News of the Week; October 25, 2017

GAMES

1. Slot machine denies Horizon: Zero Dawn DLC trademark – US patent office suspends The Frozen Wilds DLC trademark for similarities to mobile game Frozen Wild
2. ‘Hey dude, do this’: the last resort for female gamers escaping online abuse – In the toxic environment of online gaming, women play incognito, pretend to be male or say nothing to avoid harassment
3. The games industry responds to #MeToo: “By acting now, we can save countless individuals from physical, mental, and emotional pain, suffering, and distress”
4. Implied sexual assault scene in Call of Duty modified for Australia: The “threat of sexual violence” no longer listed as content warning, but title remains rated R18+
5. What’s next for Activision Blizzard’s $300m merchandise business: Consumer Products CEO on Activision Blizzard’s new franchise philosophy
6. Hearthstone Player Waves His Hand, Sets Off Controversy
7. Game Boss interview: How Zoe Quinn survived Gamergate and lived to fight Internet hate
8. NeoGAF goes offline in wake of sexual assault allegations: “The story doesn’t reconcile logically with the facts,” says site founder
9. Community Fallout from UploadVR’s Harassment Settlement, and Bearing Witness to Testimony
10. Andromeda dev chalks up some of the game’s problems to a lack of diversity
11. What do you do when a hate group steals your logo?: How a Star Citizen player group responded to white nationalists adopting their branding, and what publishers could learn from Cloud Imperium’s response
12. NPD: Loot box controversy having no impact on game sales – Despite consumer outcry, the analysis firm tells GamesIndustry.biz AAA titles with microtransactions still appear among biggest sellers
13. Destiny 2 PC Players Reporting Mass Bans, And No One Has Explained Why
14. Bungie denies reports that innocuous apps led to PC Destiny 2 bans: But hundreds of angry players say they’ve been banned “for nothing.”
15. Why LeBron James Doesn’t Own the Rights to His Tattoos
16. How GTA Online painfully pulled Rockstar into the ‘live games’ biz
17. Rockstar wants to return to single-player DLC in future games: GTA V was “very, very complete,” and absence of add-on content wasn’t a “conscious decision”
18. EA ‘pushing for more open-world games [because] you can monetise them better,’ says ex-Bioware dev – Manveer Heir: “I’ve seen people literally spend $15,000 on Mass Effect multiplayer cards.”
19. Opinion: The game industry must face up to its gambling problem
20. Harmonix lays off 14 in bid to ‘reduce overhead’
21. Gaming’s Fall Season Ain’t What It Used To Be
22. Facebook updates Instant Games platform with video ads and ‘robust’ dev tools
23. Facebook Instant Games trialling monetisation options for developers: In-app purchases and ads coming to a select set of games
24. Mobile App Sweepstakes and Social Media – A Legal Perspective
25. Google Play and App Store downloads and spending hit record levels
26. Mobile downloads and consumer spending hit record high: iOS and Google Play enjoyed a 28% year on year growth in revenue for Q3, report says
27. Adding multiplayer would “dilute” Wolfenstein’s storytelling: MachineGames’ Tommy Tordsson Björk on the benefits of single-player focus to “pushing the boundaries” in The New Colossus
28. Gran Turismo Sport review: A brilliant, but very new, direction for the series: The latest game in this legendary franchise is all about racing online and e-sports.
29. Nintendo Switch surpasses 2M sales in the U.S.
30. Nintendo Switch passes 2 million US sales: Console was the best-selling games device in America for third consecutive month, according to NPD data
31. Skipmore’s Kamiko sells 150,000 on Switch: Two-person Japanese studio sees a big return on Nintendo’s new console
32. Switch update brings video capture and pre-purchasing
33. Nintendo Switch’s first portable dock offers freedom, but with new shackles: Nyko dock delivers a much-needed option—but it comes with serious dealbreakers.
34. Nintendo revisiting freemium model in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
35. Nintendo fully embraces in-app purchases with Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp: Publisher moves past its “deep-rooted suspicion” of free-to-play for next mobile release
36. Nintendo quietly adds GameCube controller support in latest Switch update
37. Your old GameCube controllers now work with the Nintendo Switch: Stealth update could pave the way for Virtual Console, new Smash Bros..
