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Why Dontcha Cry About It, Saddle Bags: Konami Sues Viacom Over Rock Band

Posted by John Constantine

It seems that Rock Revolution isn’t the only way Konami is responding to Harmonix’s meteoric rise to music-videogame power. The house of Castlevania announced that they are suing Viacom, MTV Games’ parent company, and Harmonix specifically because Rock Band and its instrument peripherals violate Konami patents. According to Bloomberg.com, the patents in question detail, “simulated musical instruments, a music-game system and a ‘musical-rhythm matching game.’” They are not, however, suing Activision or Red Octane, makers of the current incarnation of Guitar Hero. Guitar Hero and its original guitar peripheral were themselves designed by Harmonix, so it seems peculiar that Konami wouldn’t direct their hissy-fit at them as well.

What do you think FPSers? Does Konami have a leg to stand on or are they just being babies because no one likes their music games anymore?

Our thanks to Bloomberg and NeoGAFer TheOddOne for alerting us to the breaking news.

Related links:

You Got Served: Zubo Puts Music in Your Combat
Everyone Should Be Able to Rock
Whatcha Playing: A Little Singin’, A Little Dancin’


+ DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT

Comments

Nemo Incognito said:

Konami's resentment is understandable if other companies are being hailed as visionaries for an idea they did first, but trying to launch a Guitar Hero clone of their own along with the lawsuit sort of kills any credibility they might have had.

July 10, 2008 7:34 PM

Sam said:

If I'm not mistaken, Konami's GuitarFreaks predates Guitar Hero by almost 6 years.  I haven't played GuitarFreaks, but from what I understand, gameplay is nearly identical.

July 10, 2008 7:36 PM

9th Sage said:

Yeah..it isn't so much as a Guitar Hero clone but a version of GuitarFreaks, their game that actually predates Guitar Hero by some many years.  

July 13, 2008 11:02 AM

Derrick Sanskrit said:

There are tons of videos on YouTube of GuitarFreaks for those who've never seen it. The presentation is pretty much exactly halfway between Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero (which is where you'd expect it to be, considering its source and time).

What's most damaging, though, is that a simple glance at the GuitarFreaks guitar controller will show you that at least the strum control is directly copied from it for Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Hell, there's even a mechanic for moving the guitar for bonus points, similar to "star power" in GH. Just look at this: youtube.com/watch

But yeah, this lawsuit might have actually meant something a year or two ago. Now its rather petty seeming.

July 13, 2008 6:25 PM

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John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Hooksexup, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

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