Posts

Discussion Outline (November 7)

Group: Tom Allchurch, Basti Ashford, Craig Duffy

Hey guys,

We’ll be discussing gamification – the process of applying the elements of a game to a situation where they have not previously been used. In Part 1, we’ll be looking at what gamification is and why it’s useful, in Part 2 we’ll be looking at gamification in everyday life, and in Part 3, we’ll be looking at the gamification of politics (a topical issue, given this week’s US midterm elections).

As preparation, please watch the following videos (13 minutes total)

News of the Week; October 17, 2018

GAMES

  1. John Carmack and ZeniMax have ended their legal dispute
  2. Epic sues YouTubers for using and selling Fortnite cheats
  3. Epic Games files suit against YouTubers over Fortnite cheats: Lawsuit alleges defendants promoted cheats in videos, violating copyright and terms of use
  4. Epic sues two YouTubers over Fortnite cheats: Brandon Lucas and Colton Conter stand accused of promoting and selling cheats for the hit game
  5. Fortnite, GTA V hackers face legal action for online cheating
  6. GTA V cheaters’ assets frozen following Australian court ruling
  7. Epic Games Likely DMCA’d Its Own Fortnite Trailer, Showing The Problems With YouTube’s DMCA Process Yet Again
  8. Fortnite’s Android version is no longer invite-only
  9. GTA cheat developers have assets frozen in crackdown: Australian federal court approves search and seizure orders against creators of “Infamous” cheat
  10. Developers drag Rockstar over 100-hour weeks on Red Dead Redemption 2: Where studio management sees dedication, creators from across the AAA and indie spectrum see mismanagement, abuse
  11. Dan Houser: “We have some senior people who work very hard purely because they’re passionate” – Rockstar co-founder provides additional context to earlier statement about “100-hour weeks” on Red Dead Redemption 2
  12. Former Rockstar and Telltale dev says “time for change” on crunch culture: Job J. Stauffer recalls harsh work culture on GTA IV, cites “dozens” of other devs with similar experiences
  13. Crunch isn’t required, claims Rockstar co-founder after 100-hour weeks comment
  14. How the West Was Digitized: The making of Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption 2.
  15. Sega reports ‘long overtime’ hours cut by 80%
  16. Sega credits strong localizations for jump in worldwide game sales
  17. Rockstar debacle prompts devs to spotlight their crunch-free games
  18. Valve under investigation by Brazilian government over violent political game
  19. Brazilian government opens investigation into Valve, Steam, and developers behind Bolsomito 2k18: Game features character based on Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro punching minorities with the aim of purging “the evils of communism”
  20. German regulator warns Outfit 7 and Green Tea Games over in-app purchases: Consumer protection body concerned by how studios are targeting minors with microtransactions priced at up to €109.99
  21. Discord’s problem: Which Nazi group were you reporting again? – A year after promising to take action against all forms of hate, gaming-focused communication platform’s follow-through is lacking
  22. Discord Store enters global open beta: Service launches with 23 store titles, new Nitro subscription service
  23. China’s new game approval process could hurt indies most – Vicarious: CEO of PR firm specializing in bringing Chinese titles to the West talks about potential knock-on effects of new regulatory system
  24. China’s Huawei thinks it can capture Switch market…with a $1,000 phone
  25. The Witcher Saga: the author’s quest for additional royalties from video game developer 
  26. Starlink: Is this Christmas’ riskiest video game? – In a period awash with major sequels, Ubisoft’s Starlink is the only new IP coming out. Can it survive?
  27. Ubisoft to partner with EGAL at UC Berkeley to research industry diversity: Company to provide support and research materials for MBA student projects
  28. Ubisoft issues call for third season of incubator program at Station F: Blockchain, AI technology start-ups encouraged to apply for six-month support program at Paris campus
  29. Ubisoft Massive COO: “We don’t want to take a stance in current politics” – Speaking during Sweden Game Conference 2018, Alf Condelius discusses the separation of games and politics with The Division
  30. Ubisoft Joins Blockchain Game Alliance as Publishers Anticipate Death of the Video Game Console
  31. Ubisoft has a free-to-play mobile Assassin’s Creed game on the way
  32. Sega’s Genesis (and more) get an HDMI upgrade with the Mega Sg: $190 FPGA-powered hardware also supports Master System, Game Gear, and more.
  33. The Xbox Tanker is turning: It takes years for a console platform to win back hearts and minds, but Xbox is finally getting there; now it needs to find and promote its unique difference
  34. Microsoft has pulled the plug on Minecraft’s Apple TV version
  35. Microsoft kills support for Minecraft on Apple TV: “We need to reallocate resources to the platforms that our players use the most,” says Microsoft
  36. Creators Going Pro: Gary ‘RageElixir’ Yong Has Built A Top ‘Minecraft’ Channel By Seizing Opportunities
  37. Bethesda Softworks opens new office to expand global operations
  38. Bethesda teams up with West Virginia Tourism Office forFallout 76 promo
  39. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 more anticipated this holiday than Red Dead Redemption 2 – Nielsen’s season interest rankings also show hype for Spider-Man, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Super Mario Party
  40. Call of Duty children’s hoodies are a “consequence of success”: Activision Blizzard exec Philippe Bost assures that official merchandise is only ever targeted at adults
  41. Players are exploiting Black Ops 4 emotes to peek around corners
  42. Starlink: Battle for Atlas review: Cool toys, solid spacefaring
  43. Report: Blizzard considering bringing cross-platform play to Diablo 3
  44. Educational games startup Kahoot valued at $300 million: Valuation follows $15.4 million in fundraising, company’s worth has tripled in seven months
  45. War Child UK partners with Bandai Namco on 11-11: Memories Retold: “Together we can work to end the suffering of children caught in the violence of war,” says Elijah Wood, star of 11-11: Memories Retold
  46. Bandai Namco agrees to European distribution deal forCyberpunk 2077
  47. The uphill battle of getting Katamari Damacy noticed by Namco
  48. Conde Nast owner Advance buys majority stake in market researcher Newzoo
  49. Blog: Working with local devs to gain experience in games user research
  50. Panic Button and the search for “design fun”: GM Adam Creighton shares how the studio hailed for Switch ports approaches broadening its portfolio, tackling hardware challenges, and accessibility
  51. “It felt like the reality of the world was fighting against this game”: Greg Lobanov talks about trying to make the relentlessly positive Wandersong during relentlessly turbulent times
  52. Roblox acquires PacketZoom: Mobile performance improvement start-up will bring its technology to MMO studio as it pursues international growth
  53. Fighting Esports Group closes $15m funding round
  54. Ninja Continues Bid To Take Gaming Mainstream With ‘Ellen’ Appearance
  55. The Division developer: Politics in games are ‘bad for business’
  56. Feel better about your PlayStation VR with sweet new games Astro Bot, Firewall
  57. ‘Astro Bot’ Ranked 6th Best PS4 Game of 2018, #1 PSVR Game of All Time
  58. Sony has fixed the messaging bug that’s been crashing PS4s
  59. VR design principles in RIGS: Mechanized Combat League
  60. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg: ‘Oculus Quest Completes Company’s First-Gen Lineup’
  61. Facebook is testing a mobile app for watching Facebook Gaming streams
  62. Magic Leap wants to avoid a takeover and go public: CEO Ronny Abovitz believes an IPO would be “the best thing for the creative community”
  63. The Magic Leap Con
  64. Cloudhead’s The Gallery crowned game of the year at VR Awards 2018: Meanwhile, HTC takes home the gong for best headset with Vive Pro
  65. CVAA Compliance Waiver for Video Games Set to Expire in December 2018
  66. How Landfall Games finds the fun in physics engines
  67. Q&A: Inside the tools and techniques used to build The Crew 2’s open world
  68. Blog: Self-determination theory and player affect
  69. Ars on your lunch break: This is your brain on video games
  70. Loot Crate now offers a monthly indie game subscription service 
  71. Loot Crate launches monthly indie game subscription: Loot Play subscribers will get five games each month for $10, but only one will be revealed before launch
  72. Video Game Monetization (e.g., ‘Loot Boxes’): a Blueprint for Practical Social Responsibility Measures (Daniel Luke King & Paul H. Delfabbro)
  73. What developers say Apple needs to do to make the Apple TV a gaming console
  74. Why Paradox is bringing visual editing tools to its next engine update
  75. Canceled version of a Shenmue HD remaster shows what could’ve been
  76. Video: BioWare’s postmortem look at the making of Star Wars: The Old Republic
  77. National Videogame Museum to open in Sheffield this November 

