DRM News

Archive for June, 2010

Verizon Wireless may be punishing reps who try to save you money

June 21st, 2010

Cliff Riseborough

Wireless contracts can already include…’interesting’ clauses that tilt the balance way over towards the provider. Now, according to the New York Times, it seems that Verizon is not only using such clauses, they’re also forbidding their employees from trying to help new customers avoid them.

When you buy a new phone from Verizon Wireless, the arrow keys on the phone come preprogrammed to hook up with the Internet…and charge you $2. After complaints about this (imagine that!) and an FCC investigation, Verizon installed a landing page that doesn’t charge money…yet customers still report seeing the $2 charges on their bill. This CAN be prevented by requesting a data block. This is where things get interesting.

"Effective this past month, all CSRs [customer-service reps} were versed on the usage of blocks. A new policy has gone into effect regarding how to handle Escalated Calls regarding data charges. Now, a representative can be reprimanded and even terminated for proactively offering to block any of the following:

Web Access Blocks

Data Blocks

Premium SMS blocking

Application download blocking

Vcast Music or Vcast Video download blocks

"Essentially, we are to upsell customers on the $9.99 25mb/month or $29.99 unlimited packages for customers. Customers are not to be credited for charges unless they ask for the credit. And in cases such as data or premium SMS, where the occurrences may have gone months without the consumer noticing, only an initial credit can be issued."

A Verizon spokeswoman later denied that service reps would be punished for suggesting something like data blocks up front. She does freely admit that they are encouraged to try to sell more expensive data plans, however. Not really surprising but a bit sad.

And really, couldn’t all of this just be avoided by not preprogramming the phones in such a stupid way, a way that is obviously put in place to try to land some extra dollars through data charges?

Posted in Miscellaneous

Tags: data block, data plans, Verizon Wireless, web charges

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Kotick wants subscription based Call of Duty

June 20th, 2010

Cliff Riseborough

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick was asked what immediate change he would make to the company. That led to the following exchange :

WSJ: If you could snap your fingers, and instantly make one change in your company, what would it be, and why?

Mr. Kotick: I would have Call of Duty be an online subscription service tomorrow. When you think about what the audience’s interests are and how you could really satisfy bigger audiences with more inspired, creative opportunities, I would love to see us have an online Call of Duty world. I think our players would just have so much of a more compelling experience.

WSJ: Is that coming?

Mr. Kotick: Hopefully.

WSJ: Are the customers ready for it?

Mr. Kotick: I think our audiences are clamoring for it. If you look at what they’re playing on Xbox Live today, we’ve had 1.7 billion hours of multiplayer play on Live. I think we could do a lot more to really satisfy the interests of the customers. I think we could create so many things, and make the game even more fun to play. We haven’t really had a chance to do that yet, so that would be my snap of the fingers.

Left unclear is whether such a setup would mean customers buying the full game and also paying a monthly fee, or if it would be an entirely fee-based system. The latter could actually make more sense than annual incarnations of the franchise being bought for full price, depending on price point. And since this is the company charging $15 for packs of 5 maps (2 of them recycled CoD 4 content), I wouldn’t be too optimistic of a decent rate.

However, I haven’t exactly seen reams of gamers clamouring for such a set up as Kotick claims, and I would have to be convinced of how it would provide a more compelling experience.

(The original WSJ article is behind a paywall and accessible to subscribers only. However, Google is your friend. Thanks also to VG247).

Posted in Games

Tags: Activision, Bobby Kotick, Call of Duty, subscription based, Wall Street Journal

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Paramount ending new release delays on RedBox

June 19th, 2010

Cliff Riseborough

As more and more movie studios set up deals with Netflix and Redbox that delay the appearance of new releases in their catalogues by up to a month, Paramount is going to the other way. Paramount is removing the 28 day delay of new releases on the Redbox DVD kiosk rental system.

Other studios maintain that keeping the delay in place helps spur DVD sales. After watching their numbers since signing a deal with RedBox last August that gave Paramount time to see what impact allowing new releases immediate availability with Redbox would have, Paramount doesn’t agree.

From the LA Times :

"There were two conclusions we came to," said Dennis Maguire, president of Paramount Home Entertainment. "There hasn’t been a cannibalization of DVD sales from Redbox, and Redbox was allowing us to expand our business and ultimately make more money" than if the studio held back its DVDs to Redbox for a period of time.