38. Unreleased Super NES game to come packed with every Analogue Super Nt – Super Turrican: Director’s Cut unearths the uncut 6 Mbit version of the game.
39. Denuvo’s DRM now being cracked within hours of release: Best-in-class service can’t even provide a full day of protection these days.
40. Multiple Titles Using Denuvo Cracked On Release Day As Other Titles Planning To Use It Bail On It Completely
41. Devs tell tales of what happens when you give your game to pirates: “It’s definitely been a good decision. Your game is going to end up on piracy websites regardless, and you might as well have fun with it, and in a way prevent it from being a virus or some malicious software.”
42. Eye Tracking Shows Where ELEAGUE Gamers Look On The Screen
43. New York Yankees invest in Vision Esports: Most valuable team in baseball ventures into the world of competitive video games
44. Why the NCAA doesn’t have a place in esports
45. Investors pour $25M into eSports team Cloud9
46. Esports firm Cloud9 raises $25m in latest funding round: Investors include WWE, Beverly Hills Sports Council, Washington Wizards owner and more
47. Intel: VR is “eye-opening moment” for computing –  Kim Pallister, director of the Intel VR Center of Excellence, on the chip maker’s goals for VR and why it sees VR making esports more accessible
48. From taverns to tournaments: The rise of Gwent as an esport: CD Projekt Red’s Rafał Jaki explains why the studio’s competitive gaming ambitions are “not some calculated decision based on a spreadsheet”
49. Microsoft launches TruePlay, an anti-cheat for UWP games
50. Windows now includes gaming cheat detection at the system level: Optional “TruePlay” protects game memory, monitors OS for common cheating patterns.
51. Microsoft introduces anti-cheating tool for UWP games developers: TruePlay aims to help studios monitor their games for common attacks, locks opt-out players from selected modes
52. Microsoft kills the Kinect as production shuts down
53. Microsoft discontinues Kinect: Depth-sensing Xbox camera shelved after seven years and 35 million units sold
54. Microsoft Fully Discontinues The Kinect
55. Microsoft has stopped making the Kinect, and that makes me sad: Robbing the Xbox of its eyes and ears makes it a lesser platform.
56. Now we know why Xbox One backward compatibility took so long: Response to “always on” Internet fiasco put “back compat” on the backburner.
57. Steam users can now send gift cards digitally
58. Five reasons why Christmas 2017 might not be a disaster for games retail: It hasn’t started well, but there are still reasons to be hopeful
59. Researchers expect close holiday competition between Xbox One X and PS4 Pro
60. Xbox publishing head: Single-player games aren’t dead, just more complicated
61. Sony: Planet of the Apes and PlayLink will help us reach non-gamers – Platform holder expects recognisable IP to play a big role in selling PlayStations to the masses
62. Does Visceral’s closure prove AAA single-player games are dying?
63. Ex-Visceral dev calls death of single-player fears “totally absurd”: Studio’s former level designer saddened by studio closure, but supports EA’s shift towards service games
64. What the F&*K is a Gamerunner, and why do we need them?
65. 666M tuned in to video game streams and videos last year, says SuperData
66. A game dev’s romp through interesting 2017 game market data
67. Over three times as many video game projects fail than succeed on Kickstarter: Video games continue to stagnate on the platform while board games are breaking records
68. Interview With Ryan Morrison, Video Game Attorney – High Noon Hot Seat
69. Gaming video content has an audience of 665 million: SuperData report forecasts ads and direct consumer spending to push GVC earnings to $4.6 billion in 2017
70. Making the industry’s voice heard on Brexit: Exiting the EU is one of the biggest challenges the UK games sector has ever faced; the industry desperately needs its access to skilled staff to be protected
71. Games for the Many: how Labour plans to win elections with video games – Designer Rosa Carbó-Mascarell on using video games to make politics accessible
72. Gabe Newell’s $5.5bn net worth puts him in US’ top 100 wealthiest: Valve boss reaches No.97 on latest Forbes rich list, believed to own just over half his company
73. Keywords agrees to $66.4M deal for game testing giant VMC
74. British Games Institute seeking support from UK government
75. Cognitive Biases to Watch Out For When Running a Games Business
76. The Philosophy of Grinding and how to Reduce it
77. Devs push back on Patreon’s ‘clearer stance’ regarding adult content
78. A Brief History of Rappers Who Dress Like JRPG Villains
79. Engare review: The geometry of Islamic art becomes a treasure of a game
80. How games media can work more effectively with PR: LittleBig PR’s Gareth Williams offers a counterpoint to our recent piece on the relationships between journalists and the industry
81. Returning to Second Life: Long after its grandest ambitions have faded, the platform still boasts people and profit.
82. How Neopets influenced a generation of devs
83. UNC Star Joel Berry II Loses Video Game, Punches Door, Breaks Hand

DIGITAL

1.  Demers v. Yahoo Inc: Québec Court Confirms that Québec Consumer Law Applies to Free Online Services
2. Google Removed Catalonian Referendum App Following Spanish Court Order
3. Another Court Rejects ‘Material Support To Terrorists’ Claims Against Social Media Sites–Gonzalez v. Google (Eric Goldman)
4. Controversial “Gripe Site” Protected (Again) by the Communications Decency Act and Defeats Novel Copyright Attack with Website “Browsewrap” License to User Generated Content
5. Spanski Enterprises, Inc. v. Telewizja Polska, S.A.: How Far Is Too Far When It Comes to the Extraterritorial Reach of US Copyright Law? 
6. Nielsen Data says 89% of OTT Viewing Takes Place on TV Sets
7. Apple calls report of reduced iPhone X Face ID specs “completely false”: Apple says Face ID will still only have a one-in-a-million chance of failing.
8. All The Face-Tracking Tech Behind Apple’s Animoji 
9. After Supreme Court detour, Apple v. Samsung goes to a fourth jury trial: Apple wields design as a weapon, a strategy that has led to judicial paralysis.
10. Apple’s Billion-Dollar Bet on Hollywood Is the Opposite of Edgy: A conservative corporation takes its first steps into a new industry.
11. Empathy – the latest gadget Silicon Valley wants to sell you: The tech world wants us to believe that virtual reality will unlock human understanding on a global scale. But it’s also a business strategy 
12. Vox Media Fires Editorial Director Lockhart Steele For Misconduct, Says Investigation Is “Ongoing”
13. Open for business, ransomware authors and perpetrators cashing in on emerging dark web marketplace economy 
14. Two-week-old Pixel 2 XL displays are already showing burn-in: LG’s terrible OLED panels have yet another issue.
15. Gab Drops Its Lawsuit Against Google; Considers Trying Its Hand At Lobbying
16. Copyright Office Will Renew Previous DMCA Exemptions Without Much Fuss — But Why Is This Even Necessary?
17. Report: Twitter CEO took a Russian impostor’s bait in 2016: The retweets were for innocent, “positive” stories.” And that was the point. 
18. Proposed law would regulate online ads to hinder Russian election influence: Honest Ads Act requires Google, Twitter, Facebook to open ads to public review.
19. When Russian Trolls Attack: Anna Zhavnerovich knew she was taking a risk when she publicized the details of her assault online. But in doing so, she joined a growing movement of survivors fighting back against Russia’s Kremlin-influenced trolling machine. 
20. Political ads on Twitter will now be labeled with lots of spending data: Follows mounting congressional pressure about social media ads and disclosure.
21. In its new timeline, Twitter will end revenge porn next week, hate speech in two: The company has laid out a “safety calendar” with changes through January.
22. Lawyers: Trump’s Twitter Account Not Presidential; Also: Trump Is President, Can’t Be Sued
23. Trump’s Favorite Law Firm Loses Massive RICO SLAPP Suit Against Greenpeace, But Has Another One Already Going
24. This Week’s Best Twitter Is College Kids Pretending to Flunk Midterms for Viral Fame 
25. Mercedes handles the competition because it knows how to handle data, too: Ahead of (another) Mercedes win, Ars gets a look at the team’s network stack.
