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game development

Georgia Pretties Itself Up For Game Developers

It's no secret that Georgia wants game developers and it wants them bad. While the state is already home to a large handful of smaller game studios, they are seeking to make Georgia an entertainment mecca. To that effect Governor Sonny Purdue signed into law the 2008 Entertainment Industry Investment Act this past Monday, granting entertainment companies, game developers included, huge tax credits for creating their art in The Peach State.

Qualifying productions spending at least $500,000 in the state will qualify for a 20% tax credit, with an additional 10% granted if said productions included an animated Georgia logo in the finished product.

As a member of the gaming press residing just minutes away from beautiful downtown Atlanta, I welcome any and all game developers to our lovely state. If you need crash space, give me a call.

Hit the jump for the full press release.

More »

9:20 AM on Fri May 16 2008
By Mike Fahey
1,654 views, 63 comments

nintendo busted

Nintendo Lose Patent Lawsuit, Owe $21 Million

In 2006, a small Texan company by the name of Anascape Ltd. took Nintendo and Microsoft to court, claiming the pair had infringed on patents Anascape held relating to game controllers (presumably this one, filed in 2000, for a "3D controller with vibration"). While Microsoft decided to settle things out of court, Nintendo stuck to their guns, a move which has now cost them $21 million after a Federal jury ruled in Anascape's favour. The ruling applies to Nintendo's GameCube, Wavebird and Classic controllers (but not the Wii Remote or Nunchuk). Nintendo have said only that they plan to appeal, and that they expect the court to "significantly" reduce the amount of money they have to cough up.

[Associated Press]

11:30 PM on Wed May 14 2008
By Luke Plunkett
10,878 views, 135 comments

Latest by gencid: That's nothing that 3 months of worldwide Wii + DS sales won't fix. more »

traces of nuts

GTA Will "Knock Me Out And Take My Gold Jesus Cross"

Jonathan Lee Riches is a prisoner at a Williamsburg County federal corrections centre. Jonathan Lee Riches is also nuttier than a bag full of crushed nuts. The 31 year-old partly blames GTA for his stint in the slammer, and has filed a restraining order against Take-Two, Rockstar and, best of all, Grand Theft Auto itself. Why? He says "Defendants put me in prison. I face imminent danger from violent inmates who played Grand Theft Auto who will knock me out and take my gold Jesus cross". Brilliant. I say only "partly", however, because this is the same guy who last year filed suits against Barry Bonds, MLB commissioner Bud Selig and...Hank Aaron's bat, hoping to nab himself "42,000,000 million dollars in Swiss Francs". He also sued disgraced footballer Michael Vick for "63,000,000,000 billion dollars". So, so, so nutty.
Inmate Files Restraining Order Against GTA [Next-Gen]
Inmate Files Another Bizarre Lawsuit [Fox News]

11:30 PM on Thu Apr 17 2008
By Luke Plunkett
3,015 views, 49 comments

Latest by Trowble (XBL/PSN): @zanzibarlegend: Now that's what I call great advertising. more »

brazil

Brazil Gets The Memo, Bans Bully

Judge Flavio Rabello has barred the sale of Bully in Brazil, following requests for its banning from a youth centre in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. State prosecutor Alcindo Bastos says the reason for the game's banning stems from the fact "the aggravating factor is that everything in the game takes place inside a school", which is apparently "not acceptable" considering how much fisticuffs feature in the game. Distributors and retailers have 30 days to comply with the order.
Brazil judge bans 'Bully' [globeandmail]

11:30 PM on Thu Apr 10 2008
By Luke Plunkett
1,210 views, 56 comments

Latest by Freakeeg: I can see that a lot of brazilians (including me) are complaining about this fact. But now I wonder, why don't we stand to this outrageous acts?! This country's policy is just going to change when its population starts to more »

law

Digital Kriegspiel Creator Under Fire From Dead Marxist

Alex Galloway has put together a lovely digital adaptation of a chess-like game created by French Marxist Guy Debord dubbed Kriegspiel; now the estate of Debord is sending cease and desist letters to Galloway, claiming the digital version is infringing on the intellectual property rights of Debord. Reminiscent of the problem faced by the Scrabulous creators, Galloway is insisting that the idea of a game and rules are not subject to copyright. Ian Bogost weighs in:

Galloway has been served a cease and desist by the attorney representing Guy Debord's widow. It's too early to tell what will happen next ... Galloway's situation bears some similarity to that of popular Facebook app Scrabulous. The irony, of course, is the estate of a dead Marxist pursuing litigation over the exchange value of the name and image of its intellectual property.

