Police got a search warrant for Gilliam's home in the Bronx based off tracing info gathered by Microsoft and Gilliam's ISP. Seems he snatched an Xbox 360 - see? It's not so hard to specify the console in question - around Nov. 11, then hooked it up to play an online game (unspecified, but we'll forgive 'em). Evidently the console was reported stolen, and when law enforcement went back to Microsoft to ask if that machine had connected since the burglary, lo and behold it had. I'm assuming the monthlong intermission was to make sure everything followed search warrant and subpoena procedure.

When police cuffed Gilliam, they found loot from "about 200 car larcenies and a couple of burglaries," reports LoHud.com Consoles, mobile phones, GPS devices and other electronics were found in the trove. "We recovered so much, I just didn't know where to start," Pelham police Detective Rick Deer told LoHud.

Gilliam has the proverbial longer-than-one's-arm rap sheet. He was out on parole at the time of his arrest. He's looking at felony grand larceny charges.

Police Follow Xbox Trail to Suspect, Find Loot from 200 Thefts [LoHud.com via Hot Blooded Gaming]

By all accounts it's a bit of a mess but then, that's what you get when you muck around with this kind of business. There's sloppy framerates and poor controls all over the shop.

On the bright side, it supports the...Wii Remote?

N64 Emulator Hits Jailbroken iPhones, With Bluetooth Wiimote Support

Shortly after opening this morning an armed man entered the store, held the employee and a customer at gunpoint while waiting for a security timer on the store's safe to expire, stole a Wii and several games then shot the clerk in the leg as he made his escape.

Thankfully the employee - who was fully cooperative during the ordeal and did not in any way resist - was not seriously hurt.

Clerk Shot During Game Stop Robbery [WFTV]

The Salt Lake City Weekly has a comprehensive roundup of the Sensory Sweep fiasco, and it won't fill you with holiday cheer. But I do encourage you to read it out of respect for these workers and their families, caught up in the studio's deceptions and paid in promises for a year.

In addition to the unpaid wages, the company had stopped paying insurance premiums and 401(k) contributions, even though workers' checks (when they were getting them) had still been deducted for them. The lack of insurance means former employee Paul Grimshaw is looking at bankruptcy over an unpaid dental claim.

The federal government, which negotiated the back-pay deal way back in January, is using threats of jail to collect back taxes from founder Dave Rushton and his wife Maureen, but not to get destitute employees the money they were owed. In other words, some guy and his wife made money off people's free labor, and the government's first in line to be paid, not the workers. Utah's Labor Commission needs prosecutors if it's going to bring state criminal charges against an employer who does not pay, and that kind of case hasn't been brought in 10 years.

Oh, and speaking of taxes? A former employee, who sent us this tip, told Kotaku that his (and others') Social Security taxes hadn't been paid in 2007, so workers are on the hook for that, too.

A former studio employee, commenting on the Salt Lake Weekly's article, sums up how Sensory Sweep was able to keep going even when the checks weren't:

"One of the most frustrating things about being a former Sensory Sweep employee was watching other people young to the industry walk into the company while it was floundering. Those kids would end up being paid in promises and optimistic half-truths, and they just didn't have the available experience to know any better."

It is sad. Jobs in this industry are incredibly competitive because so many want to work in it, and will make great sacrifices to do so, and are reminded by people on the outside that this is somehow a dream job others would be happy to do for free. Speaking personally, I clench my fists every time I read someone say that kind of thing so casually. And out in Utah, where people also had mortgages, student loans, families and no other jobs in the industry to seek, I can see how that helped keep Sensory Sweep's charade going.

Sensory Sweep Shortchange [Salt Lake City Weekly]

It's a serious charge, one that carries a mandatory two-year jail sentence if he's convicted. In his defence, Watts claims not only that he is innocent, but that US officers beat him, attempted to withhold his Miranda Rights and seized a whole ton of his stuff.

Messy.

Watts has worked with Relic on the story for what would later become Homeworld 2, and has most lately been employed by Crytek to lend a hand with the writing for Crysis 2.

Dr Peter Watts, Canadian science fiction writer, beaten and arrested at US border [Boing Boing]

Instead, the presiding judge advised Nintendo that it should adopt a more accessible development platform, like that you'd find on a PC.

