It is easy to neglect that, earlier than the discharge of its first seaside volleyball spin-off, the Useless or Alive collection have been taken pretty significantly as preventing video games. We might have joked in regards to the ridiculous jiggle physics, however the unique was nonetheless thought of an honest successor to Virtua Fighter 2.
These days, in fact, the Useless or Alive collection is a joke, promising that new entries can be much less jiggly, then turning round and flogging dozens of bikini, maid, and schoolgirl costumes as DLC. Which is why it is so absurd to learn Tomotoshi Nishimura, the chief in control of Koei Tecmo’s authorized affairs division, say they’d no alternative however to take motion in opposition to fan artwork which may injury the picture of the Useless or Alive forged—as a result of their creators’ consider them “like daughters”.
The precise phrase used within the unique Japanese is musume, which might imply “younger woman” in addition to “daughter”, however not solely is that also creepy on this context, it is a dated and overly formal use of the phrase. Nishimura virtually actually means “daughter” right here.
Nishimura was talking at a panel on mental property rights held at Tokyo Esports Festa, as reported by Recreation Watch. Whereas he defined the corporate was grateful to its followers, and even sponsored the doujinshi conference Comiket, he additionally mentioned between 200 and 300 Useless or Alive doujinshi obtainable on-line had been suspended following authorized motion—in a single case for utilizing artwork from a recreation but to be launched. Nishimura additionally mentioned that Koei Tecmo takes motion in opposition to between 2,000 and three,000 works of fan artwork posted to social media and artist neighborhood Pixiv every year.
Additional explaining the corporate’s stance, Nishimura steered that some grownup Useless or Alive fan artwork might injury the characters’ picture, and that picture wanted to be protected as a result of different corporations produced official merchandise of these characters. But in addition, you recognize, the daughter factor.
It is not the primary time we have heard of Koei Tecmo taking authorized motion to guard the virtuous women of Useless or Alive. In 2021 it sued the producers of a DVD that used footage from nude mods. In the meantime, the following recreation within the collection can be Venus Trip Prism: Useless or Alive Xtreme, a courting sim with a images mode, which is able to solely be launched in choose Asian nations.
