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[iamvin22]

I mean look at this...

The judge should watch the video and look at this screenshot then look at tencent and say "pay the man and cancel the game".

 

[reezoo]

I have a feeling this is financed by Hermen Hulst from his side pocket

 

[Cakeboxer]

I'm not a fan of lawsuits like these, stuff gets copied all the time. Rocksteady could sue Insomniac, Ubisoft could sue Sony and Nintendo, and so on

 

[larrybrady]

Be funny if this scores higher and is better received than horizon..they certainly put in the time polishing this up,as it looks beautiful at the very least

 

[diffusionx]

I suspect there will be a lot of overlap between how the California judges preside over this case vis-a-vis the Disney vs OpenAI lawsuit.

If Sony can argue this is essentially an unauthorised derivative work of Horizon (which given it a) looks like a complete rip off; and b) they already asked to "derive" use of the license for their own works) then that might be a winning strategy to get this over the line.

However, if even the US courts look favourably on OpenAI and deem it acceptable for their AIs to generate derivative works of popular Disney/Marvel/Star Wars characters for their customers, then there may be an angle for Tencent to use that as precedent to wriggle out of this fiasco.

I hope Tencent get butchered though quite frankly.

It'll be almost impossible for Sony to enforce any ruling in China, but they should be able to carry any court ruling to enforce across most other regions to block distribution from Tencent there and receive damages.

However in China this will still be Tencent's "Little Timmy, we've got Horizon at home… it's the Temu version".

i don't think any AI slop case would factor into this. Infringement comes down to whether or not Tencent's work is derivative enough that it can be confused for an actual Horizon game and devalue the franchise that Sony bafflingly has invested hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars into. Take away the logo and this looks like a Horizon game period.

I actually think Sony has a case here. Courts have given companies a wide latitude on this stuff from the beginning (when Capxom sued over a SF2 clone) but this is copying… everything except for maybe the things that can't be copyrighted like the gameplay mechanics.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Bit annoyed I can't shit on Nintendo now won't lie

 

[Evil Calvin]

And how many souls-likes are there now? Many very similar to each other.

 

[Begleiter]

I have a feeling this is financed by Hermen Hulst from his side pocket

It's a losing prospect so I wouldn't be surprised if he's pushing it at Sony out of the same vanity that got us a Zero Dawn remaster.

 

[Alexios]

Funny to see the fantrolls scrambling to defend Sony for the lawsuit after damning Nintendo for the intent to fight Palworld and then their lawsuit so long now. Oh but it's art not gameplay or whatever bs, like Palworld's creatures don't look just like Pokemon, or the press didn't also describe it like a knock off in the same way they've described this game (and the quotes are used against it, lol, like journo opinions should matter). But nah, the lawsuit goes after every aspect anyway, from look to story to gameplay if you actually read, basically everything about it, not just art, despite differences.

The game looks like a really cool Monster Hunter-like more than anything (or Horizon's Ubislop-like) and with Wilds faltering it has a real chance too if Sony doesn't kill it. I hope they don't and that it's really good, not a wannabe like God Eater/Toukiden/Wild Hearts and other attempts in the past.

 

[L*][*N*K]

Look Sony is sueing for originality, that is hilarious.

 

[willothedog]

Sony is trying to break into the Chinese market yet it is going after one of their largest corporations

 

[diffusionx]

So the artwork looks similar, but the game play loop is totally different. I hope sony fail, what is next? COD sueing BF because pew pew pew?

From an infringement point of view, you're better off making a total clone game that plays exactly like the game you want to copy but looks totally different than the reverse.

 

[Jinzo Prime]

Funny to see the fanboys scrambling to defend Sony for the lawsuit after damning Nintendo for the intent to fight Palworld and then the lawsuit so long now.

Game looks like a cool Monster Hunter-like, with Wilds faltering it has a chance. Hope it's really good, not a wannabe like God Eater/Toukiden/Wild Hearts etc.

That looks way more like Monster Hunter than Horizion.

 

[Robb]

 

[Kilau]

Also, weird this is the first time they've done this

It was a little too on the nose when the guy said "You know Ellen, we really are The Last Hope Dead Zone Survival".

 

[Paulistano]

Imagine if Ronaldo sues Sony because they plagiarized his face.

 

[Mithos]

Destiny 2, Breath of the Wild, Horizon Zero Dawn.. The games I see instantly.

But then again.. Genshin Impact... And its still around.

 

[Calverz]

Imagine being sued for trying to make your game look Horizon. JFC

 

[GudOlRub]

I have no simpathy towards Tencent but I don't know if we actually want Sony to win this.
The precedent would just reinforce the bullshit tactics these megacorps use and abuse to gut wannabe competitors and creators...

 

[Astray]

LOL @ suing China for stealing IP. China don't care.

They have American subsidiaries that can be compelled to pay.

 

[simpatico]

Just saying Coincidence or…..

 

[Astray]

Tencent's work is derivative enough that it can be confused for an actual Horizon game and devalue the franchise that Sony bafflingly has invested hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars into.

Lol Horizon is like one of Sony's top 5 brands, if not top 3.

There's nothing baffling about investing into (and protecting) a series that sold over 35 million copies.

 

[Abysse]

Ubisoft should have sued Sony for developing an AC clone with robots. /s

 

[Chuck Berry]

The same Sony that partnered with PocketPair...

