Mini Metro Developer Responds To Knock-Off Release On Switch eShop

Ok this is just disgusting. Inspiration is fine, but this is way, way too close to the Mini Metro.

Even the copycat contains both “mini” and “metro” in the title.

I hope the copycat gets hit by their own subway.
This is the (only) way; disgusting.

I did look at it and at first glance, I thought, don’t I already have this on my wish list?

I really like the wording of the statement from Dinosaur club.

This is such a blatant rip-off the London Metro itself could file a copyright infringement. Bleugh.

After a quick google search developer red fables doesnt even pop up. I can only surmise this is some [REDACTED] company, trying to get rich quick, with their anti-copyright laws.

That developer has another game called The Fly Plane: Flight Simulator. Lol

Same energy.

@KoopaTheGamer agreed, inspiration is fine but this on a level where it’s so close it’s gross.

“It’s not copy right. We removed that blue border, and put the color selector on the OTHER side of the screen. Totally original ideas, there!”

@PhhhCough Same here. Google just thinks I’m searching for Fable LOL

@ChromaticDracula Plagiarism is disgusting but wishing physical harm onto anyone is wrong.

Half the eShop is just knockoffs though? Fail to see why some game I've never heard of to begin with being copied by the endless shovelware is big news?

@dugan I’ve had the original on my wishlist too. Waiting for a sale, but they haven’t had one recently.

https://www.nintendo.com/search/?q=Cooking+%26+Publishing&p=1&cat=gme&sort=df

Pretty clear pattern here.

@Thief I said "their own subway" not "a subway" which was meant to be a tongue-in-cheek pun type of thing. I do not wish physical harm on these folks. I do however wish monetary and judicial harm.

it’s a Mini Metroid

Mini Metro. Wasn't that a car from British Leyland?

Mini Metro is nothing worth copying. Wish I could have my ten bucks back.

Does Nintendo not even look at these things first? I can't even stand when a game is derivative, much less a straight copy.

What legal action could they possible take?

Mini - Adjectives can never be under copywrite unless part of a trademark or copyright phrase

Metro - You can't copywrite single words that are part of the lexicon outside of your creation

Mini-Metro - Literally means "small city" and you can't copywrite a simple description of something.

And, both IP and copywrite do not allow you to gain exclusive use of a game concept or game mechanics (Pathfinder anyone?). It's up to you to include applicable aspects (assets, a board layout, names, music, ect) if you want some control over your IP.

So even if the "copy" game was called Mini-Metro and used the exact same gameplay ... as long as the logo was different, no laws are violated.

They might not LIKE that, it's probably not how it SHOULD be ... but it is. Next time hire an IP lawyer.

Fans calling plagiarism is a reliable facepalm inductor, but the amount of parallels here and the Mini Metro devs themselves having questions are another thing. The topic does seem lucrative and as a gamer, I welcome more metro traffic puzzlers in general, but the involved sides better come to an agreement here first. Forget the idiot-derogated Immortals and Genshin, even all the snarky commenters labelling Aniquilation a "poor man's Nano Assault" earlier today might be compelled to recalibrate their comparative mechanisms at the sight of this.🤔😅

@HeadPirate I see peeps with your mindset a lot these days.
You can't 95% copy an existing product and call it your own. Y'all don't seem to understand how copyright laws work. Just because you say that's not how it works, doesn't mean you're right.
I know your next point :
"BuT fReE uSe LaW sAyS iT's FiNe!"
Unlike anyone who shouts that, I actually looked up the Free Use Law. It states :
"While the exact amount is to be decided by the original creator, it covers only a MINOR amount of the original work."
Which translates to copying over 80% of an original piece doesn't make it your own.
No, you can't copyright words, but you damn sure can copyright a game someone plagiarized.

@bluesdance My dad unironically has called super Metroid super metro before

My first car was a Mini Metro. Made by Austin if I recall

If anyone is thinking of snagging the rip-off as a cheap alternative to Mini Metro, I’d advise against it. I’ve bought games by this publisher before, and they’re absolutely bare bones jank.

Also, NintendoLife, Mini Metro uses real cities as its inspiration, not fictional ones!

@HeadPirate That’s not all quite right. A trademarked name could be considered significant enough to take legal action over—remember Bethesda forcing Mojang to change the name of “Scrolls” because they had a copyright on Elder Scrolls?

