Purpose
DRM. It's amazing how putting those three letters in that order can result in absolute pandemonium. Go anywhere and ask about it, and you'll be confronted with…
About Us
Brad McGraw Where to start off? I guess I could say I’m a Canadian who is currently living in the United States with my American wife. My work history…
DRM Glossary
While DRM disclosure is something most people like to see from publishers, the terms used are often technical terms that probably don't make a ton of sense for…
Game Sales
Notice: We’re moving at the end of August, so there won’t be any updates to this page until we get settled in our new digs. -7/31/10 …
Table of Contents
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Blog Posts

Uncategorized (1)
- The truth about piracy by: Brad McGraw
  May 11, 2010, 23:47
  When talking about piracy you always hear the same excuses trotted out, ‘DRM’, ‘games too expensive’, ‘corporations make billions it doesn’t…
Games (123)
- Activision unhappy with lack of multiplayer revenue by: Cliff Riseborough
  July 5, 2010, 12:02
  In an interview with the Financial Times (account may be needed to read), Activision CEO Bobby Kotick talked about being unhappy with the fact that…
- More people still prefer discs to digital downloads by: Brad McGraw
  July 4, 2010, 17:12
  In a new report by Ipsos MediaCT they found that 64% of gamers still prefer a physical disc than a digital download. MCV quoted: “I believe the preference…
- EA Sports President Peter Moore defends Online Pass by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 28, 2010, 13:31
  A short time ago, EA Sports announced a new initiative called Online Pass. What it entails is a one use code being included with every copy of an EA…
- Analyst says used game market is a significant drain on software sales by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 25, 2010, 12:39
  According to Cowen Group analyst Doug Creutz, a large share of the blame for currently weak game sales can be placed on second hand game purchases. From…
- Microsoft indicates possible company push for PC gaming by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 23, 2010, 15:44
  Through the closing of Age of Empires developers Ensemble Studios to the focus on content for the Xbox 360, Microsoft has not exactly been at the forefront…
- Kane & Lynch 2 Dog Days moves from Games for Windows Live to Steamworks by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 22, 2010, 14:14
  The first game was infamous for two reasons…the Jeff Gerstmann ratings scandal, and the fact that the Games for Windows Live implementation rendered…
- Kotick wants subscription based Call of Duty by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 20, 2010, 14:08
  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…
- Valve bringing Portal 2 cross platform co-op for PS3, PC and Mac by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 18, 2010, 19:12
  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…
- Game publishers worry about rush in to digital publishing by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 17, 2010, 11:59
  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…
- Best Buy planning to sell used games in US by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 16, 2010, 12:12
  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…
- PS3 version of Portal 2 includes Steamworks support by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 15, 2010, 15:37
  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…
- THQ executive speaks of plans to keep charging used buyers extra by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 14, 2010, 10:43
  In an exclusive interview with Gamesindustrybiz, THQ’s executive VP of Core Games Danny Bilson has revealed that the company is planning a consistent…
- EA CEO - ‘the project is only half done when we ship it’ by: Brad McGraw
  June 11, 2010, 00:31
  EA CEO John Riccitiello sat down with Industry Gamers and talked about E3, 3D Gaming and my pet peeve, the Online Pass. If you haven’t been paying…
- Microsoft expanding Games on Demand online store by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 8, 2010, 15:21
  While Games for Windows Live has been around for awhile now, the Games on Demand side of it is still relatively new. That part of the service is being…
- Fallout New Vegas will use Steamworks by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 8, 2010, 13:18
  Bethesda and Obsidian’s upcoming Fallout 3 sequel Fallout : New Vegas will be switching DRM systems. Rather than using the SecuROM & Games for…
- Piracy losses totalling Billion claimed by handheld games industry by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 7, 2010, 12:33
  Indeed, an investigation by the Computer Entertainment Suppliers Association (which shockingly shortens to CESA) claims that piracy of PSP and Nintendo DS…
- Sega keeping an eye on EA’s Online Pass by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 5, 2010, 12:31
  Sega West president Mike Hayes is keeping an eye on EA’s Online Pass system to see how it does, according to MCV. “It is a very clever idea and…
- DigitalMindSoft illustrates what can be frustrating about Steam by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 4, 2010, 15:14
  While digital retail services using a client (primarily Steam and Impulse) can be handy, there can at times be frustration waiting for updates. Unlike…
- Shogun Total War 2 appears to use Steamworks by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 3, 2010, 13:16
  It was just announced yesterday, and it doesn’t come out until next year, but it seems we already know the system Sega’s next Total War title will be…
- Sims developer speaks up about piracy and DRM by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 3, 2010, 11:01
  Sims 3 : Ambitions producer Grant Rodiek recently sat down for an interview with Gamerzines. After a few paragraphs spent pimping the game’s new…
- Treyarch believe pre-owned is a problem by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 31, 2010, 12:51
  Chalk up another one! Treyarch Studios, the developer responsible for all of the Call of Duty games that Infinity Ward didn’t make, is concerned about…
- Michael Pachter supports Ubisoft’s DRM system by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 30, 2010, 13:38
  During the latest episode of his Gametrailers video webcast called Pach Attack, games industry analyst Michael Pachter stated his support for Ubisoft’s…
- Games industry analyst believes Ubi-style DRM benefits pirates by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 28, 2010, 15:14
  As reported on CVG, Gamesbrief analyst Nicholas Lovell has told PC Zone that Ubi-style server DRM benefits the pirates more than the genuine…
- Avalanche Studios believe Ubi-style DRM punishes legal gamers by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 27, 2010, 20:06
  Speaking as a direct counter to the opinions expressed earlier in the day of a Namco executive, Avalanche Studios (Just Cause 2) boss Cristofer Sundberg has…
- Namco says Ubi DRM a good strategy by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 27, 2010, 14:47
  …but only because there’s not a better alternative. Those were the words of Namco Bandai Partners VP Olivier Comte, speaking to CVG. He believes that,…
- Blizzard believes DRM is a losing battle by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 26, 2010, 22:29
  Blizzard has said that fighting game piracy purely with restrictive copy protection is a losing battle, according to videogamer.com. While Ubisoft…
- Direct2Drive offers free-to-play game packs/Gamersgate offers PC-Mac bundles by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 24, 2010, 14:11
  Direct2Drive has begun offering paid ’starter packs’ of free to play games, including a lot of the paid virtual items for those games at a discounted…
- Kings and Castles will be using Steamworks by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 22, 2010, 15:09
