Splosion Man Dev Accuses Capcom of Plagiarism

Indie studio Twisted Pixel, responsible for Splosion Man on XBLA, has accused Capcom of plagiarism due to the Japanese publisher’s App Store game, MaXplosion.

“MaXplosion gameplay video makes me sad,” Twisted Pixel programmer Mike Henry wrote on Twitter. “If you’re going to outright steal a game, you should at least understand what makes it fun. Borrowing is great,” he added. “Hell, we do it all the time. But that game is a complete theft.”

What’s perhaps the most troubling part of this story is that Twisted Pixel claims they pitched Splosion Man to Capcom years ago and were turned down. Only now, after Splosion Man’s indie success, has the publisher seemed to take notice.

“Not sure what to say about MaXplosion,” said Twisted Pixel co-founder Michael Wilford, also via Twitter. “Pisses me off. Guess we’re just gonna have to make a better iPhone game than them. Shouldn’t be hard. Best part is, we originally pitched @Splosion_Man to Capcom and they said no. I’ll always love Capcom bc of what they brought to my childhood, but WTF have they turned into? First they lose Inafune, now this.”

So, does Twisted Pixel have a case? Judge for yourself: