King Graham murdered by Activision.
Posted on March 2, 2010 at 2:20 pm.
The Silver Lining, a fan-made sequel to Sierra's classic King's Quest saga, has been shut down by Activision/Blizzard the new owners if this IP. There was a similar setback in 2005, when Vivendi Universal sent a Cease & Desist letter to the developers. At that time, however, thousands of people wrote to Vivendy asking to grant a fan-license to the game, and after a while the company agreed. The game was not allowed to call itself King's Quest anymore, but the development was permitted to go on. It took the team a while to recover from this loss of stride, but as of late it looked like the first episode was about to be released.
Meanwhile, Activision/Blizzard came to own the rights to King's Quest. Instead of allowing development to continue, they decided that the project is to be killed. Not only did they force The Silver Lining's site to be taken down along with all artwork, information, demo, etc. they also insisted that all of the forums are killed as well. Nearly ten years of discussions (some non KQ-related) are now gone.
Good-bye King Graham. Who would have known that one of the most beloved gaming characters of all time would end his life at the tip of some greedy corporate suit's pen.
Inkstain said:
Activision must die.
This is a step too far, and a perfect vindication of what's wrong with copyright law. But beyond that, it's no longer about spitting in the face of their fans and customers. They have taken the fruits of countless hours of labor and thrown it to the dogs. This is the moral equivalent of going into an artist's studio and tearing apart his canvases. It's like burning a library. It's like the Spaniards who burned the writings of the Maya in bonfires, just on a smaller scale. It's cultural destruction. And they must not be allowed to get away with it.
Activision must die.
For a crime of this magnitude, a normal mea-culpa will not suffice. Activision must be made an example of. It must be so painful and merciless that the next greedy, corrupt, nihilistic son of a thousand fathers won't dare to even contemplate something like this. Activision has surely earned the ultimate punishment.
Activision must die.
Do not buy Activision products. Advise friends and relatives to avoid Activision products. Write negative reviews about Activision products on gaming sites and online stores. Condemn Activision at every opportunity. Do so until Activision is filing Chapter 11. This is war.
Activision must die.
Posted on March 2, 2010 at 2:52 pm.
Please fill out the Name and Comment fields in order to post a comment.
The e-mail/website field is optional.
Custer died for your sins.
Subscribe to RSS feed.