DIGITAL

  1. Twitter releases archive of 10 million tweets from state-backed troll accounts: Over 9 million of those originated from Russian-backed accounts 
  2. Twitter Offers Up Semi-Public Database of Known State-Sponsored Accounts 
  3. New research suggests Twitter’s strategy for fighting misinformation is ineffective 
  4. Twitter Under Formal Investigation for How It Tracks Users in the GDPR Era
  5. Netflix Reminds Everyone That The Internet Isn’t A Broadcast Medium With New Choose Your Own Adventure Shows
  6. Why is a Lisbon soccer team trying to unmask Portuguese bloggers in US court?
  7. Facebook Portal’s claims to protect user privacy are falling apart
  8. Here’s how to see if you’re among the 30 million compromised Facebook users
  9. Facebook confirms 30 million people had personal data stolen in breach
  10. Advertisers allege Facebook hid the fact that no one watches video ads
  11. Help Wired Track How Political Ads Target You On Facebook
  12. How to Do Everything But Delete Your Facebook Profile 
  13. Facebook Tempts Political Backlash With Massive Purge of 810 Pages and Accounts
  14. Already facing an uphill misinformation fight, Facebook loses to scammers, too
  15. Please Don’t Post Your Potentially Felonious Crimes to Facebook
  16. A New Facebook Lawsuit Makes ‘Pivot To Video’ Seem Even More Shortsighted
  17. Facebook Now Dominates YouTube For Video Content. Here’s How Brands Should Respond
  18. Looking beyond Facebook and Instagram, DTC brands try Snapchat
  19. Amazon patents Alexa tech to tell if you’re sick, depressed and sell you meds
  20. Amazon launches online store featuring ‘Shark Tank’ products 
  21. Amazon overtakes Microsoft to top intangible value ranking; research calls for “revolution” in accounting
  22. Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, dies at 65
  23. Paul Allen—Microsoft co-founder, Seahawks owner, and space pioneer—dies at 65
  24. PC market flat, as Surface becomes a top-5 computer brand in the US
  25. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki Addresses Continuing Concerns About Conspiratorial Content, Says Platform “Is In A Much Better Place” 
  26. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki: Despite Its Problems, YouTube Is Growing Up 
  27. Creators In YouTube’s Partner Program Can Now Be Kicked Out For Posting “Duplicative Content”
  28. YouTube is cracking down on creators who post duplicated content: Changes to YouTube’s Partner Program are afoot 
  29. Mamrie Hart And Grace Helbig YouTube Show ‘This Might Get’ Gets Axed, But Will Live On As A Podcast
  30. After $5 billion EU antitrust fine, Google will start charging for Android apps
  31. Google’s YouTube suffers a major outage
  32. Google Is Finally Ready To Talk About Its Chinese Search Engine 
  33. Google Chief Sundar Pichai Explains Early-Stage China Plans
  34. Senators to Google: Why didn’t you disclose Google+ vulnerability sooner?
  35. The Good Censor Document Shows Google Struggling With The Challenges Of Content Moderation
  36. Chinese Professor Argues Google Should Launch A Censored Search Engine In China
  37. Report: Former top Waymo engineer altered code to go on “forbidden routes”
  38. Creators Face Brief Existential Crisis Amid Temporary YouTube Outage 
  39. Pioneering YouTuber Gigi Gorgeous Has Penned A Memoir About Her Transgender Journey
  40. YouTube Premium Moves Forward With Logan Paul Film 10 Months After Suicide Controversy 
  41. This 2-Year-Old’s YouTube Cooking Tutorials Are Scoring Hundreds Of Thousands Of Views
  42. Former YouTube Exec Launches Incubator Initiative For Education Creators 
  43. WarnerMedia To Launch Streaming Service In 2019, Comprising Content From HBO, Warner Bros., More
  44. Fullscreen Offers Advertisers New ‘Shield’ Tool To Ensure Brand Safety 
  45. Uber CEO backs out of Saudi conference after suspected state-sanctioned murder of Washington Post journalist
  46. Anand Giridharadas On Saudi Money And Silicon Valley Hypocrisy
  47. Turkish Paper Claims Evidence of Jamal Khashoggi’s Murder Was Transmitted by His Apple Watch
  48. Apple Will Reportedly Make Original Video Programming Free For All Device Owners
  49. Apple Acquires Music-Analytics Startup Asaii
  50. Mixcloud and Universal Music Announce Multi-Year Licensing Deal
  51. Portal A, Kevin Hart, ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Honored At First ‘Streamys Brand Awards’
  52. Jay Shetty To Host 2nd Annual ‘Streamys Purpose Awards’, Followed By Creator Summit On Mental Health
  53. The Rise of the Influencer: Advertising Standards Agency release clear guidance for ‘Influencers’- #AD not #Spon? 
  54. Jeffrey Katzenberg Announces Shortform Subscription Service’s Name, Confirms Deals With Guillermo Del Toro, Antoine Fuqua, Jason Blum
  55. Snap could go private if it can’t get people to stay on its app for longer, analyst says
  56. Snapchat Just Released A Meme-Filled Set Of Lenses For Cats
  57. You Have No Idea What Artificial Intelligence Really Does: The world of AI is full of hype and deception.
  58. Art, AI & Infringement: A Copyright Conundrum
  59. A Shortage Of Trained Job-Seekers Is Holding AI Back
  60. Roborace wants the future of racing to be AI plus humans, working together 
  61. The Boston Dynamics Robot Atlas Is Now A Parkour Master
  62. Glimpse: Man’s Best Friend, Forever? We May Love Robot Dogs As Much As the Real Thing
  63. Cryptocurrencies “on the brink of an implosion” – Juniper: Research firm sees further falls likely with market cap of blockchain currencies already 75% down within the last year
  64. Cryptocurrencies Just Plummeted $13 Billion in Value Over the Course of a Few Hours
  65. Reports: Crypto Is A Threat To Your Savings Account, But Not World Markets
  66. Everything You Wanted to Know About Blockchain in One Infographic 
  67. NBA & NextVR Announce 2018-19 VR Livestream Lineup
  68. Internet Relay Chat turns 30—and we remember how it changed our lives
  69. Palm rises from the dead as a zombie brand, launches tiny smartphone
  70. Disrupting the Reaper: Tech Titans’ Quest for Immortality Rages Forward – Silicon Valley’s war on death continues—as does the uncomfortable, spreading psychology of those rich enough to fight it. 
  71. Goodbye NAFTA, Hello USMCA: A New Framework for Investment, IP and the Digital Economy
  72. The Full “Culture Exception” That Isn’t: Why Canada Caved on Independent Cultural Policy in the USMCA (Michael Geist)
  73. Tech firms to SEC: We want the option to pay non-employee workers in equity
  74. What do we actually know about the risks of screen time and digital media? 

CREATIVITY

  1. Woman who bought shredded Banksy artwork will go through with purchase: Buyer of Girl With Balloon, who paid £1.04m for work, says she has her ‘own piece of art history’
  2. Banksy’s Self-Destructing “Love Is In the Bin” – A Good Reminder of the Moral Rights of Authors
  3. Star Wars Writer Chuck Wendig Claims Marvel Fired Him for ‘Vulgarity’ and ‘Too Much Politics’ On His Social Media
  4. Stairway To Heaven Is Not Blurred Lines
  5. Can’t Wish Away The Mistakes In The Original ‘Stairway To Heaven’ Verdict
  6. PEN America Sues Donald Trump For 1st Amendment Violations In Attacking The Press
  7. Another Critic Of Egypt’s Government Gets Hit With ‘Fake News’ Charges
  8. One of the Screenwriters of the Original AladdinHas a Big Complaint About the Remake
  9. Will mass copyright infringement litigation slow?
  10. We regret to inform you that America is now at war with The View
  11. Will Donald Trump Support A Federal Anti-SLAPP Law Now That It’s Helped Him Win Stormy Daniels’ Defamation Suit?
  12. Warner Media Opposes Trademark Filed By Actual ‘Wicked Witch’ Over Its Wizard Of Oz Trademarks
  13. A Modern Melody for the Music Industry: The Music Modernization Act Is Now the Law of the Land
  14. Zen Studios alters classic pinball art to protect family-friendly rating [Updated]
  15. Boeing Accused Of Covert, Coordinated Op-Ed Smear Campaign Against Space X
  16. African Nations Rife With Illegitimate Collection Societies: Nigeria Files Criminal Complaint Against COSON

