Real names mod?

Hey, is it possible to make a real names mod? I mean the famous dev names and the platforms. Does something like this already exist, how hard would it be to make?
Why did they use fake names? Gamebiz 3, a similar game, has real names for platforms,devs and games. Its more enjoyable to replay history with the real stuff.

Using actual consoles/companies in games -> Licensing Fees.

They’d be trying to make money off of actual companies and consoles (despite them only being mentioned), therefore they’d commit copyright infringement.

Gamebiz gets away with it because that game is freeware.

Gamebiz 3 is not freeware, it costs 15 Euros. Gamebiz 2 is freeware and it has fake names!

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Well it’d be a little weird to have actual consoles & games in the game… Like Flauros said, it is copyright infringement to use real names. I don’t know how Gamebiz would get away with it, but I believe it’s not legal without permission. When I first played GDT, I got nervous of the GameSphere, because it was so similar to the gamecube.

The mere mention of brand names is now copyright infringement? That cant possibly be true, its not like the game is called Gamboy Dev Tycoon and all revolves around gameboy development, THAT would be infringement, but mentioning it in a minor aspect of the game? Does that mean everytime someone says some brand on TV they have to license that? Does every book that mentions revolvers or colts or some car have to license that? Do movies have to blur out all the logos in a city street scene? Thats ridiculous.
But I can see that they want to play it safe to avoid having to deal with frivolous lawsuits, I am surprised they even risked the real looking pictures of the consoles!
So, uh anyone got an idea how to correct the names,I think it would alot of atmosphere.

An argument could be made that even if they used the real names it follow fair use under parody. Seriously, the game is rather funny to play, and isn’t meant to be taken seriously. Therefore this would apply, and copyright infringement would not.

It’s not copyright infringement, it’s illegal use of Intellectual Property. The console makers have exclusive rights to the names and designs of the consoles. So they can decide who may use them and who not. And as GaiaFlauros pointed out, the IP Holders demand licensing fees for something like that. It’s a bit fishy there but true.

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It’s not copyright infringement, it’s illegal use of Intellectual Property.

This is what I mean!

i generally don’t care what the wish of IP holder’s are. As I said, I’d argue due to the clear parody of the whole thing, none of that applies.

So why is it illegal use in this game, while tons of commercial websites MENTION al these consoles and games all the times? Why can books,TV shows and movies mention all kinds of products without licenses? Yet in a computer game its suddenly illegal?

What about Gamebiz 2 and 3? I’m betting that after playing it safe in 2, they did some research and decided to use real names in part 3!

I don’t know Gamebiz 3 so I can’t say anything for sure. However, you must see that advertisement is available for free. And when a Game Magazine writes about a new game, they got the rights to do so from the publisher (because the magazine is sold). A blog can write all it wants because it is available for free, this is also true for TV Shows. ALSO, have you seen Sons of Anarchy? It’s the best example for a TV show avoiding licensing Drama.

@John_Saucier:
Parody is no justification. It doesn’t matter what you argue, it doesn’t change the hard truth.

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You think that advertisement is free? What? Whats all the fuss about lets players on youtube monetizing their content then? Why is it different than IGN or gamespot monetizing their reviews? Do you really think they have license agreements with all the publishers they review games from? Seems like more work than writing reviews. You say printed magazines have rights from publishers because they are sold? Sounds like backwards logic to me.
So you are basically saying that if this game was free and financed by ingame ads they could have used real names?

What hard truth are you talking about, all I see is assumptions and vague examples.

Why are you getting so angry? Zengar is only trying to answer your question and is factually correct. IGN and Gamespot don’t need to have licenses as it’s not illegal to use IP for the purpose of criticism or review, but in fact more often than not a publisher will send them an early review copy of the game and ask them to review it anyway, as it’s beneficial to them to get the game out there.
And yes, printed magazines need to have rights, as do TV shows/films; ever noticed a TV show will only have the characters singing the last couple of lines of ‘Happy Birthday’? That’s because Warner own the rights to it and they would have to get the license to sing the whole thing.

Watch this
Video.

This video is Charlie Brooker explaining the idea of clearance for a TV show, should give you the general idea of what we are talking about. Hope this helped.

I did not get angry, I was already! It is my constant state of mind to be angry. My rage about ridiculous interpretation of IP rights fuels me.
So you are telling me books that mention revolvers or colts need to buy a license to mention that brand name?

the video…btw not watchable here because GEMA did not grant the rights in Germany…anger rising…

Youtube blocks that kind of video because they refuse to pay the GEMA a nickel. It’s hilarious how they make fools out of most Germans by basically telling them “The GEMA is evil and blocks your favourite videos”. And just as Griff said, I didn’t make the rules, I just tell you what the rules are.

Your rules don’t make sense, though. You just ignore all the holes I poked into them.

Also I found on reddit that someone already made a real name mod, but he withdrew it out of fear of Greenheart suing him! Losing fans…

I think the fake names are part of the identity of Game Dev Tycoon. And the difference is small though, you know the real names so would the game suddenly be more fun if the m of mBox is replaced by an x?

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The console names are trademarks. For GDT to use the names without permission is trademark infringement. For the consoles where its name is an unregistered trademark, the tort of passing off applies, where the usage of it without permission suggests some sort of affiliation.
The legality also varies by country. I would say that the game mentioned by the OP was published in a civil law country.

That is not trademark infringement, you should do some research on what a term actually means before throwing it out there. Trademark infringement would be if game dev tycoon was called gameboy dev tycoon, or Dreamcast Tycoon.Simply mentioning the names as small part of the game or acknowledging their existance in historic context is not trademark infringement and it occurs everywhere in books,tv, magazines, games,radio…

It’s called covering their asses. By using fake names, they avoid the subject entirely, since everything else related to them is reliably verifiable historical fact which is perfectly valid to talk to about (unless it involves a certain “religion” created by L. Ron Hubbard, which will sue people over just mentioning it by name regardless of context…they usually don’t win, but that’s still lot of money you lost having to answer the charges).

And is MUCH more common then you think. If a product name is clearly displayed/said in a feature, you can be very sure they got permission or that business contributed money as a sponsor.

Outdoor locations aren’t quite as strict, unless it’s privately owned, but in the case of things like the travel channel, they have journalism privileges gives them a blanket protection for talking about products or locations, including pictures.

Some publisher might take offense at the portrayal of their product and start a big stink over it, whether it has basis or not. When you’ve got a lot of money to throw around, you don’t NEED a valid case, since you can simply batter the offending group into submission to what you want them to do through threat of bankruptcy by repeated lawsuits.

In short…if you want to mod it in, more power to you, but the official release likely never will, since there’s no reason to bother adding anymore risks.