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Microsoft Invests In Blockchain Developer
Blockchain technology and NFTs have been mentioned a few times in this class. It certainly seems as though NFTs face growing pushback and have lost a great deal of popularity. Gamers have also voiced displeasure at increasing monetization and the emergence of “Pay-to-Earn” video games. Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft’s gaming division, has himself […]
Feldrake For Free
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/wow-will-soon-give-players-a-3000-mount-for-free-and-its-causing-a-bit-of-an-uproar/1100-6508805/ An interesting development on the in-game purchases front. Per the linked article, World of Warcraft is now offering a once rare “mount” (in this case a dragon named Feldrake) for free. Previously, players had paid thousands of real-world dollars to obtain Feldrake. There is a whole background about a defunct trading system that was […]
Embracer Group shuts down Onoma, a Montreal Game Studio
I came across news about the shutdown of Onoma (formerly Square Enix Montreal), and it was surprising to me how dynamic changes can happen in the video game industry. Founded in 2011, Onoma was known for its work on the well-regarded Go series of mobile games, which included Hitman Go, Lara Croft Go, and Deus […]
Discord Coming to PlayStation Soon!
Last week we were discussing how developers tend to emphasize their game as The (capital “T”) e-sports title; exclusivity in this context is paramount. We’ve yet to see e-sports develop in the same way traditional sports leagues have (i.e. harmonization of rules, regulations, etc.). However, one thing we did not discuss is the advent of […]
NASCAR Pro Pulls Off Video Game Move
I saw this clip on the weekend and thought it would be a fun thing to share. This past weekend, NASCAR driver Ross Chastain decided to “ride the wall” (please visit the link for a video) on the final corner of the last lap to slingshot himself into 5th and secure one of four positions […]
Can’t wait for time to Tick-Tock; need TikTok
One of today’s New York Times articles discussed the decline of some of the top social media apps. What particularly stood out was the quote: “Meta’s cash-cow social media apps — Facebook and Instagram — are in decline, with younger users abandoning them for apps like TikTok.” So what is so great about TikTok? The article […]
Call of Duty’s Code of Conduct
Happy Tuesday Video Game Law Class! I thought I would share this picture from the Modern Warfare 2 Beta as the full game is set to release this Thursday at 9PM. In one of the first classes we were discussing how multiplayer games can be an arena for abusive language and bullying. Call of Duty […]
A New Wave of Advertising
Hi everyone, I can across a few articles that are related to something we talked about last week: https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/34717938/nhl-debut-digitally-enhanced-dasherboards-virtual-ads-replace-traditional-signage-arena-rink-boards https://www.gamesindustry.biz/video-games-are-the-new-battleground-for-big-brands We touched on how AR and VR present a new way to think about advertising. I certainly have noticed that to be the case when watching NHL games. This year the NHL has introduced virtual […]
40 Series GPUs back in the spotlight: Should we advocate for more dialogue between consumers and developers
I posted a few weeks ago about the launch of Nvidia’s new 40 series graphics cards. The 12gb version of the 4080 was subject to news recently. According to IGN, “Nvidia is ‘unlaunching’ the 12gb 4080 after criticism” (https://www.ign.com/articles/nvidia-is-unlaunching-the-12gb-rtx-4080-after-criticism). Nvidia claims that the card was not named right as ‘having two GPUs with the 4080 […]
Video games have a therapeutic value?
I found our discussion last week with respect to gamer vulnerabilities fascinating. In line with that, I’ve recently been interested in how the digital world can affect, or eek into the physical. For example, I have a room in my house dedicated solely to gaming and my gaming peripherals. I’ve enabled video games to transform […]