It's ok to be a rip off (as long as you're good at it)

Surprised there's no reference here to Gameloft. This a textbook example of thievery done well: take an existing highly popular game, mine it for all its mechanics and many graphical elements, and then issue on portable devices at a fraction of the price. I think very few people would argue that N.O.V.A. or Hero of Sparta are anything but great games. I'm sure if Microsoft or Sony made Halo or God of War for phones, they'd sell better, but since they don't: thank god for Gameloft.

Everyone copies everything. I dont see why non-sony fans (Xbots) are slagging Sony off. Sony's characters are interesting enough that to put them all together and let them slog it out is great. Just cause Nintendo got there first doesnt mean a thing. Once Microsoft have enough decent characters people recognize that im sure Xbots would change their tune.

I absolutely adore Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, even though it unashamedly borrows from certain games... It's a great example of how "ripping off" doesn't necessarily mean its a bad thing.

Every recent Zelda game has been a copy of Ocarina of Time, which itself was a 3D platforming remake of Link to the Past. The reason why people stick with them is that each new entry is a solid game, regardless of how similar it is to the predecessor. Should that count as a rip-off, since it would thematically be closer to the original than a clone, like Darksiders or Okami? Copying elements from established series and using them in new ways can be awesome. Would there be Gears of War had Resi 4 not pioneered the over-the-shoulder camera angle? Would the Uncharted series platforming exist without Tomb Raider, which in turn is being used in the new Tomb Raider? Mere elements don't themselves mean that the whole experience is the same, as Tomb Raider is hoping to prove. Cribbing in video games is neither new nor bad, as it means that the player has a certain level of familiarity with how to play the game: if you look at it in one light, you may as well complain every time you press x to jump, or square to attack. The PlayStation and the whole Xbox themselves are evolutions of copies of work each company did for Nintendo and Sega respectively, the PlayStation evolved from an intended CD ROM attachment (think Sega CD), while the Xbox was built from the data Microsoft gathered from building the OS for the Dreamcast: hell, even the controllers look the same, VMU port and black/white buttons notwithstanding. However, as they both did something new and unexpected, they went on to success, rather than languishing as just a clone. In terms of the launch line up of Move games, I think the intent was to showcase the additional accuracy of the Move vs the Wii-mote, so a comparable games were needed. Sadly, I can only see so many more accusations of cloning in the future, as more and more developers close due to the recession, and EA cough cough, studios will be less and less inclined to giving new ideas a shot, in fear of failure of new IP and recouping losses. TL;DR Copying's not new, tropes everywhere.

It's also OK to be original even if you suck at it.

That's not a bad point either. But what to people prefer: Something uninspired that plays great or something wholly original that's barely any fun?

Limbo of the Lost, a rip off of Oblivion? One's a point-and-click adventure, the other's an open-world sandbox RPG. You might as well say Pokémon's a rip off of Tetris.

Yes, if Pokemon took the graphical assets of Tetris and pasted them, unedited, into the new Pokemon game, and then made a boring shell of a game off of the art stolen directly from Tetris. Let's just say the copying wasn't in the gameplay department. You obviously have the internet at your disposal. Next time GR says something you find stupid, consider researching it in order to learn something. Possibly by clicking on the provided link...

Pretty awesome points. People don't realize that there hasn't been 1 smash clone that wasn't a failure, Cartoon Networks brawler would've been it if it wasn't for how disappointing/not standing outish it was. Allstars is the first to do it right and it looks great, despite the backlash Sony gets. Im hoping for.the best in this game, Parrappa already made me shit my pants, along with fat princess and spike, this game keeps getting awesome. My ONLY tidbit is the sound effects, they sound all dull so im hoping they fix it, otherwise if they don't change it I guess it'll take some time getting used to

You know what I want? Sony should cancel this and Nintendo should release Smash Bros on ps3 with all crecters from both companies. That would be the day...

