Trivia Browser
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In the original release of the game, the monster that the player could summon to attack the city was a thinly veiled parody of Godzilla, right down to using the character's iconic roar from the film series; the sound effect is even named "God" in the game's files, furthering the reference. The Godzilla parody is also depicted on the game's box art, gleefully waving at the viewer.
According to programmer Don Hopkins, who notably ported SimCity to numerous versions of Unix, Maxis ended up getting sued by Toho, the owners of the Godzilla franchise; additional details were recounted to him by Maxis CEO Jeff Braun:
As a result of this suit, the monster was redesigned in the v1.2 release to resemble a giant orange salamander. The creature's roar is also changed and the game's box art is redesigned to replace the Godzilla parody with a tornado. In the v1.3 release, the salamander is given a slightly larger and more detailed sprite to fit the revised art style, but its roar (now internally renamed "Monster") is corrupted.
According to programmer Don Hopkins, who notably ported SimCity to numerous versions of Unix, Maxis ended up getting sued by Toho, the owners of the Godzilla franchise; additional details were recounted to him by Maxis CEO Jeff Braun:
"We never referred to the name Godzilla, our monster on the box cover was a T-Rex looking character, but... a few magazine reviews called the monster, Godzilla. That was all it took. Toho called it "confusion in the marketplace". We paid $50k for Godzilla to go away. In all honesty, Toho liked Maxis, they said $50k was the minimum they take for Godzilla infringement."
As a result of this suit, the monster was redesigned in the v1.2 release to resemble a giant orange salamander. The creature's roar is also changed and the game's box art is redesigned to replace the Godzilla parody with a tornado. In the v1.3 release, the salamander is given a slightly larger and more detailed sprite to fit the revised art style, but its roar (now internally renamed "Monster") is corrupted.
The Cutting Room Floor article:
https://tcrf.net/SimCity_(Mac_OS_Classic)#Godzilla_vs._Notzilla
Don Hopkins testimony in a Hacker News post:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40050799
MobyGames gallery showcasing the different box art designs:
https://www.mobygames.com/game/848/simcity/covers/
https://tcrf.net/SimCity_(Mac_OS_Classic)#Godzilla_vs._Notzilla
Don Hopkins testimony in a Hacker News post:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40050799
MobyGames gallery showcasing the different box art designs:
https://www.mobygames.com/game/848/simcity/covers/
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When Street Fighter 6's preliminary logo was revealed, it was mocked for a variety of reasons, particularly a disconnect from previous series logos and aligning with a widely criticized trend of generic, minimalist or "oversimplified" logos. Some fans noted that the logo strongly resembled an $80 design for an "SF" logo posted on the Adobe Stock Image store by user xcoolee, which had previously been used for a sci-fi convention in France. xcoolee did offer to sell exclusive rights to the logo to Capcom, but was seemingly denied. It was also discovered that a Taiwanese electronics and appliances retailer, Sunfar, had a similar hexagonal logo. On the day after Street Fighter 6's logo reveal, the front page of their website displayed an advertisement with the logo featuring a paint splatter reading the number 6 promoting gaming products, most likely as a promotional parody. It is unknown if either resemblance was a coincidence on Capcom's part, and xcoolee did not state if they knew whether Capcom bought anything from their store or not. The logo of Street Fighter 6 would be updated to appear more stylized before the game's launch in response to the negative reception, although the fan reception to the new logo was not much more positive.
