We at The Nerd Stash brought you the news yesterday about the release of Mini Subway for the Nintendo Switch and how this game – now available on the eShop – could be seen as a copy of Mini Metro. However, the devs have today responded to the release of this new game with a statement.
What the Mini Metro Devs are Saying About This Potential Copy Cat Game?
A spokesperson from Dinosaur Polo Club responded to yesterday’s Mini Subway article and wanted to clear a few things up regarding the game’s potential controversy. The developers said, “As a small indie studio, we recognize that our own successes are, in part, due to standing on the shoulders of giants, and that part of the creative process involves taking inspiration from others and making it your own. Seeing people take inspiration from our games has been an amazing experience, but of course, there’s a difference between inspiration and plagiarism.”
As you can see, the developers of Mini Metro seem to be proud of the fact that another studio would use a blueprint of the game for their own project. They don’t feel like any lines have been crossed either, but if they were, they wouldn’t hesitate to take legal action when required. They went on to say, “We owe it to our team to defend the work we’ve invested so much into, so we evaluate every report of copycat or clone versions of our games to assess whether they breach our trademark. While we always try to reach out to the developers first, if required, we will take legal action.”
And finally, Dinosaur Polo Club wanted to add one more thing, “It’s a joy to see our games inspire others to make their own. We are nothing if not sympathetic to the hard work of fellow indie devs, but the work should be inspired by, not copied from.”
So, there we have it; the Mini Metro developers have no issue with the release of Mini Subway; in fact, they love the fact that a company would use them as inspiration for another game. Not bad for a small indie company from New Zealand.