26. High-tech mirror for cancer patients only works if you smile
27. UK Gov’t Considering Redefining Social Media Services As Publishers To Make It Easier To Control Them
28. How Social Media Endangers Knowledge
29. How Fiction Becomes Fact on Social Media 
30. The Responsibility of Online Platforms: a Marginal Challenge in Québec
31. Russian Cyberspies Are Rushing to Exploit Recent Flash 0-Day Before It Goes Cold
32. Computer Parts Site Newegg Is Being Sued for Allegedly Engaging in Massive Fraud [Updated]
33. Korean banks sue Newegg, allege online retailer aided massive fraud: Both Newegg, ASI will “vigorously defend” their companies and deny wrongdoing.
34. When Government Fails, Social Media Is The New 911
35. How blockchain technology can set us free from this Brexit time warp
36. Blockchains Explained In Two Minutes
37. MasterCard Announces That Payments Can Now be Made on Blockchain 
38. Your Browser Could Be Mining Cryptocurrency For A Stranger
39. An AI god will emerge by 2042 and write its own bible. Will you worship it?
40. Elon Musk Eviscerates People Who Discuss “A.I. Gods”
41. Artificial Intelligence in Christian Thought and Practice: This series by Christian computer scientists introduces questions for Christians about AI and its role in society
42. These Are The Ethical Dilemmas We Face As AI Takes Over Our Lives 
43. Using Abstract VR Art for Neural Entrainment & Brain Research + Can Creative AI Become Conscious?
44. The Surreal Comedy Bot That’s Turning AI Into LOL
45. Google Is Honing AI That Can Recognize Human Actions Using YouTube Videos
46. Insights: Google Knits Artificial Intelligence Into Everything, But Are We Sure It Won’t Be Evil?
47. Welcoming Our New Robot Overlords: Once, robots assisted human workers. Now it’s the other way around.
48. The Future of Online Dating Is Unsexy and Brutally Effective
49. Facebook is struggling to meet the burden of securing itself, security chief says: Chief Security Officer described security report as a “very painful process.”
50. How People Inside Facebook Are Reacting To The Company’s Election Crisis
51. Monopoly Power and the Future of Facebook
52. Will Facebook Kill All Future Facebooks?
53. Court Not Impressed With Sneaky Plan To Sell Patents To Native Americans To Avoid Review… But New Lawsuits Filed
54. Several women accuse tech pundit Robert Scoble of sexual harassment
55. Tech Writer Robert Scoble Accused of Sexual Harassment, Assault by Multiple Women
56. The Slippery Slope of Internet Censorship in Egypt: In response to a recent, dramatic increase of Internet filtering in Egypt, Internet users take to social media and Google Drive to protest filtering and disseminate banned content.
57. A Joke Tweet Leads To ‘Child Trafficking’ Investigation, Providing More Evidence Of Why SESTA Would Be Abused
58. Beyond ICE In Oakland: How SESTA Threatens To Chill Any Online Discussion About Immigration
59. Study On Craigslist Shutting ‘Erotic Services’ Shows SESTA May Hurt Those It Purports To Help
60. Is Hollywood ‘Exploiting’ Anti-Trafficking Organization To Support SESTA?
61. How A Startup’s Legal Battle With A Software Giant Could Redefine Tech Workers’ Rights
62. Uber, Intel, and other tech firms will urge Congress to let “Dreamers” stay – Uber: “We plan to support Dreamers as long as they need help.”
63. Regulators of ‘sharing economy’ platforms caught between competing interests
64. Cities around US offer billions in tax breaks to be Amazon’s HQ2: Cities and states are trying to one-up each other, showing off their best features.
65. Another German decision warns against broad application of GS Media presumption for for-profit link providers
66. NAFTA Modernization and IP/E-commerce: My Appearance at the Senate Open Caucus (Michael Geist)
67. Netflix Plans To Fund Its Increased 2018 Content Budget With Additional $1.6 Billion Of Debt
68. Netflix to Raise $1.6 Billion More Debt Financing to Fuel Content-Buying Binge
69. Nielsen Now Vends Ratings Info For Netflix Shows To Top Media Companies
70. Using YouTube Takedowns As Extortion
71. YouTube’s brilliant ad was one of the biggest stories from Game 1 of the World Series
72. As YouTube TV Begins World Series Ad Campaign, Its Play Button Vexes Viewers
73. Billboard Will Decrease Weight Of YouTube Views In Hot 100 Charts
74. How YouTube Entrepreneurs In Their 20s Are Disrupting Traditional Record Labels
75. “Despacito”, YouTube’s Most-Viewed Video, Was Shot In 14 Hours And Edited On Final Cut Pro X