Allegations of plagiarism:
https://www.eventhubs.com/news/2022/feb/22/street-fighter-6-logo/
https://kotaku.com/street-fighter-6-vi-capcom-graphic-design-logo-sf6-sf5-1848573656
Offer to sell:
https://www.ign.com/articles/street-fighter-6-logo-adobe-stock
Logo change:
https://kotaku.com/street-fighter-6-vi-capcom-logo-graphic-design-fix-upda-1849012069
https://www.distractify.com/p/street-fighter-6-logo
https://www.eventhubs.com/news/2022/feb/22/street-fighter-6-logo/
https://kotaku.com/street-fighter-6-vi-capcom-graphic-design-logo-sf6-sf5-1848573656
Offer to sell:
https://www.ign.com/articles/street-fighter-6-logo-adobe-stock
Logo change:
https://kotaku.com/street-fighter-6-vi-capcom-logo-graphic-design-fix-upda-1849012069
https://www.distractify.com/p/street-fighter-6-logo
Company: BMB
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Every BMB game over:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFPlyjTqZlM
Angry Birds Star Wars ending:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eich0IN3Zf0#t=1336
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFPlyjTqZlM
Angry Birds Star Wars ending:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eich0IN3Zf0#t=1336
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The "Woohoo!" sound effect played when rescuing a Bikini Bottomite in Drawn to Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition appears to be a plagiarized, sped-up sound effect of Homer Simpson from The Simpsons.
Franchise: Final Fantasy
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The arcade game Dino Pop, manufactured by the South African company Amusement Warehouse, features an unlicensed rendition of the recurring Chocobo theme from the Final Fantasy series. Based on a demonstration video uploaded by the manufacturer, it's also believed that other renditions of the game use an unlicensed version of the Gold Saucer theme from Final Fantasy VII.
TheGamer article:
https://www.thegamer.com/final-fantasy-bootleg-chuck-e-cheese-music/
Dino Pop listing:
https://primetimeamusements.com/product/dino-pop/
https://www.thegamer.com/final-fantasy-bootleg-chuck-e-cheese-music/
Dino Pop listing:
https://primetimeamusements.com/product/dino-pop/
subdirectory_arrow_right Scooby-Doo (Franchise)
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Lemmings was originally going to use a soundtrack of plagarised copyrighted music, something that was common in microcomputer games the decade prior, including pop songs and television theme songs. In the final game, these were swapped for public domain songs, though a sample of Don Messick as Scooby-Doo used for a cover of the Scooby-Doo & Scrappy-Doo theme song would be retained in the How Much is that Doggie in the Window? music track. The Mission: Impossible theme seems to have been chosen in reference to a fad on British television at the time of showing squirrels performing stunts to the song.
Collection: Mario Kart
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In 2016, Nintendo entered a legal dispute with MariCar, an Osaka-based company offering tourists Mario Kart-themed tours of the city using modified go-karts. The service included costumes based on the Mario Kart roster and alluded to the games' items in its advertising, jokingly asking customers not to attack each other with "banana peels" or "red turtle shells." Nintendo filed a complaint with the Japan Patent Office in September, arguing that the company's trademark was deliberately over-evocative of that for Mario Kart. Four months later, however, the office denied Nintendo's request, noting that "MariCar" was not a common abbreviation for Mario Kart, and thus the two trademarks did not conflict.
As the Japanese legal system does not include fair use protections for parodies, Nintendo subsequently sued MariCar the following month for copyright infringement due to the unauthorized inclusion of Mario character costumes. The case was ultimately decided in Nintendo's favor in September 2018, with MariCar being forced to drop the Mario Kart iconography and pay Nintendo ¥10 million (roughly equivalent to $89,000 USD) in damages. The company attempted to appeal the case to the Japanese Supreme Court, who rejected the motion in December 2020 and increased the fine to ¥50 million (approximately $483,000 USD). MariCar has since rebranded as Street Kart in the wake of the lawsuit.
As the Japanese legal system does not include fair use protections for parodies, Nintendo subsequently sued MariCar the following month for copyright infringement due to the unauthorized inclusion of Mario character costumes. The case was ultimately decided in Nintendo's favor in September 2018, with MariCar being forced to drop the Mario Kart iconography and pay Nintendo ¥10 million (roughly equivalent to $89,000 USD) in damages. The company attempted to appeal the case to the Japanese Supreme Court, who rejected the motion in December 2020 and increased the fine to ¥50 million (approximately $483,000 USD). MariCar has since rebranded as Street Kart in the wake of the lawsuit.