As you'd expect, Nintendo - who have pursued similar action in Japan - are displeased with the judge's decision, and will be appealing, telling MCV:

Nintendo is extremely disappointed with the decision by Paris' Criminal Court to find Max Louarn, his company, Divineo, and other co-defendants not guilty in the criminal case involving the sale and distribution of game copying devices

Nintendo welcomes the Prosecutor's decision to Appeal the Judgment. As a victim Nintendo will join his Appeal. Nintendo supports action against the distributors of such devices.

Nintendo maintains that infringement of its intellectual property rights, on its trademarks, software, its technical prevention measures and its video games is causing damage to the whole video game industry, preventing developers from gaining the full benefit of their hard work and creativity, but also to the customers who expect the highest standards and integrity from products bearing the Nintendo name.

Way to stick it to 'em, France. Liberté, égalité...attorneyté?

Nintendo appeals Flash card case [MCV]

No Doubt's beef comes from the fact they claim they only signed on to appear in the game singing No Doubt songs. Activisions, meanwhile, are suing the band over allegations including "failing to do its due diligence on the videogame before signing away its digital likeness, breaching a contract to provide marketing and promotion to the game, and being unjustly enriched by their inclusion in the game."

You have to wonder whether the money Activision stand to win from this - if they win - is worth all the bad press.

Activision countersues No Doubt in 'Band Hero' flap [The Hollywood Reporter]

Over on Gamasutra, attorney Mona Ibrahim has provided a handy guide on how to go about making a fan game (whether it be a remake or all-new title), get it finished, and not end up with a nasty letter from Nintendo or George Lucas for your troubles.

The best plan of action is to "rely on unprotected game elements, mechanics and processes" and ask the IP owner for permission before commencing work. If those don't work, you can always take what inspired you from somebody else's game and use it as a foundation to build your own game on.

Budding modders and developers note, however, Ibrahim's advice is followed by a big 'THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. The content of this article is not legal advice" disclaimer, so, yeah, tread lightly.

To read the whole thing in-depth, hit up Gamasutra below.

Analysis: Clone Games & Fan Games — Legal Issues [Gamasutra]

Raupp is looking to "curb the manufacture, distribution, importation, distribution, trading and custody, storage [of] the video games that affect the customs [and] traditions of the people, their worship, creeds, religions and symbols".

A senate education commission has already approved the bill, meaning it's on its way now for a vote in Brazil's Committee on Constitution and Justice. If passed, anyone caught violating the law could face 1-3 years in the slammer.

Criar ou distribuir jogos ofensivos pode virar crime no Brasil [UOL, via GamePolitics]

Nintendo are currently investigating a commercial for Nokia's N900 smartphone, which reportedly showed the phone happily playing a bunch of retro emulated games for the NES, SNES Game Boy and Spectrum, among others. The clear insinuation being that any ROMs involved in playing these games would, in 99% of cases, be illegally downloaded.

We'd point you towards the video, but it's since been pulled.

Nintendo Investigating Possible Copyright Infringement By Nokia [Edge]
Nokia demonstrates retro emulator [Pocket Gamer]

That or he's crazy. It could go either way.

Estavillo claims the company "continues to maintain a harmful virtual environment to many of its customers by forcing them to follow [World of Warcraft's] sneaky and deceitful practices".

And what could those "sneaky and deceitful practices" be? Walking is one of them, as he feels it takes too long to get from one point to the other in the game world. Because you can only speed up through extended play or buy purchasing an expansion pack, that qualifies as "deceitful".

He also believes that, because of a litany of health problems he suffers from (including OCD, agoraphobia, depression and Crohn's Disease), he's at risk of sharing the fate of Shawn Woolley, an Everquest player who committed suicide in 2001.

The best part follows: to back up his claims, Estavillo has subpoenaed Winona Ryder (who would presumably be able to "explain the significance of alienation in Catcher in the Rye") and Martin Lee Gore, of Depeche Mode ("he himself has been known to be sad, lonely, and alienated as can be seen in the songs he writes").

Best of luck, Erik.

Winona Ryder, Depeche Mode Factor in WOW Lawsuit [GamePolitics]

See, according to a report in Britain's The Times, Will (guess he was spilling anonymously) not only bought the game and stayed up late, he called in the next morning and said he was "sick", when really he was up to his eyeballs in knife-fights and dead Russians.

