A man destroyed a PlayStation 4 in public in an apparent protest against Genshin Impact, a game that looks like a clone of the critically acclaimed The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the Nintendo Switch.
Developer miHoYo’s formal announcement that Genshin Impact was coming to the PlayStation 4, in addition to iOS and PC, was promoted on the official PlayStation blog. The open-world game, which will take place in a vast land named Teyvat and features anime-inspired characters, will arrive on the console sometime next year.
Sony took the opportunity to unveil a new trailer for Genshin Impact on the PlayStation 4 at ChinaJoy 2019, the largest gaming and digital entertainment expo in Asia.
The trailer showcases the similarities between Genshin Impact and Breath of the Wild that has fans of the Nintendo Switch exclusive up in arms. Teyvat looks very similar to Hyrule in terms of color palette and art style, with quests and mechanics such as cooking also seemingly drawing inspiration from the latest The Legend of Zelda game.
One Breath of the Wild fan, according to video game industry analyst Daniel Ahmad, showed up at ChinaJoy 2019 to protest against Genshin Impact by smashing a PlayStation 4 Pro to the ground.
When Mihoyo unveiled Genshin Impact for PS4, many noted the game was inspired by BOTW.
Some fans of BOTW are upset that Sony is promoting this game because of the similarities + they think it’s shameless of Sony.
This man smashed his PS4 at ChinaJoy in protest. pic.twitter.com/jwJqwREgaz
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) August 3, 2019
The reactions of the bystanders to the man’s destruction of a PlayStation 4 Pro painted a picture of shock and disbelief. It appeared that he was not the only one protesting against Genshin Impact at the event though.
Seems he wasn't the only one protesting.
lul pic.twitter.com/tyofudXNsD
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) August 4, 2019
The new Genshin Impact trailer, however, includes several locations that look less like places that may be found in Breath of the Wild, so it appears that miHoYo is attempting to address the criticism of the game being a clone of the Nintendo Switch game. Other differences include multiple playable characters and faster-paced, Musou-style gameplay.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is certainly a game that is capable of inspiring developers. Arguably the best entry in the long-running series, Nintendo previously revealed that a sequel is already in the works. However, Genshin Impact will continue to inspire debate about where the line should be drawn between drawing inspiration and blatant plagiarism.
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