tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87355007514190603682024-02-21T06:39:33.392-05:00Twisted Arm of Illegal Youthto control the culture is to control the futureillegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.comBlogger186125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-83546504874289642412009-07-31T13:34:00.002-04:002009-08-04T12:15:58.566-04:00Farewell.illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-3876254268717636882009-04-29T14:32:00.003-04:002009-04-29T14:57:51.329-04:00More Damage 8tracksDecided to put up <a href="http://8tracks.com/illegalyouth/damage-ii">another</a>.<br /><ol><li>The Jesus Lizard - Seasick (<span style="font-style: italic;">Goat</span> LP)</li><li>Brainbombs - Die You Fuck (<span style="font-style: italic;">Obey</span> LP)</li><li>Drive Like Jehu - Bullet Train to Vegas (S/T 7")</li><li>Sonic Youth - Swimsuit Issue (<span style="font-style: italic;">Dirty</span> LP)</li><li>Big Black - Shotgun (<span style="font-style: italic;">Racer-X</span> LP)</li><li>Kilslug - Autospy Performing (<span style="font-style: italic;">Necktie Party</span> 7")</li><li>Angel Hair - Space Ape (<span style="font-style: italic;">Insect Mortality</span> LP)</li><li>The New Flesh - Scratch & Bleed (<span style="font-style: italic;">Parasite!</span> LP)<br /></li></ol>illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-24164508651891040692009-04-29T09:05:00.005-04:002009-04-29T09:16:15.070-04:00New 8tracksIt's been a while, but I've got a <a href="http://8tracks.com/illegalyouth/damage">new 8tracks mix</a> up, titled <span style="font-style: italic;">Damage</span>. It's just stuff I've been listening to recently.<br /><ol><li>Clockcleaner - Hand are for Holding (<span style="font-style: italic;">The Hassler</span> LP)</li><li>Black Dice - Untitled (<span style="font-style: italic;">Semen of the Sun</span> 7")</li><li>XBXRX - Song 6 (<span style="font-style: italic;">Gop Ist Minee</span> LP)</li><li>DrunkDriver - January 02 (<span style="font-style: italic;">Knife Day</span> 7")</li><li>Pissed Jeans - Caught Licking Leather (<span style="font-style: italic;">Hope for Men</span> LP)</li><li>The Hope Conspiracy - Nervous Breakdown (<span style="font-style: italic;">Black on Black: Tribute to Black Flag</span> LP)</li><li>Slavescene - High School Head (<span style="font-style: italic;">Heaven Only Knows</span> Cassette)</li><li>Warsaw - They Walked in Line (<span style="font-style: italic;">Warsaw</span> LP)<br /></li></ol>illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-40475905793646986072009-04-08T09:07:00.003-04:002009-04-08T09:15:24.492-04:00Resident Evil 5 Fucks GamersTurns out that the <a href="http://illegalyouth.blogspot.com/2009/03/this-is-bullshit.html">extra "content" for <span style="font-style: italic;">Resident Evil 5</span></a>, a downloadable "Versus" mode that Capcom is charging an extra $5 for, <a href="http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/970/970396p1.html">is already on the disc</a>:<br /><blockquote>The total download size for RE5 Versus Mode is 1.86MB. You are not, in fact, downloading the content from Xbox Live Marketplace or PlayStation Network. Instead, you are downloading a key that unlocks content already on the RE5 retail disc. The same disc you paid $60 for a month ago. </blockquote>This is total bullshit. Words fail me. Is this the new trend? From one-time use codes to unique CD keys, it seems like the games industry is doing everything in its power to nickle-and-dime gamers.illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-24812456729807369532009-03-31T13:36:00.005-04:002009-03-31T13:44:40.860-04:00DRM and EULAs for PC GamesGreat read over at <a href="http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/03/halpin.ars">Ars Technica</a> about the <a href="http://www.theeca.com/">Entertainment Consumers Association</a> pushing for the requirement of full disclosure of DRM on PC game boxes, as well as the standardization of EULA agreements. Hal Halpin of the ECA told Ars Technica:<br /><blockquote>We suggested a few things to the FTC, one of which was we'd like to see DRM disclosed. So when people go to the store and buy the packaged good, the PC game, they'll see something on the front of the box saying there is DRM inside, and to what degree it will be invasive.<br /><br />The second thing that we recommended was that EULAs get standardized, so again, rather than have 30 or 40 types of agreements, there would be one standard one for all different types of computer games. People go into the store, buy the game, open it, and they can no longer return it... by standardizing the EULA, consumers will have the confidence to know what it is they're agreeing to before they buy the product.<br /><br />That didn't go over so well. There was a room of attorneys that kind of gasped when we suggested standardization. One panelist commented that the EULA really were there as consumer information, and that was the one and only time that the FTC jumped in and said "wait a second, this has nothing to do with consumer information, this is purely IP protection." I pointed out that when we ran the IEMA (Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association) we were able to get the size of the boxes standardized, and to get the PC CD-ROM logo on the box. These were not herculean undertakings, and they didn't require legislation. So if we can do those things, then certainly we can do these.</blockquote>This can only be good for consumers, and I'm particularly pleased to see the ECA raising the conflicts that digital distribution channels like Steam have with the concept of ownership.illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-16733158014787609632009-03-13T14:23:00.008-04:002009-03-13T15:06:44.355-04:00This Is BullshitLeaving aside the <a href="http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/04/10/newsweeks-ngai-croal-on-the-resident-evil-5-trailer-this-imagery-has-a-history/">troubling racial imagery</a> in Capcom's <span style="font-style: italic;">Resident Evil 5</span>, I read <a href="http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/03/resident-evil-5-versus-mode-coming-after-launch-for-5.ars">this</a> on Ars Techinca:<br /><blockquote>Capcom has sent word that a Versus mode will be added to the game... <span style="font-weight: bold;">for a price</span>.<br /><br />[...]<br /><br />Other than a screenshot or two, that's all we know about the content, except for price: the new mode will cost 400 MS points on the Xbox 360, and $5 on the PS3. We should expect the content "a few weeks after <em>Resident Evil 5</em> is available." [emphasis mine]<br /></blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">Resident Evil 5</span> was released in Japan last week, and releases here, in North America, today. Ars Techinca reported this yesterday, before the game went on sale over here. I cannot believe that this is simply "extra content"; it seems a lot more like this "Versus" mode was intentionally left out of the initial release. It feels like milking the consumer. Downloadable content is getting <span style="font-style: italic;">out-of-fucking-hand</span>.<br /><br />Gamers should not be charged extra for modes of play that, for all intents and purposes, should have been released with the original game! Whatever you want to call this "Versus" mode, it most definitely is <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> an expansion pack. <a href="http://www.firaxis.com/games/game_detail.php?gameid=16"><span style="font-style: italic;">Beyond the Sword</span></a> is an expansion pack for <a href="http://www.firaxis.com/games/game_detail.php?gameid=6"><span style="font-style: italic;">Civilization IV</span></a>. <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.blizzard.com/us/broodwar/">Broodwar</a> </span>is an expansion pack for <a href="http://www.blizzard.com/us/starcraft/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Starcraft</span></a>. Capcom's "expansion" for <span style="font-style: italic;">Resident Evil 5</span> is more like the developer deciding to release an online tournament mode for <span style="font-style: italic;">Street Fighter IV</span>, a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/streetfighteriv/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary%3Bread-review&page=2">noted omission</a> from the initial release, as a $5 download (don't get any ideas, Capcom!)<br /><br />I really hope no one buys this and Capcom realizes that gamers won't be swindled, but I know I'll be wrong. The popularity of XBox Live is enough to prove that there are a lot of suckers out there.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">[UPDATE]:</span> This is <a href="http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/03/toy-soldiers-maps-coming-to-fear-2-next-month.ars">downloadable content done right</a>:<br /><em></em><blockquote><em>F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin</em> fans are in for a treat next month, as Monolith has announced that it's going to be releasing "Toy Soldiers," the game's first new map pack, in mid-April. Of course, the biggest part of the news, though, is that the <span style="font-weight: bold;">DLC is going to be free</span>. [emphasis mine]</blockquote>illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-11313326263681710332009-03-02T12:00:00.009-05:002009-03-02T12:16:40.002-05:00Amazon Caves to Copyright Fear MongersLast week Author's Guild president Roy Blount Jr. wrote a column for the <span style="font-style: italic;">New York Times</span> arguing that Amazon's Kindle 2 is in violation of copyright law because of the unit's text-to-speech functionality. Blount argued that such functionality was a derivative work -- I won't get into why that is incorrect, since <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2009/02/25/authors-guild-vs-rea.html">BoingBoing</a> has a nice refutation of Blount's argument.<br /><br />Today, I read an Associated Press <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iFvpDCB5ss6RScr6YZjrX5acM1UQD96K83T00">article</a> which reports that Amazon has caved to the Author's Guild:<br /><blockquote>Amazon.com Inc. changed course Friday and said it would allow copyright holders to decide whether they will permit their works to be read aloud using the second-generation Kindle electronic reader's new text-to-speech feature.</blockquote>The worst part, though, is this:<br /><blockquote>The Web retailer also said the text-to-speech feature is legal — and wouldn't require Amazon to pay out additional royalties — because a book read aloud doesn't constitute a copy, a derivative work or a performance.</blockquote>If the feature is legal, why cave to the Author's Guild? Allowing the author of a work to disable the functionality of Amazon's Kindle isn't good for users of the product. That would be like VCR manufacturers giving television broadcasters the ability to disable home recording for any particular program. Amazon's move here doesn't make any sense. Giving in to the unreasonable demands of overly-restrictive copyright proponents will only give credence to their arguments. Amazon should take a stand; the fact that Amazon's position is clearly of the right side of the law should have made this an easy decision.<br /><br />I hope this blows up in the face of the Author's Guild and that e-books which allow the text-to-speech feature sell far beyond those that don't.illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-50382662602985878992009-01-27T09:06:00.010-05:002009-01-27T09:32:30.256-05:00Blackberry: The Tool of Choice for Big BrotherYou may have seen this new Blackberry commercial in which <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_In_Motion">Research In Motion Limited (RIM)</a> asks, "What if delivery people ran the world?" All I have to say is that I hope they never do.<br /><br />The commercial begins with a teacher taking roll. One student, Callahan, is absent. The teacher uses his new Blackberry phone/walkie-talkie to ask around the school for the student. First he asks the bus driver, who "delivers" children from the back of trucks rather than using buses, who states that the kid was dropped off already. The image of children coming out of the back of the trucks adds a kind of police state flavor to the commercial, as well. The teacher rings the gym and the hallway, looking for Callahan (the hallway monitor just finds a rather nerdy-looking freshman in a locker...) but is told that the student cannot be found. The teacher then uses his Blackberry to check for any emails from the kid's parents. When none are found, the teacher informs drivers on the street to find and detain Callahan to be brought back for detention.<br /><br />What message is this commercial really sending? Technology can solve problems, and the side effects of such technologies are inconsequential to getting the job done.<br /><br />Blackberry is ready to bring the Orwellian nightmare one step closer to reality. Imagine living in a world in which your every action was monitored and your freedom of choice removed. This is what RIM thinks would be a better way, all brought to you by a communications device.<br /><br />Neil Postman would find this an example of the <a href="http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/%7Eelmurphy/emurphy/technop.html">technopoly</a>; we are so utterly in love with the belief that technology can solve problems, that we forget about the cultural values our technologies make obsolete.<br /><br />For reference, here is the commercial:<br /><br /><div align="center"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ry2rYe7pxwo&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ry2rYe7pxwo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></div>illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-32883392503690873502009-01-15T14:25:00.004-05:002009-01-15T14:32:25.720-05:00Breaking Conventional Wisdom On Sharing, Remixing, and Reusing ContentNine Inch Nails' CC-licensed mp3 album, <span style="font-style: italic;">Ghosts I-IV</span>, is also the best <span style="font-style: italic;">selling</span> mp3 album on Amazon. A perfect summary is already available, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/11947">here</a>.<br /><br />In other words, despite the fact that NIN's <a href="http://creativecommons.org/">CC license</a> meant that the digital album could be freely shared, remixed and reused, <span style="font-style: italic;">it was still the #1 selling album on Amazon</span>.<br /><br />RIAA, put that in your pipe and smoke it.illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-63061572868662754562009-01-06T12:50:00.010-05:002009-01-06T13:16:10.452-05:00Patent Law Absurdity: Worlds.com Claims Ownership of the Concept of MMOs<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://penny-arcade.com/images/2009/20090102.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 683px; height: 334px;" src="http://penny-arcade.com/images/2009/20090102.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I came across this Penny Arcade <a href="http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/1/2/">comic</a> today, which is troubling. Worlds.com is <a href="http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3172094">suing</a> NCsoft for patent infringement, claiming that the game developer has infringed on their "System and Method for Enabling Users to Interact in a Virtual Space" patent. Yeah, you read that right. More information can be read <a href="http://www.massively.com/2008/12/29/worlds-com-files-suit-against-ncsoft-for-patent-infringement/">here</a> and <a href="http://www.massively.com/2008/12/30/the-patent-that-stole-christmas/">here</a>.<br /><br />If the suit is successful, I'd suspect Worlds.com to go after all other developers of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massively_multiplayer_online_game">MMO</a>s. What will happen to World of Warcraft? The new Warhammer: Age of Reckoning? Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures? And the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_MMORPGs">dozens of other existing MMOs</a>?illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-88741756841192163922008-12-03T09:15:00.007-05:002008-12-03T10:07:29.506-05:00Constitutionality of RIAA Lawsuits Being ChallengedJoel Tennenbaum is currently being <a href="http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/4837">sued</a> by the RIAA for having 7 songs in a shared folder when he was 17 years old. Tennenbaum is now in his 3rd year of graduate school. The RIAA is asking for damages amounting to more than $1,000,000.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Nesson">Charlie Nesson</a> is representing Tennenbaum and <a href="http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/cyberone/riaa/">challenging</a> the constitutionality of such lawsuits in the hope of stopping any similar lawsuits in the future. If successful, individuals who have shared music in a personal, noncommercial fashion could no longer be targets in the RIAA's sights.<br /><br />Nesson and Tennenbaum were <a href="http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/mediaberkman/2008/12/02/radio-berkman-the-pay-us-hotline-fines-and-the-riaa/">interviewed</a> by David Weinberger, Harvard law professor, yesterday. Nesson lays out the grounds on which the lawsuits are being challenged. He makes the comparison between file-sharers today and radio broadcasters in the '50s; both individuals engaged in a similar activity -- sharing music for free. The difference, Nesson points out, is that the broadcasters were given <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payola">payola</a>, while file-sharers are sued ridiculous amounts of money. He also states that the RIAA's tactics are constitutional because they are a private company using the federal court system to enforce civil lawsuits through coercion, threats, and fear, amounting to extortion tactics.<br /><br />Both Nesson and Tennenbaum recognize and articulate the concept that the music industry has decided to fight against file-sharing and digital technology in order to continue using their old business model rather than embrace these new technological and cultural changes by adopting a new business model.<br /><br />I'll be watching their case to see how it develops.illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-44360907123913365762008-11-27T12:00:00.005-05:002008-11-27T21:36:05.930-05:00Disintegration Nation 8tracksI finally had some time to think about a new mix for 8tracks, and I decided on a post-apocalyptic theme this time around. Enjoy <a href="http://8tracks.com/illegalyouth/disintegration-nation">Disintegration Nation</a>:<br /><ol><li>Resistance 77 - Nuclear Attack (<span style="font-style: italic;">Nuclear Attack</span> EP 7")<br /></li><li>The Flesh Eaters - Disintegration Nation (Self-Titled 7")<br /></li><li>Crass - They've Got a Bomb (<span style="font-style: italic;">The Feeding of the 5000 </span>LP)<br /></li><li>Conflict - Mighty and Superior (<span style="font-style: italic;">The Battle Continues</span> 7")</li><li>Crucifix - Annihilation (<span style="font-style: italic;">Dehumanization</span> LP)<br /></li><li>Chaos UK - Four Minute Warning (<span style="font-style: italic;">Burning Britain </span>7")<br /></li><li>Legion of Parasites - Sea of Desecration (<span style="font-style: italic;">We Don't Want Your Fucking War</span> LP)<br /></li><li>The Weirdos - We Got the Neutron Bomb (<span style="font-style: italic;">We Got the Neutron Bomb</span> 7")<br /></li></ol>illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-1753948101935503872008-11-24T15:16:00.004-05:002008-11-24T15:36:43.450-05:00Georgia's Criminalization of Consensual Sex ContinuesI first saw this story on <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2008/11/lawsuit_filed_against_sex_offe.php">Scienceblogs</a>, and now on <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2008/11/24/women-may-lose-house.html">BoingBoing</a>, about Wendy Whitaker of Georgia who is required to be a registered sex offender because she gave a nearly 16-year-old boy a blow job when she was 17 years old. Both students were high school sophomores. Previously, the law in Georgia made any sex act between an individual 16 years or older with another individual under the age of 16 a criminal act of child molestation.