76. Amazon Video Direct Funds Programming For The First Time By Investing In Funny Or Die Shorts
77. BroadbandTV Signs Yousef ‘FouseyTube’ Erakat, Bart Baker, And h3h3Productions
78. Snap Has Hundreds Of Thousands Of Unsold Spectacles Sitting In Warehouses 
79. The Judge’s Code: Meet the judge who codes — and decides tech’s biggest cases
80. Digital Goods Are Valued Less Than Physical Goods
81. How has digital journalism changed your work day?
82. How Big Tech Became A Bipartisan Whipping Boy 

CREATIVITY

1. Eminem Wins New Zealand Copyright Lawsuit; Awarded Over 400K In Damages
2. Author Who Lost Copyright Case Over The Da Vinci Code In The US In 2007 Looks To Revive It In The UK In 2017
3. TV formats potentially eligible for copyright protection as dramatic works under UK law
4. Forgetting Functionality (Christopher Buccafusco & Jeanne Fromer)
5. Copyright Laws Make Photographs of the Eiffel Tower at Night Illegal
6. Does a French copyright smell anything?
7. Judge Bars News Station From Showing Pictures In News Story, Admits It’s Prior Restraint, Shrugs
8. Hate speech is protected free speech, even on college campuses: My students trust colleges to control offensive speech. They shouldn’t.
9. Communism’s Answer to Mickey Mouse Is Thrust Into a Very Capitalist Dispute
10. Long Trail Brewing Sues East Coast Apparel Company Over ‘Take A Hike’ T-Shirt
11. Harvey Weinstein Case Brings Sexual Harassment Back to the Spotlight 
12. Photographer Spends Eternity Waiting For Museum Visitors To Match Artworks And The Result Is Worth The Wait
13. Serialized Television Has Become a Disease
14. How (not) to protect an idea for a TV format 
15. Arnold Schwarzenegger Thinks Last Action Hero Bombed Because of Bill Clinton 

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. Government Rejects Call for an Internet Tax: “Conflicts With Principle of Affordable Access” (Michael Geist)
2. Compliance and Enforcement Decision CRTC 2017-367: 3510395 Canada Inc., operating as Compu.Finder – Constitutional challenge to Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation
3. Bill O’Reilly says he was one of many employees accused of sexual harassment at Fox
4. James Murdoch Says Size of O’Reilly Settlement Was ‘News to Me’ 
5. Local TV and radio stations no longer required to have local studios: Republicans eliminate rule, make it easier for stations to close local studios.
6. The Main Studio Rule Is Dead; Long Live the Main Studio 
7. FCC Approves Repeal of Main Studio Rules and Starts Proceeding to Examine Broadcast Public Notices and Filing of TV Ancillary and Supplementary Revenue Reports 
8. FCC Likely To Use Thanksgiving Holiday To Hide Its Unpopular Plan To Kill Net Neutrality
9. A Public Focused Approach To Net Neutrality
10. Michigan Lawmaker Flees Twitter After Reports Highlight She Helped AT&T Push Anti-Competition Broadband Law
11. Verizon brings back full-quality video streaming for $10 more: If you want your mobile video to stream in 4K on Verizon, you’ll need to pay extra. And have the right phone.
12. Report: Verizon struggling to launch streaming TV service in crowded field – It’s had two delays and now plans to launch in the spring, says Bloomberg. 
13. Verizon’s Long-Shot Bet To Disrupt Google And Facebook
14. Michigan Lawmaker Doesn’t Understand Her Own Bill Hamstringing Broadband Competition
15. The Cable Industry’s Ingenious ‘Solution’ To TV Cord Cutting? Raise Broadband Rates
16. After Report Suggests It Ripped Off Taxpayers, Frontier Communications Shrugs When Asked For Subsidies Back
17. $100 Internet bill became $340 for no reason, Frontier customer says: Overcharges continue for months despite customer service promising a fix.
18. Google Fiber is now in Louisville thanks to new fiber deployment strategy: Microtrenching sped up work in Louisville during court battle over utility poles.
