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HG and Robotech Debates


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Robotech: Macross Saga is f-ing great. What is Robotech: MS really about? You think its a story about a fighter pilot in a love triangle with two girls? Its really a story about fighter pilot and his struggle with his own homosexuality. And the real ending of the series is when Rick and Breetai fight the Zentradi at the end of Episode 27. Because Rick has passed over into the gay way. They are this gay fighting f-ing force and they are beating the Zentradi. The gays are beating the Zentradi alright. Then its over and the f-ing land. And Breetai been trying to get Rick Hunter the whole time. Finally he has got him. And what are the last f-ing lines they have together? There all hugging and kissing and happy with each other. And Breetai comes up to Rick and says "Microian you can ride my tail anytime!" And what does Rick say?! "No, You can ride mine!"

D'oh! I hate this new "director's cut"!

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You know, I'm honestly surprised HG hasn't tried to get someone to port Robotech Battlecry to PSP, so all the "fans" can claim its superior in every way to Ace/Ultimate Frontier...

You know... I always wondered about that game... I thought HG weren't supposed to use the main casts' likeness at all?

Edited by shiroikaze
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You know... I always wondered about that game... I thought HG weren't supposed to use the main casts' likeness at all?

Not quite... Harmony Gold can't use the intellectual property (incl. character and mecha designs) of the Super Dimension Fortress Macross TV series in derivative works... namely animated or live-action TV and movies. They CAN use those designs in merchandise, because they have the "rest-of-world" merchandising rights to the series through Tatsunoko Productions. Because of the way the law is written, things like narrative forms like comic books, video games, and novels are all technically merchandise, and thus Harmony Gold can use the Macross designs in those.

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I have a question here for you Seto; Now, what if Jordan Weissman got the permission from Big West/Studio Nue to use the Destroid mechas in Mechwarrior, how will this affect Harmony Gold and their Merchandising Rights?

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I have a question here for you Seto; Now, what if Jordan Weissman got the permission from Big West/Studio Nue to use the Destroid mechas in Mechwarrior, how will this affect Harmony Gold and their Merchandising Rights?

I'm assuming you mean Jordan Weisman, the founder of both FASA Interactive and Smith & Tinker, the latter of which currently has the video game rights to MechWarrior?

Unfortunately, the hypothetical scenario you're posing is an impossible one. Since video games are technically merchandise, not derivative works, neither Big West nor Studio Nue would be able to authorize the use of the destroid designs from the original series in the forthcoming MechWarrior game. In exchange for their assistance animating the Super Dimension Fortress Macross TV series, Tatsunoko Productions received the exclusive right to distribute the series and produce merchandise based on it outside of Japan, and later licensed those rights to Harmony Gold USA. Because of that, the only party who can give Smith & Tinker permission to use the destroid designs from the original Macross series in MechWarrior games (assuming those games are sold outside of Japan) is Harmony Gold. Big West and Studio Nue can't do it because they'd be Tatsunoko's (and therefore, Harmony Gold's) rights if they did, which would almost certainly culminate in a lawsuit.

Now if we were talking a Battletech or MechWarrior movie or TV series... then the situation is reversed, as only Big West/Studio Nue can authorize the use of those designs in motion pictures, and Tatsunoko and Harmony Gold can only sit on their hands and gripe loudly about it.

Edited by Seto Kaiba
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I have a question here for you Seto; Now, what if Jordan Weissman got the permission from Big West/Studio Nue to use the Destroid mechas in Mechwarrior, how will this affect Harmony Gold and their Merchandising Rights?

Taking a guess here, it would actually conflict with HG's merchandising rights. And HG would win that battle because they got the trademark first. IIRC, games are considered merchandising so that would violate HG's rights in this case.

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I have a question here for you Seto; Now, what if Jordan Weissman got the permission from Big West/Studio Nue to use the Destroid mechas in Mechwarrior, how will this affect Harmony Gold and their Merchandising Rights?

First off, there's a 0.01% of Big West getting involved. They've given up on marketing Macross outside of Japan.

Second, Mechwarrior 5 is a game (ie: merchandise), so Harmony Gold can claim that if falls under their merchandising rights. Even if Big West we were to allow Mechwarrior to make use of the Tomahawk intellectual property, it's still a game.

I suppose that Piranha Games could try to argue that a game with such a lavish and expensive production exceeds the realm of mere merchandising, but that would up to a judge to determine. And going to court should never be your first option, it should only be used as a last resort. A plaintiff could easily spend thousands of dollars in litigation and walk away empty-handed if the judge rules against them. Or, they could spend thousands of dollars in litigation and win the rights to include the Warhammer/Tomahawk in their game, but the game ends up flopping on the market.

If I had to advise Piranha Games, I'd say let it go. That's a lot of money to spend, and the inclusion of one mecha isn't going to make or break Mechwarrior 5.

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If I had to advise Piranha Games, I'd say let it go. That's a lot of money to spend, and the inclusion of one mecha isn't going to make or break Mechwarrior 5.

If the response from the long-time Battletech/MechWarrior fans is anything to go by, that may not be entirely accurate.

Still, very amusing how we all essentially posted the same thing within 20 minutes of each other, starting with me.

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Oh ok, thanks for clearing that up. I guess a lot of older Battletech/Mechwarrior fans will be very disappointed when the game comes out.