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

  1. Up to 9.5 million net neutrality comments were made with stolen identities 
  2. 99.7% Of Original Comments Opposed FCC Repeal Of Net Neutrality
  3. Oh Look, The FCC Is Lying Again In Its Latest Court Filings On Net Neutrality
  4. FCC tells court it has no “legal authority” to impose net neutrality rules
  5. Comcast complains it will make less money under Calif. net neutrality law
  6. Washington State Laughs At Federal Attack On State Net Neutrality Laws 
  7. 34 State AGs Demand The FCC Do More To End Annoying Robocalls
  8. Stop Working for Fox News
  9. AT&T to launch streaming service after $85b Time Warner purchase
  10. DOJ Continues To Point Out A Mega-Merged AT&T Will Jack Up Prices On Everybody
  11. WarnerMedia To Launch Streaming Service In 2019, Comprising Content From HBO, Warner Bros., More
  12. USMCA Impact on Communications Industries
  13. Widespread Cable, Internet, and Radio Outages Mark Hurricane Michael’s Path of Destruction
  14. Ajit Pai slams carriers for slow restoration of cell service after hurricane
  15. Verizon fiber suffered “unprecedented” damage from Hurricane Michael
  16. Wall Street Quietly Warns That 5G Wireless Is Being Aggressively Over-hyped

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

  1. Canadian Privacy Commissioner Goes To Court To Determine If Canada Can Force Google To Delete History
  2. 21-year-old who created powerful RAT software sentenced to 30 months
  3. Another Massive Credit Reporting Database Breached By Criminals
  4. Vizio Customers Get A Pittance In Settlement Over Snooping Televisions
  5. Winter is coming: Preparing for Canada’s new mandatory federal data breach regulations
  6. Does Canadian Privacy Law Apply to Google Search? (Michael Geist)
  7. Apple to Australia: “This is no time to weaken encryption”
  8. New Internet of Things (IoT) NIST Draft Publication Provides Welcomed Guidance 
  9. ‘Do Not Track,’ the Privacy Tool Used by Millions of People, Doesn’t Do Anything
  10. Ancestry Sites Could Soon Expose Nearly Anyone’s Identity, Researchers Say
  11. Creeps Will Soon Be Able To Find Almost Anyone On Genealogy Sites
  12. IBM Built A Menacing Black Truck For “Cybersecurity Incident Response”
  13. If Supermicro boards were so bug-ridden, why would hackers ever need implants?

