The Month That Could Have Been Announcement

[Romana]

And if we collect money through the internet, to pay a fine to Square Enix? Everyone can help, and the game will be release! 150.000 is not too hard for all fans of Chrono Trigger!

There's no telling how many times it'll happen. It's not like a fee or anything, SE has the right to sue and Cease & Desist over and over again.

[Geowil]

And if we collect money through the internet, to pay a fine to Square Enix? Everyone can help, and the game will be release! 150.000 is not too hard for all fans of Chrono Trigger!

thats not quite how it works.  The CD stated that for EACH infringement (download) that they would charge the 150k, and possible jail time.  Paying the fine doesnt get you a get out of jail free pass, they can still deny you the right to put the game out, they just get 150k of your money in the process, as Pty said.

[RySenkari]

There's absolutely zero chance of jail time stemming from this. This would've been entirely a civil matter.

[FaustWolf]

The commentary is definitely a plus. However, as with all Youtube annotations, they can be switched off entirely. Best of all worlds. But I'd keep them on, it's like having an Ultimania sitting right in front of you while you play.

[1stoftheLast]

I haven't posted in awhile.  In fact I hadn't been to the site for a while until about a week ago when I began to see things unfold as they are now.  I want to offer my condolences for what happened, it was all so unnecessary. 

Everyone please keep your head's up, this is still a great board with fantastic content.  I think you'll find the future of this board in a much happier state then it finds itself presently.

[Samopoznanie]

Ha, in a way it's a pity jail time wasn't an option. I really doubt it would have been a long sentence over such a petty issue. We probably could've drawn straws or taken shifts!

The commentary is wonderful, btw. Thanks for adding it.

[Farius Wolfang]

Oh... This is bad!
But, if we make a Crimson Echoes day?
Everybody could send an email to the Square-Enix on a particular day, to show that there are many people who want the game!
This cannot end! Its the REAL continuation of Chrono Trigger!

[fwaeld]

I'd just like to cite Square-Enix's own Corporate Philosophy, originally found here: http://www.square-enix.com/eng/company/philosophy.html. I've italicized what I believe to be especially important passages...

Corporate Philosophy
To spread happiness across the globe by providing unforgettable experiences

This philosophy represents our company’s mission and the beliefs for which we stand. Each of our customers has his or her own definition of happiness. Square Enix provides high-quality content, services, and products to help those customers create their own wonderful, unforgettable experiences, thereby allowing them to discover a happiness all their own.

Management Guidelines

These guidelines reflect the foundation of principles upon which our corporate philosophy stands, and serve as a standard of value for the Group and its members. We shall strive to achieve our corporate goals while closely considering the following:

1. Professionalism
We shall exhibit a high degree of professionalism, ensuring optimum results in the workplace. We shall display initiative, make continued efforts to further develop our expertise, and remain sincere and steadfast in the pursuit of our goals, while ultimately aspiring to forge a corporate culture disciplined by the pride we hold in our work.

2. Creativity and Innovation
To attain and maintain new standards of value, there are questions we must ask ourselves: Is this creative? Is this innovative?
Mediocre dedication can only result in mediocre achievements. Simply being content with the status quo can only lead to a collapse into oblivion. To prevent this from occurring and to avoid complacency, we must continue asking ourselves the aforementioned questions.

3. Harmony
Everything in the world interacts to form a massive system. Nothing can stand alone.
Everything functions with an inevitable accord to reason. It is vital to gain a proper understanding of the constantly changing tides, and to take advantage of these variations instead of struggling against them. We shall continue to work towards harmony and serve as an integral part of this ever-fluctuating system.

In order to achieve ideal performance levels, we as individuals, shall aim for a mutual respect amongst our coworkers, remain conscious of the duties assigned us, and place an emphasis on teamwork.
As a corporate organization, we shall work diligently to maintain an optimal balance culminating in the ultimate satisfaction of all our stakeholders, including customers, shareholders, counterparties, and employees.
As a business entity, we shall contemplate what functions we are to perform within the realm of industry, while acting in a manner that ensures the mutual harmony and benefit of all parties within it.
Finally, as a member of society, we shall comply with laws and regulations while fulfilling our civic obligations, including community involvement and environmental conservation.

[Ramsus]

Maybe now is not a good time to fight a lawsuit- but when is it ever a "good" time?  There is no such thing as that, not five years ago and not anywhere in the next twenty years.  The creators could live to be 120 and there would never be a "good time" in that time period to fight.  That's why massive soul-sucking corporations can usually throw their weight around and bully the little guy, people get afraid, but that doesn't mean the little guy should always submit.

For starters, a good time would be when the all of the CE team members who could end up in court are actually living stateside again, rather than just starting out living overseas for the first time. It would also be after they've had a chance to secure their financial situations, talk to their bosses about the matter, and negotiate some time off from work. Finally, they should have their personal lives in order so they don't have to break off their current relationships just to pursue this in court.

