GAMES
- Crytek sues Star Citizen developers: Alleges Cloud Imperium is still using CryEngine, but studio will “defend vigourously” against “meritless lawsuit”
- Crytek sues Star Citizen developers over game engine: Legal action is another distraction for the long-delayed project.
- NBA2K18 Is Removing User Made Content From The Game Over IP Infringement, Refuses Refunds To Anyone Who Bought It
- China blocks Steam Community features: But games marketplace remains open for users to buy and play new titles
- How Minecraft Led To The Mirai Botnet
- 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.”
- Mod hub Nexus Mods plans to soon pay modders for their creations
- Nexus Mods will add a system to reward mod creators: Leading mod community’s lawyers see no obvious legal issue with Bethesda
- Cancelled Rising Thunder gets open-source release: Developer Radiant Entertainment gives game back to the community
- Meet the legislator trying to do something about video game loot boxes: Hawaii’s Chris Lee wants to protect minors from “psychological manipulation”
- How the legal battle around loot boxes will change video games forever: Digging in to one of 2017’s biggest gaming controversies
- Despite major controversy, the new ‘Star Wars’ game is a massive success
- New Zealand Gambling Regulator Deems Loot Boxes Not Gambling: Loot boxes don’t meet New Zealand’s legal definition of gambling.
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Sorry, PlayerUnknown, you probably can’t stop Battlegrounds‘ copycats: US law offers few protections for gameplay design.
- Brendan ‘PlayerUnknown’ Greene calls for better IP protection in games: PUBG creator laments the lack of deterrents for copycats, says clones stifle innovation
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Creator Massively Confused And Hypocritical In Rant Begging For More IP For Video Games
- 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
- Super Mario Odyssey hits 1 million physical sales in Japan: The latest Famitsu data shows Switch nearing 3 million units sold
- Nintendo leads games industry figureheads’ 2017 highlights: Also, Red Dead Redemption 2 (and various sporting victories) on execs’ 2018 Most Anticipated list
- 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.
- Twitch announces reality game show for streamers: Stream On to feature creators competing to turn live-streaming into full-time career
- Twitch Begins Streaming Traditional Sports Through NFL, NBA
- Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey Discusses Interest, Role In Esports
- Analyst: On mobile platforms, women outspend men
- 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
- 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
- 29% of games businesses negatively affected by Brexit, says TIGA: Depreciation of sterling had positive impact on 11% games firms, according to survey
- FCC votes to dismantle net neutrality: ESA “disappointed” as US governing body votes 3-2 to abandon rule preventing service providers from blocking traffic
- ESA hails US tax reform: Trade group applauds permanent reduction in corporate tax rate from as high as 35% down to 21%
- Q&A: Designing Flutter VR, a game unapolegetically made for women
- The Race For AR Glasses Starts Now
- Pre-orders for Ataribox delayed: “Updated launch plan is currently underway,” says Atari
- Codemasters may be preparing to go public – Report: The British racing studio could be valued at more than £100m, according to Sky News
- 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
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Finally Comes Out For Real
- Magic Leap Finally Unveils its First AR Product ‘Magic Leap One’, Shipping Starts in 2018
- Magic Leap AR Headset Hands-on Offers Details on Field of View, Weight & Content
- 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
- Magic Leap One: Creator Edition shipping in 2018 – Augmented reality company unveils long-awaited first product, a self-contained wearable platform
- Facebook releases Spaces for HTC Vive: Oculus parent officially supports rival VR hardware with social chat app
- UK charts overhaul: Digital data will finally be counted – A new combined physical/digital chart set for 2019
- 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
- The 3DO: The birth of my cynicism
- Guerrilla Games ending online support for Killzone 2 and Killzone 3
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Best PC Game Of 2017
- Gamasutra’s Best of 2017: The top 10 game developers of the year
- 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
- 5 events that shaped the game industry in 2017
- 5 trends that defined the game industry in 2017
- How will 2018 shape the games business?: Our analyst panel dissects everything to look out for during the next year
- “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
- Gamasutra’s Best of 2017: Bryant Francis’ top 10 games
- Gamasutra’s Best of 2017: Alissa McAloon’s top 6 games
- Gamasutra’s Best of 2017: Kris Graft’s top 10 games
- Gamasutra’s Best of 2017: Chris Kerr’s top 6 games
- Gamasutra’s Best of 2017: Phill Cameron’s top 10 games
- Gamasutra’s Best of 2017: The top 10 game developers of the year
- Gamasutra’s Best of 2017: Alex Wawro’s top 7 games
- Obituary: Video game lawyer and VGBA co-founder David Rosenbaum
DIGITAL
- Disney to buy part of 21st Century Fox for $52 billion: Disney gets FX Networks, X-Men, Deadpool, and a majority stake in Hulu.