<br /><br />Now, she's being evicted from her home because of an unadvertised childcare center located in a local Catholic church. Her and her family have until thanksgiving to move out.<br /><br />I'm reminded of the Genarlow Wilson case, which I <a href="http://illegalyouth.blogspot.com/2007/06/criminalization-of-sex.html">wrote</a> about before. Nearly identical circumstances -- Wilson was the 17-year-old who received a blow job from a 15-year-old classmate. The publicity and controversy that generated from the case when Wilson refused to take the plea bargain forced the Georgian legislature to rethink its sex offender laws. Eventually, the <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/law/10/29/wilson.released/index.html">legislature repealed the law</a>; however, the decision was not retroactive and did not apply to the Wilson case. When the state Supreme Court heard Wilson's case, though, they decided that his 10 year prison sentence was cruel and unusual punishment for the "crime" committed. Wilson was released after serving 2 years, and he was not required to be a registered sex offender.<br /><br />But this now repealed law, this injustice, is still affecting Georgian residents. I think that Whitaker's case should be enough to convince the legislature that their decision to repeal the law should be applied retroactively to all similar cases.illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-85670848046294050002008-11-14T15:52:00.006-05:002008-11-14T16:07:19.717-05:00DRM-Free v. DRM-Stricken<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_of_Goo">World of Goo</a>, a puzzle game, has a <a href="http://2dboy.com/2008/11/13/90/">90% piracy rate</a> -- a rough estimate by the developer 2D Boy. What's interesting to note is that the developers reference the Russell Carroll study that I've written about <a href="http://illegalyouth.blogspot.com/2008/04/pc-gaming-and-file-sharing.html">before</a> to show that the piracy rates between DRM-free and DRM-stricken games aren't any different:<br /><blockquote>this is in line with a previous estimate by russell carroll (director of marketing at reflexive) for the game ricochet infinity. russell estimated a 92% piracy rate and i found his analysis quite interesting (<a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=17350">check it out here if you’re curious</a>). one thing that really jumped out at me was his estimate that <strong>preventing 1000 piracy attempts results in only a single additional sale</strong>. this supports our intuitive assessment that people who pirate our game aren’t people who would have purchased it had they not been able to get it without paying.<br /><br />in our case, we might have even converted more than 1 in a 1000 pirates into legit purchases. either way, ricochet shipped with DRM, world of goo shipped without it, and <strong>there seems to be no difference in the outcomes</strong>. we can’t draw any conclusions based on two data points, but i’m hoping that others will release information about piracy rates so that everyone could see if DRM is the waste of time and money that <em>we</em> think it is. [emphasis/grammar in original]</blockquote>I think the more important sentence in the quoted text is this: "<span style="font-style: italic;">people who pirate our game aren’t people who would have purchased it had they not been able to get it without paying</span>."<br /><br />Game developers and publishers should keep this in mind because it means that file-sharing isn't the same thing as lost sales, which is the opposite of what most developers and publishers assume to be the truth.illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-47233240835319955752008-11-12T10:11:00.010-05:002008-11-13T10:07:26.007-05:00Epic Games Would Charge Extra to Fight Final BossEpic Games is at it <a href="http://illegalyouth.blogspot.com/2008/10/used-games-market.html">again</a>, this time it's in an <a href="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/michael-capps-part-two">interview</a> with company president Michael Capps:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Q: How do you see downloadable content evolving over the next few years?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;" class="whoistalking">Michael Capps</span>: I'm not sure how big it is here [in Europe], but the secondary market is a huge issue in the United States. Our primary retailer makes the majority of its money off of secondary sales, and so you're starting to see games taking proactive steps toward that by... if you buy the retail version you get the unlock code.<br /><br />I've talked to some developers who are saying "If you want to fight the final boss you go online and pay USD 20, but if you bought the retail version you got it for free". We don't make any money when someone rents it, and we don't make any money when someone buys it used -- way more than twice as many people played Gears than bought it...</blockquote>As I've said before, Epic doesn't make money on a used sale because they've already made money on that sale, the <span style="font-style: italic;">first sale</span>. Ownership has transferred.<br /><br />But you don't see libraries (where you can get content <span style="font-style: italic;">for free!