There’s a lot of PlayStation news this week, good bad and indifferent. In addition, there’s some Gundam’s coming your way. This week’s episode features a double whammy of a Gaming Flashback highlighting Mass Effect 3, and the Gaming History of the infamous Gizmondo.
The news item this week:
Let us know what you think.
This week, there was almost no news (until the last second). Instead, the guys talk about videogames they’ve been playing and the minor news items that popped up.
The one major news item:
Let us know what you think.
This week we’re giving away a free copy of BioShock Infinite for the Xbox 360! How do you win? Well, simply post a good comment! The contest winner will be announced two weeks from now.
In the meantime, the Gaming Flashback this time is the PlayStation One classic Chrono Cross, while Paul tries desperately to avoid listening to BioShock Infinite spoilers.
This week’s news includes:
All this and some Reader Feedback.
Apparently Konami just realized Harmonix, MTV Networks and Viacom have made some game called Rock Band and want to take legal action. Konami has created some Japanese games involving karaoke called Karaoke Revolution. Why take legal action now?
Probably because Konami is working towards Rock Revolution, a title which puts together drums, vocals and guitar. How odd, don’t we have a game called Rock Band which has done that for awhile now? It’s much easier to be competitive in the market if you can squeeze your opponent out of the market by telling them you hold a patent on the entire concept…which you let slide for a year.
It seems a bit convenient to force a lawsuit, now, after Rock Band is proven successful and before you launch your own “clone.”
Its suit claims that Rock Band violates a series of US Patents registered in 2002 and 2003 relating to “simulated musical instruments” and “musical rhythm-matching game.” (gamespot)
Although the developers of Rock Band should have gone through some patents on the topic prior to make it (or maybe they did?), it seems a bit out of place to patent such a generic concept. As far as I know, Musical Chairs is also a musical rhythm-matching game but nobody put up any stink when Konami filed a patent for the same concept…
Testy test.