News of the Week; May 14, 2014

1. Nintendo’s anti-gay cop-out: Why its demented same-sex ban is no game

+ Nintendo Apologizes for Response to Same-Sex Controversy

2. The Sims 4 rated 18+ in Russia for same-sex relationships

3. The Glorious History Of Video Game Panics

4. Research: 26 Percent of Men Use Opposite Gender Avatars in MMOs

5. Always Sometimes Monster’ Maker Urges GLAAD to Honor Games in its Media Awards

6. Capcom promoting female employees in an effort to recognize diversity

7. Report says Chinese authorities are banning bikinis in video games

8. CCP Punishes Eve Online Monument Vandals

9. Federal Court Rejects Facebook, Zynga Privacy Lawsuit Appeals

10. Gamers More Likely To Consider Themselves Independent And Support A Variety Of Policies Based On Free Choice

11. Sega’s gaming business rebounds

12. Tencent banks $1 billion in Q1

13. Sony executives to return bonuses

14. EA execs sell shares

15. EA confirms 50 games going offline

16. Microsoft: Xbox Live is bigger than DirecTV

17. Microsoft Cuts Xbox One Price to $399 Without Kinect, Will Put Media Apps in Front of Paywall

18. Epic announces crowdsourced dev model for next Unreal Tournament

19. Take-Two CEO open to buying more studios

+ GTA V ships 33 million, boosts Take-Two’s income to a record $361m

20. Australian Government Redirects $10 Million Meant for Australian Interactive Games Fund

21. The Birth of the $60 Billion Videogame Industry

22. Are Video Game Publishers Becoming Irrelevant?

23. From Paper to iPad, Pixel Press Turns Drawings Into Videogames

24. Sony’s Project Morpheus brings virtual reality to mainstream console gaming

25. I’ve Been Playing ‘Snood’ for 14 Years, and It Won’t Stop Insulting Me

26. The Untold Story of How Sega Nearly Won the Console Wars

27. The Wizard of Minecraft

28. Edward Snowden Sees Himself As A Video Game Hero

29. The Mystery of Go, the Ancient Game That Computers Still Can’t Win

30. Government snooping on social media may breach Privacy Act

31. ‘We Kill People Based on Metadata’

32. Protecting Privacy Through Copyright Law? by Pamela Samuelson

33. Your memories are negotiable: How science is making “Eternal Sunshine” a reality

34. Snapchat Settles FTC Charges on False Promises of Disappearing Messages

35. E.U. Court Orders Google to Grant ‘Right to Be Forgotten’

36. The facial recognition databases are coming. Why aren’t the privacy laws?

37. The Move Toward Computing That Reads Your Mind

38. Appointment of New Copyright Board of Canada Chair Offers Chance for Change

39. Oracle wins Android-Java copyright appeal: API code copyrightable, new trial on fair use

+ Link to Oracle v. Google USCA decision

+ Why Oracle’s Copyright Victory Over Google Is Bad News for Everyone

40. Guarding against abuse: Restoring constitutional copyright

41. Netflix Speed Rankings Raise Rogers Internet Traffic Management Questions: What Did It Know & When

42. Complaints About Net Neutrality Flooding the FCC

+ Comcast is the one who should pay for network connections, Cogent claims

+ Vi Hart Explains & Defends Net Neutrality in a New Doodle-Filled Video

+ Web Hosting Service NeoCities Throttles FCC Over ‘Net Neutrality’ Proposal

43. How Big Cable is organizing against net neutrality

44. Netflix comes through with price hike after struggles with Comcast, Verizon

45. Defending the Open Internet

46. Comparative Study Of National Approaches To Internet Intermediary Liability

47. What Happens When You Break Up With Facebook: Nothing

48. Can You Take a Security Interest in Bitcoin?

49. Talking Turkey: Twitter’s Top Lawyer Fights for Free Speech, Revenue

jon