- 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
- Disney’s Acquisition Of Fox Could Change Streaming Forever
- What Will Happen To Hulu After Disney’s Fox Acquisition?
- Disney Will Get More Vice After Acquiring 21st Century Fox’s $70 Million Stake
- Disney buys 21st Century Fox in $52.4 billion deal: Acquisition includes popular IP like X-Men, Deadpool, Avatar and The Simpsons
- ESPN Expands Monday Night Football Rights To Smartphones
- Currency-mining Android malware is so aggressive it can physically harm phones: This is your phone on mining software. Any questions?
- 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.
- Judge Hits Ctrl+Alt+Delete on Facebook User Tracking MDL
- 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.
- 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.
- Artificial Intelligence Is Killing The Uncanny Valley And Our Grasp On Reality
- 2017 Was The Year The Robots Really, Truly Arrived
- Montreal seeks to lead responsible artificial-intelligence research
- New York City moves to create accountability for algorithms: City Council passes bill addressing algorithmic discrimination in city government.
- Russia’s Version Of Siri Might Be Russia’s Next President
- For Russian ‘Trolls,’ Instagram’s Pictures Can Spread Wider Than Words
- Russia Threatens To Ban YouTube And Twitter, But Probably Won’t Try
- Twitter begins enforcing new anti-hate speech rules: Twitter won’t allow threats against people based on “group characteristics.”
- The ‘Twitter Purge’ Nazi reckoning has begun. Here are the rules.
- Once Again: Expecting Social Media Companies To Police ‘Bad’ Stuff Is A Bad Idea
- Hotel owner says she gets death threats after guest was charged $350 for posting negative review
- Microsoft Lifts Secrecy Veil In Harassment Cases, Will Others Follow?
- Microsoft ends arbitration in sexual harassment cases: No word as to whether other Silicon Valley giants will follow suit.
- Microsoft promises transparency in sexual harassment cases: Xbox platform holder will eliminate forced arbitration agreements in an effort to stop serial offenders
- 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.
- Google brings a Chrome… installer… to the Microsoft Store: The browser itself isn’t a store app. Just the installer.
- Neither Microsoft nor Google looks good in this Chrome-installer squabble: Microsoft shouldn’t remove the Chrome installer; Google should aim higher.
- Chrome’s ad blocker goes live on February 15: The Web’s #1 advertising company makes a power play with its own ad blocker.
- European News Agencies Again Demand Google, Facebook, Etc. Pay Up For Sending Them Traffic
- Iowa Supreme Court Apparently Unfamiliar With First Amendment And Prior Restraint: Bars Newspaper From Publishing Info
- Alphabet wants to deliver Internet access via laser beams: The company already has a buyer for its “Free space optical communication.”
- The 37-Page Letter That Could Make Uber’s Problems So Much Worse
- 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.
- Top EU court: Uber is just another transportation service – Uber can now be regulated in EU member states like any company operating taxis.
