the blog quebecois

I came across this game a couple of weeks ago. It's a well done Sims-style simulation of a McDonald's franchise. I figured the lawyers would be all over it in a few days, because it isn't sponsored by McDonald's and uses its familiar Golden Arches trademark. Checking out the link earlier today, I thought I'd been proven right, as the page had disappeared.

It turns out, though, that they were just having server trouble. They've set up a temporary page for it here. If or when that closes down, the original link is here.

Update: I've only played it for a few minutes and I first assumed that the game was benign and neutral; browsing the site, I came across statements like:

For decades McDonald�s corporation has been heavily criticized for his negative impact on society and envinronment.There are inevitably some glitches in our activity: rainforest destruction, livelhood losses in the third world, desertification, precarization of working conditions, food poisoning and so on� [The designer is Italian, so his English skills are a bit off.]

And links to reviews like this:

The game requires the player to learn and master all the complex techniques of a big international corporation like McDo. You'll bribe South American officials for the rights to clear rainforests for cattle and soy; you'll plump up cattle with additives; you'll coerce and influence government and scientific interests back home; and you'll manipulate your employees to achieve the highest profits.

So who knows what kind of horrors lurk within the game? Maybe McDonald's lawyers will find more things of interest than a simple trademark violation.