2017 Japan Times article:
https://web.archive.org/web/20180928121623/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/03/09/national/crime-legal/patent-authority-rules-nintendo-lets-go-kart-firm-keep-maricar-trademark/
2018 Polygon article about Nintendo's court victory:
https://web.archive.org/web/20180927215307/https://www.polygon.com/2018/9/27/17910844/mario-kart-tour-japan-nintendo-lawsuit
2020 Engadget article about the appeal's rejection:
https://www.engadget.com/nintendo-seals-court-victory-against-knockoff-gokart-tour-company-133028716.html?guccounter=1
https://web.archive.org/web/20180928121623/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/03/09/national/crime-legal/patent-authority-rules-nintendo-lets-go-kart-firm-keep-maricar-trademark/
2018 Polygon article about Nintendo's court victory:
https://web.archive.org/web/20180927215307/https://www.polygon.com/2018/9/27/17910844/mario-kart-tour-japan-nintendo-lawsuit
2020 Engadget article about the appeal's rejection:
https://www.engadget.com/nintendo-seals-court-victory-against-knockoff-gokart-tour-company-133028716.html?guccounter=1
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The character Veigar seems to be based on the Black Mages from the Final Fantasy series. This connection is further backed by one of Veigar's skins, called White Mage Veigar, which has the white and red coloring of the White Mages from the Final Fantasy series.
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The character Cho'Gath seems to be based off the character the Violator from the American comic book franchise "Spawn". This could be a coincidence, but when the game first launched, the Void (where Cho'Gath is from) was framed more like the world's equivalent to Hell, and the Violator is a minion of Hell.
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The ending theme for Agent X II is plagarised from a popular British commercial for a product called "Shake & Vac". When asked for a reason why the jingle was used, composer Tim Follin responded: "None [referring to an answer]. Tight deadline probably."
Ending theme:
https://youtu.be/J-GF7kyNb-k?t=792
Shake & Vac commercial jingle:
https://youtu.be/4q8inM0gKVo
Follin on Shake & Vac similarities:
https://web.archive.org/web/20021223070706/http://c64audio.valuehost.co.uk/edge/czone_follin.htm
https://youtu.be/J-GF7kyNb-k?t=792
Shake & Vac commercial jingle:
https://youtu.be/4q8inM0gKVo
Follin on Shake & Vac similarities:
https://web.archive.org/web/20021223070706/http://c64audio.valuehost.co.uk/edge/czone_follin.htm
subdirectory_arrow_right Mario (Franchise)
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There is a cactus prop at Universal Studios' Super Nintendo World that does not originate from an official Mario game, but rather the fanmade mod Newer Super Mario Bros. Wii. At the time of the park's opening, a Google search for "new super mario bros wii cactus" would show images of Newer's desert levels alongside New Super Mario Bros. Wii, meaning that the cacti was likely added by accident, being mistaken for official Nintendo material.
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Crazy Kong's sound effects were plagarised from Crazy Climber, another game about scaling a building that featured gorillas as enemies, and predated Donkey Kong
If one is to count Crazy Kong as an official Nintendo release, it would technically be the first instance of Mario speaking, predating Donkey Kong Goes Home by two years, as he says "Hi-yah!" whenever he jumps over a barrel, using a slowed-down voice clip from the Crazy Climber gorilla.
If one is to count Crazy Kong as an official Nintendo release, it would technically be the first instance of Mario speaking, predating Donkey Kong Goes Home by two years, as he says "Hi-yah!" whenever he jumps over a barrel, using a slowed-down voice clip from the Crazy Climber gorilla.
