You know that moment where Phoenix Wright, apparently an ace attorney, decided to cross-examine a parrot in the first Ace Attorney game? Or the time where he accepted a case that would lead to him defending an orca in court? You know how everyone, from the players to the in-game characters themselves, noted how extremely silly all of that was?
Well, the Epic v Apple trial is continuing, with all sorts of ludicrous revelations about the games industry and how lawyers work, and we're starting to think that Phoenix Wright wasn't that weird at all.
On the stand today was Matthew Weissinger, Epic's head of marketing, and part of his cross-examination involved speaking about Peely, the banana man from Fortnite. We have absolutely no idea why the banana man was considered important to the case, but here we are anyway.
“We have a large yellow banana here in a tuxedo,” said Epic's lawyer, describing Peely for the benefit of the audience both in the court and on the call, where anyone can listen in.
"Yes," Weissinger replied. "That is Peely."
“And in fact, in the tuxedo, he’s known as Agent Peely, correct?”
"That's correct," said Weissinger.
This is where it begins to take a turn for the weird, if "lawyer talking about a banana in court" isn't weird enough. The lawyer stated, on the record, that they "thought it better to go with the suit than the naked banana, since we are in federal court this morning," perhaps referencing the furore over Apple calling indie game store itch.io "offensive" last week.
Later on in the court, after a short recess, the lawyer called back to the weird naked banana reference.
"There might have been an implication that to show Peely without a suit would have been inappropriate, do you recall that?" she asked Weissinger, who answered in the affirmative. “Is there anything inappropriate about Peely without clothes?”
Weissinger's reply is iconic; we don't doubt that it'll make it into Fortnite if the team have any sense of humour about this whole weird thing.
"It's just a banana, ma'am."
[source twitter.com, via kotaku.com]
Comments 25
hmm well ok then...
There's always money in the banana stand
What was the context? Did they just bring it up randomly? Why? My mind is broken. How does any of that have to do with a court case.
He's still not a patch on the original Bananaman from 1980's animated British TV show, sorry.
(And the stuff coming out of this trial is even more odd than that series was, ha!)
@bobzbulder Oh that grammar
Here's hoping Apple steps on a banana and finally lands firmly on its butt, two sizes shorter and a bit more in touch with reality instead of their own, non-inclusive, highly restrictive and archaic world...
I hate both Epic and Apple, this case best screw them both over... but this was just weird.
Now that’s a top tier tagline.
Just wait for them to call Mr Peely to the stand....
Knew this was a Kate article just from seeing "Ally McPeel."
Awesome — never change 🤣
@bobzbulder Most of the stuff being documented in this case just seems really unrelated to anything that Epic is Suing Apple for..
@LEGEND_MARIOID I didn't even know Bananaman had a tv series. I thought he was just a character who had a strip in the Beano comic (which I enjoyed a lot as a kid).
This court case is the gift that keeps on giving. Whether it's actual revelations about the games industry's inner workings or inane cross examinations, I got the popcorn bucket ready to go with every new article published.
Fortnite trully is the most cancerous thing out there.
I miss the Epic of the 2000s, playing Unreal Tournament
@thejuice027 Haha, I bet no one gets your reference. But I do...and I appreciate it. Lol
I CALL AGENT PEELY TO THE STAND
@invictus4000 I don't want to ruin the joke but it's arrested development right? I'm not crazy right?
I've come to believe this lawsuit is just as much a publicity stunt as it is an attempt to make a profitable Epic Games Store. I don't like Apple but it is sad to see the court's time wasted on this.
@Abeedo Ha, yeah. It was a tv show for a while but my first introduction was in the good ol' Beano & Dandy comics back in the good ol' days.
This is funny, I can't wait for more.
"let them fight"
Let's have Valve and the Orange Box in there too, and we can make a real fruit salad.
@Flashlink99
While I enjoy Fortnite, it really does irk me that every other Epic franchise had to die because of it.
Unreal Tournament 2004 was the first FPS I played online extensively, and I still love that game till this day.
@LEGEND_MARIOID now that's a show I haven't seen in a long time.
Next: Does Apple think its logo is a symbol of sin? What if it's dressed in a tuxedo?
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