</span> Imagine that!) tanking the book publishing industry. The film industry is making money hand over fist despite the existence of Blockbuster and Netflix. Why does the gaming industry believe that it's in a unique situation?<br /><br />Ah, here's why:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Q: Do you see an enemy in this equation? Is it the retailer, or the purchaser of second-hand games?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;" class="whoistalking">Michael Capps</span>: I'd hate to say my players are my enemies - that doesn't make any sense! But we certainly have a rule at Epic that we don't buy any used games - sure as hell you're not going to be recognised as an Epic artist going in and buying used videogames - because this is how we make our money and how all our friends in the industry make money.<br /><br />I think a little bit of it is education so people realise that the reason there's no PC market right now is piracy. I mean, Crytek just put out some numbers saying the ratio was 20:1 on Crysis, for pirated to non-pirated use. So guess what? That's why there's no Gears of War 2 on PC, because there's no market, because copying killed it - and that's gruesome to a company like ours that's been in the PC market for so long.<br /><br />We're trying to fix it, there's a new alliance of companies trying to make PC gaming work again. But if people are playing games without buying them, then the games aren't going to keep coming. </blockquote>Piracy, the ultimate scapegoat. Yeah, people who would never have bought your product in the first place are costing you sales. All those lost sales from people who wouldn't ever buy games.<br /><br />The PC gaming market isn't in decline because of piracy, in fact, I'm unaware of any hard evidence that shows that the PC gaming market is in decline at all. Games still sell millions of copies, copy-protection or not. What will kill the PC gaming industry is shit like the president of Epic Games floating around the idea that developers should charge used game buyers extra money just to be able to finish their games. This kind of behavior is blatantly anti-consumer, and people will react negatively to that kind of treatment by not purchasing any of your games.<br /><br />What we're seeing from Epic is a content publisher's dream-- to have ultimate control over how copies of their distributed content are used. Before digital content, these publishers had little they could do regarding the secondhand market. But the gaming industry is inherently digital. It's software; code. They have the ability to easily include schemes like this because of the nature of their medium. I'm not surprised that Epic Games (<a href="http://illegalyouth.blogspot.com/2008/09/piracy-of-spore-extraordinarily-high.html">and lets not forget EA</a>) is attacking the secondhand market for games; however, that doesn't make their intentions any less of an assault on people's expectations about what they can do with their purchased content.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">[UPDATE]:</span> Soren Johnson, game designer and programmer, offers several <a href="http://www.designer-notes.com/?p=111">insightful observations</a> on this topic.<br /><br />Tom Chick, games journalist, <a href="http://fidgit.com/archives/2008/11/epic-doesnt-play-used-games.php">mused</a> on this topic as well:<br /><blockquote>Without any segue or distinction, <em>Capps conflates renting games with pirating them</em>. He goes straight from "buying used games" to "PC games are dead because of piracy." Amazing. [emphasis in original]</blockquote>illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-41573634526725170532008-11-07T12:40:00.004-05:002008-11-07T12:56:24.962-05:00Fallout 3 Sales and Piracy<span style="font-style: italic;">Wired</span> <a href="http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/11/fallout-3-launc.html">reported</a> yesterday that <span style="font-style: italic;">Fallout 3</span> earned Bethesda $300 million, with 4.7 million units shipped between the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 versions. The game was released on October 28, 2008.<br /><br />But with just about 3 weeks before launch, the game had already been <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=20598">leaked and pirated</a> on the Xbox 360. If we are to believe PC developers who claim that piracy of PC games makes them unprofitable, how are we to interpret this information? PC games are usually pirated the day of release, maybe a few days prior. <span style="font-style: italic;">Fallout 3</span> was pirated on a console almost 3 weeks before release!<br /><br />I don't know the breakdown of sales between platforms, as that information doesn't seem to be available. So it's hard to say exactly, but I'll hedge my bets and say that piracy of <span style="font-style: italic;">Fallout 3</span> on the Xbox 360 did not negatively impact sales in the way that PC developers claim that such piracy impacts PC sales. I'd even go so far as to say that this is the kind of evidence that really puts that entire line of reasoning into question.