  Chris Taylor of Gas Powered Games has been doing a series of video blogs during the making of their upcoming medieval strategy game, Kings and Castles.…
- Fable III coming to PC – using Games for Windows Live by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 21, 2010, 14:04
  Fable III has indeed been confirmed for a PC release this Christmas season. It will be available at retail, or via digital retail…sort of. According to…
- Walmart and Google get further in to games by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 20, 2010, 19:31
  Yesterday it was Best Buy and Target, today it’s Walmart and Google. Apparently there’s money in this whole gaming thing the kids are in to… Walmar…
- Germany decides against violent game ban by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 20, 2010, 14:25
  In June of last year, Germany’s 16 Interior Ministers put forward a request for the government to officially ban the production and sale of violent video…
- PC version of Lara Croft using Steamworks by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 20, 2010, 11:51
  When Crystal Dynamics rolls out what they hope will be a rebirth of the Tomb Raider franchise with the release of Lara Croft : Guardian of Light later this…
- THQ’s UFC Undisputed 2010 online play will cost extra if you buy used by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 19, 2010, 21:44
  Another hour, another company locking features of their game away from used buyers until they pay up. Just a couple of days ago, EA announced that…
- Tomb Raider developer derides used games market as 'not good for anyone' by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 19, 2010, 17:03
  Crystal Dynamics global brand director Karl Stewart is not a fan of second hand game sales. He also believes that the industry needs to encourage purchases…
- Best Buy offering digital movie downloads/Target expands gaming section by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 19, 2010, 13:19
  Two major retailers making approaches to all of us geeks everywhere? This demands…a double feature! Perhaps tiring of seeing business lost to online…
- Ubisoft considering EA-style DLC charges for used games by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 18, 2010, 13:29
  Ubisoft’s 2009 fiscal results landed yesterday, and they weren’t good. Despite Assassin’s Creed 2 selling 9 million copies across all platforms, the…
- A donation model can work - Dwarf Fortress makes profits despite being freeware by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 17, 2010, 20:34
  It turns out that simply allowing your player base to donate can actually lead to dollars rolling in. Dwarf Fortress, a game built around simulating…
- Walmart, Best Buy, Toys R Us to be bigger problems than piracy by: Brad McGraw
  May 15, 2010, 04:49
  You might have heard that Walmart, Best Buy and Toy R Us are getting back in the used game market. While there is no news about how far into it Toys R Us…
- Rockstar used no-CD crack on Steam version of Max Payne 2? by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 12, 2010, 12:12
  Back in 2008, Ubisoft dealt with DRM-related problems with Rainbow Six Vegas 2 by providing a no-CD patch…that turned out to be a no-CD crack available…
- Green Man Gaming digital retail site goes live by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 10, 2010, 18:52
  UK-based digital retailer Green Man Gaming has officially launched as of today. Green Man is another PC digital retailer, with the twist being that…
- EA Sports offers incentive to purchase new copies of games by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 10, 2010, 14:03
  Following in the footsteps of other EA titles using DLC as an incentive to buy a new copy of the game, EA Sports has announced a new program called…
- Civilization V will use Steamworks by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 6, 2010, 11:23
  It has been announced in a press release from 2K Games that Civilization 5 will ship with Steamworks when it releases later this year. That means that any…
- Humble Indie bundle nets you good games, nets charities some donations by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 4, 2010, 11:14
  I don’t usually write up individual articles about a game sale, but in this case I felt it was worth it. The Humble Indie Bundle is a collection of 5 indie…
- Canada again? Really USTR? by: Brad McGraw
  April 30, 2010, 18:38
  Today the United States Trade Representative released its annual ‘Special 301’ report. This is a report that basically says how bad other countries are…
- PopCap's founders on DRM by: Brad McGraw
  April 29, 2010, 22:31
  In a recent interview with cnet, CEO David Roberts and co-founder John Vechey of PopCap talked about DRM. PopCap is a developer and publisher of such games…
- Mac version of Steam launching May 12th Update : NOW LIVE by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 29, 2010, 16:55
  UPDATE : Well, it's the 12th, and Steam is live for the Mac. Many games available use the SteamPlay service, a set up that allows PC and Mac gamers to…
- PS3 version of Final Fight : Double Impact requires net connection? by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 22, 2010, 13:03
  Final Fight : Double Impact is a PlayStation Network/Xbox Live Arcade re-release of classic Capcom arcade titles Final Fight and Magic Sword. Reviews…
- Blizzard swings the ban hammer of +3 wallhack smiting by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 21, 2010, 13:01
  Blizzard has announced that the accounts of over 320,000 Battle.net users have been suspended. The crime? Use of third party programs that violate their…
- UK game retailer Gamestation claims thousands of souls by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 17, 2010, 16:55
  How many of you buy games? Yow many of you actually read the fine print in those EULAs and other licensing agreements? Maybe you should start. Gamestation…
- Google moving in to gaming realm? by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 16, 2010, 10:17
  It certainly appears that way, with Mark DeLoura starting work as Google’s developer advocate for games. Add this to such endeavours as Google Android…
- Alpha Protocol will use Uniloc for DRM UPDATED May 2nd by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 14, 2010, 21:42
  UPDATE : Sega has released details on their forums about how the version of Uniloc used on Alpha Protocol will function. -The game will use regardless of…
- A chat with Fredrik Wester by: Brad McGraw
  April 13, 2010, 21:50
  Paradox Interactive is best known for its Hearts of Iron and Europa Universalis series of games, both deep historical strategy games and this is an area…
- Russian Starcraft II buyers will pay to play online by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 13, 2010, 14:34
  Blizzard has previously said they would make Starcraft II pricing decisions on a regional basis. Apparently, Russian gamers are big fans of paying…
- Gamersgate/PayPal issues by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 12, 2010, 14:13
  Last week, a small but significant change occurred on the Checkout screens for Gamersgate. For purchases of any newer Ubisoft titles, or any EA games at…
- Two DRM enter, one DRM leave by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 9, 2010, 17:21
  Just to do the total opposite of the title, we’ll go with the ‘leave’ part first. As part of the 1.06 patch released by developer Frozenbytes today,…
- Interview with SwitchGames co-founders by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 7, 2010, 09:55
  A short while ago, I wrote an article about SwitchGames, a website that allows people to exchange, buy and sell used games with each other. Their service…
- Swiss try to clarify rules on violent game ban, only muddy waters some more by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 5, 2010, 11:50
  As reported on GamePolitics, Swiss Social Democrat Evi Allemann has tried to clarify how exactly the violent game ban ratified last month in Switzerland…
- Ubisoft's DRM has issues, again. by: Brad McGraw
