Newsdump

Go, go, Tokyo

Tokyo Game Show is revving up, and GamesRadar is there, chomping on sushi, stomping on buildings, and trying to see what the original pink Power Ranger looks like behind the mask. We're also playing the crap out of everything we can, so check ourTGS landing pagefor all the good stuff. We'll be updating over the weekend as well, so don't take a day off from checking just because the morning cartoons are better.

Insect army attacks Activision

These days, everybody sues everybody. Which is why, when we saw this press release, we filed it under "strategy: what to do when you get sued." It seems that The Ant Commandos, a company that makes third-party guitar controllers for Guitar Hero, got served with some sort of "Stop it! That's our money!" suit by Activision/Red Octane.

The Ant Commandos' response, however, has not been to cease-and-desist, but to counter-sue. The claim is that,in fact, Red Octane copied the Ant Commandos guitar when designing the official Guitar Hero controller, and the Guitar Hero bundle pack (which contains both game and official controller) is unfair competition.

We're not sure who's right or wrong in this case, because press releases aren't always the most reliable source of impartial information. That said, we do think it's hypocritical and mildly hilarious of Activision and Red Octane to slap Ant Commandos around, considering that until very recently, Red Octane was a peripheral company that made its living horking unofficial, knock-off Dance, Dance Revolution pads and the occasional arcade stick. Oh, and Activision lost that class-action suit in the UK because its commercials were deemed misleading - something about them having too much CG and too little actual gameplay footage. The point is this: if you get sued, sue right back. This is America, dammit.