I need to vent my anger

[The Mole]

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/22150.html

I watched the above developer walkthrough a few days ago and the more i think about it, the more angry i get. I Know it has gone on for years but this one angers me more than anything, how the hell can EA get away with such a blatent rip off of a game?

It makes me think is this what the games industry has come to and could this, coupled with some other questionable releases, be what gamers are happy to pay escalating prices for? However what angers me the moast is the majority who play the game will think its an EA idea and Konami copied it.

Do you think this is developers playing safe? I know EA are not the only ones guilty of it (copying) but i know personally i am much more willing to shell out for an original idea that i can't get in some other form.

Could this also be linked in some way to the popularity of the Wii? As the controls add a totally different feel to the game. Take Kororinpa for eample, i know if that has been on Gamecube it would have been disguarded as a Monkey Ball rip off but on the Wii (to me atleast it felt fresh ).

What i am trying to get at here is do you think developers should be able to get away with such blatent copying? I personally would much rather have 10 quality games on a system than 100 middle of the road games.

Also what came out of my rant was do you think the Wii is fooling gamers and its just the same games tarted up with Wii-mote control? I think we are yet to see a truely great idea for the Wii, that takes advantage of the systems strengths. I fully expect to find the best examples of what the Wii can do on the Wiiware system, as the costs to develop those games will be a lot lower, resulting in more risky innotive content.

Do you guys agree?

[charlesr]

Depends if it's better than Lost in Blue. If it is, then gamers are happy yeah?

[Yoshimax]

You've lost me wholesale. The video is a walkthrough of the sims on DS nothing to do with wii.

What have they ripped off ? The sims ? Forgive me I know nothing about the sims - joking aside although I've never played it are you saying they've ripped off Animal Crossing ??

[Kaladron]

Yep, it's a blatant rip-off of Lost in Blue and will probably sell 10 times as many copies.

We all know who did it first though. Don't let it get to you; clones have always been an unfortunate reality of gaming or any creative medium for that matter.

[Ouenben]

Erm Sims 2 castaway DS... then you mention wii over and over?

Copying happens all the time, yes its a bit evil but lost in blue sucked so if this ones good I think people will buy it and be happy etc.

[Profit]

Yeah, and credit rightly goes to the one who makes a success, not the one who makes the 1st version or whatever.

[The Mole]

Yeah i guess so.

The reason i mentioned the Wii was i am starting to feel like i have been conned. All i am doing is playing the same old games that were on the PS2 and Gamecube with a new controler interface. I very much thought the Wii was more than that. I can get that on PS3/360 but with better graphics and good online content.

I have thought of one exception though, Eledees.

Yeah the Sims: castaway is just a major Lost in Blue clone. Spear fishing anybody?

[Dogg Thang]

Yep, it's a blatant rip-off of Lost in Blue and will probably sell 10 times as many copies.

And unlike Lost in Blue 2, anyone who can take the same idea and actually improve it deserves to sell more copies. Good luck to them.

[The Mole]

Was Lost In Blue 2 as bad as everybody said? I stayed away due to the bad reviews.

[EvilBoris]

I've still not got round to playing Lost in Blue 2, I liked the first one and the previous games in the series (although LIB was the weakest one).

I'm sure it will be the same with the Wii, the more popular the console the more cruddy games it has, the sheer volume of absolute turd (original or plagiarised) available on the PS2 or DS outnumbers anything worth playing 100:1.
As the Wii gets evermore popular more and more stuff like that will appear.
If I was a game developer that liked the idea put forward by another game, albeit a game where they were unable to deliver the potential of that idea, then I'd certainly have a go at making my own version of it.
What would the gaming world be like if no-one had copied Nintendo's D-pad or if no-one tried their hand at making an FPS after the Wolfenstein 3D was released?

[Kaladron]

Ouch! I thought Lost in Blue was brilliant. What does everyone dislike about it? The initial difficulty spike I assume.

[EvilBoris]

I think the main criticism was that you couldn't leave the girl alone for long enough. It played no different to an RPG where you can't go off running into high level dungeons as soon as you have left your village, you have to invest a little time first.

I think Lost in Blue 2 got particularly bad reviews though

[Dogg Thang]

I've played both. I loved Lost in Blue but it was flawed. The girl thing was a problem because it was entirely unpredictable. It wasn't just a game feature that you couldn't leave her for periods of time. Sometimes you could. Sometimes you couldn't. No logic to it - just poor random progamming. It just became a pain in the hole. The speed at which you became hungry and tired got frustrating. But it had some great gameplay, loads of charm and the concept was excellent.

Building that for a sequel could make a wonderful game.

But what we got was Lost in Blue 2, a game I didn't finish. It's not bad at all. It's just no different to the first game. It has the flaws of the first game too which just makes it a pointless exercise. If anything, it felt like the hunger/tired time was even shorter. If you've played the first, there is no point at all in playing the second. That's unless there is some dramatic difference at the end which I never got to.

That's why I'm all for someone taking that same concept and building on it, something Konami (or whoever developed it) didn't seem bothered with.

[angelx]

Ea have ripped off other game styles before but arent alone. The lord of the Rings rpg they did was totally lifted from Final Fantasy X, but I guess if people enjoy a game it will be aped, God of War too with Heavenly Sword, The amazing glut of the Army FPSes. This time it happens to be a game you like I guess.