Used Game Market Not the Problem, Lack of New Purchase Incentive the Real Issue
by Chad Lakkis on November 3, 2008

Look, I’ve been reading a heap of articles lately citing both the Eurogamer and GI.biz sit down with Frontier Developments’ founder, David Braben, and I simply couldn’t take it anymore.
For those of you that missed the hoopla, Braben’s gripe is that the used game market will eventually kill the single player aspect of games and force all developers to focus instead on multiplayer due to its high replay factor. While I agree that multiplayer does offer a much higher replay value, I certainly don’t agree with his proposed fix.
My argument is that for every game there are two versions. One is personal, not for resale and it’s made abundantly clear you can’t sell it. And it’s made available for something like GBP 25 [$40]. And a resale and rental copy, which in film is actually about GBP 80 [$130].
Huh? That has got to be the most ass backwards solution I’ve ever heard of. I understand the need for a developer to generate higher revenue, but handcuffing a consumer to their product is not the answer. Read more…
Show Me the Money: Former Executive Sues Take Two for $50 Million
by Justin Arnold on October 17, 2008

In a Nevada lawsuit filed last week against publisher Take-Two interactive, former executive Robert Alexander is suing the gaming giant for $50 million.
The lawsuit is the result of what Alexander claims is a breach of an oral contract. Alexander’s time with the company is long-standing, having been with T2 in some shape and form since 2004. After leaving the company, he formed another distributing company which began to partner with T2. Read more…
Hot Coffee is Now Worth 35 Bucks, but Only If You’re A Douchebag
by Dan Landis on February 12, 2008

You may or may not recall a little debacle about the “Hot Coffee” mod for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. It was a cute little mini-game that allowed virtual you to have virtual sex with your virtual girlfriend. Even though the content was locked away because of the ESRB, it was still on the retail disc.
This was somehow offensive to people, and Rockstar was sued. Now that the lawsuit is settled, all the hypocritical pussies out there can get their slice of the censorship pie with a cash settlement of up to $35. Sweet justice! Read more…
Pornographic Image Depicting Jade Raymond Provokes Ubisoft Legal Response
by Chad Lakkis on November 16, 2007

It appears that Ubisoft’s legal team contacted what seemed to be an unaware website owner regarding a post that one of his site’s registered forum users made, depicting Jade Raymond (the games producer) and the Assassin’s Creed trademark in a way that the legal representative stated was “extremely offensive” and “pornographic”. Read more…