- World-wide injunctions in the Canadian Supreme Court
- Google Finally Lets You Mute Autoplay Videos In Chrome—Here’s How
- Minnesota Mom Pleads Guilty To Killing Boyfriend In Ill-Conceived YouTube Stunt
- YouTube Music Head: Looped Song Clips No Longer Count Toward Billboard Chart Tallies
- YouTube Strikes New Deals With Universal and Sony Music
- YouTube Inks Licensing Deals With Universal And Sony Music As It Preps Paid Service (Report)
- The World’s Best Film School Is Free On YouTube
- Amazon Has Applied For A Trademark On A Name That Sounds Like A YouTube Competitor
- Amazon Prime Video App Gets Most Week One Downloads In Apple TV Store
- Alexa Wants You To Talk To Your Ads
- CBS Aims to Boost Video-Streaming News Hub CBSN in 2018
- Publishers To Stop Receiving Facebook Money For News Feed Videos
- Refinery29 Lays Off 34 Employees Amid Digital Media Headwinds
- Snap’s H.R. Chief Allegedly Warned Staff About Serial Killers
- ESPN, NBC Nab NFL Mobile-Streaming Games After Verizon Loses Exclusive Rights
- Delaware Supreme Court Reverses Controversial Dell Appraisal Ruling
- ‘Nazi VR’ Documentary Shows How VR is Helping to Convict Nazi War Criminals
- VR Has Officially Ascended to ‘Crappy Last-Minute Gift’ Thanks to This AXE Bodywash Bundle
- Apple’s Third Series Order Is A Space Drama From ‘Battlestar Galactica’ EP
- North Korea suspected in latest bitcoin heist, bankrupting Youbit exchange: Breach bankrupts Seoul-based company after it reformed in wake of a previous heist.
- Feds Rush to Cash in on Seized Bitcoin Cache Before the Bubble Bursts
- Danish Hockey Team Owner Pays Player Son Exclusively In Bitcoin
- The Hard Math Behind Bitcoin’s Global Warming Problem
- Want to really understand how bitcoin works? Here’s a gentle primer: Ars goes deep on the breakthrough online payment network.
- Bank of Canada White Paper on Creating Digital Currency
- Twitter Envisions Future Where Fans Might Pay A Dollar To See A Buzzer Beater
- New Website and Social Media Requirements for Canadian Reporting Issuers
- What Happens When We Let Tech Care For Our Aging Parents
- The 25 Most Popular Passwords of 2017: You Sweet, Misguided Fools
- Insights: The Week That Changed The Internet
- Silicon Valley’s Dumbest ‘Inventions’ of 2017
- Google Inc. v. Equustek Solutions Inc.
- Internet Policy 20 Years Later: Did The U.S. Get It Right?
CREATIVITY
- 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.
- T.J. Miller accused of physical and sexual assault in disturbing Daily Beast exposé
- United States v. Broadcast Music, Inc.
- Understanding joint authorship
- How To Be A Television Futurist In Four Simple Steps
- Choosing the Ideal Venue for IP Disputes: Recent Developments in Federal Case Law
- 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
- Fostering a Vibrant Canadian Programming Market: My CRTC Submission Focusing on Net Neutrality and Rejecting New Taxes, Fees or Content Blocking (Michael Geist)
- As the U.S. Retreats, Canada Doubles Down on Net Neutrality: “An Open Internet is Critical to Our Democracy” (Michael Geist)
- 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.
- The FCC Just Killed Net Neutrality. Now What?
- Republicans Just Sold Out the Internet. Now What?
- FCC Votes to Kill Net Neutrality, Capping a Year of Endless B.S.
- FCC Votes To Overturn Net Neutrality Rules, Brings Us One Step Closer To A Destroyed Internet
- 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.
- Digital Creators Rally Against Repeal Of Net Neutrality
- Online Retailers Support Challenges to Repeal of Net Neutrality Rules
- Fight: The Wired Guide To Net Neutrality
- 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.”
- The FCC’s ‘Harlem Shake’ video may violate copyright law: The agency apparently didn’t get permission to use the song.