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">[UPDATE]:</span> I just found this <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/153399/47_million_copies_of_fallout_3_shipped_to_stores.html">article</a> in <span style="font-style: italic;">PC World</span>, which states that the Xbox version of the game accounts for 55% of sales. This only further supports my conclusion.illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-20603736550561364252008-11-07T11:38:00.002-05:002008-11-07T11:44:20.091-05:00An Obama Administration and CopyrightBefore the election, a former college professor of mine mentioned that Joe Biden was a big RIAA supporter. I did a little digging, and <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10024163-38.html">Biden's record on copyright</a> is pretty distressing.<br /><br />Today, though, I read this <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/commonknowledge/2008/11/barack_obama_creative_commons.php">post</a> over at Scienceblogs, which states that Barack Obama has placed coverage of election night under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. Good news, indeed!<br /><br />If this is any indication of how Obama views copyright, I hope that Obama will follow his own leanings on copyright law and not those of Biden.illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-59204362060404280562008-11-05T09:11:00.004-05:002008-11-05T09:40:24.658-05:00Obama Wins!<div align="center"><br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://widgets.clearspring.com/o/48ffa387494151d4/4911b04ad0128e73/49053293fe1d6987/b4e77636/-cpid/81c1079680a525a" id="W48ffa387494151d44911b04ad0128e73" width="600" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://widgets.clearspring.com/o/48ffa387494151d4/4911b04ad0128e73/49053293fe1d6987/b4e77636/-cpid/81c1079680a525a" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="allowNetworking" value="all" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FrXkBuWNx88&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FrXkBuWNx88&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/02BV5Zah1Tw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/02BV5Zah1Tw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/69JeattgAqI&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/69JeattgAqI&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div>illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-82819237523995135072008-11-04T10:33:00.004-05:002008-11-04T10:38:19.231-05:00Vote!<a href="http://www.electoral-vote.com/">Electoral map prediction</a> as of today, 10:33 AM:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82Z7Lr8-nI_jBqFZBi7nPH8fD2mD9TvKE-KsZ27CX4q81Ki7x7i-8zBeA08oWtd9Fl3l_eKx27VyFyooA8TIYzJHgDhLS1hB83fpudDvpB25oX7a9AUuHin8FuaUN4kgSZkX7KSFwv7DA/s1600-h/electoralmap.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 576px; height: 349px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82Z7Lr8-nI_jBqFZBi7nPH8fD2mD9TvKE-KsZ27CX4q81Ki7x7i-8zBeA08oWtd9Fl3l_eKx27VyFyooA8TIYzJHgDhLS1hB83fpudDvpB25oX7a9AUuHin8FuaUN4kgSZkX7KSFwv7DA/s400/electoralmap.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264826291932091842" border="0" /></a>Get out and vote!illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-65727035907415362222008-11-03T08:51:00.005-05:002008-11-12T13:51:16.750-05:00Teenage LobotomyMeghan McCain <a href="http://gawker.com/5072840/meghan-mccain-is-a-punk-rocker">defines</a> Punk Rock<code><small><sup>TM</sup></small></code>:<br /><blockquote>STEVE DOOCY: I'm looking -- I'm looking at your website, I had no idea that the Ramones were your, uh, favorite group of all time --<br /><br />MEGHAN MCCAIN: [laughs]<br /><br />CINDY MCCAIN: [laughs]<br /><br />DOOCY: -- because right now, you've got this thing with, uh, with Linda <s>Ramone</s> [Cummings], if people are interested, check it out --<br /><br />M. MCCAIN: Yeah.<br /><br />DOOCY: -- because you two travel around.<br /><br />M. MCCAIN: She's incredible.<br /><br />DOOCY: Yeah. Go --<br /><br />M. MCCAIN: She's so cool, and we're going out on this whole new thing that <span style="font-weight: bold;">the only way to be be Punk Rock</span><code><small><sup>TM</sup></small></code><span style="font-weight: bold;"> anymore is to be conservative</span>.<br /><br />GRETCHEN CARLSON: In your --<br /><br />M. MCCAIN: So only Punk Rock<code><small><sup>TM</sup></small></code> [indeciferable]<br /><br />CARLSON: In your book, Meghan...<br /><br />[edits mine]<br /></blockquote>Hmm... <a href="http://www.nme.com/news/ramones/40796">not quite</a>.illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-13729854704679788872008-10-22T11:24:00.003-04:002008-10-23T12:04:36.602-04:0025 Arguments for the Elimination of Copy-ProtectionA pretty <a href="http://technologizer.com/2008/10/13/copy-protection/">good summary</a> of why digital copy-protection and DRM are bad ideas.illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-2412084940251519772008-10-21T10:23:00.001-04:002008-10-21T10:25:59.385-04:00DRM = Epic Fail<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/steal_this_comic.