Rocksteady: UK “talent drain” to overseas studios a “real shame”
Game director and Rocksteady’s co-founder, Sefton Hill, would like it if the UK government would finally step-up and support the UK games industry, as many of his friends have moved abroad to countries such as Canada which support the industry. Speaking with CVG, Hill said it was “definitely” the powers-that-be in the UK started supporting ... Read More»
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Posted: Feb 9th, 2012
Funds from proposed game tax in Oklahoma would benefit children’s programs
A bill has been introduced into Oklahoma State Legislature, and if passed, will add an extra 1% tax to videogames rated Teen, Mature and AO. Drafted by District 86 Representative William Fourkiller (D), funds garnered from Bill HB 2696 would fund programs working to cull childhood obesity and bullying, both situations deemed an “emergency” in ... Read More»
Report – South Korea to block 3 hour+ online time for minors
The South Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology is currently look at an act that would ban online accounts of minors that spend two hours consecutively or three or more hours in a day on online games, according to Gamasutra. The new policy follows the introduction of a similar bill two years ago in ... Read More»
Family Research Council up in arms over same-sex relationships in SWTOR
The Family Research Council has taken great umbrage to the fact Star Wars: The Old Republic allows same-sex relationships in the MMO. So much so, its president, Tony Perkins, lambasted the game on a radio broadcast stating that “in a new Star Wars game, the biggest threat to the empire may be homosexual activists.” Here’s ... Read More»
California to reimburse ESA $950,000 for costs incurred during SCOTUS
The ESA has announced the state of California will hand over $950,000 to the trade body in order to reimburse it for legal fees incurred from US Supreme Court case against SCOTUS. SOCTUS was devised by State Senator Leland Yee and supported by ex-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and sought to impose regulations on the sale of ... Read More»
Australia: Home Affairs to bring R18+ bill before first session of parliament
Newly incumbent minister for home affairs Jason Clare has been quick to pick up Brendan O’Conner’s reins, aiming to secure a vote on Australia’s proposed R18+ games rating in February. “Our plans are to introduce the R18+ bill in the first session of parliament this year,” a representative for the minister’s office told Gamespot. To ... Read More»
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid postpones PIPA vote
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid (NV) has postponed a vote on PIPA due to various issues and protests surrounding the bill, stating there’s “no reason that the legitimate issues raised by many about this bill cannot be resolved.” In a statement, Reid said he was “optimistic that we can reach a compromise in the coming ... Read More»
SOPA blackout protests yield results
This week’s Internet blackout protests against the Stop Online Piracy (SOPA) and Protect IP (PIPA) acts preceded a number of capitulations from key US politicians. Eurogamer reports PIPA co-sponsors, Florida senator Marco Rubio and Missouri senator Roy Blunt, have both reversed position, along with Utah senator Orrin Hatch, the Democrats’ Ben Cardin and the Republican ... Read More»
TIGA: 41% of laid off UK developers move overseas
TIGA has issued a report which claims 41% of UK developers laid off between 2009 and 2011 have relocated to overseas jobs. The report further states that the country’s games development workforce has fallen 10%, and used Bizzare Creations as an example of workers leaving the UK to find jobs outside of the country. According ... Read More»
Red 5 drops out of E3 2012 to form anti-SOPA movement
Firefall developer Red 5 Studios is skipping E3 2012 booth, and devoting its energies to an anti-SOPA grass roots movement. Red 5′s The League for Gamers has been launched as “a gathering place for gamers, developers and industry supporters who want to stand against legislation that’s detrimental to the games industry”, backed by $50,000 previously ... Read More»
Report – ESA dropped up to $190,000 on PIPA lobbying
Despite the reluctance of many of its member companies, the ESA apparently spent up to $190,000 in support of the Protect IP Act last year. Kotaku turned up... Read More»
White House “will not support” SOPA as it stands
The Obama administration has responded to a petition against the SOPA and PIPA bills stating: “any effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small.” The White House issued its repose due to the We the ... Read More»
SOPA: DNS blocking pulled; PIPA needs “more study”
SOPA author and US Representative Lamar Smith of Texas has removed a controversial component of the bill, which would have required Internet Service Providers to block access to non-US websites accused of copyright and piracy violations. According to an official statement released from his office today, after consulting with “industry groups across the country,” Smoth ... Read More»
SOPA: Firefall, Destructoid to go on blackout, Runic against the bill
Ahead of a US House Committee discussion on SOPA next week, Firefall studio Red 5 and Destructoid will go offline on Monday for a 24 hour period in protest. Red 5, speaking in a statement to Shack, said it was pulling the current online beta of the game for 24 hours, adding it was cancelling ... Read More»
Kuma Reality developer Amir Hekmati sentenced to death in Iran
Kuma Reality Games developer Amir Mirzaei Hekmati has been sentenced to death by the Iranian government which has accused him of espionage and working for the CIA. The developer, an Arizona-born Iranian-American and former US Marine, was detained by Iranian officials last August while visiting his grandparents in the country due to work he did ... Read More»
38 Studios, other developers clarify stance on SOPA
38 Studios founder Curt Schilling has said the firm cannot “in good conscience support” the Stop Online Piracy Act as it is currently written. Schilling said the studio is a “strong supporter” of copyright and trademark protection, but as it stands now, the firm cannot support the bill until efforts are made to amend the ... Read More»
Epic says it does not “support the current version of SOPA”
Epic Games has stated it does not support the current version of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a bill drafted by Texas Republican Representative Lamar Smith and 12 co-sponsors. According to a statement released on its forums, Epic PR manager Dana Cowley wrote: “We do not support the current version of SOPA. We are ... Read More»
herp derp ping pong
Icrontic was invited onto Fox & Friends recently to discuss video games and Federal grants. But, what's the real story here... Read More»
politics invades gaming
In both this election cycle and the last one, politicians have borrowed the iconography and technology of video games in order to reach voters. Do these attempts work? Check out some of the examples... Read More»
kevin durawa time to leave the politics out of gaming
Madden NFL Football 11 is just days away from dropping. If you're a dedicated Madden madman like myself you're pumped beyond belief... Read More»
why the supreme court vote on game regulation matters to gamers and parents alike
The United States Supreme Court has decided to hear arguments and rule on proposed regulation of sales of violent video games in the state of California in the latest bout of government control vs... Read More»
sfg approves ban on sale of mature games to minors
While we disapprove of censorship as a whole, children fall under a different category... Read More»
bioshock 2 – “a pack not a herd”
An article comparing and contrasting the difference in political philosophy between BioShock 1's critique of Objectivism and BioShock 2's critique of socialism.
Spoiler Warning: If you have not pla... Read More»
anti video game politician flakes on gaming debate keith vaz is afk
The video game industry scored in a crucial, political debate today held in England... Read More»
how low will you go for in game loot
A consortium of insurance companies have been caught roping Facebook gamers into their astroturf campaign to sink President Obama's health reform bill. Would you take their in-game compensation... Read More»
