Month: April 2010

Former Activision employees join Infinity Ward exec lawsuit

38 former and current employees of Infinity Ward, the US developer behind the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series, have sued Activision Blizzard claiming that they are owed between $75 million and $125 million in unpaid royalties and potentially more in compensatory damages, reports the LA Times. This lawsuit follows on from the lawsuit by former Infinity… Continue reading Former Activision employees join Infinity Ward exec lawsuit

US Supreme Court to rule on violent video games

The US Supreme Court has agreed to rule on the constitutionality of a Californian law banning the sale or rental of violent video games to minors, according to the SCOTUS blog.  The case is expected to decide whether states constitutionally can ban the supply of violent video games to under 18s.  The In a nutshell,… Continue reading US Supreme Court to rule on violent video games

Bethesa vs Interplay: the Fallout lawsuit isn’t over

Reports that Bethesda and Interplay have reached a settlement in their long-running US lawsuit over the Fallout series are incorrect.  All that has happened is that one element of the lawsuit has been dropped by Bethesda.  Until we hear differently from the companies themselves, the rest of the lawsuit seems very much alive. A quick… Continue reading Bethesa vs Interplay: the Fallout lawsuit isn’t over

Gamestation and the ‘all souls’ clause

Gamestation, the UK games retailer, pulled an interesting April Fools’ Day joke this year: it changed its terms and conditions to state that anyone buying goods from Gamestation online on 1st April this year and not clicking on a link contained within them would forfeit their soul.  7,500 people duly signed their souls over to… Continue reading Gamestation and the ‘all souls’ clause

Zushi Games enters administration

UK publisher Zushi Games has entered administration, reports MCV.  It had previously published games including Premier Manager and Jig-a-Pix.  It’s always a shame to see a company go into administration, but it’s worth bearing in mind what administration is and what it is intended to do.  Read on for more… What is administration? Administration is… Continue reading Zushi Games enters administration

Starcraft II to be rated 18 in South Korea

Starcraft II has been given an 18 age classification by South Korea’s Games Rating Board, reports Gamesindustry.biz. Although Starcraft II beta was given a 15 classification, the South Korean Games Rating Board reportedly justified the increased classification to a more thorough review than the beta had received.  Beyond that, no information has been released explaining… Continue reading Starcraft II to be rated 18 in South Korea

South Korea to impose MMO curfew

The South Korean government intends to impose a form of curfew over MMO games in an effort to combat perceived growing MMO addiction, reports MCV. Reportedly, the government plans to implement this curfew by blocking or incrementally slowing down the internet connections of those who spend prolonged periods playing popular MMO titles such as Maple… Continue reading South Korea to impose MMO curfew

Opinion: Vietnam and the legal battle over virtual goods

I wrote just now about the report that Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) is working on a draft decision regarding online games in Vietnam.  You can read my views on that here.  I wanted to write a separate post about the most interesting aspect of that draft decision: its implications for the timebomb issue of virtual goods… Continue reading Opinion: Vietnam and the legal battle over virtual goods

Vietnam takes steps to control online games

Vietnam.net reports that the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) is working on a draft decision on managing online games in Vietnam.  This has interesting implications for the regulation and sale of games in Vietnam, one of the big games markets in the Far East. Managing online games: Says Vietnam.net: “According to the draft decision, the… Continue reading Vietnam takes steps to control online games