I'd be pissed off that we were being forced to create something completely unoriginal based of another company's game.

This is worse than Tear Ring Saga (Fire Emblem clone).

Seeing these images does make me wish Nintendo had a new cel shaded Zelda in the works though...

 

[fallout]

Seeing these images does make me wish Nintendo had a new cel shaded Zelda in the works though...

Actually, this has given me the urge to go play some Wind Waker.

 

[explodet]

Having a character creation system that will let you make a character that looks like cel-shaded Link seems fine to me.... but don't put that character in your official screenshots, for crying out loud. That's just asking for trouble.

 

[DCharlie]

"If that town has a windmill... :O"

... then they just claim it's set in amsterdam!

 

[Speevy]

... then they just claim it's set in amsterdam!

Or Hamsterdam.

 

[fallout]

Or Hamsterdam.

Hamsters. The other other white meat.

 

[Oni Link 666]

It does look like Wind Waker, but Nintendo doesn't own the rights to anime style characters, cel shaded graphics, or the overall art style which they got from an old animated movie anyway. Imagine if every developer sued others for creating games that look like theirs.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

It does look like Wind Waker, but Nintendo doesn't own the rights to anime style characters, cel shaded graphics, or the overall art style which they got from an old animated movie anyway. Imagine if every developer sued others for creating games that look like theirs.

It's very apparent they are trying to reach Wind Waker in apperance though

 

[belgurdo]

Nintendo invented cel shading and spiky blonde hair

.

 

[xsarien]

It does look like Wind Waker, but Nintendo doesn't own the rights to anime style characters, cel shaded graphics, or the overall art style which they got from an old animated movie anyway. Imagine if every developer sued others for creating games that look like theirs.

No, but they do own Link. There's no way that WebZen's case would stand up in court. Co-opting an art style is one thing, but this is rather blatant. It's like PDI making their own "toy" movie, and just happen to have characters that look like - but aren't quite - Woody and Buzz.