Sega is taking legal action against YTMND

As if we didn't need any more reason for the internet to hate Sonic.

Not fair, Sega. Not fucking fair. First 2-D fanboys, then Sonic Team, now home base? NINTENDO, SAVE MY MASCOT PLZ

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Elixir

Nintendo aren't Sega.

As is painfuly clear at times...

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Denicalis

Am I the only one who thinks that dude sounds like John Cena on his rap album? A couple really good rips, but I'll upload it for anyone who wants it. Geek rage always kills me.

YTMND RAP SON

Y'all saw the animals fucking, right?

When I first heard it I thought it was John Cena as well (since sadly, I listened to his whole album). This guy sounds exactly like him.

Nothing much to say about the situation that hasn't already been said. Sega is only gonna lose fans over this, not gain any, so there's really no point to it. If they actually do make money off of this, then God help us, as it will only be used to make more shitty Sonic games.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

This is really nothing more than Sega hurting for publicity. Their latest Sonic games are obviously selling as well as the Playstation 3 in the US, so why not send out a shitty frivolous legal letter and spark all kinds of bullshit from a ton of websites that'll "cover" the story.

At least I'll fondly remember old school Shining Force and Phantasy Star from back in the Sega days. Sonic's been fucking finished since BIG THE CAT was introduced.

I was speaking idiomatically.

The dude that did this rap is named DZK, a friend of mine who just happens to be the internet's most prolific rapper.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

more like 5.

anyway, im surprised Sega still has any fans at all. the Sonic franchise has been a joke for what, a decade? forget it.

FELIPE NO

^Proves my point.

Sonic Adventure 1 screwed them over? Sonic been a joke since 1996? You see the shit Sega's causing now? I don't really care what anyone says: bad publicity is bad publicity, and Sonic needs none of that shit.

Those kinds of statements unfortunately reek of 2-D fanboy.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I liked Sonic Adventure. Sure it wasn't at all a long game, but I wouldn't say it was bad either. The whale chase on the first stage was epic and I quite enjoyed it.

Since then though the only thing I liked was Sonic Rush. The music in Sonic Rush is amazing (of course, it's Hideki Nagamura after all) but then came Sonic Riders. And then came the 360 Sonic game. Totally ignoring the Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog games as well..

It seems as soon as Sega take a step forward, they take 2 back.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

To be fair, I hit my wall with Heros (and then kept runing right into Riders). I Liked Sonic Adventure 2, thought Sonic X was Okay (though a waste on the human interaction side of things, something Sonic 360 repeated) and Loved Rush (and fuck sega for driving DIMPS away aswell).

To be honest, SOE need to stop this shit and get back to porting Megadrive collection over.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I'm tempted to make an "all ur ytmnd r belong 2 sega" image.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I wonder what YTMND's specifically caused Sega to do this...... I'd be interested to hear more news on this because I think its really silly.........

although it is their legal right.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Whose legal right? Parody is well protected under fair use, so it's the YTMND users who are within their legal rights here.

I was speaking idiomatically.

They're probably hoping YTMND will acquiesce in some way without raising a stink in return. Unfortunately, most webmasters do have a tendancy to fold like a card table under the flimsiest of legal threats; all it takes is one official looking letter and down they go. I'm not at all suggesting that YTMND will be so meek (I can't imagine this is the first lawsuit they've fought off), but the precedent is likely what's emboldened Sega's lawyers.

How ya doing, buddy?

that's all great but it doesn't get Phantasy Star 4 onto my PS2 any quicker.

FELIPE NO

At the risk of being devil's advocate (and in doing so, I don't necessarily agree with the viewpoints put forth in the letter from Sega Europe's lawyer), as a corporation, Sega has a duty and an obligation to protect their trademarks in any way possible. At least in the US, neglecting a trademark in the face of someone else using it inappropriately can lead to the courts determining said trademark is now in the public domain, meaning anyone could do anything with the character of Sonic the Hedgehog with or without Sega's blessing. Say what you want about the quality of Sega's output in recent years but the fact still remains that Sonic is a potential cash-cow for them if used properly.

