Posted by YK on 5/12/2009, 11:03 pm, in reply to "Square-Enix shuts down fan modification"
Yeah, there's been an uproar over this whole mess on IRC... basically, for many of us, it's that final nail in the coffin against Square. We've all been questioning their... well, questionable decisions of late. And this just takes the cake.
Though I have to say, despite that the hack looked pretty good, and I'd likely have played it... what ticks me off the most about all this is how long Square *waited* before pulling this stunt. The creator of Crimson Echoes listed his home address in the readme from the beginning, so Square had every opportunity to shut it down in early stages of development. But no. They were quiet, let other hacks come and go, and let the programmers work for *five years*. Everyone assumed they didn't really care; in fact, many companies have actually given the OK to ROM hacks, usage of their graphics/characters/whatever in fan projects, so long as no money traded hands. And then, mere weeks before the game's release, wham. They pull a move that's basically tantamount to, as BK would say, "waving one's e-penis". Within their legal rights or no, this is a low blow, even for them, and just smacks of straight-up cyber bullying.
On the whole, there's really nothing whatsoever to be gained by Square by doing something like this, but plenty to *lose*... namely, even *more* business. (Not that I figure this'll hurt them much overall, as there're enough Square sheep and corporate brown-nosers in general who'll side with them regardless, but I digress.) The only logical justification behind it is if they're truly afraid a fan hack could cut into their sales... which, frankly, is a bit sad. Instead of working to improve the quality of their games (which, regardless of how neutral one attempts to be, has been slipping gradually since the FF:TSW fiasco), they now feel it necessary to go after harmless online hobbyists? Honestly, it's hard to find where any laws were broken, short of the whole nonsense about ROMs being illegal (of which nobody can really come up with a good reason *why* they are, short of semantics stemming from draconian American copyright laws). It wasn't gonna be sold. It was a total non-profit for-fun deal.
So, way to go, Square. You just showed the world what big men you are! I mean, wow, you can successfully bully the little guy (who in this case, happen to be *your own loyal fans*) into doing as you say with hollow legal action. Just threaten people with ludicrously unreasonable fines if they don't bow down and do your bidding, and you wins!
Bravo, Square. Bravo.
