NYC Hosts Dead Gamer Showdown

By S.T. VanAirsdale

Just because George A. Romero has been coasting first-class on the Dead franchise gravy train for 40 years doesn't mean his recycled ideas are other people's fair game. MKR Group, the rightsholder for his 1978 mall-zombie opus Dawn of the Dead, filed a complaint Monday in U.S. District Court in New York claiming that Capcom Co Ltd snacked a little too liberally on the filmmaker's brains when conceiving the 2006 release Dead Rising:

"Both works are dark comedies," the complaint ... reads. "In both, the recreational activities of the zombies and absurdly grotesque 'kill scenes' provide unexpected comedic relief."

"Both works provided thoughtful social commentary on the 'mall culture' zeitgeist, in addition to serving up a sizable portion of sensationalistic violence," it said.

The suit is the latest episode in a dispute pitting Capcom, which earlier this month sought an intellectual property waiver from MKR kingpin and Dawn producer Richard Rubenstein. Its terms were not disclosed, though a Capcom spokesman confirmed the game is out of print after shipping a million copies, thus negating a rumored settlement involving a new secret level in which the gun-toting living violently defend a mall electronics store from a legion of baked, baggy pants-ed gamers pawing at the PlayStation 360 behind the glass. Which would have been a more thematic rip-off of Romero's latest film. Give the guy some credit (and then cut him a check) for thinking ahead.

Posted at February 26, 2008 2:41 PM