Mario speaks in Crazy Kong:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOZZZvWYS20#t=32
Crazy Climber - timestamped to the gorilla's appearance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCrAAIEnSYI#t=59
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOZZZvWYS20#t=32
Crazy Climber - timestamped to the gorilla's appearance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCrAAIEnSYI#t=59
subdirectory_arrow_right Bubsy (Collection)
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Beelzebubsy's posts:
https://aminoapps.com/c/bubsythebobcat/page/user/beelzebubsy/33xp_lViMf7dR2vJa7zoYX7DlWq0er2xRRCV
Example of SqrlyJack's infamy within the Bubsy fandom, not the subject of the fact, but moreso just backing up that she is a controversial figure to Bubsy fans:
https://tsknew999.tumblr.com/post/179917221391/who-wrote-this-stuff
Xindictive's claim in the comment section of a Slope's Game Room video on Bubsy that presents the fake concept art as real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jea5BBMIA0A&lc=UgwIn_sCDJ1pf0goZ214AaABAg
Tweet from Xindictive about the forgery, a reply shows a magazine scan that one of the forged images was traced from:
https://twitter.com/TSKNew999/status/1140301796201529344
Advertisement for the now-closed Discord server claming that Berlyn was on it:
https://www.reddit.com/r/the_Bubsy/comments/mq1xda/long_overdue_update_post/
Examples of Ken Macklin's real signature:
https://postimg.cc/gallery/YWFZ1P8/2fd8ba45
https://aminoapps.com/c/bubsythebobcat/page/user/beelzebubsy/33xp_lViMf7dR2vJa7zoYX7DlWq0er2xRRCV
Example of SqrlyJack's infamy within the Bubsy fandom, not the subject of the fact, but moreso just backing up that she is a controversial figure to Bubsy fans:
https://tsknew999.tumblr.com/post/179917221391/who-wrote-this-stuff
Xindictive's claim in the comment section of a Slope's Game Room video on Bubsy that presents the fake concept art as real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jea5BBMIA0A&lc=UgwIn_sCDJ1pf0goZ214AaABAg
Tweet from Xindictive about the forgery, a reply shows a magazine scan that one of the forged images was traced from:
https://twitter.com/TSKNew999/status/1140301796201529344
Advertisement for the now-closed Discord server claming that Berlyn was on it:
https://www.reddit.com/r/the_Bubsy/comments/mq1xda/long_overdue_update_post/
Examples of Ken Macklin's real signature:
https://postimg.cc/gallery/YWFZ1P8/2fd8ba45
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Flappy Bird was removed from app stores by creator Dong Nguyen on February 8th 2014, due to being overwhelmed by its success and feeling guilt over the addictive, frustrating nature of the game, which he had originally intended to be relaxing. Although many speculated that the game was taken down by Nintendo due to the game's pipes and their similarity to the pipes from the Mario series, both Nguyen and Nintendo denied this.
Nguyen claimed that his worries about the game had lost him sleep, and removing the game from sale managed to restore piece of mind - despite this, Nguyen did promise a Flappy Bird comeback, albeit in a less addictive form, which would eventually come in the form of an official sequel: Flappy Birds Family for Amazon Fire TV.
Some eBay users attempted to sell the iPhones with the original game installed for up to $99,900, but the listings were removed due to eBay's rules against selling technology that has not been factory reset.
Nguyen claimed that his worries about the game had lost him sleep, and removing the game from sale managed to restore piece of mind - despite this, Nguyen did promise a Flappy Bird comeback, albeit in a less addictive form, which would eventually come in the form of an official sequel: Flappy Birds Family for Amazon Fire TV.
Some eBay users attempted to sell the iPhones with the original game installed for up to $99,900, but the listings were removed due to eBay's rules against selling technology that has not been factory reset.
Flappy Bird Removal article:
https://web.archive.org/web/20140214112459/http://www.technobuffalo.com/2014/02/09/flappy-bird-removed-from-app-store/
Nguyen denying legal issues:
https://twitter.com/dongatory/status/432228383095668737
Nintendo denying legal issues:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-DGB-32728
eBay Flappy Bird Phone listings:
https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/flappy-bird-phones-kicked-off-ebay/
Nguyen explains why Flappy Bird was removed:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lananhnguyen/2014/02/11/exclusive-flappy-bird-creator-dong-nguyen-says-app-gone-forever-because-it-was-an-addictive-product/
Flappy Bird Family announcement:
https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/08/01/flappy-bird-returns-with-new-features
https://web.archive.org/web/20140214112459/http://www.technobuffalo.com/2014/02/09/flappy-bird-removed-from-app-store/
Nguyen denying legal issues:
https://twitter.com/dongatory/status/432228383095668737
Nintendo denying legal issues:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-DGB-32728
eBay Flappy Bird Phone listings:
https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/flappy-bird-phones-kicked-off-ebay/
Nguyen explains why Flappy Bird was removed:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lananhnguyen/2014/02/11/exclusive-flappy-bird-creator-dong-nguyen-says-app-gone-forever-because-it-was-an-addictive-product/
Flappy Bird Family announcement:
https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/08/01/flappy-bird-returns-with-new-features
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If you press Select while pausing Q-Boy, you can unlock a "Mario mode" that replaces several of the game's original characters with Mario characters.