  March 30, 2010, 14:00
  If you’re in Australia, it appears that there are issues with Ubisofts new account based ‘always on’ DRM for Settlers 7. There is a forum post asking…
- Green Man Gaming will use SecuROM on distributed games by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 30, 2010, 12:53
  I wrote an article about Green Man Gaming, a new digital retailer of both new and pre-owned games, last year. The service sounded promising, but I…
- Amazon to challenge Steam, GamersGate, Direct2Drive, etc? by: Brad McGraw
  March 29, 2010, 19:43
  Gamasutra reports that Amazon may be moving beyond its casual game downloads to something larger. The expectation that the company will be expanding its…
- Michael Atkinson’s replacement open to 18+ game ratings by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 26, 2010, 18:23
  For some time now, Michael Atkinson has served as a one man roadblock against admitting the simple truth that the average gamer is a 35 year old adult.…
- Ubisoft offering compensation to those affected by server problems by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 25, 2010, 19:04
  Admitting that you’ve erred is hard to do. Ubisoft has sort of done that. This was posted by UK Forum Manager ms-kleaneasy : Earlier this week we…
- Atari & Anuman Interactive coming to Good Old Games by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 25, 2010, 10:56
  Good Old Games has announced two new publisher deals today, bringing both Atari and Anuman Interactive in to their DRM free fold. Anuman seems to be…
- Wait for the sunset. by: Brad McGraw
  March 24, 2010, 19:37
  No I’m not talking about taking a romantic walk on the beach with your significant other, which can be a very nice thing to do. I am talking about a term…
- Switch Games - Buy, sell and trade used console games online by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 24, 2010, 10:30
  Ever tried selling a game at Gamestop or EB Games? Ever been disgusted to see them take the game they just gave you for and put it up on the shelf for…
- Command & Conquer 4 server DRM causes problems for EA blogger by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 23, 2010, 15:15
  A lot of large publishers have so called first party bloggers in their employ. Basically, they hire people to go out amongst the great unwashed (otherwise…
- How ‘free’ makes money. by: Brad McGraw
  March 22, 2010, 15:24
  Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief of Wired wrote a book called Free: The Future of a Radical Price which is really the long for of an article he had previously…
- EA to release paid DLC prior to releasing games UPDATE! by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 22, 2010, 14:21
  Update : EA has since clarified things at least a little bit, telling Kotaku : "EA SPORTS, EA Games and EA Play are each experimenting with download…
- Swiss move to ban violent games by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 21, 2010, 15:51
  Last month, the Swiss Commission for Legal Affairs passed a resolution making it illegal to sell games rated 16 or 18 on the PEGI system to minors. The next…
- Clearing the air about Command & Conquer 4 DRM by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 18, 2010, 10:10
  Clearing the air not just for users, as it seems that perhaps the EA Command & Conquer Community Manager may be a bit confused about the issue as…
- Stardock details Impulse::Reactor as it heads in to Beta by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 16, 2010, 16:34
  At GDC 2010, Stardock unveiled Impulse::Reactor (yes, the twin colon in there is supposed to be), their company’s answer to Valve’s Steamworks suite.…
- Battlefield: Bad Company 2 patch removes SecuROM from Steam versions by: Brad McGraw
  March 16, 2010, 15:58
  Shacknews reports that the Steam version of Battlefield Bad Company 2 has removed SecuROM in the latest patch. Kalms, a DICE representative on the Steam…
- Activision jacks up price of first Modern Warfare 2 map pack by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 16, 2010, 09:21
  Modern Warfare 2’s first map pack is set for release on the Xbox 360 (PC and PS3 releases of the pack are set nebulously as ‘in the future’ for the…
- Epic and Valve join forces; Steamworks made available for all using Unreal Engine 3 by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 14, 2010, 21:40
  Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 has been widely used in games ranging from their own Unreal Tournament 3 to Batman : Arkham Asylum to BioShock. Valve’s…
- Futuremark believes in hassle-free DRM; Valve's Gabe Newell against restrictive DRM by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 13, 2010, 20:25
  In an interview with Computer and Video Game, Futuremark CEO Jukka Mäkinen and Producer Jaakko Haapasalo stated that any DRM a company uses needs to be…
- PC Gaming Alliance report announces only 20% of PC games still purchased at a store by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 13, 2010, 12:00
  Every year, the PC Gaming Alliance (a non-profit group who actively promote PC gaming) releases an annual report. The full report is only available to…
- BioShock 2 DLC came on the disc, still costs you more money by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 12, 2010, 19:49
  The Sinclair Solutions Tester Pack DLC released today for BioShock 2. Nothing new there. It was really just unlocking content already on the disc. Really,…
- EA planning further Bad Company 2 server maintenance, increased capacity UPDATE March 14th by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 12, 2010, 12:51
  Update : EA has indicated that the maintenance is done, and people may return to brutally slaughtering their 'friends'. EA Maintenance has now completed.…
- An interview with GamersGate's CEO (Part 2) by: Brad McGraw
  March 11, 2010, 13:52
  Just a quick recap: GamersGate is a digital distribution platform that carries over 1800 games. How they started off was responding to fans who had difficulty…
- An interview with GamersGate's CEO by: Brad McGraw
  March 10, 2010, 12:39
  GamersGate is a digital distribution platform that enables people from around the world to purchase and download games online, without having to leave…
- SecuROM does it right? by: Brad McGraw
  March 9, 2010, 17:05
  Do a google search using ‘SecuROM’ or ‘SecuROM sucks’ and you’ll find a ton of complaints about it. SecuROM’s history with gamers has not been…
- Steam coming to Mac in April by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 8, 2010, 11:19
  After several ads were launched last week hinting at Valve bringing its Steam application to the Mac platform (my personal favourite is the above image),…
- Ubisoft announces servers down due to attack UPDATE : Under attack again UPDATE March 9th by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 8, 2010, 09:14
  March 9th Update : Again, in a Twitter post made last night, Ubi now says that European login servers have been at least partially returned to full service…
- Ubisoft's authentication servers go down by: Brad McGraw
  March 7, 2010, 14:06
  What happens when an always online DRM system has problems? Well Ubisoft is finding out it gets unhappy customers. Apparently in the early hours (roughly…
- Future Sony demos to have eroding functionality by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 5, 2010, 16:24
  As made clear by their recent filing for a patent for ‘Feature eroding video game demonstration software’, Sony Computer Entertainment (the gaming division…
- Ubisoft's DRM cracked already? by: Brad McGraw
  March 4, 2010, 14:09
  Well if you believe Ubisoft, no it hasn’t. As reported by Computer and Videogames: Ubisoft has told CVG that reports of its new always-online DRM system…
- Rise of Flight no longer requires permanent server connection by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 3, 2010, 14:52
  It was announced previously that this change was coming, and now the offline mode is available with the release of the 1.011 update. The LOGIN OFFLINE…
