Fighting is Magic gets ordered to Cease and Desist from Hasbro

[Darren716]

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2013/02/fighting-is-magic-receives-cease-desist.html

Fighting is Magic, the 2D fighter based around My Little Pony Friendship is Magic has been forced to shut down after almost 2 years in development. Regarded as one of the fandom's most in depth and ambitious projects, Fighting is Magic was close to completion and was in the running to be featured at the EVO 2013 fighting games tournament.

Well I'm pissed about this not only Caucasus I was looking forward to finally being able to play the game but because of the amount of time and effort the developers put into trying to create the game just to have the rug pulled out from under them.

 

[Kopikatsu]

Was this unexpected? They shut down MLP Online, Rainbow Dash Presents, etc. They're very protective of their copyright.

 

[MajorTomServo]

Good. I don't like pony-based violence. USE YOUR WORDS! WHAT WOULD PRINCESS CELESTIA SAY?

 

[Hazy992]

So they waited all this time before ordering the cease and desist? That seems pretty dickish, they could have just done it a lot sooner, not letting the developers spend two years of their life on a game they can't release. I bet they've known about this game for ages now.

 

[StriderShinryu]

Not at all a surprise given the recent widespread expose the game received due to initially being on the EVO 8th game nomination list. It's unfortunate on some level but was so clearly an unsupported use of a license in a fashion that ran quite counter to the property's original intent that the developers at Mane6 must have been watching the mail ever since they first went public.

 

[Lilani]

Was this unexpected? They shut down MLP Online, Rainbow Dash Presents, etc. They're very protective of their copyright.

Well, very protective when it comes to products related to the show. They don't crack down too hard on the show being on YouTube and such, partially because it's inevitable and partially because YouTube and other Internet sources are how they get more fans hooked on the show. Their real money is made with the dolls and merchandise. But yeah, games would fall into that category of "merchandise" as well. Honestly I'm surprised they haven't tried to make more official MLP games, that would definitely be something bronies would line up to spend money on.

 

[Newtonyd]

Was this unexpected? They shut down MLP Online, Rainbow Dash Presents, etc. They're very protective of their copyright.

Well, very protective when it comes to products related to the show. They don't crack down too hard on the show being on YouTube and such, partially because it's inevitable and partially because YouTube and other Internet sources are how they get more fans hooked on the show. Their real money is made with the dolls and merchandise. But yeah, games would fall into that category of "merchandise" as well. Honestly I'm surprised they haven't tried to make more official MLP games, that would definitely be something bronies would line up to spend money on.

Still, it was a non-profit game, and a fighting game. Hardly the kind of thing that actually competes with any of the reportedly shitty MLP games Hasbro has been putting out. This is a stupid move that won't increase company profits, but WILL increase fandom ire toward Hasbro, which is already fairly high.

I guess their legal department isn't paid to really think these things through.

*Edit* Not to mention the potential publicity and free advertisement they lost out on if the game was going to be featured at a tournament. Really just... why? At times like this I genuinely want to know why companies are so determined to lawyer up over copyright to their own detriment.

 

[Ldude893]

Spoiler: My literal reaction to seeing the news on Equestria Daily

[HEADING=1]You MANIACS. You BLEW IT UP. Damn you. DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL.[/HEADING]
Goddamn it, Hasbro, I know you want to protect your IP, but COME ON. It was so close to being released, and you pick NOW to shut it down? Every single use of "dick" in the English language can't compare to the amount of dick emanating from this action.

Nice job breaking it, Hasbro. Nice. Freaking. Job.

Oh god, I need a drink.

 

[JaceArveduin]

Not at all a surprise given the recent widespread expose the game received due to initially being on the EVO 8th game nomination list. It's unfortunate on some level but was so clearly an unsupported use of a license in a fashion that ran quite counter to the property's original intent that the developers at Mane6 must have been watching the mail ever since they first went public.

I'm fairly sure it was IGN or something a year or more ago, or something like that. I know I remember seeing it back when I actually did check EqDaily, which was ages ago

 

[bananafishtoday]

I dunno if I'd consider this approach more or less evil, but...

Why didn't they just hold the devs to ransom? They have more leverage than most supervillians here. "You will sell your game for $x and give us y% of your earnings to licence your IP if you ever want it to see the light of day! Wahahaha!"

Lauren Faust's response to this is pretty amazing though.

 

[Dangit2019]

You know, I wouldn't be mad if they shut it down when this was announced, but shit. They've been working on this for 2 years. Hours of soundtrack have been recorded. The characters have been animated. The coding has been massive. And NOW, they finally raise their voice and say they don't want it to happen?

It's not like this was small; if any Hasbro rep went to one of the conventions, it was plastered all over the place. What are they thinking doing this now?