19. Wireless Carriers Again Busted Collecting, Selling User Data Without Consent Or Opt Out Tools
20. Jails pocket up to 60 percent of what inmates pay for phone calls: “Site commissions” raise prices by sending up to 60 percent of revenue to jails. 

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. DOJ changes “gag order” policy, Microsoft to drop lawsuit – Brad Smith, Microsoft’s attorney: “It is an unequivocal win for our customers.”
2. New DOJ Policy Restricts Use Of Warrant/Subpoena Gag Orders
3. Government Drops Its Demand For Data On 6,000 Facebook Users
4. Amazon Key Is Bigger Than Package Delivery
5. Amazon Key unlocks your door for in-home package deliveries: Will you let Amazon be the gatekeeper to your home?
6. Court Has No Problem With All House Residents Being Forced To Hand Over Fingers To Law Enforcement
7. Judge: MalwareTech is no longer under curfew, GPS monitoring – Marcus Hutchins, awaiting trial, can now live and work unencumbered in LA.
8. New Ransomware Linked To Notpetya Sweeps Russia And Ukraine
9. New wave of data-encrypting malware hits Russia and Ukraine: Highly advanced “Bad Rabbit” hits train stations, airport, and media.
10. DOJ Subpoenas Twitter About Popehat, Dissent Doe And Others Over A Smiley Emoji Tweet
11. The DOJ’s Bizarre Subpoena Over An Emoji Highlights Its Ridiculous Vendetta Against A Security Researcher
12. The Reaper IoT Botnet Has Already Infected A Million Networks
13. Equifax Deserves The Corporate Death Penalty
14. Key e-mail from feds got caught in body-cam maker’s spam filter: Axon hopes “to resolve these matters as expeditiously as possible.”
15. Police body cams had no “statistically significant effect” in DC: “There was no indication that the cameras changed behavior at all.”
16. NYPD Tells Judge Its $25 Million Forfeiture Database Has No Backup
17. NYPD can’t get story straight on evidence system backups: Deputy commissioner says the system is “backed up”; IT staff affidavit says otherwise.
18. FBI director: Unbreakable encryption is a “huge, huge problem”: “I get it, there’s a balance that needs to be struck,” Christopher Wray said.
19. Law Prof Argues Cell Location Records Shouldn’t Need Warrants Because Cell Phones Have Encryption
20. Time For The Feds To Say What They Know About Kaspersky
21. Worker who snuck NSA malware home had his PC backdoored, Kaspersky says: Kaspersky presses its case it didn’t knowingly help Russia steal NSA secrets.
22. Kaspersky pledges independent code review to cast off spying suspicions: After accusations by DHS of ties to Russian intel, company seeks to reassure customers.
23. Crippling crypto weakness opens millions of smartcards to cloning: Gemalto IDPrime.NET almost certainly isn’t the only smartcard vulnerable to ROCA.
24. How To Avoid Future Krack-Like Failures: Create Well-Maintained ‘Fat’ Protocols Using Initial Coin Offerings
25. “Security concerns” lead to LTE service shutdown on Chinese Apple Watches: The Chinese government doesn’t know what to do with eSIMs yet.
26. Amazon Key Puts Deliveries—And Delivery People—In Your Home
27. Computer hacking victims to receive up to £6,000 compensation for ‘distress’ caused by cyber crime, under new plans: There are fears the EU regulations will spark industry of bogus hacking claims – Companies with millions of customers could be left crippled if they have to pay – Bill would give right for payout for ‘psychiatric and psychological damage’ – In 2013 157,000 TalkTalk customers were affected when it was hacked – If everyone affected claimed, the company would have to pay £471 million 
28. On Internet-Connected Toys and Human Flourishing: Hello, Privacy
29. Police Camera Study Shows New Tech Having Little Effect On Misconduct And Excessive Force
30. Google, Facebook & Comcast Jointly Lied to California Lawmakers To Scuttle Broadband Privacy Bill
31. How lobbyists convinced lawmakers to kill a broadband privacy bill: Leaked documents reveal scare tactics that helped ISPs avoid privacy rules.
32. A comparative guide to data security penalties in 10+ jurisdictions

Jon