- Borderlands changes gears on DRM - 3rd DLC moves away from SecuROM by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 2, 2010, 00:25
  Perhaps he scared them straight? When Borderlands released last year, the DRM used on it was fairly minimal. Retail versions used a SecuROM component…
- Just Cause 2 to use Steamworks by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 1, 2010, 16:10
  Square Enix has announced that upcoming title Just Cause 2 will use Steamworks on the PC. The announcement was made via Twitter in a response to a question…
- PSN problems rendering some PS3 games unplayable UPDATED! FIXED! by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 28, 2010, 21:38
  UPDATE 3 : And from Sony, confirmation that the problems seems to have been fixed. The internal clock on older PS3 units did indeed think that it was a…
- Et tu, Rebellion? UPDATE! by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 28, 2010, 11:48
  UPDATE : Well, here we are towards the end of March, and the game now officially has non-Beta, fully functional dedicated servers. An absolutely pathetic…
- Avalanche CEO urges publishers to cancel more projects by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 27, 2010, 19:46
  We’re so often hearing game developers ramble on ad nauseam about their 633 latest projects requiring 19,204 artisans and a budget roughly commensurate to…
- Ubisoft announces slate of games to use server access DRM by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 27, 2010, 13:20
  It isn’t really a surprising announcement at all, seeing as how Ubi had stated previously that their ‘all access all the time’ server DRM system…
- Square Enix says XP just ain't good enough; new Beta Steam client out by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 24, 2010, 01:35
  Just Cause 2. If it’s anything like it’s older brother, a thoroughly ridiculous game featuring latching a grappling hook on to passing aircraft and…
- Video game anatomy by: Brad McGraw
  February 23, 2010, 20:35
  Have you ever wondered how much of a video game goes to developers, distribution, royalties, etc? Well wonder no more, the LA Times reported on Steve…
- Ubisoft DRM/Command & Conquer 4 Updates; Both online all the time by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 21, 2010, 15:20
  Since they sort of fit together in terms of what they do, it sort of makes sense to do a bit of an article mash-up. As has been reported here and…
- THQ’s upcoming Metro 2033 to use Steamworks on PC by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 19, 2010, 19:00
  THQ’s upcoming post-apocalyptic shooter/adventure game/awesomeness simulator (errr…I’m just a little geeked about it) will be using Steamworks when it…
- Battlefield : Bad Company 2 latest EA title to offer free launch DLC for new copies by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 19, 2010, 13:00
  Re-affirming their commitment to the DLC strategy used on Dragon Age, Mass Effect 2 and The Saboteur, EA has announced that BF : BC 2 will include launch…
- New SOCOM for PSP requires registration check by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 18, 2010, 15:00
  As reported on IGN, the newest title in the SOCOM series on PSP will feature some new DRM initiatives. SCEA director of hardware marketing explained the…
- PC Gamer tests new Ubi DRM system, finds it wanting by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 17, 2010, 13:43
  PC Gamer has had an opportunity to give the Ubisoft accounts DRM system a bit of a test drive while doing review testing for Assassin’s Creed II…
- EA taking down servers for more games by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 16, 2010, 21:15
  Electronic Arts is permanently pulling down server (and multiplayer) support for several games in March and April. Some are system specific, some are…
- Alien vs. Predator released, multiplayer still beta? by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 16, 2010, 14:32
  The new iteration of AvP released in North America today using Steamworks as its DRM system. The Beta for the game had consisted of a single…
- EA releases more classic Command & Conquer games for free by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 15, 2010, 12:56
  Yay! A chance to write something that isn’t depressing news about more DRM and stupid media corporations! Electronic Arts has followed up last…
- Lower prices, increase revenue by: Brad McGraw
  February 13, 2010, 17:07
  Last year Valve Software President Gabe Newell gave a speech at the annual DICE summit, where he explained that by cutting prices they…
- Nintendo settles with Aussie Mario pirate; may delay future Australian releases. by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 10, 2010, 11:06
  Everyone has heard the countless stories of PC game piracy. However, you don’t tend to hear as frequently of pirated console titles. And while it’s…
- Blizzard announces Battle.Net to be required for Starcraft II, details new additions to system UPDATED by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 9, 2010, 23:50
  Starcraft II is one of the most anticipated games coming out this year, and Blizzard has now confirmed that their new Battle.net II client will be required…
- RedLynx sells 1.5 million units thanks to digital retail and...torrent sites? by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 9, 2010, 14:14
  You may not have heard of Finnish developer RedLynx. You have definitely never seen their wares on a store shelf (they don’t sell them there). Yet they…
- EA plans more systems like Mass Effect 2's Cerberus Network by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 8, 2010, 16:09
  Along with the quarterly financial information and upcoming release slate announced by EA today, they also made some comments on the DLC system used in…
- Rise of Flight no longer to require permanent Internet connection by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 5, 2010, 16:01
  As of the imminent release of the 11th patch version for Rise of Flight, offline single player will now be an option in the game. Up until now,…
- Microsoft cutting off Xbox Live service for users of original Xbox by: Brad McGraw
  February 5, 2010, 12:52
  As of April 15th, 2010 there will no longer be any Xbox Live service for anyone using the original Xbox console. The reason given for the cut-off, via Xbox…
- Steam leviathan continues building momentum by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 29, 2010, 16:19
  Okay, let’s get this out of the way right off the bat…yes, boys and girls, Steamworks is a form of DRM. It’s wrapped around associated applications…
- Activision to release classic games DRM free on Good Old Games by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 27, 2010, 23:27
  In an exclusive (that broke even GoG’s own countdown to the announcement of the deal), Cnet has disclosed that the big new deal the Good Old Games site…
- DRM for PC Battlefield : Bad Company 2 detailed by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 27, 2010, 13:47
  As reported on the Battlefield Blog, the DRM information for the game has been detailed. The basic system being used is SecuROM. The details are : -The…
- Ubisoft going all in with accounts system for copy protection...UPDATED! by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 26, 2010, 01:24
  It seems that yesterday when I wrote that this was Ubi’s plan for Assassin’s Creed 2, I was under selling the true scope of things just a tad. As…
- Ubisoft to introduce accounts system with Assassin's Creed 2 by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 25, 2010, 16:42
  Assassin’s Creed 2 released last year on the PS3 and Xbox 360, but the PC release was delayed until March of 2010. The first details are now starting to…
- Napoleon: Total War and Aliens vs Predator to use Steamworks by: Brad McGraw
  January 25, 2010, 15:09
  Steam News has announced that Napoleon: Total War and Aliens vs Predator will be using Steamworks in both retail and downlaods. Two highly anticipate…
