News of the Week; November 21, 2018

GAMES

  1. Gamer Behind Fatal ‘Call Of Duty’ Swatting Faces At Least 20 Years In Prison After Guilty Plea
  2. 2 Milly, Scrubs’ Donald Faison accuse Fortnite of stealing dance moves: “I don’t want to even bash them for all the millions… I just feel like I have to protect what’s mine,” says rapper
  3. Fortnite and God of War win big at the Golden Joystick awards
  4. PUBG Corp. details the results of its 3-month ‘Fix PUBG’ push
  5. Nintendo Gets Huge Settlement Against ROM Site Probably Just To Scare Other ROM Sites
  6. Pokemon: Let’s Go has more than tripled Switch sales in Japan
  7. Nintendo’s biggest Switch-download sale yet includes legitimately good offers [Updated]
  8. One thing gaming could learn from Stan Lee: On the late comic legend’s legacy and the idea of games as a recruiting ground for hate groups
  9. The Strong Museum debuts exhibit focusing on women in the industry
  10. Strong Museum launches Women in Games exhibit: Museum invites women pioneers in gaming to open exhibit with speeches, celebration
  11. On Ubisoft’s pandering to unreasonable players: Ubisoft’s decision to reverse minor aesthetic changes in Rainbow Six Siege sets an unwanted – and unnecessary – new precedent
  12. Ubisoft: “Loot crates have been a huge boon for the gaming industry” – Publisher representative defends Trials microtransactions, saying “If player players didn’t buy them, they would not be added in future”
  13. Number of child gamblers quadruples in just two years
  14. Opinion: World of Warcraft: Classic will disappoint you
  15. Activision ignores accessibility guidelines, skips Spyro subtitles
  16. Activision addresses why Spyro Reignited Trilogy has no subtitles
  17. Activision on Spyro’s missing subtitles: “there’s no industry standard”: Toys for Bob opted not to include subtitles for video cutscenes in the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, may consider adding
  18. Former Activision Blizzard devs launch Mythical Games, securing $16M in funding
  19. Mythical Games will “usher in a shift in player behaviour” with blockchain platform: Start-up formed by ex-Activision and Blizzard execs raises $16 million towards platform for ‘player-owned economies’
  20. Diablo Immortal exists because ‘China really wants it’, says Blizzard dev
  21. Hi-Rez Studios bringing cross-platform play to Smite,Paladins, and Realm Royale
  22. Delver devs release their tech publicly under open source license
  23. Battlefield V: Critical Consensus – EA’s latest blockbuster receives mixed reviews over scattered content launches and tonal inconsistencies
  24. Battlefield V delay triggers EA share plummet, hedge fund exodus: Activision and Take-Two’s stocks also take a hit in turbulent and competitive Q4
  25. EA, Take-Two and Ubisoft shrug off China games crisis: Analysts expect China’s big games companies to invest further in Western firms
  26. Changyou signs deal to bring Tetris to smartphones in China
  27. Changyou receives license to develop Tetris mobile games for China
  28. Despite China’s game freeze, mobile game revenue is still on the rise at Tencent
  29. NetEase: Anti-addiction measures “should not only be focused on online games” – But Chinese publisher supports ongoing efforts to restrict screen time for young children
  30. NetEase sees Q3 growth with mobile titles, Western partnerships
  31. Valve under fire for ‘greedy’ Artifact monetisation system: Developer introducing new features during the game’s beta to alleviate some concerns
  32. Valve has quietly discontinued the Steam Link
  33. Valve quietly discontinues Steam Link hardware production
  34. Steam currency gaffe leaves Australians unable to buy some games 9
  35. Skybound restarts work on The Walking Dead with original Telltale devs
  36. Telltale’s The Walking Dead back in development: Skybound begins work on final two episodes with some original team members
  37. Telltale games delisted from Steam as studio begins liquidation process
  38. Telltale undergoing liquidation, removing games from Steam: Back to the Future, Tales of Monkey Island de-listed, employee health benefits set to end soon
  39. Discord’s digital storefront now supports early access games
  40. A peek at the experiments Spelunky players use to manipulate the game’s code
  41. Paradox taking control of White Wolf after Vampire: The Masquerade LGBTQ+ controversy
  42. THQ Nordic acquires rights to Expeditions franchise
  43. Red Dead Redemption 2 Players Keep Finding Creepy Easter Eggs
  44. NPD: Skipping single player didn’t hurt sales for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
  45. NPD: Call of Duty, Red Dead Redemption lead record October – 2018’s top two best-selling titles (so far) drive highest October sales NPD has reported
  46. Publishers say early access is boosting sales of special edition games: And we can expect dual release dates to continue, say publishers
  47. As Half-Life turns 20, Black Mesa unveils a reimagined Xen
  48. Don’t Miss: The making of Half-Life 2
  49. Super.com launches new funding program for Unreal Engine devs
  50. I’d rather have bad reviews than no reviews