You don't seem to be thinking about this from an adult perspective. Right now you're just thinking about this from a reckless, nothing-to-lose mentality as though this game were the most important thing in the world right now, but some things are more important to people: financial independence, love and romance, and travel. Saving the game would positively impact none of those factors, and at the moment, going to court over the game would negatively impact all of them.

There's absolutely zero chance of jail time stemming from this. This would've been entirely a civil matter.

Statutory copyright infringement can be tried as a federal misdemeanor in criminal court under some circumstances, resulting in a possible $30,000 fine and 1 year in jail.

[nightmare975]

Statutory copyright infringement can be tried as a federal misdemeanor in criminal court under some circumstances, resulting in a possible $30,000 fine and 1 year in jail.

That would also mean we lose the right to vote, correct? Aren't all felonies like that or is it just the big ones? Is this a big one?

[Glenn27]

Someone asked if I'd be willing to give a lawyer 100's of bucks (probably more) to study this case.

I don't have that kind of money or I would.

But...

if the team ever put up a donation bar?  Hell yeah I'd submit 50-100 bucks to contribute.  If I paid that much for a copy of Chrono Cross then I'd sure as hell contribute this much to help with a game like this.

All the donations could go to legal fees- and anything left over could go to charity, seems simple enough and certainly "non-profit" enough to help against SE's false claims they continue to believe from that dickhead Dark Serge.


To everyone else who's afraid of going against SE, sometimes people gotta fight for what's right- I don't believe in quitting.  To whoever makes a decision, it all depends on how personally important their hard work is to them.  Nobody spends years on a game like this hoping or expecting a company like SE to pull a major dick-move like this.  

Besides, you shouldn't all believe how much authority SE's lawyers claim it is how hard they claim they can crap lightning down from above.  Do we know for certain?  No we don't- so we should stop assuming the worst-possible scenario.  We'd need someone with legal expertise in gaming to look at this and explain things further.  If we just ask SE's lawyers then of course they'll claim virtually unlimited powers to punish and abuse the team in the event of a leak.  Doesn't mean it's true though- just means that that's their fancy lawyer talk for claiming a higher than thou position in court and that we need to find out where the real truth lies.

Likely, it's not as bad as what SE claims, but who knows?  We need some legal experts in gaming expertise to help us.  Everyone, stop assuming the worst case scenario or automatically trusting whatever the lawyers at SE tell us to believe.  It may not be the best-case scenario either, but it requires more investigation to offer up a final analysis.


Nevertheless, I respect the Team's decision.  My hatred is reserved solely for Dark Serge (may he be raped by Ozzy and Lavos for all eternity) and the tools at SE responsible for this decision and those who support it there.

Hopefully someday the team will decide that it is the "right" time to release their labor of love.

[RySenkari]

Statutory copyright infringement can be tried as a federal misdemeanor in criminal court under some circumstances, resulting in a possible $30,000 fine and 1 year in jail.

No copyright infringement case in the United States has ever resulted in a penalty nearly that severe. Even in cases where jail time was involved, it was actual bootlegging of DVDs, like recording movies from the theater and such. This would never, ever, ever result in jail time.

[Glenn27]

Statutory copyright infringement can be tried as a federal misdemeanor in criminal court under some circumstances, resulting in a possible $30,000 fine and 1 year in jail.

No copyright infringement case in the United States has ever resulted in a penalty nearly that severe. Even in cases where jail time was involved, it was actual bootlegging of DVDs, like recording movies from the theater and such. This would never, ever, ever result in jail time.

I find that personally very interesting.  It would be very unprecedented if SE actually got the team locked up in jail then, particularly since they aren't even profiting from this.


Anyway, as for doing my part to try to help spread the word....

http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/

I'm going to try to find a way to get Jimmy Fallon's attention. (did I say Kimmel earlier?  Meant Fallon, lol) Hopefully, if he's a Chrono Trigger fan, maybe he can do something to help us.  I mean, he played Phantasy Star 3, surely he played a game as legendary and epic as CT and loved it.

[Panzer88]

Second, I've heard rumors that Final Fantasy IV: The After Years was a ROM project that SE had also given the C&D to. Is there any truth to that?

And third, even if that rumor is not true, does SE have a copy of CE?

this is false, if you look at the screenshots you can tell that it is an original engine and not based on any other game.

[KebreI]

Excuse me everyone, good evening.

My name is Brett Wooley, I am the host of a live radio program in North East Louisiana called Meteor Radio.

I want an interview from someone involved with the project to speak about this. I don't care about how it needs to be approached. Whether it's to summon support, or to mourn the loss of a great project, I want the people to know about this.

Is there someone that can help me with this? Please let me know as soon as you can. Thank you for your time. And thank you for the dedication the team put into that project.

Sincerely yours,

Brett Wooley (Axtuse)
www.meteorradio.com

Have any of the staff here taken up this guy's request for a radio interview? I think that would be fantastic publicity.

Quoting so it doesn't get missed in the blizzard of posts.