Raising ire from Mattel I can see, but raising ire from the estate of a Marxist thinker over his little-known game from the '70s? Hm. We'll see what happens in this case — is it curtains for digital Kriegspiel?

The Revolution will be Litigated [Water Cooler Games]

2:30 PM on Sun Apr 6 2008
By mgreene
2,069 views, 38 comments

Latest by Evil Tortie's Mom: @zoesch: So he was a bad Marxist and his widow's a worse one. I vaguely remember the game... my older brother had it. Plain ol' chess was more favored, though. more »

industry

The UK Declares War On Canadian Game Industry

We mentioned potential action to be taken by a European trade group against Canada for unfair trade practices, and now the UK Ministry of Canadian Ministry of Culture, Media and Sport has launched a formal investigation. The British government is afraid that Canadian "state aid offered to computer games companies ... may not be compatible with World Trade Organization principles." With a bevy of tax benefits (with some allowing companies to write off as much as 45% of labor costs), Canada has been luring big development studios away from Europe:
"The Canadians have driven a tank over the French Citroen and have now parked on our lawn," Paul Jackson, head of the industry organization representing British games studios, complained to the Financial Times earlier this week. "It is becoming very challenging to keep core development studios here."

We'll see how this plays out, though I can't imagine the UK findings are going to be in Canadian favor. Are we looking at a WTO to-do?
U.K. launches trade war over video game industry [The Vancouver Sun via GamePolitics]

1:00 PM on Sun Mar 30 2008
By mgreene
5,196 views, 156 comments

Latest by krunkjuice: This should put the Amero far above the Euro if Canada lures all the devs from Europe. Good job Canada! more »

law

JT's Bar Trial Transcribed In Loving Detail

As you probably know, Ol' Jacky Boy underwent a Bar Trial in Florida late last year. While the verdict's still pending, anyone curious as to how the whole thing went down - or is just wondering how many times JT mentioned the word c**tflaps during proceedings - should head straight over to GamePolitics, who have painstakingly transcribed almost the entire case for your reading pleasure.
Jack Thompson's Bar Trial [GamePolitics]

11:00 AM on Sat Mar 29 2008
By Luke Plunkett
2,988 views, 45 comments

nintendo

Nintendo Spooks Retailers Into Pulling R4 Carts

R4 carts, you either love 'em or hate 'em. People who want to play pirated DS games, they love 'em. Retailers in Akihabara, they love 'em, because they sell a fuckton of them. But Nintendo? They hate 'em. And may have started doing something about it. We knew that they'd begun to grow concerned over the carts late last year, but over the past week many specialist retailers in Akihabara have put up notices saying they'll no longer be selling the R4, following threats made by Nintendo. Same goes for some Japanese online retailers. So is this the end for the naughty little cartridge? Eh, probably not. Nintendo may be able to strong-arm the little guy, but not the littler guys they don't even know about. Or the internets.
マジコンR4　もう入荷しないって [Akiba Blog]

1:30 AM on Fri Mar 28 2008
By Luke Plunkett
5,258 views, 47 comments

Latest by CruiseElroy: @Scazza: Yeah, I think I'd probably be the same way, that's why I don't let myself buy one. I'm keeping myself honest, I guess... more »

jack thompson

Thompson Sanctioned by Florida Supreme Court

One more round today in the continuing downward spiral of controversial Miami attorney Jack Thompson. Today the Florida Supreme Court sanctioned Mr. Thompson after he failed to prove that they shouldn't through his recent "show cause" order. So what does all this law jargon mean exactly? Well the long and short of it is that Thompson will no longer be able to file cases directly to the courts but instead will have to hire another lawyer to do so on his behalf. While this move won't completely muzzle the outspoken Thompson, it will certainly make it difficult for him to bring more of his frivolous lawsuits to the court's attention. Bear in mind that this is a separate issue from his disbarment trial which is currently in the works.

If you are a fan of reading long legal documents, Game Politics has the full court order available for your perusal on their website.

BREAKING - Florida Supreme Court Sanctions Jack Thompson {GamePolitics]

12:40 PM on Thu Mar 20 2008
By fdemarco
22,991 views, 103 comments

Latest by dunetiger : apples are red: What could possibly possess something like Uncle JT to become the man he is today? Surely he wasn't always such a character, so what could have snapped in his brain? Sounds like we need a Psychonaut. In all seriousness more »

law

Boston Mayor Backs Games As Porn Bill

And yet another state takes a stab at the consistently failing "Games As Porn" bill, which would classify violent video games in the same category as pornography, making it illegal to sell them to minors. This time around it is Massachusetts, whose legislature will consider House Bill 1423 tomorrow. Among the bill's supporters is Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino

"Children aged 17 and under should not be sold this stuff, so they are not getting into the hands of 9- and 10-year-olds," said Larry Mayes, Menino's chief of human services.