  51. Experience, knowledge, operation, and luck – how to tackle the crowded mobile market
  52. Gameloft: You don’t have to be No.1 to be No.1 on mobile – Publisher discusses how catering to different audiences has enabled it to stay on top in the competitive smartphone market
  53. PS4: Over 86.1 million sold – Five years into its lifespan, Sony’s latest console has already topped the PS3’s lifetime total, but trails PS2’s record-setting pace
  54. GTA, Call of Duty, and FIFA claim the top 5 best-selling PS4 games of all time
  55. Sony is skipping E3 2019
  56. Sony will not be present at E3 2019 
  57. Turkish Ministry of Commerce investigating PlayStation over price increases: Red Dead Redemption 2, other major titles in Turkish PS Store see high prices in the midst of country’s inflation
  58. Microsoft deal will help InXile escape ‘uncanny valley’ of game development
  59. Microsoft acquisition gives inXile ‘safe harbour’ – Fargo: Founder of RPG outfit says costs of AA development have tripled since 2012, selling to Xbox maker gives studio resources to keep up
  60. Microsoft reportedly planning release of digital-only Xbox One: Disc-less console would be considerably cheaper, come alongside disc-to-digital program
  61. Report: Cheaper, disc-free Xbox One option coming next year
  62. Report: Microsoft plans to launch a disc-free Xbox One in 2019
  63. Supercell sinks $5.7M into smartwatch game dev Everywear Games
  64. Supercell invests €5m in Apple Watch dev Everywear Games
  65. Star Citizen has now crowdfunded over $200 million in 6 years
  66. Star Citizen crowdfunding has passed $200m: Chris Roberts reports the game now has backers in 171 countries, has smashed all crowdfunding records
  67. DayZ reaches 4 million units sold: Milestone reached one week after launch of PC beta
  68. Bandai Namco Studios Vancouver has shut down 
  69. Bandai Namco Studios Vancouver shuts down: Tekken mobile developer down to skeleton crew as publisher dismisses majority of staff
  70. Rovio looking to ‘accelerate growth’ with new games asAngry Birds 2 revenue climbs
  71. Rovio quarterlies flying slightly higher: Angry Birds maker modestly profitable, but management says “it is clear that we need new games in order to accelerate growth”
  72. Niantic partners with United Nations to boost tourism using AR games
  73. Niantic working with United Nations to promote tourism through its games: New partnership will Pokémon Go and Ingress events built around local culture and history
  74. Pokémon Let’s Go Eevee Versus Pikachu: Which To Get
  75. Pokémon’s strategy is cross-generational: By balancing nostalgia for parents with appeal to children, Nintendo hopes to create gaming’s first cross-generational franchise
  76. Pokémon and Spyro top hyper competitive week at UK games retail: It’s a tough start for Fallout 76 and Hitman 2
  77. Hitman 2’s Denuvo Protection Busted 3 Days Before The Game’s Launch
  78. Fallout 76 is online and lonelier than ever
  79. Two years on, Overwatch’s producers talk toxicity, crunch, and live game dev
  80. Engagement is the lifeblood of online games, saysOverwatch producer  
  81. Toronto Esports Club Leaves Overwatch Citing Name Dispute with Blizzard
  82. H1Z1 Pro League shuts down – Report: Competitive league surrounding Daybreak shooter calling it quits halfway through inaugural season
  83. With investors knocking, PlayVS opens the door to a $30M Series B
  84. High school esports platform PlayVS receives $30.5m investment: PlayVS will have “profound impact on the future of youth sports across the country” says LA Dodgers CFO
  85. Blizzard: ‘We [are] now working on new mobile titles across all of our IPs’ – Developer is working with external partners and internal teams on mobile version of all its properties
  86. Dude, Where’s My Money? Part Four: Localization  – AurumDust’s Nikolay Bondarenko turns to the perks, processes and prices of translating your game for different markets
  87. Oculus now part of Facebook Technologies: But social network says this will have “no change or impact on the Oculus brand or business”
  88. Magic Leap announces Independent Creator Program
  89. Magic Leap Is Tendering $500,000 Grants Via New ‘Independent Creator Program’
  90. Magic Leap is offering grants of up to $500,000 to AR devs
  91. Forget VR treadmills—Google patents motorized, omnidirectional VR sneakers
  92. This Game Uses Artificial Intelligence to Recruit New Players: Your next recruiter could be an AI.
  93. Brexit draft agreement “not ideal” for UK games industry: Trade bodies and other industry organisations warn of further uncertainty following Prime Minister’s proposed withdrawal deal
  94. Blog: The risks of making safe games
  95. Blog: A checklist for creating better game settings options
  96. “I am NEVER making another game” – Bleszinski: Boss Key co-founder announces departure from development on Twitter, later confirms “I’m done.”
  97. Charity gaming marathon Desert Bus for Hope raises $730,000
  98. GoFundMe, Doom auction seek to raise funds for devs affected by California fires
  99. TwitchCon is heading to Europe for the first time

