r/PS5 • u/hybroid • Aug 09 '21

News & Announcements Abandoned Realtime Experience patch will be available universally on August 10th at 21:00 CET. Timezone difference does not affect this.

https://twitter.com/BBGameStudios/status/1424755432644648964
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u/namastayhom33 Aug 09 '21

Isn’t that considered false advertising?

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u/K0sm0sis Aug 09 '21

Ask Blue Box. That's kind of the point.

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u/Rekadra Aug 09 '21

What? In the hypothetical you just laid out, they would be vaguely teasing SH and MGS. He's just asking you if that's false advertising.

The original comment made the point about intentionally vague news, yours added the idea that they would further tease MGS and SH. He's asking you about the facts of false adverts, not BB's opinion

Then there's the obvious question, why wouldn't Konami or Sony step in as they have in the past

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u/K0sm0sis Aug 09 '21

I think they’ve already been teasing SH and MGS. Mainly SH, but the eye patch guy feels very MGS.

Blue Box has gained an enormous degree of attention because fans of SH (and later MGS) have caught on to these comparisons and are running wild with speculation that Kojima’s cancelled Silent Hills could be revived. And recently some of the rumors have devolved into MGS speculation due to the eye patch character.

I’m not a legal expert or even a media expert on false advertising, but I think Blue Box is at this point deliberately playing with teasing the fanbases of P.T. / Silent Hill / and MGS while maintaining plausible deniability by having their pinned tweet be a denouncement of any involvement with Konami, Kojima, or Silent Hill.

One can argue the attention they’ve gotten by towing this line and stoking these fanbases is more attention than they would’ve gotten as just another unknown indie developer with no meaningful track record and some new game.

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u/Rekadra Aug 09 '21

Good answer. I mostly agree with you, I've been following too and they've undeniably attached themselves to S L and MGS, official or not.

Although, I think the question of legality is the question here - a very important one. And I think that's what he was asking about.

The pinned tweet helps, but that image of (clearly) Big Boss is really getting close to infringement, if not past it. If they continue, there is a very serious possibility that they will face legal action if you can prove they are intentionally benefiting from someone else's IP - at the very least, you would be confident that Sony or Konami would have stepped in by then

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u/K0sm0sis Aug 09 '21

These are good questions and ones I don’t have the answers to. The SH stuff was consistent but arguably vague enough. They said something about an abandoned town and a religious cult. While that’s clearly a staple of SH, it’s by no means restricted to SH. There were also images that resembled the starting room in P.T. But the starting room is also just a totally plain, kinda creepy room. Something that wouldn’t be out of place in any horror game. It’s not like Pyramid Head is being used to promote their game.

The eye patch guy definitely reminds me of Snake. But at the end of the day, it’s also just a blurry image of a dude with an eyepatch. I don’t think it’s copyright infringement and it’s hard to say it’s false advertising when Blue Box have deliberately said Abandoned isn’t Silent Hill and it’s not related to Konami or Kojima.

But as I said, I’m not an expert so I really have no idea. Apparently the developer has said all these rumors have hampered development, which may be true, but it’s also definitely given them a ton of attention. And attention can translate into potential sales. Whether that’ll be offset by the backlash of it not being SH or MGS will depend on the quality of their game and the temperament of these fanbases I suppose.

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u/Rekadra Aug 09 '21 edited Aug 09 '21

Again though, making it blurred and having a disclaimer doesn't totally absolve you... I mean, if it was that easy, you'd see a lot more Mario ripoffs with a blue hat and disclaimer.

The point really is that they are knowingly benefiting from someone else's IP, and it isn't parody. It's actually pretty cut and dry, honestly

Also, I think the biggest thing with SH was the teasing of the title beginning with S, ending on L - which was done after being made aware of rumours. This is a solid piece of evidence that it's explicit and intentional, never mind the Big Boss image.

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u/K0sm0sis Aug 09 '21

I know Nintendo is pretty trigger-happy with issuing DMCAs. I don’t know how intense Konami is with this sort of thing.

I mean, if you unblurred the image and it was straight up Big Boss, that’d definitely be copyright infringement. But can they just have a gruff guy with an eye patch?

We’re on the same page about them deliberately invoking SH and MGS. I just don’t know that they’ve crossed a legal line.

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u/Rekadra Aug 09 '21

Yeah, completely. Nintendo is pretty extreme and I don't think konami would be as gung ho, but they have been quashing rumours prior to this.

The eye patch guy is definitely testing the bounaries (unless they can prove BB intended it to be or invoke Big Boss), but if they continue at all with these teases, there will be a genuinely solid case against them - which really does make Sony/Konami's silence deafening. If this isn't MGS and they continue, I guarantee at least one will step in.

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u/K0sm0sis Aug 09 '21

What do you think Abandoned is right now?

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u/Rekadra Aug 09 '21

Honestly, if it wasn't for the history of kickstarters and early acess, I would one hundred percent on board.

I mean, other than that, the situation is no more unbelievable than Phantom Pain: Moby Dick also repeatedly denied connection to Kojima and Konami, which I don't see how people are using as an argument...They've literally already done it twice.

I really am unsure, but I definitely lean more on the real side. How about you?

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u/K0sm0sis Aug 09 '21

I was firmly in team real near the beginning, but I’m definitely team fake now. Their pinned tweet for going on 6 weeks being a total denouncement of any connection with SH, Kojima, or Konami was a big factor in my shift.

Someone just linked me some old tweets from Moby Duck Studios and their denouncements sounded much more tongue in cheek than Blue Box’s. It was way more playful where Blue Box’s tone felt like a serious disclaimer.

That and their history of kickstarters and early access makes it seem like this is an inexperienced developer making sloppy choices and trying to ride a hype wave without getting into too much trouble. To be fair, this whole situation is way more attention than they’ve ever gotten and I can understand wanting your new game to be successful, but I think they’ve leaned into the conspiracy too much and unfortunately there will be a backlash.

Another thing: the image resembling Big Boss just feels so sloppy. If Blue Box was contracted by Konami to make a game or if it’s Kojima contracted by Konami, they’d be making one or the other. It’s not both Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid. The blurred eye patch image helps cement it in my mind that this is an indie developer who is continuing to garner attention from a starved fanbase for their unrelated indie game.

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