- Mass Effect 2 DRM/DLC Program by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 23, 2010, 14:25
  Seeing as the game releases in a few days, it seems like time to talk about what DRM the game is going to use. As shared by Chris Priestly (BioWare…
- Green Man Gaming - Promises to Allow Trading of Digital Purchases by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 20, 2010, 20:46
  Currently, that’s all you will find on their website as it’s under construction. However, a few details were released on Shacknews regarding how…
- BioShock 2 DRM Finalized. by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 19, 2010, 15:48
  As quoted from the 2K BioShock 2 fan site Cult of Rapture : Over the past two days, I’ve fielded a lot of questions and concerns about the DRM for…
- Do you own your digital property? by: Brad McGraw
  January 18, 2010, 13:56
  In a recent blog post at Public Knowledge Jef Pearlman quoted Michael Robertson who asked, ‘Do you own your digital property?’, and went on to…
- EA Settles SecuROM Cases by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 13, 2010, 12:27
  “We find Spore GUILTY…of completely and utterly failing to live up to its premise!” Errr…okay, not so much, though I am correct about that…
- Supreme Commander 2 to Use Steam by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 11, 2010, 23:06
  As much as I like writing articles in general…finally, something game related! According to a particular mention in an SC2 preview on the UK version of…
- Increased DRM in the World of Warcraft??? by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 9, 2010, 02:28
  As reported on WoW.com, Blizzard is giving serious consideration to making the use of account authenticators (a physical keyfob…as seen above…that…
Movies and TV (23)
- Time Warner required to give just 28 IP address owners to US Copyright Group per month by: Cliff Riseborough
  July 7, 2010, 14:06
  A few months ago, the US Copyright Group launched massive lawsuits against thousands of Internet users it alleges downloaded illegal torrents of the movies Far…
- Hulu Plus fully detailed by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 29, 2010, 13:56
  A bit of a follow up here now that more details are out about the Hulu Plus service as it heads in to Beta. It will still be limited to US based…
- Hulu testing the waters of subscription service by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 27, 2010, 14:48
  Hulu, an Internet TV service co-owned by New Corp., NBC Universal & Walt Disney Co., is launching a test run of a subscription service that will run…
- Paramount ending new release delays on RedBox by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 19, 2010, 14:26
  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,…
- More news on Hurt Locker lawsuits – settlement offers and legal defence options by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 11, 2010, 14:15
  The legal process has begun churning forward as the suit against as many as 50,000 alleged downloaders of The Hurt Locker begins moving. This week,…
- British Full Stream Ahead campaign launched to curb movie piracy by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 6, 2010, 15:10
  In an effort to curb the downloading of movies from torrent sites, a number of Hollywood studios, the UK Film Council and tech firm Blinkbox have joined…
- Netflix expanding use of PlayReady DRM by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 25, 2010, 14:37
  According to a joint press release issued today, Netflix will begin using Microsoft’s PlayReady DRM on all Netflix devices and applications. The DRM will…
- Warner Bros. facing lawsuit for pirating antipiracy technology by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 24, 2010, 15:24
  Yes, drink in the rich irony in that title. At least I think it’s irony…frankly, the definition of irony hasn’t been clear since Alanis Morissette…
- We control the Horizontal. We control the vertical. by: Brad McGraw
  May 20, 2010, 22:28
  There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we…
- Best Buy offering digital movie downloads/Target expands gaming section by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 19, 2010, 13:19
  Two major retailers making approaches to all of us geeks everywhere? This demands…a double feature! Perhaps tiring of seeing business lost to online…
- Producers of The Hurt Locker prepare to sue alleged downloaders UPDATE : May 19th by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 13, 2010, 12:23
  UPDATE : It seems the President of the film's production company is a bit touchy when someone disagrees with their method of suing alleged downloaders. O…
- Canada again? Really USTR? by: Brad McGraw
  April 30, 2010, 18:38
  Today the United States Trade Representative released its annual ‘Special 301’ report. This is a report that basically says how bad other countries are…
- DRM on Avatar Blu-Ray discs causing problems by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 27, 2010, 11:50
  Avatar, the movie that made approximately 7 gazillion dollars at the box office, came out on DVD this past week. Unfortunately, it seems that the DRM used…
- Netflix puts one month delay on Fox and Universal new releases by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 10, 2010, 15:12
  In January, Netflix signed a deal with Warner Bros. that put a 28 day delay on Netflix adding WB new releases to their catalogue. In exchange, Warner…
- Tens of thousands targeted in new litigation against alleged movie downloaders by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 3, 2010, 10:30
  In the sort of mass litigation previously seen only enacted against European movie downloaders, more than 20,000 alleged movie torrent downloaders have…
- James Cameron posits that innovation should be the focus, not piracy by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 27, 2010, 10:14
  Want to cut down on the impact of movie piracy? James Cameron suggests that making the theatre experience something that people are interested in paying for is…
- RealNetworks ends push to sell their DVD copying software by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 4, 2010, 13:38
  Last year, RealNetworks brought out RealDVD, a DVD copying program that would allow people to make a copy of a protected DVD on their computer. Hollywood…
- Use open source software? You're a pirate. by: Brad McGraw
  March 3, 2010, 17:51
  The Guardian reports that a US copyright lobby is trying to get the US Trade Representative (USTR) to include countries that use open source software to be…
- Wal-Mart shows belief in movie delivery via Internet by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 28, 2010, 20:03
  Logo unfamiliar? It belongs to Vudu, a company with a library of 16,000 HD movies viewers can buy or rent via their broadband Internet connection.…
- NBC to fight Olympics piracy by: Brad McGraw
  February 9, 2010, 19:47
  NBC has come out against adding Olympic content online. In 2008 for the summer Olympics NBC provided 2,200 hours of live streaming, this year they plan to only…
- BBC wants to use DRM on HD platform by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 24, 2010, 20:20
  As reported on Techradar, the BBC has been granted permission to use DRM to protect content broadcast on their Freeview HD platform. The BBC believes…
- Sony Pictures Apparently Doesn't Want Any Oscars by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 8, 2010, 23:53
  Earlier this year, a small little indie movie called Moon was given a limited release. It did decent box office on a small number of screens, as is the…
- Netflix stops carrying Warner Bros. new releases due to studio piracy concerns by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 7, 2010, 02:20
  For years, movie studios have cried poverty due in large part to piracy of their movies. And one of the suspected culprits in the rapid appearance of new…
Books (6)
- Why some E-book publishers are stupid by: Brad McGraw
  June 13, 2010, 00:03
