Stupid Tecmo...

[KanYozakura]

Yesterday I finally picked up a copy of Dead or Alive Ultimate, and was pretty excited to play it.  However, when I popped in the disc there was an obligatory antipiracy text crawl that takes forever and is unskippable!  I've noticed this in other Tecmo Xbox games, and it's really annoying.  Plus, it just smacks of arrogance: what makes Team Ninja games so damn special anyway?  Every other game has the same legal protections; why flaunt it?  It's not like there's anything compelling to steal.  Don't get me wrong, I like DOA, Ninja Gaiden, etc., but this just pisses me off.

[JustLikeHeaven1]

I just cracked open a copy of Ninja Gaiden Sigma and I have to agree with you...the piracy text scroll is S....L....O....W!

This seems to be the case with every Tecmo game.  I'm not sure if it happens everytime you boot up a game.  If my memory serves correctly it only happens when you take the disc out and put it in again later.  I could be wrong about that though.

Perhaps, Tecmo does this because in Japan videogame piracy is huge!  Tecmo is not a very big company and the are merely trying to make sure everyone is paying for their product instead of stealing it. 

Remember when Nintendo announced the disc-format for the Gamecube.  One of the main reasons for not using CD-Roms or DVDs was the fact that it was so easy to pirate software.

[KanYozakura]

[QUOTE=JustLikeHeaven]Perhaps, Tecmo does this because in Japan videogame piracy is huge!  Tecmo is not a very big company and the are merely trying to make sure everyone is paying for their product instead of stealing it.
[/QUOTE]

That's very true, but every other game maker has the exact same problem, and I can't think of another company that has a full legal readout before you even get to the company logo.  Also, I have other Tecmo games that don't have the crawl; only Team Ninja ones do.  The thing that gets me is the "reverse engineering" clause; sorry Itagaki, but no one cares about the new DoA engine enough to go through the trouble of reverse engineering.

I just think it's excessive and arrogant.

[VideoGameCritic]

It's like the Seinfeld DVDs where you need to sit through 3 minutes of FBI warnings just so you can watch a 22-minute show!

What's ironic is that the people who suffer are those who purchased the products LEGALLY.  Those who make illegal copies can just edit that crap out!  What a farce.

[KanYozakura]

[QUOTE=The Video Game Critic]What's ironic is that the people who suffer are those who purchased the products LEGALLY.  Those who make illegal copies can just edit that crap out!  What a farce.

[/QUOTE]

That's exactly what ticks me off: I just paid good money for this game, and now I have to wait 5 minutes to even begin loading the title screen just so Itagaki can feel like a big man?  Bleh.  If they are so concerned with piracy, they could work on some antipiracy software built into the game versus trying to rub in how awesome their game is and how many people want to steal it.

[Alienblue]

Yes, I agree, I haven't seen this but a company can get a bad rap for FORCING game or movie/Tv show/Anime viewers to sit through EIGHT screns of FBI warnings OR show theatrical trailers. It's ok to make you watch it ONCE but after that it should be skippable.

Indeed, one of the perks of DVDS is you can USUALLY just hit "pause" and "menu" to skip Trailers or comapny shorts. That is true of all my DVDs but one: Jurrasic Park 3...for some reason everytime I load that I MUST sit through 3 minutes of "current" Universal movie shots like JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS! That's stupid, those movies came out ages ago, I shouldn't have to watch this 3-minute promo everytime I want to watch JP3! There's a fine line between advertising and irratating and they crossed it!

[a1]

[QUOTE=Alienblue] That is true of all my DVDs but one: Jurrasic Park 3...for some reason everytime I load that I MUST sit through 3 minutes of "current" Universal movie shots like JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS![/QUOTE]

Even worse, once you get through the trailers, you have to sit through Jurrasic Park 3.

[Michael D]

For those wondering why Tecmo/Team Ninja uses the copyright warning before their games is because they've had troubles with pirates who made nude hacks of DOA 2. 

I think that rather than suggesting that they're better and/or more important than other companies through this decision, they're attempting to use it as a deterrent towards those who may otherwise try to hack software (kind of like the FBI warnings before movies).

And yes, many of the messages can't be skipped in their games (though I think that the first Xbox Ninja Gaiden let you), but they tend not to appear if you play their games often (like every day or so) and there's more to it than merely an attempt to annoy players.  I guess you can think of it this way; if Tecmo/Team Ninja's warnings keep even a few people from violating software copyright laws, that will, in the long run, help both them and the gamers who support them and their products.    

[KanYozakura]

[QUOTE=Michael D]For those wondering why Tecmo/Team Ninja uses the copyright warning before their games is because they've had troubles with pirates who made nude hacks of DOA 2. 

I think that rather than suggesting that they're better and/or more important than other companies through this decision, they're attempting to use it as a deterrent towards those who may otherwise try to hack software (kind of like the FBI warnings before movies).

And yes, many of the messages can't be skipped in their games (though I think that the first Xbox Ninja Gaiden let you), but they tend not to appear if you play their games often (like every day or so) and there's more to it than merely an attempt to annoy players.  I guess you can think of it this way; if Tecmo/Team Ninja's warnings keep even a few people from violating software copyright laws, that will, in the long run, help both them and the gamers who support them and their products.    
[/QUOTE]

But if they piss me off enough, I won't want to buy their products.  Pirates are going to pirate things regardless of what warning messages are there.  They know what rules they're breaking.  I bought a legit disc; why should I have to pay for what hackers have done?  I mean, I know they need to save up money for Itagaki's lawsuits, but come on.

And DOA is two steps away from being nude anyway.  Were they honestly surprised when a series lauded for its breast physics, ginormous boobs and skimply clothing got a nude hack?  Please.  Seems like Tecmo learned their lesson and released an official Tecmo nude hack for DOA3....aka Volleyball.

[VideoGameCritic]

I haven't seen these crawls, but they sound bad enough to knock off a letter grade!  Hell, they would make me so mad I'd be tempted to pirate the damn game and mail out copies to my friends!

By the way, Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (360) sucks.  Review upcoming.