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Scratch: The Ultimate DJ drama continues as 7 Studios countersues
The tangled web of developers, publishers and the various lawsuits between them, has just gotten that much more complex as 7 Studios countersues Scratch: The Ultimate DJ publishers Genius Products. According to court documents obtained by The Cut Scene blog, 7 Studios is asking for $1 million in damages, allegedly attributed to a variety of "unlawful and unsavory business practices." Among them, 7 Studios alleges Genius Products repeatedly delayed production of the game, didn't deliver various assets on time (music, that is), considered creating a Nintendo Wii version of the game (then subsequently canceled it), and when things didn't work out, tried to cut and run. In so many words, 7 Studios is accusing Genius of asking them to create a game without adequate support and then, when the game was nearly finished, trying to shop it out to other publishers. We've reached out to all parties involved (repeatedly) and, like the Cut Scene blog, heard nothing back. We'll update this post accordingly if we hear anything, but at this point, we're suggesting that you don't hold your breath. [Image]
Scratch: The Ultimate DJ granted restraining order
In the ongoing court battle between Scratch: The Ultimate DJ co-publishers Genius Products and Numark vs. DJ Hero publisher Activision, the first of many legal battles has been detailed. According to a press release sent out by Genius Products, the Los Angeles Superior Court has granted the Scratch developers a temporary restraining order and told Activision-owned 7 Studios to return all source code. Additionally, 7 Studios is being court-ordered to return "pre-existing developer tools and technology" used in the game's 18-month development cycle, presumably including the "nine custom-manufactured turntable and beat-button game controllers" claimed by Numark as being held hostage by 7 Studios and, in turn, Activision. Outside of returning all the equipment used in the development of Scratch, 7 Studios' CEO, Lewis Peterson, has been effectively banned from any involvement with the game and the former Scratch team has been ordered not to speak about its development. This news clashes directly with allegations put forth by Activision last week, positing that the Los Angeles Superior Court had denied said restraining order. We've put in a request for comment to Activision and will update this post as we find out more.
The sordid history of Scratch: The Ultimate DJ
In the pending lawsuit between DJ Hero publisher Activision and Scratch: The Ultimate DJ co-publishers Genius Products and Numark, all we've heard are each sides' allegations and condemnations of the other. What we haven't heard, however, was the long and messy tale leading up to the current state of things between former Scratch developer 7 Studios (now owned by Activision), Genius Products and, apparently, Brash Entertainment. Yes -- that Brash Entertainment.According to The Cut Scene, Scratch began development in 2007, allegedly by 7 Studios and Brash Entertainment. In summer of the same year, Brash decided to focus on licensed properties and sold off the IP to Genius Products. The piece further alleges that by late last year, Genius Products was having financial problems and was not so much being courted by major publishers (including MTV, EA, Ubisoft and, yes, Activision) as it was trying to sell off a seemingly toxic asset. If The Cut Scene's anonymous sources are to be believed, there's a lot more going on here than it would seem.
Activision responds to Scratch lawsuit, court denies restraining order
Moving into day three of Breakin' (the law) 2: Electric Boogaloo, Activision has fired back at Scratch: The Ultimate DJ LLC (Numark and Genius Products' joint business venture). It says allegations made in the lawsuit "are disingenuous and lack any merit," and backs up that statement with the Los Angeles Superior Court's decision not to grant a restraining order against the mega-publisher. Furthermore, Activision claims that Genius Products is scapegoating the publisher, explicitly stating, "These allegations are nothing more than an attempt by Genius [Products] to place blame for the game's delays, as well as to divert attention from the cash flow, liquidity and revenue challenges Genius detailed in its Mar. 30 SEC filing." The press release makes no mention of the "nine custom-manufactured turntable and beat-button game controllers" allegedly belonging to Numark nor the current state of development of Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, presumably still being held by Activision-owned 7 Studios. It does, however, tell us that the lawsuit will have "no effect" on the development of Activision's own DJ-based rhythm game, DJ Hero. We've asked Activision for its official side of the story and will update this post accordingly as news develops.Update: Activision has responded to our request for comment with, "Unfortunately, we do not have anything more to comment outside of the statement we put out."
Activision: The Ultimate Lawsuit -- day two
Day two of news regarding the Scratch: The Ultimate DJ LLC vs. Activision lawsuit has arrived, and with it a comprehensive analysis of the "full 30-page complaint" by way of Gamasutra. Before we launch into that though, we first put this question to you, dearest readers: What the heck do we call this thing? Scratch-gate? Court Scratch Fever? Breakin' (the law) 2: Electric Boogaloo? You tell us!Aside from the litany of information we already know, the piece paints an interesting tale of tortuous interference on the side of DJ Hero publisher Activision ostensibly strong-arming Scratch: The Ultimate DJ developer Genius Products (and its partner, Numark) into releasing its game later than Activision's. Furthermore, the suit alleges that 7 Studios, former contracted developer of Scratch for Genius Products (and recently purchased by Activision), is still withholding "nine custom-manufactured turntable and beat-button game controllers" belonging to Numark.To help break down the analysis with significantly more expertise and clarity, we contacted LGJ columnist Mark Methenitis, who had this to say:"If you thought Silicon Knights vs. Epic had the potential to get ugly, imagine the stakes when the next major branch of the music game genre hangs in the balance. Taking Genius's claims at face value, Activision is basically trying to bully them out of the market so that Activision's own DJ Hero can become the top billing DJ-based music game. This is similar to the claim that Silicon Knights made, where they alleged Epic was neglecting the Unreal Engine 3 licensees to benefit Gears of War. The major difference here is when Activision couldn't buy the game, it bought the developer to control the game's development and attempt to force the hand of Genius. This gets into tortuous interference with the existing development agreement, the basic gist of which is that as a third party, you're not allowed to interfere with someone else's contract. Of course, there's likely another side to this story, which I'm sure Activision will present in its answer to Genius's claims."
Scratch: The Ultimate DJ developer sues Activision
In a David and Goliath story for the ages, Scratch: The Ultimate DJ LLC (a partnership between Genius Products and Numark formed to develop and publish the game of the same name) have revealed a mountain of details regarding a lawsuit against mega-publisher Activision. The lawsuit alleges Activision and 7 Studios -- contract developer for Genius Products -- have intentionally "conspired to withhold the current version of Scratch in an effort to delay the development and release" of the game. Scratch: The Ultimate DJ LLC is seeking the immediate return of its game as well as "other injunctive relief."Trevor Drinkwater, president of Genius Products, is quoted as saying, "We believe that Activision and 7 Studios have improperly used confidential information obtained from Genius and 7 Studios to interfere with our efforts to complete the game. In short, we believe that Activision is attempting to sabotage the release of our much anticipated game and prevent it from getting to market prior to the release of DJ Hero." Fighting words indeed! Interestingly, the details revealed this evening also outline Activision's attempt to "acquire" Scratch: The Ultimate DJ from Genius Products, who apparently rebuffed the attempt. Allegedly, Activision then proceeded to purchase 7 Studios and "conspired to prevent Scratch from getting to market on a timely basis" through a variety of means, including withholding "work product, code, and the proprietary game controller." We've still heard nothing from Activision regarding this lawsuit and due to the late arrival of this information, likely won't hear a response from the publisher until tomorrow at the earliest. We can, however, assure you this won't be the last time we hear about this.
