Copying in video games

We are now in the seventh generation of the video game world and it is time to look back.

In the 80s, two were the main actors on the video game scene. Nintendo with NES was responsible for democratizing the world of video games, destroying a pixelated Mario, while Sega did the same with Sonic and the Master System.

At that time it was common to find plagiarism of the console, the legendary NASA, which in addition to running NES games came with a series of games recorded in memory (Circus…). To this day there are still consoles that imitate the PS3 or the PSP, such as the PZP; but without the power of these, so they have lost the charm of the past ones.

But copying is not just a thing of the Chinese and their cheap imitations. It is from 2006 onwards that things have become very interesting, and we are going to analyze the biggest plagiarisms.

When the replacement for PS2 began to be developed, Microsoft was alive and commissioned the development of the new chip to the company that developed the PS3, with Microsoft having a PS3 clone with XBOX360, but this time without using crappy names like NASA (NES). , but providing brand image. It was an XBOX.

In 2006, Nintendo released its revolutionary Wii, a joke of a machine, potentially a clone of its failed Gamecube, but which added a never-before-seen control mode in which, in theory, the player integrated into the game. People took the bait and even grandma started playing. Those from the N making money at random with an obsolete machine and with an idea that did not go without its pertinent complaint, by Interlink, which had a very similar control system patented.

Sony and Microsoft made a move and did not want to miss the opportunity to try to take market share from this new crop of “gamers.” Move, by Playstation, was their commitment to trying to sell us the same idea. Same idea, but arriving late-> FAILURE. Microsoft gave a twist to the idea and managed to obtain the technology of what we know today as KINECT. The idea was good, but impossible to integrate into a real game-> FAILURE. It was also something that we had already seen similar on Playstation with EYE TOY.

In the new generation, Nintendo thought about continuing to exploit the goose that laid the golden eggs. Therefore, he repeated the formula, creating a new control mode. The extra screen on the remote control. Also before launching the console he made sure to attract the harcdcore player, so he created a more conventional pad for hardcore gamers. Did Nintendo have a lot of brainstorming to create that new controller? They directly copied the one from the XBOX 360, which in turn draws on the Gamecube controller…

Knowing what the new WIIU console would be like created so much expectation that Sony tried to create real communication between its laptop and its desktop. He got something similar, but without any use. Microsoft passed directly and continued betting on its failed KINECT, imposing it by force, in one of the worst marketing decisions in history, causing its user base to flee in droves towards PS4.

And all this without entering the world of software…
For you, what is the biggest plagiarism?