Tickle my pocketpair L LakeOf9

 

[Hudo]

Basically a Palworld situation?

Yeah, but it's Sony, so it's good.

 

[Clear]

Slam-dunk win for Sony based on "look and feel".

Way, way more egregious than Palworld vs Pokemon.

 

[Fess]

I mean...

Lol I don't get how someone can unironically create something like that. There isn't even a unique twist, like Palworld. It's literally the same game, same world, same story, even the character looks similar.

 

[Dr Bass]

So anyone who was in favor of Palworld should be in favor of this, correct?

 

[nial]

Lol Horizon is like one of Sony's top 5 brands, if not top 3.

There's nothing baffling about investing into (and protecting) a series that sold over 35 million copies.

Thread turned into low IQ takes festa in record time.

 

[LordCBH]

To be fair, it does look like a Chinese knock off of it, not that I necessarily agree with this lawsuit, but I'm not a corporate lawyer for Sony.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

But then again.. Genshin Impact... And its still around.

BOTW didnt invent a single mechanic and if you are refering to art direction, Mihoyo was using it BEFORE Zelda. Wild claim, no pun intended.

 

[Astray]

So anyone who was in favor of Palworld should be in favor of this, correct?

Gameplay patents are what makes the difference here imo.

This is simple IP theft, which Nintendo could have sued for, but chose not to because they knew they wouldn't be guaranteed to win.

 

[FeralEcho]

They probably sued out of fear of how bad the dei woke filled Horizon franchise will look next to its chinese copy. Embarassing display of insecurity from Soyny. Also a full on display of hypocrisy as well from the same publisher fully endorsing Palworld.

 

[BennyBlanco]

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

The art direction is a blatant ripoff

 

[Jesb]

I remember seeing this and immediately noticing how similar this looks to horizon and laughing. But I don't really think that's grounds to sue someone. If that's the case than a lot of dev's can sue eachother.

 

[Hanzaki]

What do you mean "allegedly"?

 

[nial]

They probably sued out of fear of how bad the dei woke filled Horizon franchise will look next to its chinese copy. Embarassing display of insecurity from Soyny. Also a full on display of hypocrisy as well from the same publisher fully endorsing Palworld.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

The art direction is a blatant ripoff

I'm not so sure, you'll never see this thing in a Tencent game:

 

[Dr Bass]

Gameplay patents are what makes the difference here imo.

This is simple IP theft, which Nintendo could have sued for, but chose not to because they knew they wouldn't be guaranteed to win.

Not getting into the absurdity of software patents, which shouldn't even exist in the first place, the point is I guarantee there will be people saying Sony is in the right here where Nintendo was being ridiculous, and engaging in whatever mental gymnastics it requires to try and hold such a stance.

It's the exact same scenario.

 

[xrnzaaas]

Sony will regret trying to appeal to the Chinese market, just like it already is regretting going after the gaas money.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

The reason for the lawsuit is that Sony is working on a MMO which will look much WORSE than the chinese knock-off.

It's not about the main line games, but about the multiplayer one, which is pretty much DOA compared to this.

Sony will regret trying to appeal to the Chinese market,

It's the only thing working great for them this gen. Another reason why this move is dumb. You dont want to jeopardize relations with Tencent.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Not surprised. China steals everything. Tech. Jobs. Video games. You name it. They don't have anything remotely original to offer the world.

 

[MiguelItUp]

I mean look at this...

Yeaaaah, if you can swap the logos and it looks like it works, it's probably an issue, lmao.

 

[nial]

It's the only thing working great for them this gen. Another reason why this move is dumb. You dont want to jeopardize relations with Tencent.

It's not like this will stop Tencent devs (the ones doing it) targeting the PS5 or that there will be a general company resentment against SIE. Business does not work like that.
We know you love to simp over Chinese GAAS, but don't be so fucking ridiculous.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

The reason for the lawsuit is that Sony is working on a MMO

do we know this? If this is true, I predict that this is gonna be a colossal failure.

 

[Clear]

I remember seeing this and immediately noticing how similar this looks to horizon and laughing. But I don't really think that's grounds to sue someone. If that's the case than a lot of dev's can sue eachother.

Of course its grounds to sue!

The simple way to look at it is this: If a product looks so similar to a pre-existing work that it could convincingly be argued that its likely be mistaken in the market to be associated with that IP, then its actionable as its exploiting the original IP holders rights to unjustly enrich themselves.

The killer here is that its not just a format being copied, that's defensible as it hard to copyright specific mechanics unless they are patented inventions, its the fact that it borrows every key distinctive element of the Horizon IP. From red-headed female lead, through the logo font, and colour palette to the premise of fighting robot dinosuars its stealing every signature element of it as property *irrespective of medium*.

As Sony is in the transmedia business this isn't simply a matter of protecting a game IP, its a major franchisable property that could be argued is worth literally BILLIONS to Sony. And with Tencent being such a rich target for extracting a settlement from, there's zero chance that Sony aren't going to screw them to the fucking floor for trying this on.

Tencent will have to settle this quietly, because if they take this to court the numbers could be absolutely huge.

 

[Saber]

 

[Minari]

SONY MOVING LIKE NINTENDO!

 

[Ar¢tos]

Thanks a lot nial , now the Nintendo fanboys are all agitated and it will take forever to calm them down again!
GigaBowser will drop by at any moment posting a wall of screenshots of Street Fighter 6 Switch 2 vs Ps5pro.