News of the Week; December 20, 2017

GAMES

  1. Crytek sues Star Citizen developers: Alleges Cloud Imperium is still using CryEngine, but studio will “defend vigourously” against “meritless lawsuit”
  2. Crytek sues Star Citizen developers over game engine: Legal action is another distraction for the long-delayed project.
  3. NBA2K18 Is Removing User Made Content From The Game Over IP Infringement, Refuses Refunds To Anyone Who Bought It
  4. China blocks Steam Community features: But games marketplace remains open for users to buy and play new titles
  5. How Minecraft Led To The Mirai Botnet
  6. Minecraft was the reason the Mirai botnet was created: “These kids are super smart, but they didn’t do anything high level—they just had a good idea. It’s the most successful IoT botnet we’ve ever seen—and a sign that computer crime isn’t just about desktops anymore.”
  7. Mod hub Nexus Mods plans to soon pay modders for their creations
  8. Nexus Mods will add a system to reward mod creators: Leading mod community’s lawyers see no obvious legal issue with Bethesda
  9. Cancelled Rising Thunder gets open-source release: Developer Radiant Entertainment gives game back to the community
  10. Meet the legislator trying to do something about video game loot boxes: Hawaii’s Chris Lee wants to protect minors from “psychological manipulation”
  11. How the legal battle around loot boxes will change video games forever: Digging in to one of 2017’s biggest gaming controversies
  12. Despite major controversy, the new ‘Star Wars’ game is a massive success
  13. New Zealand Gambling Regulator Deems Loot Boxes Not Gambling: Loot boxes don’t meet New Zealand’s legal definition of gambling.
  14. Obsidian Entertainment: “No microtransactions, of any kind, in our game”: Developer addresses consumer concerns following recent partnership with Take-Two Interactive’s indie publishing arm, Private Division
  15. Take-Two launches indie label with Obsidian, The Outsiders and Panache Digital onboard: Private Division will focus on high-end indie studios like those started by Patrice Désilets and Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto
  16. With Private Division, Take-Two wants to empower a new breed of indie developer: Michael Worosz on the emergence of a high-end indie development, and Take-Two’s “venture capital meets game publishing” strategic response
  17. Sorry, PlayerUnknown, you probably can’t stop Battlegrounds‘ copycats: US law offers few protections for gameplay design.
  18. Brendan ‘PlayerUnknown’ Greene calls for better IP protection in games: PUBG creator laments the lack of deterrents for copycats, says clones stifle innovation
  19. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Creator Massively Confused And Hypocritical In Rant Begging For More IP For Video Games
  20. Call of Duty: WWII drives November US game sales to $2.7bn – NPD – ATVI hit generated more launch month spending than any Call of Duty debut since Black Ops II in November 2012
  21. Super Mario Odyssey hits 1 million physical sales in Japan: The latest Famitsu data shows Switch nearing 3 million units sold
  22. Nintendo leads games industry figureheads’ 2017 highlights: Also, Red Dead Redemption 2 (and various sporting victories) on execs’ 2018 Most Anticipated list
  23. One-upping the NES Classic Edition with the Raspberry Pi 3 and RetroPie: NES Classic is no more, but luckily cheap hobbyist boards are great for little projects.
  24. Twitch announces reality game show for streamers: Stream On to feature creators competing to turn live-streaming into full-time career
  25. Twitch Begins Streaming Traditional Sports Through NFL, NBA
  26. Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey Discusses Interest, Role In Esports
  27. Analyst: On mobile platforms, women outspend men
  28. Women are most valuable mobile gamers – DeltaDNA: Analytics firm finds lifetime value of average female player is 44% higher than that of average male player
