RED OCTANE WILL SUE.

sherl0k · 09-19-2006, 10:41 PM

"Last month, RedOctane and new parent company Activision filed suit against The Ant Commandos, a Chino, California-based company selling a lineup of wired and wireless guitar controllers for use with the PlayStation 2 edition of Guitar Hero. The developer and publisher of Guitar Hero allege that The Ant Commandos are guilty of a litany of offenses, including unfair competition, trademark infringement, copyright infringement, unfair and deceptive trade practices, false advertising, unjust enrichment, and more. The suit also names Hong Lip Yow as a defendant, saying The Ant Commandos is a shell company and that for all intents and purposes, he and the company are one and the same."

So wait, RO starts out as a small company making 3rd party DDR pads and other musicgame controllers. They make it big with Guitar Hero and when someone makes controllers of their game they sue? If this isn't irony, I don't know what is.

Thanks for the news, Remy. Full article at GameSpot.

Reenee · 09-19-2006, 10:44 PM

What about the other (shitty) 3rd party controllers?

ANGRY ABOUT ENGLISH · 09-19-2006, 10:46 PM

Holy shit.

This is so ironic that I cannot stop laughing, and the thread title just makes it better. Best laugh I've had in ages! I'm hoping to hear more about this to try and figure out whether some of these charges (because one or two sound a little flimsy) stick.

I also didn't know that bit at the end, that they were being sued over the name "Guitar Hero". Nice work, dudes.

***red shoe paul*** · 09-19-2006, 10:47 PM

Definately irony, I don't know why the other companies stepped up and said anything, i'm sure they knew.

pretty2tuff · 09-19-2006, 11:03 PM

hah i wanna see red octane lose

Melonman67 · 09-19-2006, 11:13 PM

I am thinking Activision is behind this gig (or RO thinks they're as big as Konami now). Either way this is probabally why.

http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=802556

eepiccolo · 09-19-2006, 11:16 PM

Heh, now all the DDR fanboys (Am I one?

) have even more ammo to fire at Red Octane!

Quote:

Originally Posted by sherl0k

"The suit also names Hong Lip Yow as a defendant, saying The Ant Commandos is a shell company and that for all intents and purposes, he and the company are one and the same."

Yeah, right. If "The Ant Commandos" has filed for Limited Liability with the IRS, or is Incorporated, they simply can't do this, at least, not with this sort of "language". Although I guess there's always some precedent out there to find that shows some way of actually suing an individual within a company, though it wouldn't be a cut-n-dry affair. Yuck, this could get messy,

ANGRY ABOUT ENGLISH · 09-19-2006, 11:17 PM

That right there is a good catch, actually. Didn't stop to think they'd be trying to put a similar product out soon.

天の龍 · 09-19-2006, 11:17 PM

*laughs uncontrollably*

"It's times like this that try men's souls..." - or this sense of reality. This is simply divine. After all that time making money doing the very thing they are suing for...its delicious!

All I need is some natto, a nice cup of oolong tea, and a quick response by the judge telling RO to get lost. Everything else is just sprinkles.

Jezendar · 09-19-2006, 11:40 PM

Hello boys and girls, and welcome to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Today we shall learn about the word 'hypocrite'. Can you say hypocrite? Sure you can.

lilchris25 · 09-19-2006, 11:45 PM

Doesn't this have the same legality as the third party gamecube, ps2, or xbox controllers? I'm a little confused. Shouldn't Microsoft, Nintendo, or Sony be able to sue those third party makers, if RO/Activision can sue these third party manufacturers of Guitar Hero controllers?

Now, I did see these third party controllers around in stores the last month or so. I never thought a whole lot about it, because I thought they were shoddy compared to the official RO guitar controller, or so that I have heard.

MidnightRecession · 09-20-2006, 12:17 AM

Quote:

RedOctane and Activision are also taking exception to The Ant Company's claims that the controllers are fully compatible with Guitar Hero on the PS2. They allege that the controller doesn't interface properly with the game, and that tilting the controller up to activate "star power" in the game doesn't work consistently.

Has anyone used the controller before? Does this have any validity at all?

They could conceivably have a case as far as the logo design goes. I don't think it'll go through but it might.

Arimasen · 09-20-2006, 12:28 AM

MadCatz needs to learn from them heh.
I wonder what kind of game MadCatz could make...

Reenee · 09-20-2006, 12:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadRoll

Has anyone used the controller before? Does this have any validity at all?

Yes, this is true. I tried their brand-new Shredder controller and tilting did not activate Star Power.

Daniel · 09-20-2006, 12:33 AM

Perhaps this isn't such a bad idea. Red Octane and/or Activision does not want the comman shopper to think of musical games as being a fad toy with controllers that don't last long. I was just at Fry's today, and I definitally noticed too much similarity between the official GH controllers and these wannabes.