After investigating the confusing back-and-forth domain name ownership with the "Killzone" series, we decided to take three platform-defining franchises -- "Metal Gear Solid," "Halo," "Gears of War" -- and see who actually owns the domain names for each game's sequels.
***
Sony owns Killzone.com and Killzone3.com, but not Killzone2.com…or Killzone4.com and Killzone5.com -- but Killzone6.com is still available.
Is this an isolated case, or are other publishers as forgetful when it comes to locking down the domain names for the games they spend millions creating? Turns out it's not isolated at all -- this practice is rampant all over video games.
We chose three major franchises -- "Metal Gear Solid," "Halo," "Gears of War" -- and looked up the most commonly associated domains to see who actually owns the rights. We don't have a Nintendo franchise because Nintendo games don't usually follow a numerical sequel structure.
Did you know that Halo.com doesn't even point to anything "Halo" related? It's actually a website for HALO Branding, a company that makes merchandise for a number of companies -- MTV included, according to the website. It does have a link to what it claims is "Halo"-related gaming, but it forwards to a DELL website. Weird!
Halo2.com is less strange, forwarding to a "Halo 2" web site for the Vista version, while Halo3.com is actually about "Halo 3." It stops there, though, as Microsoft doesn't own Halo4.com, Halo5.com, Halo6.com, Halo7.com, Halo8.com or -- breathe! -- Halo9.com, but it does have some ownership connection to Halo10.com. If you want Halo11.com, however, it's all yours!
As for "Metal Gear Solid," Konami only owns the rights to MetalGearSolid.com, which forward to Kojima Productions' website. MetalGearSolid2.com, MetalGearSolid3.com, MetalGearSolid4.com, MetalGearSolid5.com, MetalGearSolid6.com, MetalGearSolid7.com are all in the hands of various entities -- but MetalGearSolid8.com is available!
"Gears of War" is in the same situation as Solid Snake, where Microsoft (or Epic Games) was only interested in grabbing the first domain and left the rest to the scavengers. GearsofWar2.com, GearsofWar3.com, GearsofWar4.com and GearsofWar5.com are registered to various individuals, while GearsofWar6.com remains untouched.
Phew, that's a lot of links.
Have you guys found any other web site anomalies?
Got a comment you can’t bring yourself to share below this post? Drop me an e-mail.
Related Posts
Sony Owns Websites For ‘Killzone’ And ‘Killzone 3′ …But Not For ‘Killzone 2′ (Or 4 Or 5!)
Comments