Jon

News of the Week; October 10, 2018

GAMES

  1. Sony sues hacker for manufacturing and distributing jailbroken PS4s: Defendant’s actions “were knowing, deliberate, willful and in complete disregard of SIE’s rights,” Sony claims
  2. Sony confirms PlayStation 5 (but doesn’t call it PlayStation 5): CEO Kenichiro Yoshida says it’s “necessary to have a next-generation hardware”
  3. PlayStation users will be able to change PSN ID starting 2019
  4. Sony confirms PSN name change feature: Long-requested ability to change PlayStation Network IDs will roll out early next year, will cause problems with some games
  5. Sony CEO claims next-gen hardware is ‘necessary’ 
  6. Change that embarrassing PlayStation account name starting next year
  7. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., Plaintiff, – against – David Zipperer (United States District Court Southern District Of New York, August 16, 2018)
  8. Microsoft Announces Xbox Game Streaming Service
  9. Microsoft unveils Project xCloud game streaming technology
  10. Microsoft announces Project Xcloud—Xbox game streaming for myriad devices
  11. Microsoft details game streaming service Project xCloud: Public trials begin next year, Xbox One developers apparently able to bring games across “with no additional work”
  12. Microsoft in talks to buy Obsidian – Report: Xbox outfit closing in on a deal for Pillars of Eternity developer with one source telling Kotaku it’s “a matter of when, not if”
  13. Mojang is making some Minecraft libraries open source
  14. EA “closely monitoring” Ronaldo rape investigation: FIFA 19 cover athlete downplayed in promotional materials as police look into allegations
  15. FIFA 19 scores at launch on top of EMEAA charts: Forza Horizon 4 launch just misses capturing Spider-Man
  16. EA partners with the Premier League for new esports competition
  17. EA announces partnership with English Premier League: Landmark deal “carves a critical path forward” for FIFA esports
  18. Jacksonville victims to be honoured with charity Madden tournament tomorrow: Muthead League scraps plans for season six in favour of raising money for tribute fund
  19. South Korean network OGN bringing esports programming to North America with $100m investment: Esports producer to partner with PUBG Corp to livestream and broadcast upcoming National PUBG League
  20. NHL Team Institutes ‘No Video Game’ Policy For Players Due To Fortnite ‘Addiction’
  21. Infinite Esports & Entertainment lays off 19 employees, replaces president: “We think we grew too fast” says new president Ryan Musselman
  22. Industry staff protest working conditions with Twitter storm: IGDA exec Jen MacLean issues statement on #AsAGamesWorker protest
  23. A closer look at the malware that masquerades as Fortnitecheats
  24. Fortnite season 6 trailer gets a copyright strike from… Epic Games?: Well, at least the players seem to be having a laugh
  25. Epic is bringing a physical Fortnite bundle to store shelves for the holidays
  26. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey sales out-perform rest of series on current console generation: Physical, digital, and “player recurring investment” in first few days top Origins, Syndicate, or Unity
  27. Google’s Project Stream: That’s really a full Assassin’s Creedin my browser
  28. UK retailer GAME selling Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 early: Extra time agreed upon with Activision so players can download 50GB day one patch
  29. Declaration of gambling regulators on their concerns related to the blurring of lines between gambling and gaming
  30. Loot Boxes: Gaming or Gambling? 
  31. Report: Telltale Games lays off remaining ‘skeleton crew’
  32. Remaining Telltale staffers laid off: Former narrative designer confirms her “skeleton crew” lost their jobs, but “there are still good people at the company”
  33. Report: Telltale wants another studio (and ex-The Walking Dead devs) to finish the game
  34. Skybound’s Walking Dead finale hasn’t secured original devs yet: Company says the intent is to use ex-Telltale developers to finish the story, but “there are a lot of moving parts”
  35. Opinion: Will Telltale’s fate be a catalyst for industry reform?
  36. Skybound to complete development of Telltale’s The Walking Dead: The Walking Dead parent company steps in
  37. Skybound vague on future of Telltale partnership
  38. Skybound Games will finish work on Telltale’s The Walking Dead
  39. Pixel Toys embraces games-as-a-service with Warhammer: Realm War
  40. “We aren’t curing cancer. There’s a human cost to making games”
  41. Blizzard to champion diversity at BlizzCon 2018
  42. Jagex investigates streamer following allegations of abusive behaviour: Ali “Gross Gore” Larson accused of sexual harassment, verbal abuse, and physical violence during RuneFest 2018