Now, as for the matter of "fair use" in the case of parody, I'm not a lawyer so I don't know the specifics of US copyright/trademark laws when it comes to that. However, the argument can be made that 1) Sega might not be able to win this case and 2) it could be viewed as a "waste of money," but I can assure you that it's not a waste even if it is an un-winnable position. Lots of corporations take the tactic of suing (even in the case of fraudulent or baseless law suits) as a way to "win" in the end, forcing the opponent to give up because they can't afford a protracted legal battle. Likewise, even if Sega sues, it goes to court, and they lose, they still have the situation to point to as an active attempt at defending their trademark should an attempt be made in the future to get it declared public domain.

From a business standpoint, this not only makes sense for Sega to take this action, but I'd call them a fool for not trying it. Personally, I expect this to be settled quietly out of court and promptly forgotten about.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I understand your arguement Chronciler but at the same time I think the general feeling of people on this topic is "you're trying to sue users of the internet over being misleading about an already messed up franchise... lol"

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by S_K

I understand your arguement Chronciler but at the same time I think the general feeling of people on this topic is "you're trying to sue users of the internet over being misleading about an already messed up franchise... lol"

Well, it's different for the next age groups. We, the older age group, have known Sonic since we were kids and it was one of the coolest things. As we got older we grew out of it and our image of Sonic changed due to the next gen. games and shows, but it's still the same Sonic. We think it's bad now, however, Sonic is directed towards the younger age group and they think Sonic is cool. Now if you throw in bad-mouthing, rude jokes, etc. then the younger children will think that way too. Younger people (and sadly, some older people too) don't have the competence to understand and differentiate that it's just a joke. They will take things literally, that's why people say never use sarcasm on children.
Anyway, as I learned in Business Law, if SEGA can prove that YTMND is causing major damage then SEGA will win this.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

"was one of the coolest things" is the operative words here. That rap does have some truths to it because the only people not picking up on the hidden messages in the games ARE the kids. Probably getting too deep into the history of here, but since going 3D *insert Sin Ansem "2D fanboy" insult here* in order to compete with Mario the Sonic franchise SEGA thought for some reason they also had to improve the story which is fair enough. This is where it went wrong though, not for going 3D but for how they went about it.

From day 1 they didn't know wether to try hardcore endrossing stories and extreme fights or aim the games for the kids. So instead they tried to do the god awful formula of hardcore cute! Creating such awkward scene gems such as:

Spoiler:

1. Changing the plot so it becomes superhero animals talking with the humans like something out of Disney Land
   
2. Omens of the end of the world but supporting characters being more concerned with "I can't find froggy! Help plz T_T"
   
3. scenes of shootouts but Sonic in the background pretty much saying "guns are wrong kids! They solve nothing!"
   
4. Amy supposed to be having a crush on Sonic but instead coming accross more like a bunny boiler
   
5. Swearing and killing off characters, but being removed from the games or censored as best as they can get away with to not to offend the kids in the west
   
6. Creating an evil twin who's not really evil, but then how do you make something like that accessible to the kids? Make him emo apparently...
   
7. interspecies relationships (Shadow and Maria, sonic 360 and some of Sonic X which is what pretty much caused this possible YTMND lawsuit in the first place)
   
8. Characters discretly staring at Rouges chest ever since she joined the games who's nothing more then some twisted fanservice character with a gem fettish... why lie? =P Then add Cream to somehow fix the hardcore/kid friendly balence...
   
   Main References Sonic Adventure 1, Sonic heroes, Shadow the Hegehog and Sonic 360
   

The point of this rant post you ask? Just pointing out I'm not a newer fan here. I'm aware of SEGA's far more credable origins and that they'll probably win this arguement if they get pissed off enough, but you're kidding yourself if you think they didn't bring it on themselves with how weird the Sonic characters and world has developed. It's kinda like reverse psycology, as long as people can get away with it SEGA will just be mocked even more now (i.e. this thread) until they learn from their mistakes.

Edit: damn I thought the spoiler tags would make the post take up less space -_-

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

It's interesting you mention Cream S_K because she's easily the best character added to the Sonic franchise since Knuckles.

You're completely right. If there was less bullshit like Shadow and Rogue and all the other added ridiculousness of the games SA2 onwards, Sega wouldn't be such a laughing stock.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

This is so retarded...

Why haven't they taken on all the hentai sites Filled with Sonic Hentai and crap

I was speaking idiomatically.

Shit, what day are we on (arent the seven days up already?)

I think that this is one big ploy to make more fads. Other than the obvious site shutdown, does Sega want any monetary compensation?

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?