"Is it going to be an uphill battle? Sure. But it's absolutely a battle that the mayor feels he should take on."

Similar bills have come and gone in Louisiana and Utah, so I doubt this one will be any more successful. I almost wish that a state would actually pass one of these, if only to prove that it won't do anything to help curb youth violence.

Menino: Ban violent vid games for kids [Boston Herald via Game Politics]

10:20 AM on Mon Mar 17 2008
By Mike Fahey
3,611 views, 128 comments

Latest by Eli Reusch: It's definitely the video games, and not the hundreds of thousands of guns on the streets of Boston. more »

guitar hero

Harmonix Sue, Then Unsue, Activision

More Guitar Hero lawsuits! Don't make that face, you know you can't get enough of them. This time around, courtesy of Variety's snooping, it's series creator Harmonix on the legal warpath, who have (briefly) sued current franchise holders Activision over unpaid royalties. Seems the contract signed by Harmonix and RedOctane over the original Guitar Hero contained a clause that said Harmonix would earn one of two royalty payment schemes if they ever left the series. One, a lower figure, would be paid if another dev team took over the series and made fundamental changes to the game mechanics. The other, a higher figure, would be owed if another team took over and released a game that "incorporates, uses, or is derived from Harmonix property". Guitar Hero III is definitely the latter, with minimal changes to the previous games, but Harmonix claim they're only being paid the lower royalty scheme, and are owed around $14.5 million worth of Guitar Hero III's profits. More »

9:20 PM on Tue Mar 11 2008
By Luke Plunkett
6,389 views, 42 comments

Latest by MXs219: This dispute really has nothing to do with EA and it seem like its in control now since the law suit was drop, Both party seem to be taking care of things. more »

law

Should Video Game Patents Be Legal?

Over on Gamasutra, designer Ernest Adams has posted an interesting piece on video game software patents. He argues that not only are such patents morally gray, but that they are too encompassing—citing an example from Namco's PSOne version of Ridge Racer in which they patented, we kid you not, load-time minigames. He explains:
The US Patent and Trademark Office has taken a much more vague approach to determining what may or may not be patented. Its guidelines for patent examiners requires that the invention produce a concrete, useful, and tangible result, and gameplay patents are being allowed.
Then he later continues: More »

11:40 AM on Wed Mar 5 2008
By Mark Wilson
3,664 views, 96 comments

Latest by --Core--: As far as this goes, I am againt's it. If this were to happen, it would open a whole can of worms in the long run. And from my perspective, I believe it would end up hurting us, the gamer/consumer through more »

law

FutureMark Responds to Pwnage Trademark Ire

In what can only be described as the lamest excuse ever, Jukka Mäkinen, Executive Producer, Futuremark Games Studio, has responded to the ire raised when word floated to the surface that his company had decided to file a trademark for "Pwnage."

The Finnish software company had initially filed papers on the prevalent word on Feb. 26 to protect the word in relation to:

"... computer game software; computer game programs; computer game discs; interactive multimedia computer game program; downloadable ring tones, ... multimedia software recorded on CD-ROM featuring fictional characters and computer games; pre-recorded DVD's, video tapes, laser discs featuring movies about fictional characters, and pre-recorded compact discs featuring music; motion picture films on fictional characters...".

But they did it, Mäkinen says, to protect their company, not make money:

More »

9:00 AM on Tue Mar 4 2008
By Brian Crecente
13,172 views, 97 comments

Latest by viperpack: NOOBS IS ALREADY TRADEMARKED GUYS it's been for along time now... more »

law

pwnage (TM)?

In the latest salvo in the let's-claim-credit-for-a-commonly-used-term-that-we-didn't-even-create War(TM), Finnish software company Futuremark Games Studio filed papers on February 26, 2008 to protect the trademark "Pwnage" in relation to:

"... computer game software; computer game programs; computer game discs; interactive multimedia computer game program; downloadable ring tones, ... multimedia software recorded on CD-ROM featuring fictional characters and computer games; pre-recorded DVD's, video tapes, laser discs featuring movies about fictional characters, and pre-recorded compact discs featuring music; motion picture films on fictional characters...".