  Currently there are a number of formats for e-books and a number of e-book readers, some of which have proprietary e-book formats. The problem with this is…
- How ‘free’ makes money. by: Brad McGraw
  March 22, 2010, 15:24
  Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief of Wired wrote a book called Free: The Future of a Radical Price which is really the long for of an article he had previously…
- Amazon caves to Macmillian Books' price increase demands for e-books on Kindle by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 1, 2010, 21:41
  Amazon’s Kindle has become the dominant player in the burgeoning e-book industry, accounting for more than 60 percent of the market thus far. Part of the…
- iPad is announced!! (update) by: Brad McGraw
  January 27, 2010, 15:07
  If you’ve been living under a rock you might not have noticed the announcement on pretty much every news site, but if you’re breathing you have already…
- Apple's tablet & Amazon's Kindle rumoured to have EA support. by: Brad McGraw
  January 22, 2010, 15:13
  Recently news of Apple’s tablet has been surfacing, and yesterday was no exception. The rumour is that EA is on board to showcase how the tablet will perform…
- EFF's E-Book Buyers Guide to Privacy (updated) by: Brad McGraw
  January 13, 2010, 21:12
  The Electronic Frontier Foundation put out an e-book buyer’s guide to privacy, which takes a look at 5 different readers and lets you know if they collect…
Music (28)
- Prince provides amusement with bizarre misreading of his business by: Cliff Riseborough
  July 6, 2010, 12:53
  Normally, I’m all about simply facts and information. I put something up that I figure people can learn from, and I’m happy with that. But there’s a…
- UK Music industry targets Google over pirate links by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 21, 2010, 18:18
  As reported by CNet, the British Phonographic Industry (a UK music trade group) has asked Google to remove links to file sharing sites like Megaupload,…
- Google preparing music store, possibly for Fall launch by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 14, 2010, 19:47
  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…
- Thom Yorke warns of imminent music industry collapse by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 10, 2010, 17:14
  Thom Yorke, front man for Radiohead, believes that the major music labels are on a collision course with an iceberg named collapse. Not exactly surprising…
- Trent Reznor continues to give music away by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 31, 2010, 22:15
  It’s worked for him before, so why not do so again? Free from any contracts or obligations to record companies, he’s released music as a free download…
- Apple the focus of an antitrust inquiry by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 26, 2010, 13:54
  The US Justice Department is in the early stages of investigating Apple’s business tactics in the digital music market, according to an article in the New…
- Music industry charging Australian gyms per class for their tunes by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 17, 2010, 15:36
  In yet another move to show how increasingly out of touch with the real world they truly are (I believe this is indication # 1,054), the Phonographic…
- RIAA still not getting it by: Brad McGraw
  May 7, 2010, 00:24
  If you listen to the RIAA, and only the RIAA, one might think that music is dying, that piracy is rampant and that everybody is out to get them. Well…the…
- Amazon's DRM free music by: Brad McGraw
  May 4, 2010, 20:26
  If you haven’t heard by now Amazon has a large selection of digital music. Over 8 million songs, and 1 million plus albums. Not too shabby. You can get…
- Canada again? Really USTR? by: Brad McGraw
  April 30, 2010, 18:38
  Today the United States Trade Representative released its annual ‘Special 301’ report. This is a report that basically says how bad other countries are…
- Interview with Pete Smith (Antiqcool) by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 24, 2010, 16:56
  Our site tries to cover topics across the entertainment spectrum, but every interview we’ve done thus far has been game centered. Hey, wouldn’t it be a…
- Liam Gallagher has something to say about music downloaders by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 15, 2010, 08:57
  I know, I know…Liam Gallagher voices opinion…SHOCKING! Still, this one was a bit different from what you might be expecting. It came up in an interview…
- Beyonce's Youtube channel videos taken down by Sony for copyright infringement. by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 29, 2010, 08:55
  Beyonce Knowles…go to her Youtube channel, and you’ll see a big label slapped across the top of it congratulating her for winning 6 Grammies with songs…
- Music is being killed off! by: Brad McGraw
  March 23, 2010, 10:17
  I'm coming Elizabeth!! Its the big one! Haven’t you heard? The music industry is dying. What? You’re skeptical? Why would you say that? Well…
- How ‘free’ makes money. by: Brad McGraw
  March 22, 2010, 15:24
  Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief of Wired wrote a book called Free: The Future of a Radical Price which is really the long for of an article he had previously…
- Universal Music Group to lower CD prices to encourage sales by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 18, 2010, 18:12
  In a bold move that will no doubt shake up the entire music industry, Universal Music Group has said that they will be bringing in a new CD pricing…
- Bigpond Music removing .wma tracks from their servers by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 17, 2010, 19:20
  Australian ISP/digital product provider Bigpond has sold music from its website for some time now. As of April 1st (amusing date choice), they will no…
- Canadian Government votes to expand Copyright levy by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 17, 2010, 10:30
  The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage (boy, I bet their parties are WILD) met today and passed a motion to expand the private copying levy to cover…
- NDP Digital Issues Critic set to propose Canadian MP3 player levy charge by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 15, 2010, 15:58
  Meet Charlie Angus! I’m sure many of you are about to become BIG fans of his work. Canada has long had in place a levy on various forms of blank…
- France enacts 3 strikes copyright law...French piracy rates rise by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 14, 2010, 09:45
  Last year, France passed 3 strikes ‘Hadopi’ laws which would allow French music labels to track pirates and legal authorities to fine them or shut down…
- Use open source software? You're a pirate. by: Brad McGraw
  March 3, 2010, 17:51
  The Guardian reports that a US copyright lobby is trying to get the US Trade Representative (USTR) to include countries that use open source software to be…
- Warner pulling back from free music streaming by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 11, 2010, 15:59
  It is more than likely that none of these services, or any of the others offering free music streaming, will have access to…
- TELUS offering DRM-free music tracks by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 10, 2010, 15:30
  TELUS has announced today in a press release that they are Canada’s first wireless carrier to offer customers DRM free music tracks. Any track purchased…
- Three strikes laws, irony by: Brad McGraw
  February 1, 2010, 16:46
  Now I’m not talking Price is Right, nor am I talking about baseball. This is about the RIAA and MPAA wanting ‘3 strike’ laws in place. You can read…
- Yes, You Can Make Money Giving Away Songs For Free by: Kathy McGraw
  January 25, 2010, 19:00
  While the RIAA may have you believe that every single file-sharer out there is nothing but a dirty pirate who just wants everything for free, there…
- Piracy = Climate Change, Says Music Industry by: Kathy McGraw
  January 22, 2010, 19:51
  Ars Technica reports that the IFPI, a music industry group has released its annual report in which it likens copyright infringement with climate change and as…
