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RIAA Exec Moves Over To Gaming Industry
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "The same RIAA executive who defended a $222,000 verdict over 24 song files at an academic conference back in March, Kenneth Doroshow, is leaving the RIAA and joining the Entertainment Software Association ('ESA'). As I said on my blog, if Mr. Doroshow 'accomplishes for game manufacturers what he accomplished for the recording industry, I would say the industry's prospects are bleak.'"
Talk about the last nail in the ESA's coffin. Goodbye E3.
I support the Slashcott and will not be reading or commenting from 2/10/14 to 2/17/14. Beta is steaming pile of dog shit
I think the primary reason why he was hired is to provide ESA with insights on what not to do when clamping down on pirates. However, I get the gut feeling that ESA wants to clamp down on the pirates fast and silent.
Where is the "Ignorant" mod tag?
A fight between this Kenneth Doroshow (who wikipedia has no entry on) and Jack Thompson? Somebody get the popcorn, this is going to be hilarious!
mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
all that is left is Gen-Con... and frankly, even though I consider myself a moderate to "enthusiast" gamer, people at gen-con scare me.
"However, I get the gut feeling that ESA wants to clamp down on the pirates fast and silent."
Hence the move to online and console games. Don't forget to thank your local pirate for making that possible.
At the risk of being unpopular, I'm going to say that in my opinion sharing ripped MP3s is morally the equivalent of jaywalking, wheras sharing games is morally closer to shoplifting.
For one thing, I think more work goes into game-making than a Brittney Spears song, and it's done by people I respect rather than people I think are the scum of the earth. For another, it seems to me that the higher costs of making a game makes game piracy closer to real theft. I know recording studio fees are quite expensive, and indie game makers can often make a game without so much as a bank loan, but there's a reason for the generally higher price of games than CDs.
There are hardworking people in the music industry sure, just like there are scum in the gaming industry, and I should also say I've worked in neither industry.
All the same, I think game piraters have less of a moral leg to stand on than music pirates. A $220,000 fine for 24 songs or games is ridiculous, but moreso for music.
Like I said, my opinion. This is not based on legal crap (obviously.)
I also would say that in both cases, nothing is actually stolen in the same sense that you would steal a car, and for the RIAA or ESA to sue individuals into bankrupcy with either is/would be dickish. The RIAA and ESA if they follow suit are the real bad guys here.
I can't wait for the time when applying no-cd fixes will mean jail time. No, I haven't RTFA, but with the title including "RIAA Exec" and the game industry, I can only think of the worst.
The gaming community are not like ordinary people in idaho, montana, who do not know about fair use, media cartel predation, overpriced products. not only that, but they are also a more cohesive, communicating group.
its a VERY bad choice for ESA member companies. Right at a time when gamers were starting to complain about games being all the same with sequels, and mass produced without a passion. Great move to take gaming companies prestige further down.
so, will anyone post a list of ESA member companies so we can start avoiding them ?
Read radical news here
Most facets of the entertainment insustry are closely scrutinized by the fan press. And there are fairly large overlaps between music lovers, movie buffs, videogamers, etc. So, you have to wonder if (1) the ESA didn't think anyone would notice that they hired one of the most hated execs in the music industry; or (2) they didn't think the fans would care; or (3) they just don't give a damn what gamers think.
I'm guessing (3), but given the bad blood between the ESA and -- well -- pretty much everyone else in the industry, you'd think they'd at least want to give the impression that they aren't a bunch of bastards with hearts of coal.
Actually Penny Arcade eXpo is the new big dog in the hemisphere, and deservedly so. I've gone every year and it's unbelievably awesome. This year's is only a week away... and expecting ~55k attendees.
I support the Slashcott and will not be reading or commenting from 2/10/14 to 2/17/14. Beta is steaming pile of dog shit
The front page of The Times yesterday alerted readers to an 'unprecedented assault' on downloading by the UK gaming industry.
All harbingers of things to come, I reckon. Feel it in the water.
One is as-close or as-not-close as the other, however I would say that the way the game industry reacts to piracy is different.
For one thing, while the number of seperate big producers in the industry is shrinking (EA has eaten a bunch of them, for example), there is no overall collusive body for games like there is for music. Moreover, the games industry is a bit more segmented in terms of what they produce for: the RIAA members are still mostly using CD's in terms of public production, while the games industry has PC's and multiple consoles, etc.
Additionally, the game industry is a bit more fluid in terms of copy-protection. Yes, all methods will be cracked (and most methods suck), but you can't product a new method of CD-protection without breaking a lot of existing compatibility, and you can't introduce a new medium without some obvious benefit to the consumer (hence Blu-Ray's main competitor is still DVD in the movie arena), while new consoles (and new protections) come out somewhat more regularly as new graphics capabilities etc make them more appealing.
The last arena of course, is the internet. Games to much extent embrace it, and the music industry has been far from doing so in many cases. Distribution methods such as Steam have both conveniences and pitfalls for game-producers and consumers, but are more-or-less accepted by many at this point. Of course, the golden goose is in Pay-to-play online games such as MMORPG's, which provide a continue source of revenue while providing customers with a somewhat dynamic experience.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
"so, will anyone post a list of ESA member companies so we can start avoiding them ?"
When pirate bay becomes part of "we", then you all can talk.
The moral argument always comes off as "this is why you should feel bad." Well what if I don't? Argument defeated, or at least derailed into a philosophical debate about the source and scope of morality.