  29. Brexit’s shadow looms over 2018: A lack of recognition of the games industry’s needs from government have created concerns over hiring and trade that will continue into next year
  30. 29% of games businesses negatively affected by Brexit, says TIGA: Depreciation of sterling had positive impact on 11% games firms, according to survey
  31. FCC votes to dismantle net neutrality: ESA “disappointed” as US governing body votes 3-2 to abandon rule preventing service providers from blocking traffic
  32. ESA hails US tax reform: Trade group applauds permanent reduction in corporate tax rate from as high as 35% down to 21%
  33. Q&A: Designing Flutter VR, a game unapolegetically made for women
  34. The Race For AR Glasses Starts Now
  35. Pre-orders for Ataribox delayed: “Updated launch plan is currently underway,” says Atari
  36. Codemasters may be preparing to go public – Report: The British racing studio could be valued at more than £100m, according to Sky News
  37. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds sells 1 million on Xbox One: Survival shooter hits milestone in first 48 hours on sale in Xbox Game Preview program, now free with Xbox One X purchases through year’s end
  38. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Finally Comes Out For Real
  39. Magic Leap Finally Unveils its First AR Product ‘Magic Leap One’, Shipping Starts in 2018
  40. Magic Leap AR Headset Hands-on Offers Details on Field of View, Weight & Content
  41. Magic Leap: Founder of Secretive Start-Up Unveils Mixed-Reality Goggles – Rony Abovitz talks with Glixel about the tech and ambitions behind new MR Goggles
  42. Magic Leap One: Creator Edition shipping in 2018 – Augmented reality company unveils long-awaited first product, a self-contained wearable platform
  43. Facebook releases Spaces for HTC Vive: Oculus parent officially supports rival VR hardware with social chat app
  44. UK charts overhaul: Digital data will finally be counted – A new combined physical/digital chart set for 2019
  45. PS4 took half of all UK physical game sales in 2017: First year on record where a single console has accounted for more than 50% of the market
  46. The 3DO: The birth of my cynicism
  47. Guerrilla Games ending online support for Killzone 2 and Killzone 3
  48. People of the Year 2017: Strauss Zelnick – Take-Two’s chairman set the company up for a banner year with no major new releases beyond its annualized sports titles
  49. People of the Year 2017: From huge organisations and leading executives, to charitable causes and exceptional development talent – the best and brightest from the last year
  50. People of the Year 2017: Christian Whitehead – Sonic the Hedgehog is relevant again, thanks to the indie developer who succeeded where Team Sonic repeatedly failed
  51. Best PC Game Of 2017
  52. Gamasutra’s Best of 2017: The top 10 game developers of the year
  53. GamesIndustry.biz presents… The Year In Numbers 2017: We present everything you need to know about the global market value, the biggest platforms, the hottest games and more
  54. 5 events that shaped the game industry in 2017
  55. 5 trends that defined the game industry in 2017
  56. How will 2018 shape the games business?: Our analyst panel dissects everything to look out for during the next year
  57. “2018 is going to be the year where gamers take the power back”: At the Slush conference, Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester predicted that next year will be great for gamers, and another disappointing one for VR
  58. Gamasutra’s Best of 2017: Bryant Francis’ top 10 games
  59. Gamasutra’s Best of 2017: Alissa McAloon’s top 6 games
  60. Gamasutra’s Best of 2017: Kris Graft’s top 10 games
  61. Gamasutra’s Best of 2017: Chris Kerr’s top 6 games
  62. Gamasutra’s Best of 2017: Phill Cameron’s top 10 games
  63. Gamasutra’s Best of 2017: The top 10 game developers of the year
  64. Gamasutra’s Best of 2017: Alex Wawro’s top 7 games
  65. Obituary: Video game lawyer and VGBA co-founder David Rosenbaum

