C&D: Director's Response

[GenesisOne]

How exactly would've CE damaged their company?

If anything, it would've validated their popularity and increased sales of their games. (i.e. How many fan bases out there do you know of that dedicate 5 years of their lives to producing an amazing fan mod game?)

[Mr Bekkler]

I don't think they saw it that way. I understand and agree with you, but I think they saw it as promotion of emulation over purchase, rather than what it was: a work of fan appreciation and even love. Especially since the CnD came from SE America and that Japan may not even know about it, I really think they'd rather crack down on what they see as piracy than let fans be satisfied with their product.

[Crono666]

What bugs me the most is that I don't get why SE cares.
SE has pretty much made it clear that they have no interest in continuing the Chrono series.
So why do they care so much about fan made Chrono games?

[alfadorredux]

Oh, for crying out loud...

Squeenix's behaviour in this has nothing to do with logic and everything to do with the way
corporate policy with regards to IP operates in America. Their thinking runs something like
this:

1. We own this IP, or think we do.
2. While we own it, there may be some possibility, however unlikely, that we could make
   money off it.
3. Therefore, we must hold on to it in a death grip even if we have no current use for it.

Keep in mind that if any large corporation were human, it would be considered psychotic.
Squeenix will cheerfully lie, cheat and steal to do what its executives have been taught is
in the corporation's best interests: holding on to property at all costs. It is not
sane behaviour, and the only way to argue with it is in court.

@MKnance: Because it doesn't matter what's in the readme. Squeenix can still sue even
if they know they're in the wrong, and even if they lose the suit, the time and money
of the people who fought them won't be given back.

(In case people hadn't guessed, seeing this damned topic resurrected over and over again
is getting on my nerves.)

[GenesisOne]

alfadorredux, no one is required to post in this forum.

Although I may disagree with you, I respect the right to your (and my) viewpoint of Squeenix.

[RySenkari]

It isn't/won't be/never was finished.

Not by the original CE team, anyway.

Keep in mind that if any large corporation were human, it would be considered psychotic.
Squeenix will cheerfully lie, cheat and steal to do what its executives have been taught is
in the corporation's best interests: holding on to property at all costs. It is not
sane behaviour, and the only way to argue with it is in court.

Corporations in this country have basically taken the Ayn Rand stance, as in, "if the people stop sucking our dicks, we'll take our ball and go home". Hell, they even have half the country convinced that it's their "Christian duty" to let the corporations keep doing their merry thing. So the laws won't ever change unless there's a massive popular revolution.

[alfadorredux]

@GenesisOne: If you found my remarks offensive, I apologize. They were mostly a sort of backhanded plea for people to stop beating what has become less of a dead horse and more of a damp, horse-shaped spot on the pavement.

[Mr Bekkler]

It isn't/won't be/never was finished.

Not by the original CE team, anyway.

If somebody else were to finish it, it would not be CE. Two groups have already made an announcement that they are attempting just that, and both are calling it something else and making changes to whatever old busted copy of the alpha they could find, thus, it is not/will not be/never was a complete CE.

Personally, I'm torn on the issue. For one, I think it's a terrible idea, as SE has every right to sue the pants off the people who are trying to "finish CE" because they already issued a warning. They'd be better off making a new mod or a different project altogether. However, in the extremely unlikely event that they finish, I would love to play it.

Here's the kicker though. Because of the original CE development team's connections with this site, namely Z, and the CnD naming specific projects alongside CE, like Prophet's Guile, and Temporal Flux in general, the teams now working on "finishing" the unfinished crap file that was leaked would basically be begging for a lawsuit if they posted a complete game anywhere on this site. SE (America, at least) has knowledge of specific projects that were being worked on here, which means they were paying enough attention to know there used to be a lot of it going on. That would scare the shit out of my pants, and I can't imagine anyone acting ballsy in the face of an actual court and judge.

[RySenkari]

I dunno. I mean these are the same people who stood up to Scientology (an organization even more litigious than Square-Enix) and got Oprah to say "9000 penises" on national television. If anyone can bring a completed CE to fruition, it's them.

[GenesisOne]

Who's "them"?  You mean guys like this?

[Mr Bekkler]

I dunno. I mean these are the same people who stood up to Scientology (an organization even more litigious than Square-Enix) and got Oprah to say "9000 penises" on national television. If anyone can bring a completed CE to fruition, it's them.

I don't know what you're talking about, but the two groups who are attempting to "finish" the game are about four people at most. The "them" you're referring to is not the same "them". If you're gonna be vague, that's the best response I've got.

[RySenkari]

The Flames of Eternity guys.

[Mr Bekkler]

That's the name of their project, yes, but where did you hear about the Scientology "stand-up" and the Oprah quote?

[RySenkari]

Considering they're members of 4chan's video game board, that makes them part of the Anonymous collective, the same group of people that staged the massive Scientology protests and successfully trolled Oprah on her show.

[Mr Bekkler]

That's like saying the Compendium made CE. It's simply not true.

They are four individuals who happen to associate with that site. They are not "the Anonymous collective". They each have an IP number, a screen name (on this site, at least), and a chance of legal ramifications. They are people. "Anon" is a large group who most likely could not give a shit if the game ever got finished. Big difference.