Video Gamer is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
After failing to prevent Bully from going on sale, Thompson has now turned his attention to Mortal Kombat: Armageddon – and not for the reasons you’d think. It’s not the unparalleled on-screen violence that has got Thompson’s back up, but the fact you can create a character who looks like him using the game’s character creation tool.
“It has today come to my attention that the newly recently [sic] Mortal Kombat: Armageddon contains an unauthorized commercial exploitation of my name, photograph, image, and likeness within the game,” wrote Thompson in an e-mail sent to Midway president and CEO David Zucker. “You are commanded to cease and desist immediately from the distribution of this game because of this unauthorized, illegal content.“
Included with Thompson’s email was a photo of the game with Thompson’s character on screen. The Thompson character is not included in the game, but has been made using the Kreate-a-Fighter mode, a tool which allows players to create almost any character they wish. The photo actually appears to have come from a feature posted by Gaming Target which contained guides to creating a number of famous faces. These included Hulk Hogan, Jason Voorhees, Ash, and Jack Thompson.
So if the game doesn’t include Thompson’s likeness, what’s the problem? Games have featured character creation tools for many years now. Character creation tools were at the centre of a highly publicised case between Marvel and City of Heroes developer Cryptic Studios. Marvel claimed that the tools allowed gamers to create characters that infringed on its trademarks, and eventually the companies settled out of court.
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon was released in Europe today for the PlayStation 2. Xbox owners are out of luck though, with that version of the game only available in North America.
