Slashdot Mirror
Valve Bullying Cybercafes Over Licensing?
The Importance of writes "Yesterday, as mentioned on Slashdot, Valve announced arrests relating to the theft of Half-Life 2 code. Gabe Newell, Valve's CEO, was quoted as saying, 'Everyone here at Valve is once again reminded of how much we owe to the gaming community.' Demonstrating its appreciation of the gaming community, Valve also threatened to sue a cybercafe offering Counter-Strike without the correct licensing. This may sound fair enough, but while companies like Microsoft allow cybercafes the right to offer games as long as they buy each copy of the games they use, Valve has what are generally considered the worst cybercafe licensing terms there are. Moreover, instead of merely sending a cease and desist letter ('knock it off or we will sue'), Valve sent a ' pay us big bucks for a license or we'll sue letter'. In other words, unless the cybercafe prepays for a one-year license starting at the time the letter was received, they will be sued."
iv lost all hope in Valve.. and blizzard.. sure they Made great games... and im sure they will make more.. but i think these company's forgot thier roots.. at one point thier where dwelling at home programming like the rest of us.. i miss the old valve and blizzard you know.. from back in the day...
... "Don't bite the hand that feeds you"
i think valve should be more forgiving to the gaming comunity... if i remeber the OLD saying correctly
You have all these professional gaming leagues that run Counter Strike. If you want to have a clan match or a local league, a gaming center is a good place to go. Obviously, Valve wants to make it difficult for gaming centers to offer a place to practice and have regular leagues. Therefore, I think these major tournaments should stop supporting Valve.