DIGITAL

  1. Facebook drops PR firm after revelation of anti-Soros campaign
  2. Facebook’s Use Of Smear Merchants Is The Norm, Not The Exception
  3. Sorry Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook isn’t a “positive force”
  4. Mark Zuckerberg: ‘I Didn’t Know’
  5. Zuckerberg won’t step down as Facebook chairman
  6. Facebook Responds to New York Times Exposé: ‘There Are a Number of Inaccuracies’
  7. Inside Facebook, denial, tension and finger-pointing as sense of crisis builds: “It’s total arrogance,” one Facebook employee said of company leadership’s willingness to blame its communications team for recent crises.
  8. Obscure Concealed-Carry Group Spent Millions On Facebook Political Ads
  9. Rights Groups Demand Facebook Set Up Real Due Process Around Content Moderation
  10. Facebook Messenger Is Down With Global Outages
  11. Facebook is on track to post its longest losing streak ever, and some say there’s more pain ahead
  12. Does Facebook’s management structure need to be revamped?
  13. Facebook put profits above care for liberal democracy: Social media giant’s top leadership is not liberal, but selfishly libertarian
  14. The Guy Behind Net Neutrality Wants to Break Up Facebook
  15. Google and Facebook can’t be put in the same category, expert says
  16. Facebook Increasingly Reliant on A.I. To Predict Suicide Risk
  17. Study: It only takes a few seconds for bots to spread misinformation
  18. Report: Charges against Assange relate to Russian hacking
  19. Ukraine detects new Pterodo backdoor malware, warns of Russian cyberattack
  20. Russia’s Cozy Bear comes out of hiding with post-election spear-phishing blitz 
  21. Fake news is responsible for Bolsonaro’s victory in Brazil: The misinformation and intimidation campaign was intense.
  22. “The leaders of the big technology think themselves smarter than the others”
  23. Bitcoin and Ethereum fall to lows not seen since 2017
  24. Blockchain Voting: Solves None Of The Actual Problems Of Online Voting; Leverages None Of The Benefits Of Blockchain
  25. Snapchat parent hands over data for US inquiry: Investors claim in class-action suit the company did not reveal the extent of the threat of Instagram
  26. Instagram To Purge Inauthentic Likes, Follows, And Comments To Ratchet Down Fake Engagement
  27. Inside The Pricey War To Influence Your Instagram Feed
  28. Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Defy Media, Claims Of Fraudulent Behavior From Former Generate Partners
  29. But Her Emails: Ivanka Trump Also Used A Private Email Account For Official Government Business
  30. Ivanka Trump used personal email for official White House business
  31. In A Speech Any Autocrat Would Love, French President Macron Insists The Internet Must Be Regulated
  32. Another YouTube Remove-and-Relocate Case Fails–Kinney v. YouTube (Eric Goldman)
  33. YouTube Now Offering 100 Films, Including ‘Rocky’ and ‘Legally Blonde’, For Free
  34. YouTube Music To Serve As Presenting Sponsor Of ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’ In Expanded Pact With Dick Clark
  35. YouTube’s Lyor Cohen Posts Fiery Op-Ed Opposing EU Copyright Directive; Industry Executives Respond
  36. European Music Societies Slam YouTube’s ‘Fact Free Fear-Mongering’
  37. YouTube Is Now Running Pop-Ups To Warn EU Viewers About Article 13
  38. The “Kim Kardashian tax” – three key problems
