As history has shown, the second anyone tries copying a game, its original creators tend to fight back on the legal front. Recently, PUBG Corp. pursued legal action against Fortnite for its likeness to its own battle royale game, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. Now, a major retailer is finding itself in a sticky legal situation.
It appears the game company Atari is looking to sue retailer Target for its alleged copy of the famous Pong game, as Target is currently promoting its own version in various stores, called Foot Pong. Foot Pong is very much laid out the same as the original game it's inspired by, leading Atari to claim it as a "deliberate copy." The game uses modern technology allowing for a new and unique way to play one of Atari's most famous titles, as the function of the player moving their paddle from side-to-side is done with their foot through a motion-detecting device, and is playable in either one or two-player modes.
Atari has already voiced its concerns to Target repeatedly via cease-and-desist letters, but Target evidently ignored Atari's requests. Atari is claiming that Target is using Foot Pong as a means to attract more customers into its stores, yet a lawyer representing Target has stated that there are no plans to remove the game whatsoever, and that Target will continue to promote the game until the intended March 2019 window.
Atari's legal pursuit flips the script on the relationship the company has had with retailers in the past. While it's easy to get wrapped up in ordering everything online from Amazon these days, previously, companies like Atari were dependent on being able to partner with retailers to make sure its consoles had space on store shelves. While the history between both businesses should be taken into consideration, Target did completely ignore Atari's request, and has no plans to remove the game despite Atari's lawyers quickly getting involved. Given the speed at which the legal system in America works however, it's unlikely the issue will be resolved by the time March rolls around, which means when all is said and done, Target may not even have the game in their stores anymore.