DIGITAL

  1. Disney to buy part of 21st Century Fox for $52 billion: Disney gets FX Networks, X-Men, Deadpool, and a majority stake in Hulu.
  2. Disney to Buy 21st Century Fox Assets for $52.4 Billion in Historic Hollywood Merger: Disney CEO Bob Iger extends contract through 2021 to oversee integration
  3. Disney’s Acquisition Of Fox Could Change Streaming Forever 
  4. What Will Happen To Hulu After Disney’s Fox Acquisition?
  5. Disney Will Get More Vice After Acquiring 21st Century Fox’s $70 Million Stake
  6. Disney buys 21st Century Fox in $52.4 billion deal: Acquisition includes popular IP like X-Men, Deadpool, Avatar and The Simpsons
  7. ESPN Expands Monday Night Football Rights To Smartphones
  8. Currency-mining Android malware is so aggressive it can physically harm phones: This is your phone on mining software. Any questions?
  9. Facebook sends Ars takedown notice from Pink Floyd over NASA audio: Pink Floyd’s 2011 “Immersion Box Set” has the same audio from Apollo 11 mission.
  10. Judge Hits Ctrl+Alt+Delete on Facebook User Tracking MDL 
  11. The Great AI Paradox: Don’t worry about supersmart AI eliminating all the jobs. That’s just a distraction from the problems even relatively dumb computers are causing. 
  12. Artificial intelligence is forcing us to work harder to define human intelligence — and to fight to defend it: Think like nobody’s strapping a band around your head to collect information about your thinking.
  13. Artificial Intelligence Is Killing The Uncanny Valley And Our Grasp On Reality
  14. 2017 Was The Year The Robots Really, Truly Arrived
  15. Montreal seeks to lead responsible artificial-intelligence research
  16. New York City moves to create accountability for algorithms: City Council passes bill addressing algorithmic discrimination in city government.
  17. Russia’s Version Of Siri Might Be Russia’s Next President
  18. For Russian ‘Trolls,’ Instagram’s Pictures Can Spread Wider Than Words
  19. Russia Threatens To Ban YouTube And Twitter, But Probably Won’t Try
  20. Twitter begins enforcing new anti-hate speech rules: Twitter won’t allow threats against people based on “group characteristics.”
  21. The ‘Twitter Purge’ Nazi reckoning has begun. Here are the rules.
  22. Once Again: Expecting Social Media Companies To Police ‘Bad’ Stuff Is A Bad Idea 
  23. Hotel owner says she gets death threats after guest was charged $350 for posting negative review 
  24. Microsoft Lifts Secrecy Veil In Harassment Cases, Will Others Follow?
  25. Microsoft ends arbitration in sexual harassment cases: No word as to whether other Silicon Valley giants will follow suit.
  26. Microsoft promises transparency in sexual harassment cases: Xbox platform holder will eliminate forced arbitration agreements in an effort to stop serial offenders
  27. For 8 days Windows bundled a password manager with a critical plugin flaw: Plugin for Win 10 version of Keeper had bug allowing sites to steal passwords.
  28. Google brings a Chrome… installer… to the Microsoft Store: The browser itself isn’t a store app. Just the installer.
  29. Neither Microsoft nor Google looks good in this Chrome-installer squabble: Microsoft shouldn’t remove the Chrome installer; Google should aim higher. 
  30. Chrome’s ad blocker goes live on February 15: The Web’s #1 advertising company makes a power play with its own ad blocker.
  31. European News Agencies Again Demand Google, Facebook, Etc. Pay Up For Sending Them Traffic
  32. Iowa Supreme Court Apparently Unfamiliar With First Amendment And Prior Restraint: Bars Newspaper From Publishing Info
  33. Alphabet wants to deliver Internet access via laser beams: The company already has a buyer for its “Free space optical communication.”
  34. The 37-Page Letter That Could Make Uber’s Problems So Much Worse
  35. New letter: Top Uber officials engaged in illegal wiretapping, shady spycraft – A top Uber lawyer instructed that “double-secret A/C priv” be written on a document.
  36. Top EU court: Uber is just another transportation service – Uber can now be regulated in EU member states like any company operating taxis.
  37. World-wide injunctions in the Canadian Supreme Court
  38. Google Finally Lets You Mute Autoplay Videos In Chrome—Here’s How
  39. Minnesota Mom Pleads Guilty To Killing Boyfriend In Ill-Conceived YouTube Stunt
  40. YouTube Music Head: Looped Song Clips No Longer Count Toward Billboard Chart Tallies
  41. YouTube Strikes New Deals With Universal and Sony Music
  42. YouTube Inks Licensing Deals With Universal And Sony Music As It Preps Paid Service (Report)
  43. The World’s Best Film School Is Free On YouTube
  44. Amazon Has Applied For A Trademark On A Name That Sounds Like A YouTube Competitor
  45. Amazon Prime Video App Gets Most Week One Downloads In Apple TV Store
  46. Alexa Wants You To Talk To Your Ads
  47. CBS Aims to Boost Video-Streaming News Hub CBSN in 2018
  48. Publishers To Stop Receiving Facebook Money For News Feed Videos
  49. Refinery29 Lays Off 34 Employees Amid Digital Media Headwinds
  50. Snap’s H.R. Chief Allegedly Warned Staff About Serial Killers
  51. ESPN, NBC Nab NFL Mobile-Streaming Games After Verizon Loses Exclusive Rights
  52. Delaware Supreme Court Reverses Controversial Dell Appraisal Ruling
  53. ‘Nazi VR’ Documentary Shows How VR is Helping to Convict Nazi War Criminals
  54. VR Has Officially Ascended to ‘Crappy Last-Minute Gift’ Thanks to This AXE Bodywash Bundle 
  55. Apple’s Third Series Order Is A Space Drama From ‘Battlestar Galactica’ EP
  56. North Korea suspected in latest bitcoin heist, bankrupting Youbit exchange: Breach bankrupts Seoul-based company after it reformed in wake of a previous heist. 
  57. Feds Rush to Cash in on Seized Bitcoin Cache Before the Bubble Bursts 
  58. Danish Hockey Team Owner Pays Player Son Exclusively In Bitcoin
  59. The Hard Math Behind Bitcoin’s Global Warming Problem
  60. Want to really understand how bitcoin works? Here’s a gentle primer: Ars goes deep on the breakthrough online payment network.
  61. Bank of Canada White Paper on Creating Digital Currency 
  62. Twitter Envisions Future Where Fans Might Pay A Dollar To See A Buzzer Beater
  63. New Website and Social Media Requirements for Canadian Reporting Issuers
  64. What Happens When We Let Tech Care For Our Aging Parents
  65. The 25 Most Popular Passwords of 2017: You Sweet, Misguided Fools
  66. Insights: The Week That Changed The Internet
  67. Silicon Valley’s Dumbest ‘Inventions’ of 2017
  68. Google Inc. v. Equustek Solutions Inc. 
  69. Internet Policy 20 Years Later: Did The U.S. Get It Right? 

