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12Feb 13

An Awesome User Blog That's Not An Awesome User Blog.

Synthia covers this here subject and does so very well, but this one broke it first and thus deserves praise.

To wit.

And to add my own two cents, I remember when I first saw American Idol and read about Guitar Hero.  I heard a great deal about Guitar Hero's rather obscure and somewhat lame playlist.  I checked out an article on the subject and the developer more or less said, "Yeah, we pitched to the [Van Halen and Aerosmith] labels and they just didn't get it."  Same goes for Idol.  The overarching theme was "Pay our steep royalty up front or get lost!"

So why was it, in the early 2000's, that a guy like me, sitting on my coach in a ketchup-stained Dale Jr. tank top could IMMEDIATELY GRASP that artists like The Four Seasons and Kenny Rogers -- acts who haven't been relevant in decades -- could find new life and new exposure to an entirely new generation by handing out their B-sides?

Seriously, upon reading the above quote about Guitar Hero, I leaned back in my chair and shook my head:  "What idiots. They're gonna be dying (and maybe even PAYING) for a piece of this once they get a whiff...  "

And so that leads me to this:  Why on earth are corporate ninnies so short sighted and scared white-hot sh*tless of anything they don't have 110% control over?

Have they learned nothing from Red Octane and Simon Cowell?  

Relevance to a whole new audience.  Fans doing all the work.  Sales based on curiosity alone.  Girl power.  

Why Hasbro?

Why?

8 comments
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iowastate
iowastate

just to play devil's advocate - why don't they made sure the rights to the game are in the public domain before they start all this work.

the attorney's for said companies are obligated to do their jobs aren't they?

BravoOneActual
BravoOneActual

@iowastate Well, of course they're doing their jobs.  I guess my knee-jerk response to your points would be:

Were the Hasbro lawyers asleep at the wheel all this time while the title was being developed?  It certainly was pretty late in the game to crack down.  This was getting press for some time.  What changed?  I'd be surprised if the developer didn't at least contact Hasbro early on, if only to feel out the brand owner's stance on such doings.  Shame on them if they didn't.  Then again, this sort of thing is very, very new and the current guard might not have known any proper protocols -- if there are any -- to handle things of this nature.

So, yes, as practitioners of law they had a moral obligation to their client to do what they deemed prudent, but doing so within days/weeks of release is pretty crumby.

Principle weighs more than the girly trappings of a game I'd probably never have bought.  I still see it as an opportunity lost.

King9999
King9999

Thanks for linking to my blog post!

Just to be clear, I'm not angry at Hasbro or anything.  I don't even care about MLP, but I saw that people within the fighting game community were enjoying the game.  It was even a contender for a spot at EVO 2013.  But I think that Hasbro missed an opportunity to reach an unlikely audience.  There was genuine excitement for a MLP fighting game, and they didn't capitalize on that.

pokecharm
pokecharm

I think you are asking a rhetorical type question.  Until you or I see that kind of money, I mean, millions and millions of dollars, I can't imagine the pressure to not risk anything...not saying it is right, but would be tough to fly in the face of!

BravoOneActual
BravoOneActual

@pokecharm I'm hung up on principle, I'll admit that.

I'm too old for any true Pony love, but it did ring true in my head when I thought $$$!

The thing is:  This game was in fifth gear and had lots of pub before Hasbro pulled the plug.  It was no blind side.  I'm betting someone at Hasbro is pretty miffed he or she couldn't sneak one past a bored and anal retentive legal department.

There was probably someone "on the inside" loosely shepherding this game when the lawyers stepped in to do what they do best:  Ruin everything.


Poo.

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