Mr. Do and Dig Dug - Who stole from who?

[tz101]

Both games were released in 1982 and are identical in so many ways that it makes a person wonder. Did Namco plagiarize from Universal on this one?

[Pulstar]

How far apart were the two releases?

[Baloo]

Well, Mr. Do was released in December of '82, and I can't seem to find a release date in terms of a month for Dig Dug.

[Youngie]

Who cares?

[gamevet]

Digging is the only simular aspect of the two games. Mr. Do! has a lot more going for it, where killing the enemies with apples results in bonus enemies that can be killed for extra lives; you'll also have to plan when you shoot the ball, since it'll leave you stranded until it returns.

You'll find a ton of arcade games from that era, with very simular gameplay. The same could be said of the Atari 2600 library.

[Youngie]

I have to side with Youngie. I don't think you'll uncover some big scandal here. It's just a bizzare coincidence, at the most.

Good man.

[Iron Lizard]

Stealing ideas was fairly common back then and much easier to do. Some companies specialized in it.

[kool kitty89]

And often people thing games are stolen or "clones" when, in fact, both were independent and sharing common inspiration. (the case with several Avtivision titles)

I think it's safe to say that the 1983 CGA PC game Digger was inspired by one or both of these games. (though it's a bit 1/2 way between the 2 along with its own unique aspects)