  39. Laura Lee And Manny MUA Are Rebuilding On YouTube. But Will Fans Still Buy What They’re Selling?
  40. Paramount And Pocket.watch Are Turning YouTube’s Viral ‘Unboxing’ Trend Into A Feature Film 
  41. YouTube Wildlife Guru Coyote Peterson Treks Onto TV With Animal Planet
  42. YouTube Teams With BuzzFeed, Sony For Ken Jeong-Starring Holiday Special 
  43. SoundCloud Troll Getting DMCA Takedowns Shows The Weakness Of Notice And Takedown Systems 
  44. David Dobrik Nabs Kendall Jenner For Latest Vlog Cameo 
  45. Jimmy Fallon’s TikTok Partnership Resulted In Record Engagement Spike For The App
  46. Insights: Nano NoNos—Brands Target Unsophisticated New Influencers Without A Net
  47. After Shane Dawson Collab, Jake Paul To Premiere His Own ‘Uncut’ Docuseries 
  48. As it considers mergers, BuzzFeed makes asking for money part of its revenue strategy
  49. Consumer Groups Call for FTC Investigation of Android Apps 
  50. Google Axes ‘Fanfiction’ Tab That Suggested Grinchand Minions Porn
  51. Google adds indoor positioning to Android’s Find My Device
  52. Disney Pegs Hulu’s Value At $9.3 Billion 
  53. Paramount And Netflix Set Multi-Picture Film Deal 
  54. Apple Inks Multi-Film Deal With Acclaimed Indie Studio A24
  55. Apple inks deal with Ex Machina-maker A24 studio to create original films
  56. Second Bite at Apple Fails in California Court
  57. Tim Cook defends using Google as primary search engine on Apple devices
  58. Apple, Amazon Team Up To ‘Enhance Customer Experience’ By Limiting Customers’ Options
  59. Another Suspended Twitter User Loses in Court–Kimbrell v. Twitter (Eric Goldman)
  60. WarnerMedia-Owned Machinima To Become Part Of AT&T’s Otter Media
  61. Palm’s Ultra Tiny Phone Is an Absolute Snack
  62. Instagram Adds Ecommerce Capabilities For Select Video Posts
  63. Instagram Is Purging Fake Followers Obtained Through Third-Party Apps
  64. Microsoft Realizes We Don’t Actually Want Ads in Our Mail and Gmail Is Just an Exception
  65. Experts Warn Of Amazon’s Accent-Detecting Technology
  66. Amazon trying to buy 22 cable TV sports channels, including Yankees network
  67. Amazon Among Bidders for Fox Regional Sports Networks: Report
  68. Amazon says it mistakenly shared customer emails and names due to technical error
  69. Amazon customers’ names and email addresses disclosed by website error
  70. Bezos Coughs Up $97.5 Million for Charity
  71. Airtable, maker of a coding platform for non-techies, raises $100M at a $1.1B valuation
  72. Couple and Homeless Man Said to Have Made Up Story Behind $400,000 GoFundMe Campaign 
  73. Couple and Homeless Man Charged With Conspiracy Over $400,000 GoFundMe
  74. FOSTA’s Political Curse (Eric Goldman)
  75. Not Even Hiding It Any More: EU Council Explicitly Pushing For Mandatory Upload Filters
  76. Why Europe Will Never Build Its Own Digital Giants
  77. Study: Over 20 years, Silicon Valley workers’ median wage has fallen by 14%
  78. Silk Road’s alleged hitman, “redandwhite,” arrested in Vancouver
  79. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 1: Access Copyright’s Inconsistent Claims on the Legal Effect of the 2012 Fair Dealing Reforms (Michael Geist)
  80. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 2: Why Access Copyright’s Claim of 600 Million Uncompensated Copies Doesn’t Add Up (Michael Geist)
  81. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 3: Data Shows Books Are Rapidly Declining as Part of Coursepack Materials (Michael Geist) 