Also, by including both “Mini” and “Metro” in the title, this seems to fall more into the realm of trying to dupe people into thinking this is the original. If you search for the original, this will come up, and it looks likely that they’re betting on some people going for the cheaper version instead. Seems pretty clear they’re trying to use the original IP to make sales on their own game.

Of all these screenshots which one is Call of Duty? 😁

@msvt Yeah, I agree. Not sure I agree with blatantly ripping off another game but they have set the price to a more realistic level. Its £1 on mobile.

while it does indeed look very similar, almost the entire interface could be considered unprotectable under copyright law as "scene a faire".

if you Google "subway map" almost every result is going to look like the screenshots from both games, as that's just how subway maps are designed.

"scene a faire" refers to parts in a fictional setting that are so iconic to that setting that it cannot be protected under copyright.
if you're making a subway planning game it's almost unavoidable to make it look like a subway map.

@HeadPirate Pathfinder isn't bound by copyright infringement because the d20 system of D&D 3.5 had entered the public domain, thus anyone can copy and build from it. This is not the case in this situation.

@Serpenterror the 2nd pic is destiny 2, the bottom may be one of the crysis games(?). I haven't played call of duty since modern warfare 2 on Xbox 360, or maybe the black ops after that, so i honestly can't tell which of the others is call of duty. 😂

@stipey

A lot to unpack there.

Bethesda tried to make the argument that they owned the use of the word scrolls in video game space because they have a 30 year old game series that has sold 100s of millions, and they were the only major player using that word. it wasn't some random claim to the word "scrolls".

Mini and Metro are used in 100s of games from dozens of publishers. "Metro" is a multi-million selling series and even THEY can't claim copywrite on that word.

Also ... they lost. It got laughed out of court and the dispute was settled over, I ***** you not, a game of Quake 3.

@saiyantrunks79

You are incorrect sir.

D&D has NO copywrite on it's game system, which was released as D20 modern long before pathfinder, because you can not copywrite a game system or a game mechanic. This is the whole reason boardgames exist ... you can copywrite the board, but not the game.

D&D owns a ton of trademarks, like D&D, the names of a lot of it's unique monsters, the names of classes that are not already part of lexicon, and some unique words that are part of their system. You can't use these words in any product.

3.5 was published in 2003, so will enter public domain in 2098.

@HeadPirate copyright, not copywrite

@BloodNinja it is kinda amazing, how even small but noticeable changes can obstruct people wanting to sue others from copying things. I once saw a Darth Vader toy with a slightly changed name, being sold on a motorcycle.

@SteamEngenius There's that too

@Thomystic It's not Nintendo's concern to notice what indie companies are copy-catting each other.

@HeadPirate Wait what? You're pulling my chain about the Quake III thing. Haha

@Tempestryke

I do not pull legs!

So basically the settlement is a complete joke, Mojang had to agree to not make a game that directly competes with Elder Scrolls or if they do they needed to call it something without the word scrolls in it.

However, Notch had originally suggested they have a 10 round death match of Quake 3 with the winner getting both the "scrolls" and "elder scrolls" names. Obviously that didn't happen, but the only thing he insisted Mojang got in the settlement was that someone from Bethesda agreed to play him at Quake 3. The actual stakes are unknown, but rumored to be beer related.

@Tempestryke It better have been called Darth Motorcycle. It’s fun when they don’t even try.

@Serpenterror

"They've rebadged it, you fool!"

It’d be fascinating to do a survey of the jobs of Nintendo Life commenters. Based on the articles I’ve read, we have an ample number of lawyers, economists, politicians, and video game developers.

I’m glad Dinosaur Polo Club is aware of this and looking into next steps. I know we shouldn’t expect much else from copycat shovelware developers, but it particularly sucks when they plagiarize indie titles.

Remember 2048 on Android? That’s Threes on iOS.

@BloodNinja

There a few details I remembered wrong but I found it! It's called Star Knight and it's Darth Vader on a cop motorcycle. I'd show you a picture, but I don't know how.

@Tempestryke LOL I just google searched it. Thank you for that, I needed to see it!

NINJA APPROVED (while riding a motorcycle)

@BloodNinja vroooom