  43. SuperData launches media measurement tool SuperData Arena: Dashboard will allow users to track multiple metrics related to game streaming and videos across major content platforms
  44. Games industry contributes £2.87bn to UK economy, supports nearly 50,000 jobs: 2016 screen industries report also shows every £1 invested via tax relief adds £4 to economy
  45. Leaked Video Seems To Show Open-World Harry Potter Game
  46. Developers weigh in on “cold reality” check for indies: Responses to John Warner’s sobering article came from a range of indie devs, both with and without AAA experience
  47. Indie dev’s “honest mistake” inadvertently revives dying game: HyperReuts sees average player count explode from one, to an all-time peak of over 170,000
  48. War Stories: Serious Sam almost didn’t happen—until crates saved the day
  49. Com2uS: “We were just shocked” by audience response to Summoners War esports – CEO Casey Lee discusses stumbling into mobile esports as a way to engage and grow its existing community
  50. Romanian government boosts games industry with €94 million tech fund: A huge new fund was revealed at Dev.Play 2018 today, pointing to a bright future for the country’s game developers
  51. Homescapes emulates Gardenscapes with reported $420m first year revenue: Sensor Tower’s data suggests another massive hit for Playrix
  52. GOG Celebrates 10 Years Of Competing With Piracy And Being DRM Free By Saying So
  53. Epic Games acquires game security and player service outfit Kamu
  54. Epic Games acquires game security and anti-cheat firm Kamu: Helsinki specialist has already been working on Fortnite, will continue to work will all other customers
  55. Epic to launch “Support-A-Creator” Fortnite initiative: Creators will receive $5 for every 10k in-game currency spent by individual players until the end of the year
  56. CD Projekt Red partners with Digital Scapes on Cyberpunk 2077: Vancouver-based studio to bring BioWare, Radical Entertainment, Relic veterans to work on upcoming open-world RPG
  57. Sensor Tower: Fortnite on iOS earns $300m in 200 days: $20m of the total was earned in the past week after the launch of Season 6
  58. Wavedash lays off the majority of its staff: Studio says loss of investor support prompted layoffs, offers to introduce hiring developers to former staff
  59. Blog: Why one size doesn’t fit all in virtual reality
  60. Nintendo Could Be Fixing the Switch’s Biggest Flaw
  61. Report: Nintendo to launch updated Switch console in 2019
  62. Report: New Nintendo Switch Model Coming In 2019
  63. Nintendo planning new Switch for 2019 – Report: Wall Street Journal says an improved model is set for late next year
  64. Nintendo gives Switch subscribers decked-out NES Zeldasave file
  65. Nintendo hacks The Legend of Zelda to make it more accessible
  66. Dragalia Lost is a turning point for Nintendo: After focusing on mobile games based on established IPs, Nintendo’s launch of an original IP unashamedly focused on the Japanese market is a major departure
  67. Nintendo has patented a Game Boy case for smartphones
  68. Nintendo patents Game Boy phone controller/case: Filing invites speculation of a new way for Mario maker to monetize its legacy games on smartphones
  69. My.com: “Launching on console is shaping how the whole company looks at games”
  70. Making games is just the beginning for Media Molecule’s Dreams: Siobhan Reddy tells us why the upcoming title aims to transform everyone into a game developer, filmmaker, musician, artist and more
  71. NFTS secures £10m funding to run national centre for immersive storytelling
  72. Blog: Using artificial intelligence to generate game content
  73. Stuxnet Documentary ‘Zero Days VR’ Wins an Emmy
  74. Borderlands 2 getting full-scale PlayStation VR port December 14
  75. Magic Leap announces grant program for indie developers 
  76. ‘Beat Saber’ is Now the 7th Best Rated Steam Game of All Time
  77. How Early Access shaped the narrative structure of We Happy Few
  78. Mega Man is the next game franchise headed to The Big Screen
  79. Capcom announces live-action Mega Man movie: Japanese publisher working with Planet of the Apes production company Chernin Entertainment
  80. Netflix’s Witcher Series Has Cast 2 of Its Most Important Female Characters
  81. Paul W. S. Anderson’s Monster Hunter movie slated for production: Film will feature two protagonists from different worlds battling big beasties in order to survive
  82. Redundant translations in video games and anime
  83. How to choose what game to make next
  84. Blog: How ‘design thinking’ can help create good games
  85. Don’t Miss: 6 ways that the Final Fantasy series continues to influence devs
  86. Brian Fargo kicks off ten-part Video Game MBA video series tomorrow
  87. Here’s A Candid Breakdown Of Exactly How Much Money Twitch Streamers Earn Per Month
  88. Hands-on: Fallout 76 lets you bring some company to the Apocalypse
  89. Ars on your lunch break: Repairing your brain with video games

