Game Case World - product review

[gru3som3rick]

even if he closed up shop tomorrow someone would take his place best way to deal with these situations is spread the word about the cover project  as far as you can that way people will at least know they can get the covers themselves for free  .  wonder if snowcone ever thought of makeing a facebook page in order to spread the word ( or would that draw unwanted attention from the game companies )

You're not kidding - I keep a close eye on the content that we make on this site and people just like GCW to see how quickly it takes for them to offer it for sale on their website. I also do searches on Youtube/ Google to see if there is any other hustlers out there trying to make a buck off of other people's work and here's another offender:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TA1t_Q9V9Q&feature=plcp
http://budgetgamecases.com/

I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way, but the covers I've posted on this site were not intended for ANYONE to sell. I'd like all of the covers I've posted on this site taken off GCW's site. I've read Snowcone's thread about the final word on people selling covers and it sucks that there isn't really anything we can do about people like GCW, but I completely understand why.

[wiggy]

Go look at her pathetic blog.  Wait, I'll just post it...

A hostile, jealous member of their forum (who apparently has a small clique of followers) scanned in and redistributed the original artwork

I'm actually in tears over this!  "Jealous"?!  Bwahahahahhahahaha!  Yes, I'm jealous that I can't create something this amazing!



I'll take my "small clique".  It beats the hell out of NO clique

I guess you have to do that when you steal from someone to make it acceptable

This isn't a quote from your slanderous blog, it's your business model

not realizing we’re a vital part of the community that PROVIDES scans

OMG, I'm gonna have to quote like every sentence.  You don't do a damned thing for this site save for bringing unwanted attention.

I even contributed financially to the site that ripped off my original artwork on purpose.  The member behind this most notably posted a recent thread on how he wanted very young women and would have gotten some photos of their hotness if his wife hadn’t been there.  Since my daughter is 15 I thought it was sickening and if this Hutt like creature leered at her I’m sure I wouldn’t put up with it.

Where I come from this is known as slander.  Don't go making a case against yourself now.

He let his imagination run wild and tried his best to improvise graphic design knowledge such as the great ‘water test’ (FYI Wiggy, Ink Jet inks are water soluble because they are ink injected into the paper.  Laser Jet like you use, aka Kinkos uses a “melted wax” technology, which is why they can afford to be cheap – they’re not using ‘ink’ in the sense we think of it.  That is also why they get hot and can’t print at a high DPI – enough of the lesson Wiggy – except Kinkos could never use paper of the poundage we use, it would be too hot – LEARN a bit if you’re going to slam a designer.)

No, dye-based inks are water-soluble, and pigment-based are not.  Do a little reading up on the subject, mmm-kay?  Where did you get your degree, or are you self-taught?  That would actually explain a lot, like that Excitebike cover up top.

Even though his are free we refuse to use them because they’re horrible.

Don't be jelly.  I know it's tough being trying to make it when you're not very talented.

So there you go Wiggy the Hutt – if your life is fulfilling stealing and ripping apart someone else’s hard work it’s only because you will never hope to achieve anything you can be proud of for yourself.

(no need for a reply to this one, too good on its own)



Arseen, gonna clean this POS up right now.  Could have had a better scan if the original wasn't such shite :/

[Azarkhel]

This thread got so awesome so quickly.

EDIT: Sweet Clock Tower cover thievery GCW, I'm sure PAN of Timewalk Games would be really thrilled to see you selling his alternative box art on your site. Do unto others...

[ShoothimNow]

Wow, you're really rude and I'm sorry you feel that way about my original fan art cover. 
I can't help if you don't understand my business,
We have a policy and I'll restate it for the record:  ANYONE who does not want us to use their scan can e-mail us to take it down. 
We have talked to a ton of people on here and I know you don't want to hear this but they don't hate us. 
-Paula

I would be EXTREMELY pissed off if something I ordered looks worse than how I can print it.  Did you even LOOK at the comparison shots?  The cover he got in the mail looks like SHIT.  I would demand a refund.  18 years graphic design my ass.  I can do better with only 6 months under my belt, and it's just from messing around with photoshop!

