Moving violation: Microsoft used lifted footage for Forza 4 trailer

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Producer confirms ownership of racing video clips

Buddies of ours who teach college classes have computer programs they can just plug student homework into to tell if it’s original work or something that’s just been ripped off. But if you’re a major game publisher, you have a similar tool called “the entire internet” that will immediately sniff out a forgery – sometimes to your detriment, as Forza 4 publisher Microsoft has discovered. The evidence is below.

Caught by Jalopnik(a sister site of Kotaku) earlier today, the live-action trailer for design studio Turn 10’s upcoming racing sim Forza Motorsport 4that debuted over the weekend on the Spike VGAs was found to contain footage from web drama Turn9. Which is fine in theory – it wasn’t claiming to be in-game graphics or anything. But Microsoft apparently didn’t own the rights to that footage.

Some of the footage comes legitimately from racing show Top Gear, whom Microsoft has a partnership with. The obvious shots of actor Paul Walker, though, are from Turn9. Jalopnik reached out to producer Tim Whitcome of Turn9, whom confirmed that it indeed was his footage, and had not given permission for it to be used.

Both trailers are here for you to compare. It may be that a few interns will be packing this weekend for a little more than a quick trip home for the holidays…


Above: This is from Turn9…


Above: …and this isn’t.

SOURCE:Jalopnik

Dec 15, 2010