Stealing -VS.- Sharing

[Cosmo512]

Hey folks, this is all about the debate over the almost-dead-horse argument:
Why do companies (often-used example: SONY) "steal" ideas from other companies? Are they really stealing? Or are they simply improving technologies?

I commented on this in the comments of a recent GoNintendo news story, so I'll just copy/paste it here for now:

OK LISTEN HERE PEOPLE! I WILL SETTLE THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL!

(radical fans or not)

I'm SICK of the words "BORROWED" and "COPIED" and "STOLEN" being thrown around everywhere on fricken discussions.

GUESS WHAT?? IF PEOPLE INVENTED TECHNOLOGIES AND DIDN'T SHARE THEM, HOW WOULD WE ADVANCE OUR TECHNOLOGIES, AND MOREOVER HOW WOULD WE ADVANCE AS A SOCIETY??

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When you argue this "copying" idea, in a sense you're arguing that NO ONE (other than Thomas Edison & his company) WOULD ALLOWED TO USE OR IMPROVE LIGHT BULB TECHNOLOGY. Yea!! That would get us far!

OR you're saying that NO ONE (besides Antonio Meucci & his company) WOULD BE ALLOWED TO USE/APPLY OR IMPROVE TELEPHONE TECHNOLOGY. Right...

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The correct words to use in debates like this are "APPLIED" and "IMPROVED", because THAT is what companies (usually with more money than the inventor's company) do. They IMPROVE the technology and APPLY it to their own.

INVENTORS WANT THEIR TECHNOLOGY TO SPREAD, THAT IS WHAT MAKES THEM PROUD.

Like was said before, and this line can't be more true: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"

IF NINTENDO, SONY, SEGA, ATARI, MICROSOFT etc, etc, etc. NEVER PICKED UP NEW IDEAS (like SHOULDER BUTTONS, JOYSTICKS, ANALOG STICKS, RUMBLE, MOTION-SENSING, etc, etc.) THEN NO ONE WOULD BUY THE NEW SYSTEMS -- we would say they're "outdated" and "behind the times" -- THAT WOULD BE AWFUL.

WE SHOULD BE HAPPY THAT COMPANIES ARE -IMPROVING- THESE TECHNOLOGIES FOR -- US -- NOT FOR THEIR OWN ENJOYMENT. THEY APPLY IT TO THEIR OWN HARDWARE BECAUSE THAT'S ALL THEY CAN DO. THEY DON'T WANT TO BRING THEIR IMPROVED IDEAS TO THE ORIGINAL USER, THEY WANT TO MAKE MONEY TOO. IT'S A BUSINESS.

IT'S FOR THE CONSUMERS.


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Ok, sorry for all the CAPS, but I needed to emphasize certain things. This really belongs in the message boards. I will probably copy it.


ON SOME SIDE NOTES:

@ 'thorn'" you talk about the EyeToy using this technology, saying how "popular" it was. Do you own one? I don't. Anyone you know? Anyone on here? Anyone on here know anyone that owns one? ANYONE?? Hm... yea, that thing was a blast.

@ 'Grim': I agree fans can get out of control for a company they don't even work for... ..but in the gaming world, the consumers are naturally fans of the companies. It's just a different nature in the gaming industry where the product's quality (with the entertainment medium) directly relates to the endearment of the product's creator. (kind of like Burger King and fans of their food... they keep going back, and will defend it against McDonalds, Wendy's (: )

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way too long for comments.... whoops! love you all.

[lavos222]

Personally I don't mind that the technology is borrowed. Of course it happens, it's inevitable and necessary in this industry. What bothers me is the lack of acknowledgement towards those who innovate from those who adapt.

Obviously the issue at hand is the DualShake and its relation to the Wiimote. Sony has taken the stance that their controller is not a reaction to Nintendo's strategy (seen here). I think that's BS, simply from common sense, but also from this story that claims that the developers were given the technology mere weeks before the software that took advantage of it was show at E3.

So, really, they stole it. They took the idea, implemented it in their own system, and claimed it as their own.

[Zachalmighty]

I.E. Sony did steal the rumble technology for the PS2 and that is a freaking fact because a cort of law even determined that what they did constituted theft of licensed technology.

[wisekris]

I.E. Sony did steal the rumble technology for the PS2 and that is a freaking fact because a cort of law even determined that what they did constituted theft of licensed technology.

i dont think any one is questioning the current legality of it...thats not that question here either the question is do you think its wrong or do you think for the sake of technology its good if others improve on current technology.

