2nd August 2010, 4:51 PM
Sorry lazy, there's nothing I've been able to find that backs that up. Who sued Nintendo? What "court settlement"? We need more information, and yes, a "link or it didn't happen".
Really though, it's completely fair use. No one would have a legitimate case, and more importantly, I really don't think any company out there is even going to notice Earthbound.
Let me put it another way. If The Simpsons, Futurama, Family Guy, and even more than all that, Robot Chicken (which I despise, but that's beside the point) can get away with their CONSTANT parodies of pop culture fiction from characters to music, I'm pretty sure Earthbound will be juuuuuust fine. It's not like video games are anything special. King's Quest 2 has the BATMOBILE and the Batman theme song (Adam West version) as a joke if you wander near Hagatha's cave often enough. King's Quest 4 uses the Jaws music (very well done if you have an MT-32) when you get eaten by a shark. They released an (admittedly shoddy) compilation including those games just a few years ago, if you'll recall the thread I made about it, and from reviews, they did NOT alter the games in any way, so those references are still in there.
They've got no real reason to be so afraid of this. Let's not forget that not a single lawsuit has come up for Earthbound yet. It doesn't matter that they aren't publishing it NOW, they DID at one time, that'd be enough to get them on if someone was going to make a fuss.
If it's really true that scared lawyers are why Nintendo isn't releasing Earthbound now, then they need new lawyers.
Really though, it's completely fair use. No one would have a legitimate case, and more importantly, I really don't think any company out there is even going to notice Earthbound.
Let me put it another way. If The Simpsons, Futurama, Family Guy, and even more than all that, Robot Chicken (which I despise, but that's beside the point) can get away with their CONSTANT parodies of pop culture fiction from characters to music, I'm pretty sure Earthbound will be juuuuuust fine. It's not like video games are anything special. King's Quest 2 has the BATMOBILE and the Batman theme song (Adam West version) as a joke if you wander near Hagatha's cave often enough. King's Quest 4 uses the Jaws music (very well done if you have an MT-32) when you get eaten by a shark. They released an (admittedly shoddy) compilation including those games just a few years ago, if you'll recall the thread I made about it, and from reviews, they did NOT alter the games in any way, so those references are still in there.
They've got no real reason to be so afraid of this. Let's not forget that not a single lawsuit has come up for Earthbound yet. It doesn't matter that they aren't publishing it NOW, they DID at one time, that'd be enough to get them on if someone was going to make a fuss.
If it's really true that scared lawyers are why Nintendo isn't releasing Earthbound now, then they need new lawyers.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)