DIGITAL

  1. Libel by Tweet: Ontario Court of Appeal Upholds Dismissal of Twitter Libel Claim under Anti-SLAPP Legislation 
  2. Setting the Standard?: How the USMCA Quietly Reshapes Global Digital Trade Agreements (Michael Geist)
  3. Why the USMCA Will Enhance Online Free Speech in Canada (Michael Geist)
  4. How Canada Surrendered Policy Flexibility for Data Localization Rules in the USMCA (Michael Geist)
  5. USMCA: Four Important Changes to Intellectual Property Rights
  6. H-1B: As immigration furor roils Silicon Valley, Canada smooths way for techies
  7. Boof!: Pro-Kavanaugh “Robo-Texts” Trigger Potentially Massive TCPA Class Action against Faith and Freedom Coalition, Inc. in Florida 
  8. Government Moves To Seize All Backpage Assets Prior To Securing Convictions
  9. Facebook, Whose Support Made FOSTA Law, Now Sued For Facilitating Sex Trafficking Under FOSTA 
  10. Facebook Glitch Stopped Some Users With Lots of Posts From Deleting Their Accounts
  11. Facebook Launches a Camera for Your Home—What Could Possibly Go Wrong
  12. Facebook unveils smart displays, promises not to snoop on your video calls 
  13. Insights: Should You Give Facebook Another Portal Into Your Life?
  14. Facebook Watch Sets Series Adaptation Of ‘Limetown’ Podcast With Jessica Biel
  15. Google Successfully Amends Its AdWords TOS to Add Arbitration Clause–Trudeau v. Google (Eric Goldman)
  16. Google Drops Bid for Massive Military Cloud Computing Contract Amid Employee Pressure
  17. Google Call Screening: A personal robot that talks to, hangs up on spam calls 
  18. Google+ shutting down after data leak affecting 500,000 users
  19. Google Didn’t Report Its Data Leak Till Months Later. Now It’ll Face the Consequences.
  20. Google+ users, upset over data leak, sue Google
  21. Blogger Defeats Defamation Claims Over Posts Claiming a “Scam”–RainSoft v. MacFarland  (Eric Goldman)
  22. Augmented Retail – The Use of Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality to Enhance the Customer Shopping Experience 
  23. This Brain-Analyzing AI Could Kill Your Dream Of Being A Professional Athlete
  24. Would a BDSM Sex Robot Violate Asimov’s First Law of Robotics?
  25. Here are the top ways people die while taking selfies and “being cool”
  26. Thanks To Copyright, We Already Know How Aggressive Content Moderation Works: And It’s A Disaster
  27. 8% Of People Admit To Watching YouTube Videos While Driving, As Vlogging Behind The Wheel Runs Rampant
  28. YouTube TV Adds Ability To Fast-Forward Through Ads On DVR’d Shows
  29. YouTube To Net $3.4 Billion In U.S. Ad Revenues This Year (Study) 
  30. Indian Children’s Channel ChuChu TV, Which Has 20 Billion Views, Readies Global Licensing Push
  31. After Scandal, Manny MUA Plots YouTube Return With Self-Produced Docuseries
  32. Top YouTubers Are Taking Heat For Their Deals With A Controversial Mental Health App
  33. YouTube To Collaborate With Joseph Gordon-Levitt On Hourlong TV Special
  34. Vox To Debunk Misconceptions About The News In Ad-Supported YouTube Original
  35. Vice Media to Launch First Series on Instagram’s IGTV, Slates YouTube and Snapchat Programming
  36. Viacom Announces New Awesomeness, MTV, Comedy Central TV Shows To Premiere On YouTube, Twitter, Hulu
  37. CAP releases a new guide for social media influencers 
  38. Team 10 Ex-COO Nick Crompton Claims Jake Paul’s Pranks Are Fake In Dawson Docuseries
  39. Jukin Launches New Ad Tool That Creates 6-Second Spots With User-Generated Content
  40. TiVo Bolt OTA review: For would-be cord-cutters with great antenna reception 
  41. Snapchat is collaborating with Hollywood producers and writers to add scripted shows to the app amid user decline
  42. Snapchat turns its attention to India as it battles Instagram to win users
  43. Insights: Should Amazon Snap Up Struggling Snapchat?
  44. New Amazon Minimum Wage Is Below Median Pay in Most Areas
  45. Leaked Whole Foods Email Clarifies How Amazon’s Pay Raises Will Work
  46. Amazon Has a Massive New Division—and No One’s Paying Attention to It
  47. Amazon built an AI tool to hire people but had to shut it down because it was discriminating against women
  48. Amazon’s Secret AI Hiring Tool Reportedly ‘Penalized’ Resumes With the Word ‘Women’s’
  49. California’s War On ‘Bots’ Could Be A Steep Uphill Climb
  50. Netflix Released Record-High 676 Hours of Original Programming in Q3
  51. Netflix Is In Final Negotiations To Purchase Its First Production Studio, Will Bring 1,000+ Jobs Per Year To New Mexico
  52. Bloomberg: Super Micro motherboards used by Apple, Amazon contained Chinese spy chips
  53. How The Us Forced China To Quit Stealing – Using A Chinese Spy: For years, China has systematically looted American trade secrets. Here’s the messy inside story of how DC got Beijing to clean up its act for a while. 
  54. Apple, Amazon Deny China Installed Tiny Spy Microchips on Their Servers, but We’re Still Freaked Out
  55. Bloomberg stands by Chinese chip story as Apple, Amazon ratchet up denials
  56. Apple to Congress: Chinese spy-chip story is “simply wrong”
  57. Apple Watch Series 4 Review: A Giant Leap
  58. I take back every bad thing I ever said about the Apple Watch
  59. How Jamal Khashoggi’s Apple Watch Could Solve His Disappearance
  60. Data-deletion bug forces Microsoft to suspend rollout of Windows 10 update
  61. Microsoft promises to defend—not attack—Linux with its 60,000 patents
  62. Vogue launches a Spanish-language edition on Snapchat Discover
  63. Snapchat Envisions TV For The Mobile Era With Slate Of A Dozen ‘Snap Originals’
  64. Fox News Unveils Long-Form Programs for Fox Nation Streaming Service
  65. Why Are Tech Companies Pouring Money Into Instant Translators?: Do we *really* need to speak every language on earth? Tech companies seem to think we do.
  66. Now Twitter’s ‘Report’ Function Being Used To Disappear Complaint About GDPR Being Used To Disappear Public Court Document 
  67. Federal Court Dumps Another Lawsuit Against Twitter For Contributing To Worldwide Terrorism
  68. Elon Musk isn’t on his Twitter leash yet, so he’s taunting the SEC
  69. SEC’s Action Against Elon Musk Highlights the Importance of Care in Tweeting Corporate Information
  70. Elon Musk, Tesla, and the Perils of Social Media
  71. Fake Elon Musks Clutter Twitter with Crypto Scams: The scammers stay one step ahead of the platform, which isn’t great news for the midterms.
  72. Elon Musk Is Making Good on His Promise to Pay for Flint’s Clean Water
  73. Tim Berners-Lee Moves Forward With His Big Plan To Fix The Web By Bringing Back Its Original Decentralized Promise
  74. The Internet’s keepers? “Some call us hoarders—I like to say we’re archivists”
  75. We’ll Soon Know Exactly How Terrible The Internet Is For Our Mental Health
  76. Domain names: Seven “dirty words” now acceptable in .US 
  77. Creative Commons Continues To Try To Help Courts Understand What Its NonCommercial License Means
  78. The Internet’s keepers? “Some call us hoarders—I like to say we’re archivists”
  79. Dark Web vendor with totally amazing beard sentenced to 20 years in prison 

