NEWS - Friday, March 1, 2002
GameShark Vs Code Breaker
InterAct, manufacturer of the popular cheat code device GameShark, announced it has filed suit against the maker of a wildly successful new cheat code device called Code Breaker. Since its introduction, Code Breaker has been the fastest growing cheat device for video game systems in the market. Feeling the heat in a product niche it once dominated, cheat code maker InterAct has apparently decided to attempt to slow Code Breaker sales down by filing a lawsuit alleging that Code Breaker infringes various unspecified copyrights owned by InterAct.Consumer preferences for the easy to use Code Breaker product have gained its maker, Pelican Accessories, valuable shelf space at major national retailers forcing GameShark to live with a declining share of retail shelf space as well as declining sales. GameShark maker InterAct is fighting back by broadly advertising its lawsuit against Pelican Accessories to the retail community in an attempt to halt Code Breaker’s momentum.
Pelican Accessories President, Chris Richards, stated that the company was not surprised by InterAct’s legal strategy due to the dramatic impact Code Breaker has had on GameShark sales. When asked to explain why Code Breaker has gained such rapid popularity, Richards stated that “Code Breaker is easy to use and you don’t have to be a hard core gamer to enjoy the product. We also provide a great deal of after market support at a price that is far lower than GameShark.”
Neither Richards or Pelican Accessories’ attorneys would comment on the merits of InterAct’s claims in the lawsuit, other than to say that cheat codes have been around for many years. According to Richards, everyone in the video game industry knows that a company cannot claim exclusive ownership of cheat codes that have been around since the first games were created.
Source: http://www.xboxaddict.com/