- Watch An Ad, Download A DRM-Free Song by: Kathy McGraw
  January 19, 2010, 19:38
  Ars Technica reports that FreeAllMusic.com, an ad supported music downloading service, signed an agreement with the music label EMI. …
- RIAA Wants ISPs Doing Duty as Copyright Cops by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 16, 2010, 16:22
  The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has asked that the FCC be sure not to limit the ability of Internet providers to crack down on those…
Miscellaneous (42)
- Hiatus time… by: Brad McGraw
  July 14, 2010, 17:52
  After a bit of discussion Cliff and I decided we need to step back for awhile. Cliff has been carrying far more of the load than he should have, which is my…
- Battle.net to use RealID for new forums (Updated) by: Brad McGraw
  July 7, 2010, 17:46
  (Update) It looks as though Blizzard has backed down from its RealID plans for the moment. After a lot of people expressed concern over the move, Blizzard…
- Account hacking a problem on iTunes by: Cliff Riseborough
  July 5, 2010, 15:50
  It appears that iTunes accounts are being hacked in to by app developers to and use them to purchase apps. That in turn shoots the apps in question up the…
- Broadband as a legal right. by: Brad McGraw
  July 3, 2010, 05:50
  From July 1st, Finland has guaranteed that every Finn has access to a 1Mbps line (megabit per second) with a goal of a 100Mbps by 2015. Speaking to the…
- US Colleges & Universities required to help combat illegal media swapping by: Cliff Riseborough
  July 2, 2010, 21:26
  As of this month, a provision of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 kicks in to being. That provision states that colleges and universities have to…
- Ipsos Reid polls show many buyers still prefer physical goods to digital by: Cliff Riseborough
  July 2, 2010, 14:43
  A report based on several polls run in the UK by Ipsos MediaCT shows that many buyers still prefer purchasing a physical product to a digital version, with the…
- FBI being called upon to take on IP theft by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 24, 2010, 11:03
  An idea drawn up by IP enforcement coordinator (yes, that is apparently a job) Victoria Espinel would see the FBI dedicate 50 full time agents to the job of…
- Apple collecting & sharing user data by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 23, 2010, 11:21
  Under it’s new privacy policy, Apple and unspecified partners and licensees may now collect and store the location data of iPhone, iPad and computer…
- FCC holding closed-door talks with corporations over possible net neutrality compromise by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 22, 2010, 11:54
  The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the top officers at the FCC are holding closed door negotiations with lobbyists representing ISP’s, including…
- Verizon Wireless may be punishing reps who try to save you money by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 21, 2010, 14:01
  Wireless contracts can already include…’interesting’ clauses that tilt the balance way over towards the provider. Now, according to the New York…
- Xbox Live/Games for Windows Live expanding by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 15, 2010, 10:48
  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…
- Apple officially being investigated by FTC over mobile practices by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 12, 2010, 19:15
  As reported by the Huffington Post, the FTC has decided to go ahead and launch a full scale investigation in to Apple’s business practices in the…
- Google, Yahoo and Microsoft breaking European privacy laws by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 12, 2010, 13:21
  According to WP29 (the European Commission’s Article 29 Data Protection Working Party advisory body…I love these short names!), the search…
- More news on Hurt Locker lawsuits – settlement offers and legal defence options by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 11, 2010, 14:15
  The legal process has begun churning forward as the suit against as many as 50,000 alleged downloaders of The Hurt Locker begins moving. This week,…
- India issues intervention on TRIPS/ACTA at WTO by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 10, 2010, 12:10
  India has reportedly been speaking out against ACTA in negotiations for some time, and now we can really take a look at what they’re protesting. On the 9th…
- Dutch courts equate talking about piracy to piracy by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 9, 2010, 14:00
  A Dutch court today has ruled that disclosing where someone can find files that infringe on copyright is the same thing as infringing copyright. So in…
- Three tech groups against current draft of ACTA by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 7, 2010, 16:58
  As reported by The Hill, three major industry tech organizations are publicly stating their opposition to the current draft of the ACTA agreement. The groups…
- Justice Department Apple investigation probe growing? by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 5, 2010, 16:21
  A government probe in to Apple’s business dealings appears to have expanded, according to the New York Post. Earlier, reports surfaced of the…
- FTC suggests 5 percent tax on electronics by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 4, 2010, 17:40
  Why, you ask? As a way of subsidising media outlets, especially newspapers. The electronics in question would cover everything from computer and…
- New Canadian copyright law incoming… by: Cliff Riseborough
  June 3, 2010, 17:39
  Actually, it isn’t that bad, albeit with one big exception. It DEFINITELY cleans up some antiquated law to make it somewhat relevant in an age where…
- Australian Internet filter going ahead by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 31, 2010, 16:09
  Stephen Conroy, Minister for Communications in Australia, is pushing ahead with his internet filtering system. Not only is he pushing ahead, but he also…
- Social media sites sharing your information with advertisers by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 20, 2010, 21:46
  Do you happen to use MySpace or Facebook? Chances are that several major advertising companies, such as Google’s DoubleClick and Yahoo’s Right Media,…
- Entertainment industry has some hard core plans for dealing with piracy by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 15, 2010, 16:22
  The entertainment industry has sent a series of proposals to the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator at the request of the Coordinator. The reason…
- UK passes Digital Economy Bill by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 8, 2010, 12:28
  In a session that was attended about as well as your average Tripe Fair would be (actually, we are talking about the British here…hmmm…), the House of…
- FCC had no right to sanction Comcast’s bandwidth throttling by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 6, 2010, 13:21
  Back in 2007, the FCC sanctioned Comcast over its policy of nearly constant bandwidth throttling in an effort to stop peer to peer bittorrent transfers.…
- Privacy laws they need a changin’ by: Brad McGraw
  April 5, 2010, 17:44
  If you’ve never heard of Digital Due Process its not a surprise, however what is a surprise is who is behind it. I am sure you’ve heard of Google,…
- Swiss move to ban violent games by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 21, 2010, 15:51
  Last month, the Swiss Commission for Legal Affairs passed a resolution making it illegal to sell games rated 16 or 18 on the PEGI system to minors. The next…
- Site Update by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 19, 2010, 16:04
  Now THAT is the sort of title that’s a thrill a minute right there. Barn burner of a start. So, we’ve been ‘live’ for somewhere in the neighbourhood…
- This article brought to you by the letter i, which Apple does not own by: Cliff Riseborough
  March 15, 2010, 10:10
