Hasbro has dropped its much-publicized lawsuit against two brothers from India who created a hyper-popular clone of the firm's classic puzzle game Scrabble, reports Gamasutra.

Created by Jayant and Rajat Agarwalla, Scrabulous blatantly lifted both concept and gameplay mechanisms from Scrabble, though by casting both in the form of an easy to use Facebook application their game became an overnight success, reportedly earning $25,000 per month in ad revenue.

Hasbro ordered Facebook to remove Scrabulous in January of 2008, though didn't file suit against the duo until Electronic Arts opted to launch its own officially licensed version of Scrabble via the company's Pogo games portal last Summer.

Representatives from Hasbro have not responded to queries on why the suit has been dropped, nor have they commented on the possibility of a non-public settlement with the brothers.

Image courtesy Facebook

Hasbro Drops Scrabulous Suit [Gamasutra]

One year ago, Ohio teen Daniel Petric allegedly shot both his mother and father then attempted to make the scene resemble a murder-suicide after the duo barred him from playing Halo 3, according to the online component of Cleveland paper The Plain Dealer.

On the morning in question, Petric snuck out of the house to purchase Halo 3. When he returned, his parents took the game from him, locking it away in the same cabinet as their handgun. When Petric retrieved the game, he also retrieved the gun.

Mark Petric, the father, survived being shot in the head, though the mother, Susan Petric, died of her wounds.

Daniel Petric is currently on trial in Ohio for his parents' shooting. It is too early in the proceedings to reasonably predict the outcome.

Image courtesy Bungie Software

Daniel Petric killed mother, shot father because they took Halo 3 video game, prosecutors say [The Plain Dealer]

Colorado resident Molly Elvig has filed a class-action lawsuit against Nintendo, claiming that the straps designed to secure the company's Wiimotes to player's hands are insufficient for the task, reports Gamecyte.

Additionally, Elvig's suit claims, Nintendo covered up evidence that the straps were faulty. To support her claim, Elvig offers internal Nintendo documents in which representatives for the firm acknowledge consumer complaints regarding cracked television sets and other mishaps caused by an airborne Wiimote.

Elvig's suit seeks immediate compensation for damages incurred, an effort by Nintendo to refund or replace its product and the establishment of a claims process for those who may negatively be affected by the issue in the future.

Continue reading "Nintendo Faces New Wrist Strap Lawsuit" »

Two Arizona boys, ages six and seven, stoned a kitten before hanging it with a controller cord, reports AZfamily.com.

As the boys were playing Grand Theft Auto prior to harming the animal, infamous Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio blames the game for their actions.

"This game allows players to kill cops and rape women," Arpaio said. "It’s little wonder why they perpetrated such violence against that little animal."

Due to the boys' ages they can not be charged with a crime under Arizona state law. Similarly, Arizona Child Protective Services declined to get involved, claiming the crime was outside the criteria necessary to invoke the agency's interference.

Continue reading "Young Boys Hang Kitten, Grand Theft Auto Blamed" »

Rock Band creator Harmonix is staring down the barrel of a class action lawsuit claiming the company knew of flaws in the original Rock Band drum kit and attempted to defraud its customers, reports GameCyte.

"Due to a design defect, the bass drum foot pedal (which is an integral component of the Rock Band drum kit) fractures under ordinary and expected usage, thus rendering the pedal inoperative," reads lead plaintiff Monte Morgan's complaint against the developer, Electronic Arts, MTV and Viacom.

"Without a functioning bass drum foot pedal, consumers are unable to use the Rock Band drum kit or play the Rock Band game in the manner marketed and advertised by Defendants, thus depriving them of the value and enjoyment of their purchases."

Additionally, the plaintiffs claim that Harmonix's 3-month extension of the warranty on the pedal constitutes admission of guilt.

The suit seeks damages and restitution of an undisclosed amount, though based on the phenomenal sales of Rock Band, its accessories and add-on content my guess would fall squarely in the "tens of millions of dollars" range.

Image: dbking/Flickr

Class Action Lawsuit Targets Rock Band Drum Pedals [GameCyte]

The suit filed against Capcom by film production group MKR claiming that the gaming company blatantly ripped off George Romero's classic zombie flick Dawn of the Dead for 2006's Xbox 360 title Dead Rising has been dismissed, according to Gamespot's U.K. division.

United States Magistrate Judge Richard Solomon has granted Capcom's motion to dimiss the suit, saying that the production company "has not identified any similarity between Dead Rising and any protected element of Dawn of the Dead."

"Rather, the few similarities MKR has alleged are driven by the wholly unprotectable concept of humans battling zombies in a mall during a zombie outbreak," the Judge added.

Any personal feelings one may have toward either seminal work of fiction aside, how cool is it that the case drove a U.S. Magistrate Judge to say "battling zombies in a mall during a zombie outbreak" in official court papers?

Image courtesy Capcom

Correction: Dawn of the Dead was the film in question. Day of the Dead was the film I was watching in the background and has no bearing on the case whatsoever.

Dead Rising wins copyright case [Gamespot U.K.]

Sony has been ordered to pay $18.5 million for infringing on a patent held by Agere Systems for a "wireless local area network apparatus," reports PSPFanboy.

Agere sued Sony in 2006, saying the firm used the company's technology in its PSP handheld gaming system. The jury in the case recently sided with Agere, ordering Sony to pay $18.5 million for what it deemed "willful" violation of the smaller company's patent claim.

Agere's suit originally sought both profits lost from Sony's infringement as well as damages totaling three times the amount of those profits. It is unknown at this time how nearly the $18.5 million figure matches the sum originally sought, though it is certainly a significant win for Agere.

Image: Marcelo Alves/Flickr

Sony fined $18.5 million in patent infringement case [PSPFanboy]

After formally announcing their intention to tax the sale of virtual goods within online worlds at the end of last month, the Beijing branch of the Chinese State Administration of Taxation has now revealed the details of the newly instituted protocol.

Once income is generated through the sale of virtual goods, individuals "should go to the tax department to pay personal income tax within seven days of the day after the transactions," according to Shanghai Daily. Those who can provide proof of the value of the original property will see a 20 percent tax on their profits, while those lacking solid evidence will face charges equal to 3 percent of the total transaction.

This newly instituted tax is no doubt a reaction by the Chinese government to the rapidly growing virtual goods market in the online-gaming-obsessed country -- a segment of the economy that topped $1.37 billion in 2007.

Image: jenn_jenn/Flickr

Bureau assesses the value of virtual trade [Shanghai Daily]