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 445px; height: 418px;" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/steal_this_comic.png" alt="" border="0" /></a>illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-17107596799979428542008-10-10T15:33:00.003-04:002008-10-10T15:36:08.309-04:00Common Figures About the Impact of Piracy Likely FalseArs Technica <a href="http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/dodgy-digits-behind-the-war-on-piracy.ars/1">debunks</a> them.illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-56136639481876237652008-10-09T09:05:00.003-04:002008-10-09T09:07:44.851-04:00McCain-Palin Supporters Are A Classy Bunch<div align="center"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/itEucdhf4Us&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/itEucdhf4Us&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></div>illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735500751419060368.post-16875407833180070072008-10-08T15:32:00.007-04:002008-10-08T16:08:58.087-04:00The Used Games MarketThere's an <a href="http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/showthread.php?t=47757">interesting thread</a> on Quarter to Three unfolding as I write this. The opening topic began discussing EA's new business model of packaging <span style="font-style: italic;">NBA Live '09</span> with real-time player stats. What this means is that as things happen to players in real time during the season, the game will update the stats in the game. For example, if a player breaks an arm during the season, <span style="font-style: italic;">NBA Live '09 </span>will update that player in the game to be out until recovered. EA is only offering this feature to first time buyers; any player who buys the game second-hand will have to fork over $19.99 to have access to the feature.<br /><br />But in the last few hours, the conversation has shifted towards Epic Games and their upcoming <span style="font-style: italic;">Gears of War 2</span>. Epic has decided to include a special download code, a one time use, which would give the buyer access to 5 additional multiplayer maps. Unlike <span style="font-style: italic;">NBA Live '09</span>, though, Epic is not offering an option for second-hand buyers to have access to the extra maps. Epic claims that this is to reward those who buy <span style="font-style: italic;">Gears of War 2</span> new, while simultaneously punishing those who buy the game used.<br /><br />The protest has focused on this attack on the used market. What I think is being ignored in this discussion is the simple concept of ownership. Poster EpicBoy, presumably of Epic, stated in one way or another that game developers deserve to make money on the sale of used copies of their games. The problem is that the developer has already made money on that sale -- the first sale. Once that first sale occurs, the developer <span style="font-style: italic;">no longer owns that copy</span>. Ownership has transferred to the buyer. And according to the long ago established First-Sale Doctrine, the new owner has the right to resell that copy without providing compensation to the developer. As far as I am concerned, Epic does not deserve to make money on the sale of used games simply because they no longer have ownership rights to those copies. Ownership has already been transferred.<br /><br />Not only is including a special code for downloadable maps that can only be used once an attack on the used games market, but more importantly, it is an attack on the rights of consumers to do as they are legally able to do with their purchased content.<br /><br />On a related note, I don't think this is good business, either. Poster Al gets right to the meat of problem with Epic's approach:<br /><blockquote>A customer of GameStop is still a customer in the video games market. When GameStop takes their money for a used copy of Gears that money doesn't just disappear never to be seen again (do your own Great Economic meltdown of '08 joke here), GameStop takes that money and uses it to buy more inventory, open new stores and so on. All of that gives publishers <s>have</s> more chances to sell their games.<br /><br />Besides that the secondary market also helps lower the barrier of entry into the market which helps expand it. My teenage nephews wouldn't be playing video games at all if there wasn't a used market; they couldn't afford to. Eliminating the used market wouldn't force them to buy their games new, it would force them to find something else to do. If that happens what'll they do once they grow up and have more income? Suddenly start buying games again or stick to whatever they moved onto? [edit mine, for clarity]<br /></blockquote>Not to mention that GameStop doesn't get 100% profit on used games, as some people have suggested. I have no doubts that those margins are larger than with new games, but they still have to <span style="font-style: italic;">buy</span> those used games from people in order to resell them.illegal youthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08246955798132082637noreply@blogger.com0