CREATIVITY

  1. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 1: Access Copyright’s Inconsistent Claims on the Legal Effect of the 2012 Fair Dealing Reforms (Michael Geist)
  2. New Bill C-86 introduces many more changes to IP laws
  3. USMCA, the new NAFTA: What changes we can expect in Canadian IP Law 
  4. Canadian Politician Hangs Out With Racists; Issues Legal Threats To People Calling Him A Racist
  5. Judge rejects neo-Nazi’s First Amendment argument in harassment case
  6. Judge Blocks White House From Pulling Jim Acosta’s Press Pass, But The Battle Continues
  7. Artist plans to whitewash a Banksy following half million pound sale
  8. Not Funny: The Conan O’Brien Joke-Stealing Lawsuit Is Still Going On
  9. NRA Is Full of Beans, Claims Sculpture Artist in Copyright Suit 
  10. Dolce & Gabbana is Under Fire for “Eating With Chopsticks” Videos
  11. Convicted tax fraudster sues CNBC for defamation, says he’s not a “hacker”
  12. College Athletes Fumble Publicity Rights Suit
  13. Red Bull Fails To Block Trademark Registration In EU Over Logos That Aren’t All That Similar
  14. I Watched The Phantom Menace Trailer 6 Times in One Day at the Same Theater
  15. The Wonky Donkey: How Infringement Helped Create A Best Seller… Which Would Be Impossible Under Article 13

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

  1. Court Again Rules That Cable Giants Can’t Weaponize The First Amendment
  2. Charter, Comcast don’t have 1st Amendment right to discriminate, court rules
  3. Comcast To Battle Cord Cutting By… Reinventing The Closed Cable Box
  4. Ajit Pai isn’t saying whether ISPs deliver the broadband speeds you pay for
  5. Ajit Pai wants to raise rural broadband speeds from 10Mbps to 25Mbps
  6. FCC’s proposed robotext crackdown could block legal messages, critics say 
  7. FCC Accused Of Burying Data Highlighting Sorry State Of US Broadband
  8. US Has Some Of The Most Expensive Mobile Data Prices In The Developed World
  9. Sprint Throttled Skype Without Telling Anyone… And Nobody Seems To Care Much
  10. Wireless throttling: Senators ask four major carriers about video slowdowns
  11. Senators Press Wireless Carriers On Streaming Video Throttling
  12. California’s Net Neutrality Law Remains in Neutral
  13. Donald Trump Suddenly Pretends To Care About Comcast Antitrust Violations
  14. AT&T CEO Continues His Fake Calls For Real Privacy, Net Neutrality Laws 
  15. Cord Cutting Sets More Records, Yet Many Cable Giants Still Refuse To Compete On Price 

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

  1. Prosecutors Charge Suspect With Evidence Tampering After A Seized iPhone Is Wiped Remotely
  2. Facebook Releases 13 NSLs, Reports Another Big Increase In US Government Demands For Info
  3. A New Senate Bill Would Hit Robocallers With Up to a $10,000 Fine for Every Call
  4. IoT Liability: Playing the Blame Game
  5. Kid Tracking ‘Smart’ Watches, Like Most IOT Devices, Prove Not So Smart, Easy To Hack
  6. Database leak exposes millions of two-factor codes and reset links sent by SMS
  7. E-commerce site is infected not by one, but two card skimmers
  8. Yet Another GDPR Disaster: Journalists Ordered To Hand Over Secret Sources Under ‘Data Protection’ Law
  9. After Being Hit With A ‘Motion For Return Of Property,’ Gov’t Agrees To Delete Data Copied From A Traveler’s Phone
  10. The Snowden Legacy, part one: What’s changed, really?

Jon