In Which I Stand Up To Be Counted.

To: games.comments@vugames.com
Subject: Of dogs and mangers.

Dear Vivendi Universal Games,

Are you familiar with the story of the dog in the manger? Wikipedia describes it thusly:

The Dog in the Manger is a fable attributed to Aesop, concerning a dog who ferociously kept the cattle in the farm from eating the stored grains and vegetables, even though he was unable to eat them himself, leading an ox to mutter the moral of the fable: People often grudge others what they cannot enjoy themselves.

By putting the kibosh on the free fan production of King's Quest IX, your company is playing the role of dog in the manger. You aren't using the property, but you are nonetheless preventing others from using it. This benefits no one, least of all you.

As I see it, there are two ways you can bail yourself out of this PR disaster: a) retract your demands and allow the fans to release their little free fan-game, or b) incorporate it into the official game franchise, as its makers are willing to allow you to do.

In other words, get out of the manger, or start selling the ox chow.

Otherwise, you're going to have an awful lot of avid gamers avoiding any product that says "VU Games" on the box.

Sincerely,
L.