With a name like King, it’s no surprise that the Candy Crush Saga developers have taken a high and mighty approach to their branding and image. Over the last week or so, news of their efforts to trademark words like “candy” and “saga” has come out, as well as an attempt to defend their “saga” name by disputing other game titles, like The Banner Saga.
The whole situation is a messy bit of law (which Kotaku nicely details here), but King is within their rights to pursue it. In fact, they say if they don’t defend their branding in all instances, they open the floodgates for copycats. Those copycats could confuse a potential audience of candy-obsessed drones and seriously threaten King’s bottom line.
So while some indie devs may think King’s actions are worthy of ridicule, I think the Candy Crush Saga creators could use some help. Therefore, I figured I’d identify a few more games they’ll need to slap on the wrist alongside The Banner Saga!
Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God
Aksys Games’ recent Vita release could easily lead to confusion in the marketplace. It doesn’t help that Sorcery Saga looks a bit like King’s Bubble Witch Saga. With prevalent magic, sorcery, and colorful graphics, a potential Candy Crush customer could accidentally buy a Vita and a copy of this oddball Japanese release, thinking they were getting the one true candy king.
Panzer Dragoon Saga
With around 30,000 US copies out in the wild, and prices on eBay in the $200-300 range, the 16-year-old Panzer Dragoon Saga could confuse and frustrate a potential Candy Crush customer. After all, this Sega Saturn RPG isn’t nearly as addictive and comes on 4 CD-ROMs — not quite as portable as Candy Crush on your phone!
Candy Box!
For shame! This candy-based browser game sets a dangerous precedent. Not only is it based around collecting as much candy as possible, but it is dangerously addictive and free-to-play! King should put an end to this game’s shameful plagiarism.
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
No saga can compare to Candy Crush Saga’s 500+ levels of addictive and colorful fun, especially not the story of a rich, sci-fi world created over the course of several decades. Adding the LEGO brand, with its light-hearted charms, only helps to make LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga a direct Candy Crush Saga competitor and potential copycat.
SaGa
This long-running Square Enix series introduces several problems for Candy Crush Saga and King. With entries like Romancing SaGa, what would parents think? They may think Romancing SaGa is King’s attempt to break into the adults-only market with their puzzle games. You know what’s even worse? Why would people buy any of King’s games when there’s another game called Unlimited SaGa? That just seems like cheating.
Segagaga
Segagaga may be a Japan-only, spoof sim game in which you run a fictional version of Sega, but if you say the name too quickly it sounds a lot like “saga”. There’s simply no room for these two franchises in the marketplace.
Tiny Toon Adventures: Dizzy's Candy Quest
Released in 2001 for the Gameboy Color, Dizzy’s Candy Quest may have gone under King’s radar if not for my help. A Tiny Toons-themed Saga game made by King themselves? Sure, that’s a great idea. But this, this game sets a dangerous precedent.
Wreck-it Ralph’s Sugar Rush Kingdom
While Wreck-It Ralph is a movie based on video games, and not a game itself, the Sugar Rush game within has some elements that King should be aware of. After all, the film’s villain is named KING CANDY! Disney goes right for the throat with that one. Candy Crush Saga is the only candy land that the marketplace can tolerate. In fact, I think there’s a board game King might want to look into…
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