So your business model is to create covers for people, and print them out on the shittiest paper in the world?  How are you still in business....?

Why would we have to EMAIL you to take down our scans?  Why do WE have to initiate it?  That is exactly what Wiggy is doing, INITIATING THE CONFRONTATION OF YOU SELLING OUR "FREE" COVERS.

We never said that people hate you, you're just soo f***ing pathetic it's not funny

[JDavis]

Will somebody take GCW's shovels away before they dig themselves to China?

[ShoothimNow]

This site has existed for a long time based (mostly) on the fact that original content creators do not know about or do not care about taking action.  Well now you have an original artist who would like content removed from the site and has contacted the admins to make this happen.  They have been given a window of 24 hours to comply.  

Wiggy - I have your real name and mailing address.  Of which if after 24 hours the link to the full resolution scan of our image is not removed completely, you will be receiving a certified letter from our attorney's office which will be postmarked tomorrow.

Have a good night.

Time to submit copyright enfringements on their business, oh how the cookie can crumble!
Have a great life!

[wiggy]

This thread got so awesome so quickly.

EDIT: Sweet Clock Tower cover thievery GCW, I'm sure PAN of Timewalk Games would be really thrilled to see you selling his alternative box art on your site. Do unto others...

Send that guy an email, stat!  


I'm making this cover my bitch.  Making a vector logo at the very least right now.  That title looks like dog crap on their cover.

[ShoothimNow]

Bwahahahaaha I just reported 30+ of their ebay items (am I at the right place lol?) for :

We'll review your report carefully and take appropriate action. You don't need to contact us about your report again.

Report Category:
Copyright + Trademark

Reason for Report:
Bootleg Records or unauthorized media

Detailed Reason:
Unauthorized photocopies of printed material.


Do unto others!

[wiggy]

Win! ^^^  


also, lazy ass slackers.  Took me 15 minutes, like I said.





I swear they're gonna end up selling mine instead of their busted version since I fixed all their stupid mistakes.


The bums even use my weather stripping foam idea.  You're welcome, GCW.

[akrate69]

Is someone going to stop this crap? Threads like this have no place on The Cover Project.

[Lumberjack42]

After perusing his/her site I found the following count of covers I've contributed to TCP over the years.

18 Atari 5200
127 NES
13 PS1
238 Dreamcast

I highly doubt those will be removed.

[palmer6strings]

Is someone going to stop this crap? Threads like this have no place on The Cover Project.

No offense, but there is threads like this all over the place on many different sites that shouldn't be there...

I agree completely with Wiggy though. It started of as just a product review and GCW threw the ball out of court. Then the only reason they got all on thier pissy defensive was because they know they are in the wrong.

The blog they posted and the ways they comented were just absurd and unnecessary.

Thier dimness will definitely create thier fall because I'm sure many will stand up to them now.

I know I will anyway.

[larryinc64]

You're not kidding - I keep a close eye on the content that we make on this site and people just like GCW to see how quickly it takes for them to offer it for sale on their website. I also do searches on Youtube/ Google to see if there is any other hustlers out there trying to make a buck off of other people's work and here's another offender:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TA1t_Q9V9Q&feature=plcp
http://budgetgamecases.com/

I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way, but the covers I've posted on this site were not intended for ANYONE to sell. I'd like all of the covers I've posted on this site taken off GCW's site. I've read Snowcone's thread about the final word on people selling covers and it sucks that there isn't really anything we can do about people like GCW, but I completely understand why.

Budget Game Cases does not seem as bad as GCW. With a quick A quick browsing of the site, you find on the Why BGC page:

most of us know about Universal Game Cases, and that this entire conversation would never happen without the hard work being done over at The Cover Project.  Most of my covers come from there
[and in bold big text at the bottom]
I DO, HOWEVER, ENCOURAGE YOU TO MAKE YOUR OWN CASES, FIRST AND FOREMOST.

About page

Without The Cover Project, this service (and many collections) wouldn’t exist.
Budget Game Cases is NOT affiliated with The Case Project.  We firmly believe in what they are doing, and urge you to make your own cases, if you are so inclined.
TCP Artists: If your work is displayed here (or you want/do not want it to be), and/or you wish to be compensated for each sale, please contact us.  