To me, the logical comparative argument is that producers of games need more support than producers of music. If you enjoy games, pirating them makes a deeper impact on a thing that you benefit from. (This is basically what you've said.)
Given that, there is a whole class of software pirates whose interest is specific to old games which are no longer available. This software is referred to as "abandonware." Typically, abandonware that is distributed is that which is "out of print" and additionally has not been the subject of takedown notices.
It's hard to make an argument against trading in this, particularly given the good faith demonstrated by the movement. A scary thought is that instead of a handfull of takedown notices sent to a handfull of sites, we find individuals being sued for thousands. Although anyone could tell you that, as a sales item, the net profit on that software is going to be roughly zero dollars or worse.
Consumer fear and intimidation.
Because, Kenneth Doroshow would gladly have people tortured and then publicly executed for downloading a single copyrighted song, if that's what the law allowed.
Now he gets to go after them evil 14 year-old gaming pirates!
Kenneth has no ethics or morals or sense of justice, he's a vile, evil, hateful, vengeful and petty little man.
Thanks to eating disorders most chicks are reasonably good looking these days.
"The same RIAA executive who defended a $222,000 verdict over 24 song files at an academic conference back in March, Kenneth Doroshow, is leaving the RIAA"
I'm pretty sure if he didn't defend that verdict, as an RIAA executive, he wouldn't have been an RIAA executive for very long. Maybe he's leaving the RIAA since he's realized their business practices are shit, and he got tired of defending them? I don't know, but it's possible.
Plenty of people on this site have worked for tech companies who have done some uncool things. Let's not pretend anyone who works for or with the RIAA is evil or an idiot. Honestly, I don't think they're idiots, they're just scared for their business model. And they should be.
For people who haven't followed the ESA closely, it may interest you to know that developers and publishers alike have been jumping ship and quitting the ESA as of late. Their influence is waning, and they can no longer claim that they represent the majority of the game industry (given the high-profile members they have lost, I doubt they do). Who they hired for what position hardly even matters at this point, given how few supporters they have both in and outside of the industry, from both the customer and the producer sides.
Crazy as it sounds, this might be good for indie game developers. If the mainstream gaming industry gets too obnoxious, indie gamers who have more reasonable approaches to theft might gain greater followings.
I have to admit I'm a little biased here, as the creator of a free web-based game. Copyright protection isn't at all when your format can't be copied--and doesn't even need to be since it's always available.
The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
Not like the ESA is really a major concern these days. The games industry is hardly the Cabalistic oligarchy that the recording industry is. It's still quite possible for small/independant studios to put out a good product that garners high ranking sales, without the help of arbitrarily inserted gatekeepers.
What was ESA's big claim to fame anyway? Oh yeah, E3. And look at how shockingly important that is these days...
check them out - sony, disney, ea, microsoft.
most customer unfriendly, enemy of the gamer corporations you can find in the industry.
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Is the gaming industry ruled by a handful of monopolies like the music industry? maybe. Are gaming companies more connected with their consumer? maybe. Is game industry news more likely to slam miss-behavior. I think so.
So we could see some gaming companies begin abandoning the ESA if they employ the same tactics.
The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. -- Bertrand Russell
As a game customer I've been increasingly concerned about these companies treating their customers like criminals as the real thieves enjoy a better gaming experience. This just deepens those concerns. This guy is a depraved scumbag as evidenced by his support for a life crushing financial verdict against a file sharer. He should be in jail, not getting hired to promulgate his crimes in other industries. Lawyer scumbag, too late we learn that Lenin was right about them.
whether the ESA's hiring of this guy is a sign that they are about to go to war against end users like the RIAA has been doing, or whether it's just an ordinary personnel-type move.
Ray Beckerman +5 Insightful
If I am to understand his track record this will be high on his list
Now all Video Game discs will have a special magnesium and thermite backing. Should you read the entire disc in one sitting, the disc will ignite and destroy your gaming device. This will prevent all disc copying. It will also increase read error rates 50%, but we all brought it on ourselves.
Also all game systems and games will not be playable if not equipped with phone home technology. Existing games which are re-released as Game of the Year are to be retrofitted. Owners of games and game systems without internet access may purchase from the ESA, a phone home device utilizing Satellite technology for 1999.99 plus a $29.99 a month service fee.
Last but not least, all "obsolete" games without the built in protection will be illegal without a accompanying receipt. Punishable by fines from 100,000 to 1 Million per incident. I mean if you posses a game and do not have a receipt you must have stole it to copy and distrubute, right?
There goes the planet.
Of course I didn't RTFA... why would I do that? You really are new here aren't you? Don't let my UID fool you.
For one thing, while the number of seperate big producers in the industry is shrinking (EA has eaten a bunch of them, for example), there is no overall collusive body for games like there is for music.
Citation needed. There are plenty of game genres that haven't been shown to work well on PCs running Windows, such as 4-player in-person party games. If you're developing one of those, and Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo turn you down, there's no way to get your game in front of the public.
The no-cd crack is a modified exe, which is a derivative work under copyright.
There are tools analogous to diff for binary files, such as IPS and UPS. Are diff files also derivative works?
It's still quite possible for small/independant studios to put out a good product that garners high ranking sales, without the help of arbitrarily inserted gatekeepers.
You mean like the console makers? WiiWare still isn't open to developers operating out of a home office, and a PC running Windows tends to have a 17" screen that isn't comfortable for four players holding gamepads plugged into a USB hub to sit around.