"Those people who want to rent are going to figure out ways to rent," he said, "and us restricting them from renting isn’t going to turn it into a purchase."

From this point forward, Paramount will release movies to Redbox the day they come out. In exchange they will receive a portion of all rental revenue, and a guarantee of availability for their movies in Redbox kiosks.

Paramount joins Sony Pictures in having a day of release deal with Redbox, and Disney also provides their new releases to the company. On the other side of the spectrum, Fox, Universal and Warner Bros. have contracts that delay the appearance of their new releases by a month.

Posted in Movies and TV

Tags: no release delays, Paramount, Redbox

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Valve bringing Portal 2 cross platform co-op for PS3, PC and Mac

June 18th, 2010

Cliff Riseborough

It’s something many companies have talked about doing. The original concept for Games for Windows Live was to allow play vs. Xbox gamers using Xbox Live. And the latest to step up to the plate and give console/PC/Mac cross-platform gaming a try are Valve.

With the announcement at E3 that Valve was bringing Portal 2 with Steamworks integration to the PS3, the rumours immediately started appearing on gaming sites that this meant cross-platform play would be part of the game as well. According to gaming site TheKartel, Valve has confirmed those rumours.

While co-op gameplay wasn’t shown, Valve developer Erik Johnson did reveal one new bit of info. Valve is planning to allow PS3 players play with PC/Mac players.

When questioned on the cross-compatibility between Steamworks and Steam, specifically playing co-op on a computer with someone on a PS3, he said it was "something the team is gunning for." We also confirmed with Valve developer Mike Dunkle who said "The plan is you will be able to play between console and PC."

If this first step ends with good results, it increases the chance that Valve (and perhaps other developers) will be more open to cross-platform options in the future.

For Xbox 360 owners, we did inquire whether this was a possibility as well. Johnson commented that there are no current plans to bring Steamworks over to the Xbox 360, as ultimately the ball is in Microsoft’s court.

Again, success here will probably increase Microsoft’s willingness to reconsider their position at a later date.

Posted in Games

Tags: cross platform play, Macintosh, PC, Portal 2, PS3, Steamworks, Valve

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Politicians, Copyright and ‘Fair Use’

June 17th, 2010

Brad McGraw

Every political cycle there are ads on TV and there are increasing ads on the internet, all of these ads have music of one sort or another. Some campaign ads use original jingles while others use copyrighted material from other artists (usually famous ones.) In the case of the latter, the song might be unchanged or edited for political effect. In either case, the original song is readily apparent. The problem with using artist’s songs is that you have to pay to use them, or get permission. Ironically, the same politicians who will back the RIAA’s overreaching copyright claims are stealing artists’ songs for their own personal gain.

Of course, they claim it’s ‘fair use’, but is it really? Recently Chuck DeVore was sued by Don Henley because he was using Henley’s songs in campaign ads. He claimed ‘fair use’ because he was using parody, but the judge didn’t think that the ‘parody’ or ‘fair use’ exemptions to copyright applied in this case, so Don Henley won his case. This isn’t just Chuck DeVore, every campaign cycle these charges come up against a number of politicians and usually get handled pretty quick. Either through paying for the song, getting permission, or taking down the ad. The issue is it should not be happening at all. Artists do have a right to be paid for their work.

That ruling against Devore supports my opinion that if a politicians chooses to use a song in ads, they either have to pay for it, or get permission to use it. Its not ‘fair use’ because they are looking to personally profit from it. What really irritates me is that they claim innocence when doing this, but they’ll back the music or movie industry when they go after people for legitimate fair use. Politicians need to start walking the walk on this issue.

I’m not going to hold my breath.

Posted in Just my Opinion

Tags: Chuck DeVore, copyright, Fair Use

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Game publishers worry about rush in to digital publishing

June 17th, 2010

Cliff Riseborough

Nobody denies that the digital market is increasingly the way forward in the games industry, particularly in the PC realm. However, according to MCV, some publishers are beginning to worry that the market is currently being oversaturated with a glut of digital content all at once.

Is there a big enough market that it can be profitable for everyone? How big a risk is there right now of releases being lost in the flood? Is the onrush perhaps a threat to overwhelm the average consumer?

“I am really concerned about that,” said THQ’s VP of core games Danny Bilson. “Our strategy is based on the fact that Taco Bell has games on Facebook. It seems every commercial venture has a game on Facebook now.