yeah they should release it on the same day pigs fly

"Platinum's Bayonetta is clearly inspired by Devil May Cry, though most would forgive that since many former DMC devs worked on the title." ......Did I seriously read that correctly? A quick search on Google can easily tear this to shreds. The reason that Bayonetta is most definitely not a rip off of Devil May Cry is because they were created by exactly the same person: Hideki Kamiya. How can someone rip-off the game, heck, the entire genre that they themselves created? Not the best piece of journalism ever, GamesRadar. And don't you think that this editorial is a bit outdated considering Hideki Kamiya made that tweet nearly 20 days ago and the whole issue kind of died off after that? To be honest, the whole debate really depends on what you consider a 'rip-off' to be. In terms of Okami and Zelda, the two look, sound and play nothing alike but they do share some key gameplay design similarities but I would not call Okami a rip-off. With Playstation All Stars Battle Royale and Smash Bros, the two look similar and, as the video proves, there are a lot of subtle gameplay similarities (How characters play)but also, some of the characters in PSAS don't fit in this cartoony Smash Bros style which just makes the game come across as cheap to me. I am not averse to games taking inspiration from each other, but, something about PSASBR irritates me.

In the sentence you fucking quoted Henry says that most of the devs from DMC worked on Bayonetta including the creator. Moron.

Let's look at that quote again then, shall we? "Platinum's Bayonetta is clearly inspired by Devil May Cry, though most would forgive that since many former DMC devs worked on the title." Let's go through this point by point. "Platinum's Bayonetta is clearly inspired by Devil May Cry" - Sure, this point is valid since the two are similar. But, here's the thing. Hideki Kamiya is the creator of both games. Kamiya and Team Little Devils essentially started their own genre with Devil May Cry, so, how can you inspire yourself? "though most would forgive that" - To me, at least, this implies that Henry does not necessarily agree with the sentiment. Note how Henry goes straight from "power of a brilliant rip-off" to "Platinum's Bayonetta". "since many former DMC devs worked on the title." - This is true, however, Hideki Kamiya is the one that created and directed both games. Without him, the "many former DMC devs" (Not most of the devs) may not have been working on a game in a similar genre. Kamiya is not mentioned as part of that group and as such it is questionable as to whether Henry realises this. Also, the entire point of the paragraph is to prove that Hideki Kamiya's statement is ironic. By not even seeming to realise that Hideki Kamiya is the creator of both Bayonetta and Devil May Cry (And Okami, but that is another argument altogether), Henry's point about it being ironic is shattered because how can you rip off yourself?

Henry dear, this gentlemen has a point. I mean, I get where you're coming from with your statement about the comparisons between Devil May Cry and Bayonetta, but besides sharing the same creator, and both being "hack-'n-slashers", they both don't play the same. As in, the gameplay mechanics of Devil May Cry are different from the delicious Bayonetta. Also, as this gentlemen stated, aside from aesthetics, Okami and the Wolf-Link sections of Twilight Princess, since I am assuming that is where the comparisons come from, since every Zelda game after Ocarina have just been repeating that games formula, play nothing alike.

Once you get the katana in Bayonetta, you can play it exactly like DMC (stinger included). Bayonetta was the evolution of the DMC formula to be sure, but you can't deny that they play very similarly.

The video game industry is all about rip-offs and copying. Without that, the industry would collapse.

Once there are enough rip-offs of something, it becomes a genre. Hell I WISH there was more ripoffs of certain games, provided the new games are still pretty decent. Like Monster Hunter clone or something. Sometimes I want to play MONSTER HUNTER, but I don't want to play Monster Hunter.

uhhh, isnt the whole point of 3d game heroes to parody zelda and the like?

signed up just to comment on this i agree some games with obvious inspiration from another title can be great even if they're rip offs but most of the ones they listed in the article to defend this PlayStation All-Atars Battle Royale are all playable on the same consoles, and smash bros is a system selling game, the sony didn't even make any subtlety in ripping off one of nintendo's biggest games. seems like a foul play to steal someones trump card. you're one of the big three, sony, have some pride and distinction from your competitors. what if in the start of pokemon two of your choices were bulbasaur? bulbasuar is great but they sorta took away the point of choosing!