Harmless day off, you say? Would be, were "Will" not a judge. A judge of 15 years, at a county court in Britain.

Some will be upset at this. Think a judge is too important a man to blow off a day's work for some video games. But you know what? Judge's gotta play games too, man. Judge's gotta play games too.

Meet the secret gamers [The Times, via VG247]

The study, "Playing By the Rules" was undertaken by Pro Juventute, a Swiss children's rights group, and Track Impunity Always (TRIAL), which is concerned with international criminal justice. Their report provides a legal analysis of the conduct enabled by the games.

Rather than play the games themselves, the two groups sent expert observers to watch serious gamers play through and then note the egregious acts they saw. Here's what they had to say about Battlefield: Bad Company.

In the scenes, there seems to be no assessment of proportionality in the attacks realized in civilian areas and we do not know, whether precautionary measures were taken to minimize civilian casualties and damage to civilian objects. However, in a real life situation, one is often confronted with similar circumstances: regular armed forces and irregular armed groups are very unlikely to give any information about the planning of the preparation of military operations to international organisations or human rights bodies. Without such information, it is difficult to establish that a military operation was not proportional, in particular whether the attacker took all the precautionary measures necessary to avoid, and in any event to minimize incidental loss or civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects."

In addition to the extensive destruction, some of the scenes portray the members of "Bad Company" taking gold and "treasures" found in the civilian houses they have just destroyed. Upon obtaining them, the players get points. These actions amount to pillage, which is strictly prohibited under IHL and thus have also been labeled as "strong". This illegal action is confirmed in one of the scenes where you can hear a member saying that "Pillaging is an old war tradition." Pillage is considered as a war crime both in international and non- international armed conflicts.

I'm thinking that asking the goons of Bad Company to take precautionary measures for anything would be a little like talking to a cardboard box. It's also amusing to me that a basic, nonviolent scavenging mechanic rates a "strong" violation of international law (which it would be, if it occurred in real life) and is called out as a war crime.

Anyway, the study had a number of recommendations. Among them is a call for clearly defined rules of engagement.

It would be very useful if developers would incorporate more specific rules on how to conduct an operation in their games, in terms of the weapons allowed, the behaviour allowed, the military targets sought, the degree of collateral damage permitted, etc. The message of the scenes should never be that everything is allowed, or that it is up to the player to decide what is right and what is wrong. In real life, this is not the way it works.

If you want to dive into more killjoy gasbaggery about Modern Warfare, World at War and - Jesus, True Crime Streets of L.A. is in here? Who did they find to play that? Anyway, you can grab your copy of the report here [pdf.]

Fighting Fair: International Humanitarian Law As Applied to Games [Game Politics]

Abington are looking to get a class action lawsuit together, believing Microsoft's actions to be both heavy-handed and suspiciously convenient giving the proximity of the bannings to the release of Modern Warfare 2.

"Microsoft has chosen to use one of the most indiscriminate 'weapons' in its arsenal in an effort to combat piracy — as a result, use of this 'weapon' has resulted in a great deal of collateral damage — many people were affected who had nothing to do with piracy", reads a statement on the firm's website.

As for the conspiracy theory side of the story, Abington reckon that the mass bannings were just an excuse for Micsrosoft, with the release of the year's biggest online title on the horizon, to rack up a few extra Xbox Live subscriptions from those eager to get back onto the service.

Sounds like complete rubbish to me, but then, this is a law firm we're talking about.

Banned Xbox LIVE Users To Sue? [IncGamers]

One console was broken upgrading to firmware 3.0, the other installing 3.1. Both claim that upon contacting Sony's customer support, they were told the machine failures were "coincidental", and that to fix the console they'd need to pony up a $150 repair charge.

The sexiest part of the suit reads:

Defendant's unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business practices include, but are not limited to, misrepresentations regarding the fitness of the PS3 and software updates, failing to disclose defects in the system and software updates, and refusing to repair PS3 systems free of charge.

The pair have listed every PS3 owner in the US on the suit, and are seeking from Sony "unspecified damages and restitution".

