Not digging this… cel shading? Blonde hero with blue shirt? Buhhhhhh?
You omitted the key part of the article:
Despite the apparent similarities, Webzen representatives claim the protagonist in Wiki lacks any kind of fixed appearance, and that players can mold their virtual avatars however they wish. In other words, the screen shots of Wiki displaying a very Link-like character are purely coincidental, and can change depending on the tastes of the individual playing the game.
Well, there ya go. It’s Marvel vs. City of Heroes all over again.
I think Nintendo was probably concerned with just more than similarities in hair color and outfits.
It’s hard for me to tell with the tiny pictures provided (anyone have better links?) but unless things like the big windwalker eyes and such are easily modified by the end-user, they might have a point.
It doesn’t help that the look of the rest of the world in that screenshot looks similar enough that the casual gamer could easily confuse the two.
I’m sure Webzen will make whatever changes they feel needed to steer clear of Nintendo, and the big N hasn’t exactly attacked them outright either.
I’m not sure what the laws are in Japan or Korea, but this seems like a pretty good example of trademark law as I’m familiar with it. An average person familiar with the Wind Waker game might look at that Wiki shot and think that it is either from that game or from a sequel. That’s the litmus test for trademark infringement, no?
Just remove the variables that will make a Link-like character. Thats WAY too similar to be coincidential.
I don’t think that’s possible, but the world and the wind gust make it pretty clear what they were going for…
Couldn’t you just rename everything and alter the graphics slightly, keep the same plot as Wind Waker almost exactly, and still get away with it? I mean, shit, it worked for Disney with the Lion King… heh.
How can Nintendo own the big eyes look? I wish they did so that other Asian games couldn’t use that irritating anime look.