  Ahhh, Sesame Street. The place where children learn about things like numbers, and the alphabet, and how to deal with the mentally addled (cough ELMO…
- First rule of Apple App Store, don't talk about Apple App Store by: Brad McGraw
  March 9, 2010, 14:47
  The Electronic Frontier Foundation reports on the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement, and its a doozy. Section 10.4 (ok, so its not the ‘first…
- Winning essay argues for file sharing by: Brad McGraw
  February 19, 2010, 16:22
  An essay titled ‘Is it OK to download music, movies and games without paying?’, was chosen as the winner in an event sponsored by The Centre for Professiona…
- We're LIVE! by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 16, 2010, 13:46
  That’s totally us…only not so much comprised of sentient food. Oh, and I’m Master Shake. Anyway, seeing as we’ve been adding content on here for…
- Google launches 1gbps fiber trial by: Brad McGraw
  February 10, 2010, 15:56
  Google made a major announcement today that could change the speed of internet in the US, if it succeeds. Google is planning to build, and test…
- ACTA : Why You Should Be Concerned by: Kathy McGraw
  February 6, 2010, 14:50
  ACTA, or the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is an international trade agreement that would standardize intellectual property rights (IP) enforcement…
- Gamestop and other online retailers subpoenaed by New York Attorney General by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 4, 2010, 16:35
  Apparently it’s some sort of legal theme day on DRM News today. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced today that the New York State Attorney General’s…
- Australia's courts rule that ISPs aren't copyright cops by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 4, 2010, 16:07
  As reported on Ars Technica, Australia’s Federal Court has made a ruling that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are under no obligation to act on…
- Failure for paywalls? (update) by: Brad McGraw
  January 27, 2010, 22:08
  Not sure what a ‘paywall’ is? Its when an internet site hides its content behind subscription services. In other words, paying for access. Back in November…
- iPad is announced!! (update) by: Brad McGraw
  January 27, 2010, 15:07
  If you’ve been living under a rock you might not have noticed the announcement on pretty much every news site, but if you’re breathing you have already…
- Forcing 'Free' Trade & IP Law by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 18, 2010, 12:46
  Costa Rica signed the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States more than a year ago, yet it still hasn’t fully ratified the…
- Businesses Facing the Wrath of the Software Auditor by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 9, 2010, 03:58
  Often times, home PC users and gamers seem to adopt a bit of an attitude of “Why are these big software companies always coming after me?” And the…
- Microsoft Patents Peer-to-Peer DRM System by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 8, 2010, 21:10
  According to Cryptopatents, MS has indeed patented a system that would allow users to make use of a peer to peer bit torrent network to download commercial…
- Cloud Computing : Convenience & Privacy Concerns by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 6, 2010, 23:35
  So, I guess I get to be the one starting this whole project off. Um…yay? While the main focus of this site is going to be concerned with DRM issues, we…
Just my Opinion (13)
- Politicians, Copyright and 'Fair Use' by: Brad McGraw
  June 17, 2010, 16:22
  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…
- EA CEO - ‘the project is only half done when we ship it’ by: Brad McGraw
  June 11, 2010, 00:31
  EA CEO John Riccitiello sat down with Industry Gamers and talked about E3, 3D Gaming and my pet peeve, the Online Pass. If you haven’t been paying…
- A shot of reality when it comes to the games industry by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 23, 2010, 19:32
  Yeah…titles are not exactly my forte. I see a lot of people putting up content around the Internet that I think flat out misreads a lot of the economics…
- Can we all ease back on the rhetoric? by: Cliff Riseborough
  May 17, 2010, 00:24
  This isn’t exactly an original idea for an article to write, but in the aftermath of the announcement that Civilization V is using Steamworks, it seems…
- Walmart, Best Buy, Toys R Us to be bigger problems than piracy by: Brad McGraw
  May 15, 2010, 04:49
  You might have heard that Walmart, Best Buy and Toy R Us are getting back in the used game market. While there is no news about how far into it Toys R Us…
- RIAA still not getting it by: Brad McGraw
  May 7, 2010, 00:24
  If you listen to the RIAA, and only the RIAA, one might think that music is dying, that piracy is rampant and that everybody is out to get them. Well…the…
- The value of 'Fair Use' by: Brad McGraw
  April 28, 2010, 15:42
  Piracy ruins the economy! You’ve heard it from the RIAA, the MPAA, Senators, Congressmen and the news media. Industry funded studies claiming piracy…
- When does copyright protection go too far? by: Brad McGraw
  April 21, 2010, 17:31
  Copyright: The legal right granted to an author, composer, playwright, publisher, or distributor to exclusive publication, production, sale, or distribution…
- DRM complaints. Really? by: Brad McGraw
  March 2, 2010, 14:22
  Two things have been annoying me lately. Number one is yesterday GamePolitics released an article called Another DRM Victim Details Woes. It talks…
- Can we please stop with the hypocrisy and gross oversimplification when it comes to DRM and piracy talk? by: Cliff Riseborough
  February 26, 2010, 18:59
  Something has been eating at me a bit lately, and I need to unleash a little inner Lewis Black…if there were a polite version. It seems whenever talk…
- SecuROM : Examining 'The Beast' by: Cliff Riseborough
  January 19, 2010, 14:28
  Mention its name on your average gaming or computer forum, and you’re likely to be greeted with a somewhat emotional response from most people. Let’s try…
- Do you own your digital property? by: Brad McGraw
  January 18, 2010, 13:56
  In a recent blog post at Public Knowledge Jef Pearlman quoted Michael Robertson who asked, ‘Do you own your digital property?’, and went on to…
- In Defense of DRM Vendors by: Brad McGraw
  January 13, 2010, 05:15
  This is actually a revisit to an earlier article I wrote for a different web site. After I wrote that one there was a very large fuss made by some of the…
Interviews (6)
- Longbow Games, an interview with an indie dev by: Brad McGraw
  May 18, 2010, 13:11
  Yes, I know what you’re thinking, ‘Another game centered interview?’. Well, can I help it if the US Justice Department and President Obama don’t…
- Interview with Pete Smith (Antiqcool) by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 24, 2010, 16:56
  Our site tries to cover topics across the entertainment spectrum, but every interview we’ve done thus far has been game centered. Hey, wouldn’t it be a…
- A chat with Fredrik Wester by: Brad McGraw
  April 13, 2010, 21:50
  Paradox Interactive is best known for its Hearts of Iron and Europa Universalis series of games, both deep historical strategy games and this is an area…
- Interview with SwitchGames co-founders by: Cliff Riseborough
  April 7, 2010, 09:55
  A short while ago, I wrote an article about SwitchGames, a website that allows people to exchange, buy and sell used games with each other. Their service…
- An interview with GamersGate's CEO (Part 2) by: Brad McGraw
  March 11, 2010, 13:52
  Just a quick recap: GamersGate is a digital distribution platform that carries over 1800 games. How they started off was responding to fans who had difficulty…
- An interview with GamersGate's CEO by: Brad McGraw
  March 10, 2010, 12:39
  GamersGate is a digital distribution platform that enables people from around the world to purchase and download games online, without having to leave…

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