CREATIVITY

  1. Taylor Swift Causes Surge in Voter Registration After Endorsing Democrats on Instagram
  2. State Street Escalates Policy on Board Gender Diversity and Touts Impact of its “Fearless Girl” Campaign 
  3. Ninth Circuit Extends Tam 1st Amendment Protections to Advertising
  4. Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin
  5. Ronnie Van Zant Inc. v. Cleopatra Records, Inc.
  6. Full Speed Ahead for Graffiti Artist’s Suit Against GM
  7. Banksy booby-trapped one of his paintings to “self-destruct” at auction, and that’s actually pretty funny
  8. Spanish Court Moves Forward With Prosecution Of Man Who Offended A Bunch Of Religious Lawyers
  9. Bangladesh government to discuss tough new media law with journalists
  10. Most Chinese Patents Are Being Discarded By Their Owners Because They Are Not Worth The Maintenance Fees To Keep Them
  11. A ‘No Deal Brexit’ and its Affects on IP 
  12. USMCA (NAFTA 2.0): What’s New for Intellectual Property in Canada
  13. Recording proceedings in the lower courts – are televised trials likely in the future? 
  14. Ousted Guardians of the Galaxy director switches camps, tied to new DC Comics film

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

  1. Major US telecom was infiltrated by backdoored Supermicro hardware, Bloomberg says
  2. AT&T-Time Warner appeal: How liberal judges could help the DOJ’s case
  3. HBO, CNN, DC Comics, and more could join a streaming video service under AT&T
  4. Ajit Pai’s 5G plans make it harder for small ISPs to deploy broadband
  5. Ajit Pai faces rare criticism from GOP senator on rural broadband failures
  6. Justice Department, ISPs File Suit against California Net Neutrality Law
  7. Robocallers “evolved” to sidestep new call blocking rules, AGs tell FCC
  8. 35 States Tell the FCC to Get Off Its Ass and Do Something About Spoofed Robocalls
  9. Wi-Fi 6 Is Coming: Here’s Why You Should Care
  10. Hate your Comcast broadband? Verizon might sell you 5G home Internet
  11. After throttling firefighters, Verizon praises itself for “sav[ing] lives” 
  12. New Verizon Ad Hopes To Make You Forget It Throttled Firefighters For No Reason
  13. AT&T Claims It Wants Meaningful Privacy Rules…After Just Lobbying To Kill Meaningful Privacy Rules