 

[PhunkyPhazon]

You know, I wouldn't be mad if they shut it down when this was announced, but shit. They've been working on this for 2 years. Hours of soundtrack have been recorded. The characters have been animated. The coding has been massive. And NOW, they finally raise their voice and say they don't want it to happen?

It's not like this was small; if any Hasbro rep went to one of the conventions, it was plastered all over the place. What are they thinking doing this now?

My thought's exactly. The C&D doesn't piss me off so much as the timing. Hell, due to legal reasons the C&D might have even been necessary. But couldn't they have done this like, say, 12-16 months ago?

 

[ClockworkUniverse]

You know, I wouldn't be mad if they shut it down when this was announced, but shit. They've been working on this for 2 years. Hours of soundtrack have been recorded. The characters have been animated. The coding has been massive. And NOW, they finally raise their voice and say they don't want it to happen?

It's not like this was small; if any Hasbro rep went to one of the conventions, it was plastered all over the place. What are they thinking doing this now?

My thought's exactly. The C&D doesn't piss me off so much as the timing. Hell, due to legal reasons the C&D might have even been necessary. But couldn't they have done this like, say, 12-16 months ago?

Nthing this sentiment. I didn't especially care about the game, and the C&D was a certainty from a legal perspective, but the amount of work wasted is depressing.

 

[Radoh]

Yeah, but look on the bright side though guys.
All that work might not be entirely wasted, since Lauren Faust is offering them original characters to use in place of the Mane Six.
They'd need to get rid of the voice acting and maybe hire new people altogether and it won't be poni, but it isn't a complete loss of everything just yet.

 

[Abomination]

Hasbro could have bought the developers and their code for about half of what they had to pay their lawyers to draft the cease and desist notice... THEN made profits off selling the game.

But oh no, that would mean they couldn't be a giant bag of dicks.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

So they waited all this time before ordering the cease and desist? That seems pretty dickish, they could have just done it a lot sooner, not letting the developers spend two years of their life on a game they can't release. I bet they've known about this game for ages now.

They probably waited until it turned into a legitimate threat for their IP. They wouldn't knock something down in early development, because most of the time, those projects fall through from lack of drive. Once it shaped up to actually becoming a game, they pounced.

 

[theultimateend]

So they waited all this time before ordering the cease and desist? That seems pretty dickish, they could have just done it a lot sooner, not letting the developers spend two years of their life on a game they can't release. I bet they've known about this game for ages now.

I think it is a rule to wait as long as possible so that you are a complete asshole.

So they waited all this time before ordering the cease and desist? That seems pretty dickish, they could have just done it a lot sooner, not letting the developers spend two years of their life on a game they can't release. I bet they've known about this game for ages now.

They probably waited until it turned into a legitimate threat for their IP. They wouldn't knock something down in early development, because most of the time, those projects fall through from lack of drive. Once it shaped up to actually becoming a game, they pounced.

Or this...

But I really like my assumption .

 

[TJC]

Yeah, but look on the bright side though guys.
All that work might not be entirely wasted, since Lauren Faust is offering them original characters to use in place of the Mane Six.
They'd need to get rid of the voice acting and maybe hire new people altogether and it won't be poni, but it isn't a complete loss of everything just yet.

Pretty much this. Frankly, the trailers so far make it look like a pretty fun beat 'em up with or without the ponies. If they tart it up with original content (featuring Lauren Faust) and release it on Steam I'd be all over that shit. And if they manage to release it fast enough to still be fresh in the minds of the bronies I think quite a few other may as well. I know they did the whole work for free because of their love of the show but after such a dickmove of Hasbro it pains me to see all this hard work dissipate into nothingness :C

Seriously, though, I don't get the C&D orders. There we have people working for free, generating STUPID amounts of good publicity for the franchises they are working on and instead of contacting these incredibly devoted fans and coming up with a good solution (quality check, publishing etc), they lawyer up and shoot them down as if they tried releasing a bad Rule 34 game, instantly turning any good PR into freaking bad one.

Sigh

Do I have to be a super rich IP holder in order to understand this or what?

 

[Soviet Heavy]

So they waited all this time before ordering the cease and desist? That seems pretty dickish, they could have just done it a lot sooner, not letting the developers spend two years of their life on a game they can't release. I bet they've known about this game for ages now.

I think it is a rule to wait as long as possible so that you are a complete asshole.

So they waited all this time before ordering the cease and desist? That seems pretty dickish, they could have just done it a lot sooner, not letting the developers spend two years of their life on a game they can't release. I bet they've known about this game for ages now.

They probably waited until it turned into a legitimate threat for their IP. They wouldn't knock something down in early development, because most of the time, those projects fall through from lack of drive. Once it shaped up to actually becoming a game, they pounced.

Or this...

But I really like my assumption .

Angry frothing rage is easier than deduction. But it isn't like Hasbro are the only ones who have done this. Nintendo did the same thing with the fan made Pokemon MMO.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

I bet the game code will be 'accidently' released online in the next few weeks.