Atlus is suing fans who resurrected its long-closed Shin Megami Tensei MMO VGC Open main menu Lengthy FIFA players MultiVersus characters Disney Dreamlight recipe list First for Video Game News Follow VGC Atlus is suing fans who resurrected its long-closed Shin Megami Tensei MMOThe company claims fan servers have caused it “irreparable damage” Video Game News 26th Sep 2022 / 10:55 am Posted by Andy RobinsonAtlus is suing fans who hosted their own servers for the long-closed MMO Shin Megami Tensei Imagine Online. As spotted by Twitter user ‘Marsh’, the lawsuit was first filed in December 2021 but has recently progressed to the point where defendants behind unofficial fan servers have been summoned to appear in court. Imagine Online was an MMO for PC set in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo, which had players exploring locations and completing quests in the hunt for loot. Persona Series on Xbox — Announce TrailerSubscribe to VGC on YouTube The game was first released in 2007 in Japan, followed by North America and Europe in 2008 and 2009. On May 24, 2016, nine years after it first launched, Atlus made the decision to shut down the game’s servers. In 2020, a group of fans doing business as ReImagine, Rekuiemu and COMP_Hack resurrected Imagine Online with a launcher, website and servers mimicking the original game and allowing fans to play the MMO once again. Rekuiemu and COMP_Hack are the defendants named in the lawsuit docs. Update26th Sep 2022 / 3:57 pmReImagine has reportedly released a statement on its Discord server, claiming that until recently it was unaware of the court filing, and that it’s now chosen to close down its server prominently. VGC has been unable to verify the legitimacy of the message, since the Discord server and the ReImagine website both seem to have been pulled. Notice: To display this embed please allow the use of Functional Cookies in Cookie Preferences. Update 226th Sep 2022 / 5:34 pmAtlus declined to comment on this story when contacted by VGC. These kinds of fan-made servers for closed MMOs are not uncommon: similar projects exist for Star Wars Galaxies, City of Heroes and The Matrix Online and many others, for example. However, Atlus states in court docs that it believes the fans behind the unofficial servers “have caused and will continue to cause irreparable damage to Atlus unless restrained by this Court”. The company is seeking the total shutdown of all websites and servers related to the named fan servers, as well as up to $25,000 per violation decided by the court. One potential challenge Atlus will have to overcome are protections introduced by the US Copyright Office in 2018, which allow archivists to break DRM security in order to preserve online games. However, these protections are technically in relation to museums or archivists, and not public emulators. The lawsuit again highlights the issue of preservation in the games industry and the many games that risk disappearing entirely in the future, should crucial services such as online platforms disappear. Journalist Brittany Vincent argued in a VGC column that the games industry needs to increase its efforts for preserving video games, before more titles are lost to time. Further reading 7 It s time to get serious about game preservation – before it s too lateDocumenting the adventures we have now is so important, before they're lost to time“What becomes of the unplayable games doomed to become nothing but a blip in the medium’s history? Should we steel ourselves and prepare to accept the eventuality that any title we love could eventually become unavailable in its current state? It doesn’t have to. “Game preservation, by way of purchasing hard copies of the titles you love, and documenting the adventures we have now is so important.” 21 Comments Related VGC Content Sonic Frontiers will get free Monster Hunter DLC shortly after launch2 hours ago Interview How PlatinumGames is betting on Nintendo expertise to shape its future22 hours ago Atlus confirms January release for Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden2 days ago Company of Heroes 3 has been delayed until 20236 days ago Popular Now on VGC1 Harley Quinn voice actor criticises Chris Pratt Mario casting ‘ It should be Charles’ 2 Phil Spencer could be teasing Xbox s game streaming device in a new office photo3 Interview How PlatinumGames is betting on Nintendo expertise to shape its future4 Modern Warfare 2 will seemingly require a phone number like Overwatch 25 Platinum thinks hiring of Nintendo veteran can take the companies relationship to the next level More Video Game News FIFA 23 New Zealand release time How to unlock the full game earlyPlay FIFA 23 early with this popular exploit2 weeks ago US PlayStation shipments were reportedly up 400% last monthPS5 supply appears to be increasing as Christmas approaches56 minutes ago Overwatch 2 servers down for some as Blizzard removes two heroes temporarilyThe game's rocky launch has caused much fan frustration1 hour ago1 A new Silent Hill game has been rated in South KoreaThe rating follows over a year of reports that Konami is planning to revive the series2 weeks ago1 CommentBy commenting on this article you agree to adhere to VGC’s community guidelines. Notice: To display comments please allow the use of Functional Cookies in Cookie Preferences.