14 DAY TRIAL // This week brought news that King, the creators of Candy Crush Saga, were going after one of the best new games of 2014, The Banner Saga, because they believe the title of the Stoic Games created experience infringes upon their brand.
The news was not the most preposterous linked to the company, which during the same interval tried decided that it should be the only one to use Candy in the video game space and acquired a trademark, which prompted a strong reaction from the indie community.
Yes, Candy Crush Saga and The Banner Saga do share a word, but there’s nothing else that the two video games have in common and any legal action based on that similarity is absurd and shows how we’ve come to think more about legal battles than about virtual experiences.
Candy Crush is a social and casual experience that can be played on a variety of devices and uses very simple mechanics in order to entice players to spend real world money via microtransactions.
The game is a massive success, but it’s not clear whether the team has the creative power to deliver a follow-up of equal value, so it is exploiting its hit as much as it can.
The Banner Saga is a labor of love from a small team, with gorgeous graphics, impressive use of bleakness and emotion and some very cool and deep tactical combat mechanics.
The game is only offered on the PC and shows the platform’s best attributes: innovation, attention to detail and respect for gamers.
Various types of gamers might prefer one of the games or the other, but the company which wants to maximize its profit should not try to do it by forcing someone else to change a name that’s only marginally similar.
It will be interesting to see whether King shares the same long-term fate as Zynga.