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

  1. Russian spies hacked officials to protect doping athletes, US charges
  2. As Everyone Knows, In The Age Of The Internet, Privacy Is Dead — Which Is Awkward If You Are A Russian Spy
  3. Travelers To New Zealand Now Face $3,000 Fines If They Don’t Give Their Device Passwords To Customs Agents
  4. Feds to judge: We still think we can put GPS trackers on cars entering US
  5. Free Law Project Takes A Stand Against Attempt To Use GDPR To Disappear A Public Court Docket
  6. Instagram is testing the ability to share your precise location history with Facebook: Revealed just weeks after Instagram’s co-founders left the company 
  7. Now Instagram might let Facebook spy on your location
  8. Lawyers for Vizio Smart TV owners propose final deal, around $20 per person
  9. Vizio Agrees to $17M Settlement to Resolve Smart TV Class Action Suit 
  10. California’s new data privacy law: What you need to know
  11. California Passes First Cybersecurity Law Regulating IoT Devices
  12. California’s IoT Security Law is Well-Intentioned, but a Comprehensive Federal Law is Needed (Eric Goldman)
  13. Equifax Inc 2017 US data breach generates fines for Equifax Ltd in the UK

Jon

Class 8 – 10/31/18; “From Wheelbarrows to Holodecks: Conundrums of Technology & Law in the Future of Video-Games” + “esports”

Slides and video below…

Jon

Class 7 – 10/24/18; “What’s it all about…EULA?” + “Ratings and Censorship of Video Games”

Video and slides below. Sorry that the slides had to be split into 3 parts, the last two of which being the loot box section. That was even after culling the loot box section to really center on the Battlefront narrative, as that focuses the storytelling better without missing any essential components.

Jon

Discussion Outline: October 31

Group: Selena Chen, Jonah Brook, Scott MacDonald, Bas Van Schaik

Discussion Topic: Esport: Gaining Traction

Hello everyone! This week’s topic will be esports, its growth, governance, labour, and international components.

  1. Esports: Emulating the Traditional “Big Sports” (Scott)
  • Consideration of what is sports?
  • Highly skilled nerds or legitimate athletes?
  • Case study: Overwatch League
  • How esports has copied traditional big sports structure and formula of success
  • The growing market and demand for esports
  • Big sports ownership has taken notice and invested
  • Overwatch league expansion and global markets a discussion of international issues

 

  1. Esports Governance and Gambling (Jonah)
  • Introduction to (lack of) esports regulatory bodies
  • Discussion of the developer-driven nature of esports and potential issues – using Blizzard Entertainment as a case study
  • A brief introduction to esports gambling and issues within that industry
  • And finally the overlap: match-fixing in esports

 

  1. Labour Conditions Within the Esport Industry (Selena)
  • Brief discussion regarding the benefits of being in the industry – what makes being a professional gamer appealing to youths
  • Discussion regarding the downsides of being in the industry – examples of restrictive contracts, blacklisting, and pay dispute
  • Discussion regarding contracts signed by players in the industry – example of an abusive contract
  • Discussion regarding working conditions of a professional gamer
  • Discussion of potential solutions and future trends of the industry with regards to its treatment of professional gamers

 

  1.  International aspects: Dispute resolution & immigration (Bas)
  • Brief introduction to forms of dispute resolution in esports
  • Discussion regarding (specialized) arbitral tribunals
  • A brief introduction to immigration in international sports
  • Discussion regarding the different policies in north america and its implications in future esports events

 

Preparation for presentation

In preparation for next week’s presentation, please watch the following video regarding how esports is changing the perception of gamers.

Click on the image below to link to the video: 

Look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday!

Discussion Outline: October 24, 2018

Hello everyone,

This week’s discussion hour topic is video game classification systems and censorship.

We will be discussing the following:

1. Why Classify and Censor Games – Violence in Video Games

2. Video Game Classification in North America (the ESRB)

3. International Classification of Online Games

4. Video Game Classification in Australia

5. Censorship Around the World

In preparation, please watch this video outlining some of the limitations of the current North American system of classification.

Talk on “Streaming Boxes” at More Than Just A Game | Frankfurt – October 19, 2018

Was very privileged to be invited to Frankfurt am Main, Germany to speak at the Frankfurt Edition of More Than Just A Game. Special thanks Dr. Andreas Lober and the law firm of Beiten Burkhardt for all of their considerable hospitality. It was great event.

Here is the Program, which may be a useful reference point when it comes topics for both in-class presentations and term papers.

Finally, attached below is an updated version of the slides I presented on the topic oid “Streaming (video-game) Boxes”.

Jon

Class 6 – 10/17/18; “Consumers & Users As Creators & Connectors: Cases, Clauses, & Contexts” + “The Implications of Copyright Law on Video-game Streamers”

Slides & video from the class.

Jon

Talk at VGBA North; October 16, 2018

Was honoured to speak at the Video Game Bar Association event at the Centre for Digital Media on Tuesday October 16, 2018 on the subject of  A.I. & Video-Games. My slides can be found below…

Jon