EA Sports’ senior VP of worldwide development Andrew Wilson added: “I think it is always a risk when moving into a new space of getting there before your consumer does. The corporate graveyard is filled with companies that moved into a new field before the consumer got there, and then someone comes up five years later with exactly the same thing and makes a gazillion dollars.

“The preference now is not to buy lots and lots of games, but to spend more money on fewer games. In fiscally challenging times, maybe a gamer won’t buy three games anymore, maybe they’ll buy two and spend the other £30 on extendable content, on experiences they know they love rather than taking the risk on another product.”

Sega West president Mike Hayes said: “The challenge for us is not if the market is big enough, but how we adapt. We need to be cautious. It is exciting and there is a huge opportunity, but we have to be very smart in how we approach it.”

One thing that seems likely is that we will start to see fewer games being released at once, both due to market saturation and costs. Also, this year has seen AAA releases more spread out than normal, rather than the usual flood of games in the Christmas rush and during the summer while the rest of the year is a barren wasteland. Perhaps that will prove to be more of a trend than an anomaly.

The games business is already changing with the shift in to the digital realm. However, it’s pretty clear that the digital realm is not some magical panacea that will serve as a cure all, and it comes with a whole new set of potential problems.

Posted in Games

Tags: digital distribution, Digital download, games industry concerns, market saturation

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Best Buy planning to sell used games in US

June 16th, 2010

Cliff Riseborough

Best Buy has announced that they will begin to buy & sell used games in all US stores later this summer. From Gamespot :

While some Best Buy stores will have dedicated trade-in desks, most locations will handle game buybacks at the customer service desk. Customers will receive their compensation in the form of a gift card good for anything in the store, and any used games purchased will be covered by the store’s return policy.

Once the program starts, customers will be able to use the Best Buy website buyback program to get estimates of likely trade in value for their games before going in to the store and trading it in. That program can also be used to figure trade value of various types of electronic hardware.

Best Buy is just the latest major retailer to try to chip in to Gamestop’s chokehold on the used games market, with Wal-Mart, Toys R Us and Amazon already trying to carve out a piece of the market.

Posted in Games

Tags: Best Buy, buyback program, used game sales

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PS3 version of Portal 2 includes Steamworks support

June 15th, 2010

Cliff Riseborough

Considering the hard words that both he and Valve have had for the PS3 in the past, it was a bit surprising to see Gabe Newell walk out on stage during Sony’s E3 press event.

It was more surprising to hear him announce a PS3 version of next year’s Portal 2. He also described it as the best console version of the game, because it will have full Steamworks support.

This is the first time that Steamworks has been extended beyond the computer realm and in to console gaming. Maybe it’s a one off, maybe it’s a test bed, and maybe the console marker is the next direction Valve is planning on taking Steam.

Steamworks support means that the PS3 version of the game will get automatic updates, DLC access and Steam community features.

Posted in Games

Tags: Playstation Network, Portal 2, PS3 Portal 2 Steamworks, Steam, Steamworks

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Xbox Live/Games for Windows Live expanding

June 15th, 2010

Cliff Riseborough

One of the current limitations on the Xbox Live/Games for Windows Live system is that it only officially supports 26 countries worldwide. Well, that number is growing a little bigger.

According to Edge, the service will add nine more nations to the roster by the holiday season. Those nine countries are : Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Russia and South Africa.

As well, live TV streaming and video on demand will be available to Australian users via Xbox Live from Aussie provider FOXTEL with no need for a set-top box.

Posted in Miscellaneous

Tags: Australia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, expansion, Games for Windows Live, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Xbox Live

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Google preparing music store, possibly for Fall launch

June 14th, 2010

Cliff Riseborough

Seeing the success that Apple and Amazon (amongst others) have had with digital music, Google is apparently prepping a launch in to the same waters this Fall. Their music store will offer both downloaded songs and streaming music, according to Cnet.

While part of the basis behind such a move would obviously be to help convince consumers to buy and use use Android phones with a Google music application, their overall target market seems to be broader than that.

Part of the reason Google feels they can make inroads in the digital music market is the widespread popularity of their search engine. They could easily build in functions that would allow a song title search to bring up results on the music streaming system, with a link to buy the song also on the page. With their purchase of Simplify Media a few months back, Google also has a company on board who helped let computer users stream their iTunes and WinAmp libraries to other web devices, possibly enabling them to beat iTunes to the bunch with a cloud service.

Posted in Music

Tags: Android, Google, Google music store

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