Copyright trolling kept evidence of Japanese cult classic Cookie's Bustle offline, until now

Copyright trolling kept evidence of Japanese cult classic Cookie’s Bustle offline, until now | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these RPG You’ve never heard of it, but a Russian studio made a fantasy take on original Fallout way back in 2001, and it honestly kind of rules Games One of the biggest ROM sites around calls it quits as RAM prices surge and donations plateau: ‘I have been paying more than $6,000 out of pocket every month’ Hardware UK games collector raided by police after purchasing £10,000 worth of hardware, including old dev kits, disposed of by Sega Strategy Tactical Breach Wizards sold ‘twice as well’ as Suspicious Developments’ previous games, but more importantly, it failed catastrophically to lose an IGF award: ‘All we can say is we’re sorry, and we’ll try to do worse’ Visual Novel Only 50 floppy disks of this prototype Japanese visual novel were ever produced, and one just got destroyed in transit: ‘Today, an important piece of history has been lost forever’ Games Stop Killing Games is launching NGOs in the European Union and the US: ‘We’re not just going away on this’ Game Development Sony killed a fan-made Bloodborne tribute last year, as the game continues to languish on PS4: ‘Why are you making such absurd decisions, Sony?’ Resident Evil Capcom’s latest Resident Evil promotional stunt is a bizarre fictional lawsuit from the Umbrella Corporation aimed at the makers of Cup Noodles Games The best indie games on PC Action MindsEye studio claims it now has ‘overwhelming evidence of organized espionage and corporate sabotage’ that somehow made its game bad, and also it’s laying off more people Third Person Shooter Remember Postal? 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When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Rodik) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter PC Gamer Get the PC Gamer Newsletter Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday GamesRadar+ Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you’re going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. 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From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter You may not have heard of Cookie’s Bustle. That’s partly because it’s an obscure Japanese point-and-click released by a small studio called Rodik in 1999. It’s also because of the efforts of a copyright troll, who kept playthrough videos, screenshots, fan art, and even Discord mentions of Cookie’s Bustle offline for years.Cookie’s Bustle has finally been brought to light thanks to the efforts of the Video Game History Foundation, which recently documented its victory in preserving Cookie’s Bustle in the face of claims by a company called Graceware. As the VGHF posted on Bluesky, “For years, Graceware has gotten away with abusing the DMCA because they’ve targeted large platforms that comply quickly with takedowns, or individuals without the resources to push back. Then they fucked with us, a non-profit organization with a special interest and an expert legal team.”First, what is Cookie’s Bustle? Well, it’s a game about a five-year-old girl who has been transformed into a teddy bear, who travels to a South American island nation with the unlikely name of Bombo World to take part in a sporting competition. It gets weirder from there. Aliens are involved, there’s a song in what is allegedly English, and Cookie does jail time. Related articles Betty