Wow... at least they aren't attempting to apply it to every piece of media published or anything like that.

More »

8:00 AM on Sun Mar 2 2008
By Drew Crecente
60,479 views, 110 comments

crime

Settlement Reached In PS3 Police Shooting

The PlayStation 3 launch was a dark time for gaming. Robberies, fistfights, and of course, the tragic shooting of 18-year-old college student and suspected PS3 thief Payton Strickland, shot through his door as policeman Christopher Long allegedly mistook the sounds of a battering ram for gunfire. Now a year and three months from the December 1st 2006 shooting, the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office has agreed to a massive settlement with the victim's family, along with a taped apology from Sheriff Sid Causey.
"I am profoundly sorry," Causey said against a backdrop of the United States and North Carolina flags. "I cannot begin to imagine the immense sorrow the Strickland family must continue to feel, but they will forever be in my thoughts and prayers. It is my hope that the Strickland family will accept this apology and know that it is offered with compassion and sincerity."
More »

8:20 AM on Thu Feb 28 2008
By Mike Fahey
7,258 views, 143 comments

Latest by DaiMacculate: @Billkwando, fuchikoma: Just a note on keeping dogs in "cages", while I totally agree with the given example of when its used exclusively to contain the dog and/or ignore it, I do think that proper crate/cage training can be very more »

nintendo ds

Sharp, Hitachi Accused Of Price-Fixing Over DS LCD Screens

Sharp and Hitachi make the small LCD screens used by Nintendo on the DS. They're also in a bit of trouble! Both companies have been raided by Japan's antitrust regulator, after suspicions were raised that the pair have been involved in price-fixing over the handheld's screens. All very unsurprising, considering the popularity of the handheld and Nintendo's reliance on outside companies for the DS's components. None of the parties involved - Sharp, Hitachi, Nintendo or the regulators - have issued a statement regarding the allegations. If they're found guilty, it'll probably result in a lowering of screen prices and a reduction in costs for Nintendo, but if you think that'll also result in a cheaper DS for you, you're kidding yourself.
Sharp, Hitachi Displays Probed by Japan's Fair-Trade Regulator [Bloomberg]

11:00 PM on Wed Feb 27 2008
By Luke Plunkett
2,487 views, 38 comments

Latest by Haniko: Make them drop the price, they'll drop the quality. Nintendo will just make more money. Now they'll be able to buy ANOTHER planet. more »

legal

Activision Sued Over Blizzard Merger

Time for more crazy lawsuit news! Why? Because everyone loves crazy lawsuit news. The mighty Wayne County Employees' Retirement System are unhappy with the merger deal Vivendi and Activision signed last year, claiming that as shareholders they copped a bum deal:
The merger, stock purchase and tender offer, working in concert, convey control of Activision to Vivendi but fail to offer the Activision stockholders an opportunity to realize a true control premium for their stock.
And to think, there once was a time people had to work for their money. Cry me a river.
Investors sue Activision over Vivendi merger [GI.biz]

1:30 AM on Wed Feb 27 2008
By Luke Plunkett
2,106 views, 43 comments

Latest by scoli83: @kennyd1: So you are arguing that because a corporation is a legal person, that no duty is owed to shareholders/bondholders? That is very simply wrong. I don't know where you're getting your information, but you are ill informed. See shareholder derivative suit, more »

business

The Real Reason Take-Two Rejected EA's Offer?

OK, bear with me. ZelnickMedia are an investment firm who were brought in to run Take-Two. Take-Two's executive chairman is a Mr. Strauss Zelnick, a member of ZelnickMedia's "executive parntership". EA have made two offers to buy Take-Two, one on February 6, one on February 19. Very shortly after receiving the first offer, and before they received the second offer (or told shareholders about it), Take-Two's board of directors and ZelnickMedia approved a "major increase in compensation" (ie a payrise) for Mr. Zelnick, along with CEO Ben Feder and executive VP Karl Slatoff (also ZelnickMedia members). Part of that deal included a hefty stocks payout for Zelnick, who received shares in the company that would either mature in time or - and here's the kicker - half of which would vest (ie pay out) immediately should the company be bought. More »

9:40 PM on Tue Feb 26 2008
By Luke Plunkett
11,392 views, 82 comments

Latest by Kounji: @PownerOfNewbs: There tends not to be so much anti trust on single software. Though I'm wondering really when the SEC is going to stand up and say " whoa whoa whoa" you guys are consolidating way too much. I more »