RPG Maker piracy and unofficial translation controversy

## RPG Maker 2000/2003

Although it seems paradoxical, the download and distribution of English-language RPG Maker programs has itself been a source of controversy within the community during the distribution piracy of RPG Maker in the 2000s. The controversy largely rests on whether the distribution is legal or not.

Initially this program was in Japanese, but the Russian developer Don Miguel pirated the program, translated it into English illegally.

Many users, perhaps most within the RPG Maker community, believe that RPG Maker 2000 and 2003 are legal, making it fall into the same category as anime fansubs. At the time, there were unsubstantiated rumors on the web that ASCII (now Enterbrain) gave permission or licensing rights to a Russian computer programmer named Don Miguel to create an English version for free distribution, completely unfounded data.

However, contrary rumors claimed that the program became illegal the moment Enterbrain received distribution rights to RPG Maker 2000; but even in this case these rumors turned out to be false, as the program was not legally downloadable until 2015, when Enterbrain actually obtained the rights to the series. In any case, the distributors, given the great passion for RPG Maker 2000, agreed to its distribution and this happened with the previous RPG Maker 95.

> **The RTP package in the illegal version or the one distributed by Don Miguel of RPG Maker 2000 uses resources extrapolated from SNES games such as Star Ocean and Tales of Phantasia which are protected by copyright and therefore illegal to use without a license. This by extension makes this version of the application illegal.**
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Due to controversy and legality issues, many RPG Maker sites stopped offering downloads of the program. As of July 13, 2015, it is legally available for purchase on Steam. Using fan-translated versions of the program obtained for free is still illegal. RPG Maker was never a free program or intended to be one in the first place.

### Cease

Despite the controversy surrounding the English-language versions of RPG Maker 2000 and RPG Maker 2003, it is legal to produce games made from a Japanese version of RPG Maker. In fact, the Enterbrain itself tried to issue a cease-and-desist letter to Don Miguel, but it was too late: his creation was out of control. As he shut down his website, dozens of others appeared. Further legal action never succeeded in eradicating the problem. As of 2015, it became legal to use an official English version of RPG Maker 2000 or 2003 as the two programs were released on Steam and Humble Bundle by Enterbrain, and with the release of the license for sale of its games, the long period of pirated computer versions of RPG Maker came to an end, at least in the context of legality.

### Games

When the English's fan translation of RPG Maker's popularity increase was heightened, despite being an illegitimate program, most projects developed in an illegitimate program in the early-2000s, particularly the controversial 2005 game *Super Columbia Massacre RPG!*. Alternatively, most developers who bought the actual Japanese version of RPG Maker and using an English's fan translation to combine in it to avoid piracy.

## RPG Maker XP

Before the program was officially translated and published by Enterbrain, some members of various RPG Maker communities made translations and/or patches. The most famous of these are DynaEmu, who made the first hack of RPG Maker XP, RPG Advocate, who made the most widely used version, and Dubealex, who created a patch of RPG Advocate's Translation that allowed 4-line messages and a larger event script box.

Over the years, when legal XP was released, hackers began to create key generators, which simulate the purchase of the program. Most of these hackers, however, have been banned from most RPG Maker websites. After the legal English version, many sites (including rmxp.org, rpgmakerforums and rpgmaker.net) have banned the distribution of information leading to illegal copies of RPG Maker XP in an attempt to show their respective support for Enterbrain's decision.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.rpg-hacker.de/?page\_id=71
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://dbpedia.org/page/RPG\_Maker\_2000
3. ↑ https:// www.pcgamer.com/the-secret-history-of-underdog-game-engine-rpg-maker-and-how-it-got-its-bad-reputation/
4. ↑ https://www .icrewplay.com/la-storia-di-rpg-maker-e-facile-cosi/
5. ↑ https://github.com/Fleurman/translate-solution-xp