CREATIVITY

  1. Dr. Seuss and Star Trek mashup comic isn’t fair use after all, judge says: Case could turn on whether Boldly is a parody or an homage. 
  2. T.J. Miller accused of physical and sexual assault in disturbing Daily Beast exposé
  3. United States v. Broadcast Music, Inc.
  4. Understanding joint authorship
  5. How To Be A Television Futurist In Four Simple Steps 
  6. Choosing the Ideal Venue for IP Disputes: Recent Developments in Federal Case Law 
  7. Framing the Copyright Review: Bains and Joly Reference the Public Domain, Flexibility, Open Access and Limits of the Law (Michael Geist)

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY 

  1. Fostering a Vibrant Canadian Programming Market: My CRTC Submission Focusing on Net Neutrality and Rejecting New Taxes, Fees or Content Blocking (Michael Geist)
  2. As the U.S. Retreats, Canada Doubles Down on Net Neutrality: “An Open Internet is Critical to Our Democracy” (Michael Geist)
  3. Goodbye, net neutrality – Ajit Pai’s FCC votes to allow blocking and throttling: But pro-net neutrality groups will sue FCC to reinstate consumer protections. 
  4. The FCC Just Killed Net Neutrality. Now What?
  5. Republicans Just Sold Out the Internet. Now What? 
  6. FCC Votes to Kill Net Neutrality, Capping a Year of Endless B.S.
  7. FCC Votes To Overturn Net Neutrality Rules, Brings Us One Step Closer To A Destroyed Internet
  8. GOP net neutrality bill would allow paid fast lanes and preempt state laws: FCC would be permanently barred from using Title II authority over broadband.
  9. Digital Creators Rally Against Repeal Of Net Neutrality
  10. Online Retailers Support Challenges to Repeal of Net Neutrality Rules
  11. Fight: The Wired Guide To Net Neutrality
  12. Donald Trump Jr. and Ted Cruz lambast Mark Hamill’s support of net neutrality: “It was Vader who supported govt power over everything said & done on the Internet.”
  13. The FCC’s ‘Harlem Shake’ video may violate copyright law: The agency apparently didn’t get permission to use the song.
  14. Leaked E-mail Shows Even The FCC’s Own CTO Thinks Gutting Net Neutrality Harms The Public
  15. T-Mobile’s Getting Into Cable TV, Where Its Opposition To Net Neutrality May Come Back To Bite It
  16. The Looming Net Neutrality Fight Is Looking Damn Good for Democrats
  17. The FCC’s Ajit Pai now openly mocking net neutrality protesters with his dumb new video
  18. Diplo and Mad Decent Take Aim at FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Over Illegal Use of “Harlem Shake”
  19. Baauer is ‘taking action’ against FCC chairman for using Harlem Shake in net neutrality repeal video: The DJ and producer will do ‘whatever I can to stop this loser’
  20. The Artist Behind The “Harlem Shake” Briefly Got An Ajit Pai Video Taken Down From YouTube
  21. This Whole Mess With Ajit Pai, The Harlem Shake And Copyright Is Bad And Everyone’s Wrong.
  22. Why Must The FCC Insult Everyone’s Intelligence By Misrepresenting Broadband Investment?
  23. Online Education After The End of Net Neutrality
  24. FCC Repeals Net Neutrality – Don’t Go Down Without A Fight
  25. The Biggest Whoppers From The FCC’s Net Neutrality Meeting
  26. After FCC Abandons Net Neutrality, States Take Up The Fight
  27. State attorneys general line up to sue FCC over net neutrality repeal: Net neutrality supporters will try to reinstate the rules in courts and Congress.