Please support this project. Contribute. Make your own covers.

He seems to advertise TCP more, plus bonus points for not calling any of us pedophiles. I think the $7 case price includes shipping and getting 6 cases makes them a bit cheaper. prices are still kinda high though. I rather have my work taken by him than GCW.

[akrate69]

Is someone going to stop this crap? Threads like this have no place on The Cover Project.

No offense, but there is threads like this all over the place on many different sites that shouldn't be there...
I agree completely with Wiggy though. It started of as just a product review and GCW threw the ball out of court. Then the only reason they got all on thier pissy defensive was because they know they are in the wrong.

The blog they posted and the ways they comented were just absurd and unnecessary.

Thier dimness will definitely create thier fall because I'm sure many will stand up to them now.

I know I will anyway.

Exactly, and it would be a shame if this site sank to the level of the many different sites you're talking about. There are also plenty of sites that don't allow this.

[shenske]

I really really hated getting into this crap .....

We have a policy and I'll restate it for the record:  ANYONE who does not want us to use their scan can e-mail us to take it down.  

This statement is sadly false. On January 28th, 2012 I sent my intentions for you to not use any covers i made from your site and you failed to do so ..... over 7months later.   I'll just repost our email conversation

Hello,
This is Shenske one of admins at TheCoverProject.  Sorry if you have felt unwelcomed on our site and I hope you do become an active member in our community.  Having another artist supporting our cause.  You are completely welcome to the site!

You did state "Any artist or designer that we have used by mistake (because they have uploaded their work for free distribution) but who no longer wants their work displayed, edited or printed from our web site can contact us and we will remove and remake the cover. "  The cover will be replaced withing 24-48 hours. Personally I am not comfortable with my covers being on your site and I do hope that you do take them down. The hundreds of hours I spent on making hundreds covers and templates free to the community should not be associated with a site that has them for sale.  I understand the pricing of how much the cases, printing, shipping etc. takes as I was in the professional graphic design business for a while.  That being stated I still don't want my covers or the templates I made being used for a resale site.  I know that would be taking a big portion of the covers you have on the site but if you would kindly remove them all as promptly as possible I would appreciate it.

Thanks,
Shenske

Hi Seth,

It's important to note, that only some of our game case covers actually were sourced from the Cover Project, which means unfortunately for you that your template is alive and well across the global community as the standardized template that everyone is using.

It also should be taken into consideration that the majority of our customers are foreigners who have zero access to the Universal Game Cases sold here in the United States.  We also have at times and at request pointed customers in the direction of the cover project as well as places to buy cases particularly if they are novice users and want a large quantity of cases.  Thus we are not harming the community simply providing a service for those who do not have the equipment, time, and access to do their own game cases.

I would suggest that if you shut down Game Case World that more than one business doing the exact same thing (which isn't new, as you know) will take our place and not only will they not be able to provide the top notch sincere service we do (check our feedback) but that they will hack away at covers making Kinkos their main source of printing and a pair of scissors an acceptable means of cutting them and will NEVER think of giving any attribution to your web site.

Additionally I think we showed remarkable good will today by posting your web site on ALL of our YouTube Videos, and on our web site on the front page on the busiest time of the week for us.  

I want to assure you that our business is minimal, we do not sale a ton of cases, that this is a small cottage home grown business by mostly myself (stay at home Mom) and I was able to accomplish the business primarily because of an 18 year graphic design background that includes me owning four printers including the large scale photography printer.  

If there are specific cases in particular you would like removed please let me know.  However please note, that many of the cases such as Legend of Zelda have been carefully repaired and redone in vector graphics making the print precise.  This work is not easy nor is it quick.  I do not want to remove this work which I was going to repost at the Cover Project, along with other high resolution graphics that have been redone like the Nintendo official seal.  Most of my work was retraced and is in vector.

If I am not allowed to use the main template, then my work itself is violating your terms.  I would not be able to display the covers I have done on my own web site, yet am invited to display them on yours.

Finally I would add that Game Case World would be interested in financially sponsoring ads on your site, or purchasing new scans to be sold on our web site from the individual artists, or making a sizable monthly donation to help support the site.    Our web site has much to offer the Cover Project if everyone can keep their heads and come together.  