I say its ok......IF YOU IMPROVE on it but what sony has done does not constitute improvement! some might try to turn the aurgment around and say well nintendo stole the anologe stick from atari or whatever but they changed the way we used it and made it work a different way thats improvment or least doing some work. sony didnt even try when they put in the tilt feature... the just took apart a couple wario ware: Twisted's and Yoshi Topsy Turves and put it in some controllers 5 mins before the confrence....thats stealing wether its similar to nintendo's or not because you goal is to deceive the public in thinking you have somthing like nintendo's #1 its not your idea and #2 when its nothing like it (it is much older tech)

but what does it matter its all relative to what you think but in my book if thats all Sony wants to be remembered for is snatching up others ideas at the last second thats fine with me because there not getting a penny out of my pocket..... and sure as hell not getting 60,000 of them

[Zachalmighty]

What Sony did was blatant ripoff and thats what i was emphasizing they didnt change anything and if they did they would have had an easier time defending themselves in cort.

[Lumphead]

What Sony did was blatant ripoff and thats what i was emphasizing they didnt change anything and if they did they would have had an easier time defending themselves in cort.

I'll agree with that. They didn't improve it. In fact, they didn't even touch the bar of motion sensing. Now that i think about it, what did they do?

[Gambit]

@ lavos222

It's pretty hard to "Steal" something you've owned a patent for for over 7 years: http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPOD ... 099284&F=0

Theres no doubt that SONY added motion because of nintendo, but they didn't "Steal" it. Like Microsoft and Nintendo, Sony has been experimenting with motion as well....maybe they didn't plan to include this gen, but they could have been planning it for PS4.


I agree with cosmo512...pointing fingers gets us NO WHERE, many of the greatest technologies have been created by different companies and SHARED for all our benefits!

First Video Game Console:The first video game system was created in 1951 by Ralph Baer, he later took his device and got it signed by magnavox and in 1972 they released The Magnavox Odyssey! Unfortunatly the games were programmed into the console itself.

Cartridge Games:Later the Fairchild Video Entertainment System was the first video game console to incorporate games in cartridges and not programmed inside the console.

Light Gun:The first light guns appeared in the 1930s. The Seeburg Ray-O-Lite was the first light gun game. It was made in January 1936 by Seeburg. Gameplay involved shooting a flying duck which would then drop when hit.

D-Pad:A precursor to the standard D-pad was used by the Intellivision console, which was released by Mattel Electronics in 1980. The first "connected" style D-pad appeared in 1981 on a handheld game system- "Cosmic Hunter" on Milton Bradley's Microvision. In 1982, Nintendo's Gunpei Yokoi updated this idea, shrinking it and altering the points into the familiar modern "cross".

Analog:In 1982 Atari released the first controller with an "analog" stick for their Atari 5200 home console. In 1996 Nintendo introduced a modern analog stick on their Nintendo 64 controller. Unlike the D-pad, the analog stick allowed for varying levels of pressure and 360-degree control, translating into more precise movements.



If a technology is out there, you should be able to improve upon it, and allow that improved veersion to be avalible for others to us....Hoarding gets us no where.

[wisekris]

*in the Voice of the Juggernaut*

Did he not read my post? He must not have read my post! I'm the Juggern....

but seriously, according to your post

If a technology is out there, you should be able to improve upon it, and allow that improved veersion to be avalible for others to us....Hoarding gets us no where.

thats excatlly what I SAID! but the difference is some how you think what sony did was an "improvment"

I say its ok.....IF YOU IMPROVE on it but what sony has done does not constitute improvement! some might try to turn the aurgment around and say well nintendo stole the anologe stick from atari or whatever but they changed the way we used it and made it work a different way thats improvment or least doing some work. sony didnt even try when they put in the tilt feature...

you think what sony did "got us somewhere"?

get real thats not INNOVATION!

[Gambit]

I never said they improved on it, cause it's just old technology used from the M$ SIDEWINDER controller (Maybe an improvement of that controller, I don't know)

But what I was mainly saying is just because nintendo is using motion, doesn't mean other companies should not....if nintendo invented motion, maybe I would agree with other companies not being able to use it....but the idea of motion controllers have been around nearly 30 years...Atari had one that used mercury...

Just because the idea has been rehashed doesn't mean they now own motion and can therefore acuse and prevent others from using motion.

[NintendoWiiForever]

sony steals .....


if a company uses an idea from other people it is fine the world would not be the same with out it

but is they use it and say they thought of it first and it was inspired by no one after they ridicule the idea ..*cough * sony *cough*
it is stealing

sony takes nintendos ideas and says that they did not .....but if they took nintendos idea and said that it was inspired by nintendo it would not be stealing

sony is a sack of lies!

[thewster]

I personally didn't mind Sony using Six Axis. Although it was pretty blatant that they used it when they heard about the Wii's Controller.

Hardly any games have used the Six Axis well though, so I wonder sometimes why they didn't have rumble at launch instead of six axis.....