The first half of the piece, found here, focuses primarily on the current piracy landscape, from online IP protection to anti-plagiarism education. The second half is chiefly concerned with countermeasures like DRM, about which Christian Svensson, PCGA member and senior director of strategic planning and research at Capcom, had this to say:

We don’t make money by making your lives difficult. If we didn’t feel it was absolutely, positively imperative that we have this for our business, we wouldn’t do it.

While the PCGA, ESA and many others are working towards finding an ideal solution, everyone wholeheartedly agrees on the challenges of the current situation. Maggie Greene of Kotaku sums it up quite nicely: “[PC gaming companies] don’t like DRM any more than you do.”

Of course, these companies and organizations won’t make much progress without the support of gamers. Articles like these help to impress upon consumers everywhere the negative impact they could potentially have on developers and publishers each time they’re tempted to find a torrent instead of buying a legitimate copy. Dedicated developers like 2DBoy deserve better than a 90% piracy rate in return for their years of hard work, else labors of love like World of Goo may become a thing of the past.

A new site launches to promote industry networking and growth in The Big Apple! Visit www.nycgameindustry.com

Check out the official announcement here:

www.verticalwire.com/releases/1102-nycgameindustry-com-officially-launches-to-facilitate-industry-growth-in-nyc

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/11/19/join-joystiqs-avatar-look-a-like-contest/

Take one look at the following picture, and you’ll know that we’ve already won.

The Flatiron, NYC

Crain’s New York Business recently highlighted the area as one of the top neighborhoods for tech companies in NYC:

“Want to rub elbows with an angel or a venture capitalist? Head down to the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, which is the unofficial gathering place for players in the online and technology scene that has sprouted anew in midtown south.”

To read the full article, click here. See you at the Shake Shack!

In recent interviews with Gamasutra and Ars Technica, PC Gaming Alliance (PCGA) president Randy Stude has firmly established his stance on software piracy. Talking to Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica, Stude remarked:

We are the guardians of the PC as a platform for gaming. We need to make sure there is an environment where publishers are not afraid to invest tens of millions of dollars in developing great gaming experiences…

He even went so far as to suggest a possible solution to the problem in speaking with Leigh Alexander of Gamasutra:

Let’s monetize every one of those pirates, and let’s advertise the hell out of them… Don’t throw [pirates] off [of the server], but show an ad every time a new level loads. The [paying customer] gets a billboard, a passive, less-aggressive ad than [pirates] are going to get.

These comments have prompted a number of discussions across the web, from message boards to major news blogs. Nate Ralph of Wired.com had this to say:

The PCGA also proposes tracking piracy, and the relative effectiveness of anti-piracy measures to get an idea of what the best approach is… The solution isn’t to slap on more draconian measures, but to figure out how best to turn software pirates into paying customers.

If this discussion becomes more pervasive and real effort is made to better understand the issue,  we definitely think there’s a chance that the combined efforts of the PCGA and increasingly savvy PC gaming consumers will make software piracy a thing of the past.

Fans of online games and the Victoriana aesthetic will be happy to know that they have a virtual world to call their own in Gatheryn.

Announced yesterday by MindFuse Games, Gatheryn immerses players into a world where steam powers everything, creativity is encouraged and fun is required.

Say the nice folks over at AOL’s online gaming blog:  

The focus seems casual, although the graphics are quite strapping for an independent game. MindFuse promises character customization, apartments, and puzzles, while specifically singling out violent conflict as a no-go. It seems to be a mostly laid back, friendly, social affair, but aimed at grown ups rather than pre-teens, in contrast to a lot of other casual titles.

Check out more coverage!

Kotaku: http://kotaku.com/5070626/gatheryn-+-a-steampunk-mmo-for-casual-gamers

Massively: http://www.massively.com/2008/10/30/mindfuses-the-world-of-gatheryn-detailed-kinda-dated/

Ten Ton Hammer: http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/47577

WarCry: http://www.warcry.com/news/view/87094-Gatheryn-Announced-for-2009

Worlds In Motion: http://www.worldsinmotion.biz/2008/10/mindfuse_officially_announces.php

This advertising campaign not only shows that the Obama campaign realizes the incredible amount of players 18+ playing games, but clearly recognizes that this demographic is civically engaged (and let’s be honest, the campaign has raised enough money to utilize non-traditional advertising).

Don’t rush over to your Xbox quite yet, the advertising campaign is strategically placed in ten swing states- Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin.  I wasn’t even aware that Xbox offered targeted, regional marketing on the LIVE platform, how long until we see “true” local advertising?

Read more here and here.

MTV’s Tracey John takes a peak at the Shaun White Snowboarding Target Exclusive edition here.