I do plan to shut the site down within a 4-6 month frame work given certain circumstances, not least of which is the high overhead of the project - which we did because we wanted to purchase finished game cases and there simply was no where to do so.  

We have certain ethics such as not publishing for profit modern covers such as 2011 8 Bit Christmas, which would be included on your web site along with about 40 others remastered or brand new of the highest quality.  

Game Case World can bring your site notoriety, traffic and prestige - or we can shut down and you can trust the next group after us to do the same.  

-Paula  

Do i really have to tell you each individual cover i have made that you are making money off of?  Do you not even know who made the covers you are selling?  Why is it such a big deal that wiggy scanned your cover for other people to print when you are using all of ours to print  AND make money?

Hi Paula,

I'm sorry my last email seemed very blunt, I meant no ill will.   Everything in written form can often be misconstrued to imply a false negative tone.  That was not my intention.

I wrote that quickly from my phone so i couldn't go into greater detail. I am very aware that not all the cover-art used is from TCP (I see 99% of all covers that are posted on our site).  The impression i was getting from quickly reading through your site is that you were claiming everything to be your own including the templates.  I know you did not directly claim this but that is the feeling i'm getting. Not stating where you got certain covers or templates to me is the same as claiming it as your own. I know you did put a disclaimer that "Cover art is available for free from such web sites as http://www.thecoverproject.net. " but it doesn't differentiate if the cover art you use is borrowed from that site or if your work is just re-hosted there as well.  I'm not intending to say that 'you are taking all the credit' but as another artist you know how it feels when something you have worked so hard on is replicated without proper credit.  Proper credit in my eyes would be a simple notation next to each cover that you did not create.  An artist name reflecting who made it would be ideal if possible.

I have absolutely no intention of trying to shut you down so don't worry about that. I try my best not to partake in internet flame wars and such if possible.  I usually ignore these type of topics when they pop up on our forums as they are out of our control.  I wouldn't even have written you an email requesting that my cover be removed unless you had offered to do so.  You made the offer so i decided to make the request.  I can tell that you have good intentions for the community. Hell, writing this email to me is far more than any other similar site has done.

I'll let you know which covers are mine if you are unsure which are. If you just put an artist name under each of the covers that you did not make I have no problem with you hosting my covers or templates I have created.  If this is something that you are unwilling to do then I would like to take you up on your offer to remove certain artist's covers. It may sound like I'm the guy with the overwhelming ego but I just want people to know where the covers are coming from.

As far as the whole using my template on the TCP and not yours I think you may have misunderstood what I was getting at. I was upset that the templates I worked on vigorously were being used for a profit. I understand that the profit margin is little but you kind of got a big head start with your site by using our templates and covers.  If you let customers on your site know that the templates were from TCP I would be a happy camper and I think that would be fair.

As far as all the financial stuff goes I try to stay as far away from that stuff as possible. I try to keep everything I do as free to the public community as possible.  You can give this proposition to our site owner, "snowcone", if you would like.

I am very glad to see that you have posted quite a few covers on our forums and i'm sure the whole community appreciates it!

-Shenske

I never got an email back from my last response.  It has become apparent that the profit margin is much greater than i had originally anticipated.  Look i know its the nature of the beast for something you provide freely on the net to be repackaged and sold.  (the PS1 Final Fantasy cover specifically grind my gears more than everything else).

I thought everything was fine between our Community and GCW.  Apparently one unfavorable review of the product being sold is enough for you to flame our site on your blog. I love our site and our community here and its hard not to take personal offense to what you wrote.

Please don't advertise that you ARE WILLING to take down covers made by a member if you ARE NOT WILLING to do so.

I think when you wrote your offer you didn't consider that one or two of the major contributors of cover to our site would respond to you.  Taking down a few HUNDRED covers would be a major blow to your site. Almost ALL of the covers on your site for sale were made by a few select member of our community ... i would suggest not to piss them off .... or they might just call your bluff.  

Also, I'm pretty sure i or Lumberjack42 made just about all the template you are using. Your welcome