- Leaked E-mail Shows Even The FCC’s Own CTO Thinks Gutting Net Neutrality Harms The Public
- T-Mobile’s Getting Into Cable TV, Where Its Opposition To Net Neutrality May Come Back To Bite It
- The Looming Net Neutrality Fight Is Looking Damn Good for Democrats
- The FCC’s Ajit Pai now openly mocking net neutrality protesters with his dumb new video
- Diplo and Mad Decent Take Aim at FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Over Illegal Use of “Harlem Shake”
- 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’
- The Artist Behind The “Harlem Shake” Briefly Got An Ajit Pai Video Taken Down From YouTube
- This Whole Mess With Ajit Pai, The Harlem Shake And Copyright Is Bad And Everyone’s Wrong.
- Why Must The FCC Insult Everyone’s Intelligence By Misrepresenting Broadband Investment?
- Online Education After The End of Net Neutrality
- FCC Repeals Net Neutrality – Don’t Go Down Without A Fight
- The Biggest Whoppers From The FCC’s Net Neutrality Meeting
- After FCC Abandons Net Neutrality, States Take Up The Fight
- 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.
- Two Separate Studies Show That The Vast Majority Of People Who Said They Support Ajit Pai’s Plan… Were Fake
- NY Attorney General Finds 2 Million Fake FCC Net Neutrality Comments
- N.Y. Attorney General on Why He Refuses to Let Net Neutrality Die
- 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.
- FCC Boss Claims Net Neutrality Supporters Were Clearly Wrong Because Twitter Still Works The Day After Repeal
- NAACP Fought Net Neutrality Until Last Week, Now Suddenly Supports The Idea
- “There will be a [Senate] vote” to reinstate net neutrality, Schumer says: Congress could block net neutrality repeal, but Democrats face tough odds.
- Right On Cue, Marsha Blackburn Introduces A Fake Net Neutrality Bill To Make The FCC’s Idiotic Decision Permanent
- Corporate Power and Censorship: A World Without Net Neutrality
- This is why Canada is unlikely to end net neutrality like the US just did
- How the end of net neutrality in the US could affect Canadians
- Committee calls for CASL clarification
- Industry Committee Calls for CASL Clarification, Rejects Demands for Anti-Spam Law Overhaul (Michael Geist)
- New Committee Report On CASL Highlights Need For Clarification And Education
- Koch Brothers Are Cities’ New Obstacle To Building Broadband
- FCC Permits Some Robocall Blocking
- Regulators and criminals crowd cyberspace
- How telecom and media companies can avoid the costly risks of mergers and acquisitions
- Comcast to be “unleashed” on rivals when NBC merger conditions expire: Breakup of Comcast and NBC should be explored, senator says.
SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY
- Avatars, Facial Scans & Virtual Basketball: Second Circuit Tosses Biometric Privacy Case
- Another Court Says Compelled Password Production Doesn’t Violate The Fifth Amendment
- Court Says German Intelligence Agency Can No Longer Hoard Billions Of Metadata Records
- Kaspersky sues DHS over federal blacklist: “It failed to satisfy even the minimum standards of due process.”
- Inside China’s Vast New Experiment In Social Ranking
- China Is Building The Ultimate Surveillance Tool: A DNA Database Of Every Adult Resident In Troubled Xinjiang Region
- Canadian Position on Data Localization Rules in Trade Deals Revealed: Protection for Government Data Only (Michael Geist)
- Congress Backs Down From Terrible Surveillance Bill; Running Out Of Time
- 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.
- Homeland Security Adviser Pins Wannacry Attack On North Korea In Wall Street Journal Op-Ed
- Hold North Korea Accountable For Wannacry – And The NSA, Too
- Hackers take control of security firm’s domain, steal secret data: Attackers bypass HTTPS encryption protection by registering new TLS certificate.
- In a Dystopian Move, the SPCA Is Using a Robot to Scare off Homeless People
- The SPCA Has Removed Its Controversial Security Robot
- Facebook Can Now Find Your Face, Even When It’s Not Tagged
- Secrecy Is Dead. Here’s What Happens Next.
- Top 10 Privacy Law Developments of 2017
Jon