I wouldnt say that. If the Mechwarrior games content and gameplay is excellent, it will be a blast to play. As far as the Warhammer goes, it can still make an appearance, it would have to be in the guise of the "Project Phoenix" Warhammer though (albeit a less appealing look).

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The actual game is merchandise. But the designs are not, am I right? So whats to stop some one from making an "inspired" design of a Tomahawk? If you guys played MW4 , you'll notice that one of the standard mechs is actually a design inspired by a Destroid Phalanx, called the Longbow. And yet, HQ did nothing at all about it. The reason why they didnt do anything is because the Longbow isnt the same design as the Phalanx.

Frankly, Id rather that Battletech not use any Macross designs. Macross designs are more streamlined, and Battletech is more utilitarian.

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It's called "Eminent domain". And yes, the it regards the government seizing property for usage. So this is not HG's territory. :rolleyes:

The thing about eminent domain is that the governvent must first offer the loser, uh poor bastard, fair market value for the property in question before the government comes in and

gives the poor son of a bitch forced anal sexual intercourse by

sending in the National Guard to take the property by force (that's if the loser decides to refuse the offer, that is).

RickSwimsuit.jpg

oh shi! it's true!

But wait!

A challenger appears!

BreetaiSwimsuit.jpg

:wacko:

This may not be saying much, but I like John Waltrip's artwork much better than Jason's. Besides, who collected the old Sentenels comics for the artwork, anyway? I certainly didn't. I collected them for the broken storyline.

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I wouldnt say that. If the Mechwarrior games content and gameplay is excellent, it will be a blast to play. As far as the Warhammer goes, it can still make an appearance, it would have to be in the guise of the "Project Phoenix" Warhammer though (albeit a less appealing look).

what i mean is that many long time fans of Battletech/Mechwarrior will be disappointed because one of the 'unseen' mech will be taken out of the game due to problems with the copyright. I understand that they want to please the older fans by putting the Warhammer in Mechwarrior 5, but the situation they're in, they'll run into a problem with HG.

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what i mean is that many long time fans of Battletech/Mechwarrior will be disappointed because one of the 'unseen' mech will be taken out of the game due to problems with the copyright. I understand that they want to please the older fans by putting the Warhammer in Mechwarrior 5, but the situation they're in, they'll run into a problem with HG.

How can I put this nicely?

Ahh screw it.

F*CK Harmony Gold!

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How can I put this nicely?

Ahh screw it.

F*CK Harmony Gold!

There you are. You have finally reached the stage that most of us reached and expressed ages ago. Get ready for the wave of general apathy and indifference that is about to engulf you.

Taksraven

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There you are. You have finally reached the stage that most of us reached and expressed ages ago. Get ready for the wave of general apathy and indifference that is about to engulf you.

Now if only that general apathy and indifference extended to ignoring the asinine and often delusional views and claims of the Robotech lunatic fringe, a group that also answers to the name of "the Robotech core fanbase". The majority of the fans aren't bad, but the vocal die-hards really do Robotech's already-poor reputation no favors. Some of them are so unwilling to cope with the reality that Robotech is not original, that it isn't popular, and that Harmony Gold doesn't own its contents, that they prefer to live in a fantasy world where it all isn't true.

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what i mean is that many long time fans of Battletech/Mechwarrior will be disappointed because one of the 'unseen' mech will be taken out of the game due to problems with the copyright. I understand that they want to please the older fans by putting the Warhammer in Mechwarrior 5, but the situation they're in, they'll run into a problem with HG.

If a person is really pressed for a real Warhammer in the game , fret not. Theres always someone who is making mods to insert in games. I got a mod for the Warhammer and a few other mech and guns to be used in Mechwarrior 4. It'll happen, just not on the frontside.

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WHY WOULD YOU QUOTE THAT?!?!?!

you know you want it, the Waltrips and HG know what everyone wants.

For the Mechwarrior game, I still don't think that the item in question looks enough like the "Warhammer". Still, if they do without it, I don't think it'll sway fans from not getting the game. From what I've gathered, it seems like the fans are just pissed at HG more than anything, and want to vent. I intend to buy the game for sure, so I'll be showing my support.

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you know you want it, the Waltrips and HG know what everyone wants.

Y'know, the men in that "swimsuit spectacular" don't horrify me nearly as much as the women. Even the most modestly endowed women look like She-Hulk, and every single one was given a massive set of hooters.

For the Mechwarrior game, I still don't think that the item in question looks enough like the "Warhammer". Still, if they do without it, I don't think it'll sway fans from not getting the game. From what I've gathered, it seems like the fans are just pissed at HG more than anything, and want to vent. I intend to buy the game for sure, so I'll be showing my support.

Eh, any rage against HG is good rage, I guess.

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WHY WOULD YOU QUOTE THAT?!?!?!

Yeah, give Wanzerfan a break. At least he's not insisting that Carl Macek runs ADV, that there was a test version of Robotech: New Generation with Megazone footage spliced in, that Anthony Daniels voiced Darth Vader, that Johnny Cash said "Motherf*cker" in "A Boy Named Sue," that a Tom Clancy movie adaptation sucked SOLELY because they changed the city that got nuked, that the Japanese government forbade any new likeness of Hikaru Ichijo to be created after his voice actor died, or breaking into an advanced discussion of Valkyrie avionics to explain that a fighter turns into a gerwalk and a gerwalk turns into a "battloid." :p

Edited by Gubaba
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