subdirectory_arrow_right Sonic The Hedgehog (Franchise)
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Quik & Silva features many plagiarized characters as duplicated enemies, including characters from Nebulus, Bubble Bobble, Contra, and The Great Giana Sisters. Among these characters is Sonic the Hedgehog, whose first title had not released at that point, technically making it Sonic's first appearance in a home console video game, even if unauthorized and predated by the arcade game Rad Mobile.
Sonic Retro article on appearance discovery:
https://sonicretro.org/tag/the-adventures-of-quik-silva/
Larry Bundy Jr. video on Sonic's first appearance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5uC0ymZK3s
https://sonicretro.org/tag/the-adventures-of-quik-silva/
Larry Bundy Jr. video on Sonic's first appearance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5uC0ymZK3s
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Basic overview, and also source for hedgehogs, the gay ban, and the plagiarism:
https://www.jellyneo.net/nfts/
Another basic overview, mentioning the contest, denials, and the hedgehogs:
https://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/pzmcy2/pet_site_game_neopets_introduces_nfts_burns/
Neopets Metaverse team Soyjak tweet:
https://www.jellyneo.net/?comments=13868
Neopets ending NFT support announcement:
https://www.jellyneo.net/?comments=14391
https://www.jellyneo.net/nfts/
Another basic overview, mentioning the contest, denials, and the hedgehogs:
https://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/pzmcy2/pet_site_game_neopets_introduces_nfts_burns/
Neopets Metaverse team Soyjak tweet:
https://www.jellyneo.net/?comments=13868
Neopets ending NFT support announcement:
https://www.jellyneo.net/?comments=14391
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The Elf Bowling series has been the subject of multiple bizarre and unprofessional Wikipedia edits by individuals involved with the franchise, something considered poor conduct on the website.
Elf Bowling co-creator Dan "Ferg" Ferguson created a Wikipedia article under the name "Itzaferg" and inserted self-aggrandizing information about his history with the franchise to its page, as well as adding articles that were soon deleted for his company Blockdot and its lesser known, non-Elf Bowling works.
After this, Matthew Lichtenwalter, who bought the rights to Elf Bowling in 2001, attempted to claim that the portable compilation, Elf Bowling 1 & 2 was "unauthorized" using Wikipedia as a platform, writing a signed quote from himself on the Wikipedia article for Elf Bowling, as well as saying that he "created the series [after]" he bought it out.
It seems highly unlikely that the Elf Bowling ports were actually unauthorized, as no legal action was taken, nor did any of the developers or publishers of the release attempt to hide their work on it at any point.
Elf Bowling co-creator Dan "Ferg" Ferguson created a Wikipedia article under the name "Itzaferg" and inserted self-aggrandizing information about his history with the franchise to its page, as well as adding articles that were soon deleted for his company Blockdot and its lesser known, non-Elf Bowling works.
After this, Matthew Lichtenwalter, who bought the rights to Elf Bowling in 2001, attempted to claim that the portable compilation, Elf Bowling 1 & 2 was "unauthorized" using Wikipedia as a platform, writing a signed quote from himself on the Wikipedia article for Elf Bowling, as well as saying that he "created the series [after]" he bought it out.
"The DS and GBA versions were not approved or authorized by NStorm and were extremely poor copies of the code and art by original creators Ferguson and Bielinski. Myself, along with millions of fans all over the world loved the original artwork of Ferguson in all its pixelized glory and this unauthorized release caused sever [sic] harm to the brand that took several years to recover from." ~ Matthew Lichtenwalter, Commotion Interactive
It seems highly unlikely that the Elf Bowling ports were actually unauthorized, as no legal action was taken, nor did any of the developers or publishers of the release attempt to hide their work on it at any point.
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