The Harmony Gold (Robotech) vs Fasa (Battletech) Conflict - A Ghost From the Past Floats From its Unmarked Grave

A MekTek administrator publishes his thoughts about the Harmony Gold (Robotech) vs Fasa (Battletech) conflict in light of the former's recent protest about the MechWarrior 5 trailer using one (? 'Not sure) of its tabletop war game mech designs.

A quote and the link to the editorial post after the jump.



MekTek's Supermike has this to say about the Marauder mech design (and several other mech designs) that is soon to be taken out from the upcoming MechWarrior video game (if the PC first-person shooter mech simulator is to see the light of day):

For many years I was upset over, what I perceived as, Harmony Gold's "tyrannical" protection of their intellectual properties. How many people's favorite 'mech was the Marauder? After speaking with a couple of people "in the know" on this subject, I have come to change my views significantly.

The first thing to remember is the artwork in question was NOT created by FASA. It was the work of the people that created Robotech. Why shouldn't they want credit and the rewards generated through their work?

Right on Supermike! As much as I like the Marauder and one of the Land-Air Mechs, I innately have this aversion for "crossovers," regardless if whether they are legit or not. As a digital artist myself, I feel keenly for stolen concept art.

Besides, the Harmony Gold conflict forced Fasa to take on battlemech tabletop figurine designs that wildly deviated from the "anime super-robots" feel. This deviation evolved their mechs into grittier, "more plausible" designs that IMHO, proved to be a boon for the company.

>>>The MekTek article