  28. Two Separate Studies Show That The Vast Majority Of People Who Said They Support Ajit Pai’s Plan… Were Fake 
  29. NY Attorney General Finds 2 Million Fake FCC Net Neutrality Comments
  30. N.Y. Attorney General on Why He Refuses to Let Net Neutrality Die
  31. Obama didn’t force FCC to impose net neutrality, investigation found: Ajit Pai still thinks Obama’s call for net neutrality rules amounted to an order.
  32. FCC Boss Claims Net Neutrality Supporters Were Clearly Wrong Because Twitter Still Works The Day After Repeal
  33. NAACP Fought Net Neutrality Until Last Week, Now Suddenly Supports The Idea
  34. “There will be a [Senate] vote” to reinstate net neutrality, Schumer says: Congress could block net neutrality repeal, but Democrats face tough odds. 
  35. Right On Cue, Marsha Blackburn Introduces A Fake Net Neutrality Bill To Make The FCC’s Idiotic Decision Permanent
  36. Corporate Power and Censorship: A World Without Net Neutrality
  37. This is why Canada is unlikely to end net neutrality like the US just did
  38.  How the end of net neutrality in the US could affect Canadians
  39. Committee calls for CASL clarification
  40. Industry Committee Calls for CASL Clarification, Rejects Demands for Anti-Spam Law Overhaul (Michael Geist)
  41. New Committee Report On CASL Highlights Need For Clarification And Education
  42. Koch Brothers Are Cities’ New Obstacle To Building Broadband
  43. FCC Permits Some Robocall Blocking
  44. Regulators and criminals crowd cyberspace
  45. How telecom and media companies can avoid the costly risks of mergers and acquisitions
  46. Comcast to be “unleashed” on rivals when NBC merger conditions expire: Breakup of Comcast and NBC should be explored, senator says. 

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

  1. Avatars, Facial Scans & Virtual Basketball: Second Circuit Tosses Biometric Privacy Case 
  2. Another Court Says Compelled Password Production Doesn’t Violate The Fifth Amendment
  3. Court Says German Intelligence Agency Can No Longer Hoard Billions Of Metadata Records
  4. Kaspersky sues DHS over federal blacklist: “It failed to satisfy even the minimum standards of due process.”
  5. Inside China’s Vast New Experiment In Social Ranking
  6. China Is Building The Ultimate Surveillance Tool: A DNA Database Of Every Adult Resident In Troubled Xinjiang Region
  7. Canadian Position on Data Localization Rules in Trade Deals Revealed: Protection for Government Data Only (Michael Geist)
  8. Congress Backs Down From Terrible Surveillance Bill; Running Out Of Time
  9. Trump administration formally blames North Korea for WannaCry. Now what?: There’s not a lot of remaining leverage on North Korea to change its cyber-behavior.
  10. Homeland Security Adviser Pins Wannacry Attack On North Korea In Wall Street Journal Op-Ed
  11. Hold North Korea Accountable For Wannacry – And The NSA, Too
  12. Hackers take control of security firm’s domain, steal secret data: Attackers bypass HTTPS encryption protection by registering new TLS certificate.
  13. In a Dystopian Move, the SPCA Is Using a Robot to Scare off Homeless People
  14. The SPCA Has Removed Its Controversial Security Robot
  15. Facebook Can Now Find Your Face, Even When It’s Not Tagged
  16. Secrecy Is Dead. Here’s What Happens Next.
  17. Top 10 Privacy Law Developments of 2017

Jon