Sony sued over PS3 firmware update problems [GameSpot]

Estavillo first filed suit against SCEA in July, alleging the company's total ban of Estavillo from the PlayStation Network constituted theft and caused him pain and suffering. He wanted $55,000 in punitive damages and an injunction against all further banning. In September, a judge told Estavillo — who was representing himself — to pretty much take a hike and tossed out his case.

Now, GamePolitics reports that Estavillo is at it again — this time with an appeal of his tossed lawsuit and a civil suit against SCEA to the tune of $180,000. And he's still representing himself.

GamePolitics further reports:

Estavillo tells GP he is representing himself in these cases and, in light of his PSN ban, is playing the Wii (Metroid Trilogy) and Xbox 360 (Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe). Estavillo said that he loves playing as The Joker in the latter title and may be "a bit obsessed" with the character, adding, "I plan to wear a purple suit during my court trials. No joke!"

Banned Resistance Gamer Appeals Verdict [GamePolitics]

Posting on her - what else - Twitter account, Love wrote:

For the record this Guitar Hero shit is breach of contract on a Bullys part and there will be a proper addressing of this and retraction.

And then followed that up with:

WE are going to sue the shit out of ACtivision we being the Trust the Estate the LLC the various LLCs Cobain Enterprises.

Whichever way this swings, it's going to be entertaining.

Courtney Love [Twitter, via Perez Hilton]
[image credit]

Jeffery Scalf, who says his grandmother was Dillinger's half sister (I know, I know), has threatened EA with a lawsuit unless they pay him "millions of dollars" for the use of his alleged ancestor's name on the weapons.

He's made the threat under the assumption he has control over all aspects of the late Dillinger's estate, including any and all depictions of his likeness and/or name. Best of all, it's not the first time he's tried it; in 2007 he tried to stop a local festival in Arizona from calling itself "Dillinger Days".

To protect themselves from Scalf's tactics, EA have filed a request with a judge in San Francisco to dismiss the case, and to grant them permission to use the name "Dillinger" whenever and however they like, claiming the games' status as "works of artistic expression" cover them under the First Amendment.

EA vs Dillinger llc [US District Court of California, via GamePolitics]

In the ESA's last fiscal year, state legislatures introduced 43 bills that would have regulated the content or access to video games. No bill regulating sales became law. The most notable failures came in Utah, California and New Mexico.

Not all of the ESA's relationships with state lawmakers are so antagonistic. The annual report also touts the three states - Alabama, Georgia and Michigan - that enacted tax incentives to lure video game development, and another 17 states still considering the idea.

At the federal level, the game industry's top lobby focused on copyright and IP protection, and also beat back efforts at game content regulation. Internationally, piracy remains a top concern to the ESA; it says it sent takedown notices to ISPs that covered "more than 45 million instances of infringement of member company games in more than 100 countries world wide."

The ESA added seven members, including Southpeak Interactive, XSEED Games and Koei Corp. The 160,000-member Video Game Voters Network, sponsored by the ESA, was also highlighted in the report. The VGVN organizes letter-writing campaigns to elected officials and candidates whenever legislation or political sentiment threatening games pops up.

You can grab the entire report [pdf] here

The suit, filed August 24 in the state of New York's Supreme Court, alleges among other things that that Atari breached its contract with the developer to sublicense D&D and Advanced D&D to the developer to sustain their first MMO, Dungeons & Dragons: Stormreach.

It also says that Atari deliberately didn't support the product (even as it took "hundreds of thousands of dollars in advance royalties" from Turbine) and that back in November of 2008, Atari created "a trumped up and false basis to threaten to terminate the contractual relationship between Atari and Turbine in an effort to extort more money from Turbine or, alternately, to free itself from its obligations under the contracts in order to clear the way for the launch of its own competing MMO service based on the D&D and Advanced D&D intellectual properties."

In other words, Turbine thinks Atari is trying to pull on their D&D game to make way for Cryptic Studios' upcoming D&D-based project. The timing syncs up right: in December 2008, Atari bought Cryptic and we heard a report in June 2009 from The Cut Scene that they was working on an MMO of Neverwinter Nights.

A message left with Turbine attorney Jeffrey Simes was not immediately returned. An representative for Atari said they'd get back to us with a statement, but at time of press no statement had materialized. If you really want to know more, though, you can check out the complaint document here.

Atari Accused of Playing a Rough Game [Courthouse News via GameSpot]