Thursday Next

So you're telling me that Valve, the platform owner, does not want to get in between EA and their customers, for their own benefit? That for a game already purchased through Steam: EA --> Valve --> Consumer is more beneficial to the consumer than EA --> Consumer and does not benefit Valve? Don't get me wrong, I like Valve, they make great games and I've nothing against Steam but make no mistake, Steam is a closed platform. I'm not saying that Origin is not a closed platform. Nor am I saying that Valve don't have every right to make Steam a closed platform, but it is closed. Just like iTunes, PSN and XBL and all the other walled gardens out there. There's been lots of talk that the next, next Xbox / PS will be a software download. We're seeing the starts of that with PS Certified devices. That won't make PSN an open platform all of a sudden just because it can run on any hardware. It's closed because Sony will put themselves between the publisher and consumer. For a truly open platform you need to look to pure distribution. Somewhere that will host the game, take the money, download the software and then jog on. I believe D2D operate in this way. So does the Android Market, once I've downloaded the software developers are free to set up a direct line of communication with me, to serve me content anyway they wish to, some choose to do in-app billing through the Android Marketplace, others like Amazon, prefer to take me direct to their store.

I don't agree with that position at all. Gabe is arguing that it is wrong to sever the connection between developers and customers. Whether it is the "closed system" or the "closed platform" that does this is moot. I could buy another console or move to PC, as has been noted by many others, people are tied to Steam by the fact that they have the majority of their games purchased through it, or their friends list is tied up to Steam, that's the same reason I am tied to my PS3, I can jump to Xbox or PC in a heartbeat, but it means leaving behind my games, friends and trophies. Besides which, http://store.steampowered.com/about/ says: "Steam, The Ultimate Online Game Platform" I don't see how Gabe can lament the closedness of other platforms while cutting developers off from their customers on his own.

I agree, PSP was a worthy challenger to the DS, and depending on how the PS VIta goes, it could even be seen as the Xbox to the Vita's 360. The fact that Sony were able to establish a solid platform in a market that Nintendo totally owned is a huge achievement. If we're going to say that the PSP did not sell well because the DS outsold it 2:1, then what does that say about the Xbox 360 and PS3 when compared to the Wii? The ratio there is more like 3:1. PS Vita can take the market in a different direction to the iDevices. There's plenty of room for the two to co-exist.

How is Steam not a closed platform? Just look at the difference of opinion between Valve and EA. EA want to deal direct with their customers, Valve won't allow it. Gabe's comments are a huge great steaming pile of hypocritical BS. "Platform holders are severing direct lines between developers and customers for their own benefit, Valve president Gabe Newell has said." http://www.develop-online.net/news/38534/EA-Relationship-with-Valve-not-beyond-repair "A dispute between EA and Valve began earlier in the year when EA attempted to directly sell add-ons to its games sold through Steam. Due to those actions interpreted as a violation of Steam’s terms and conditions, Valve removed the offending games from its Steam Store."

I'd suggest that changing platform was an "Unauthorised Adaptation" or "Unauthorised Extraction". But compared to modern EULAs it's weak. A EULA is a unilateral contract, certain elements (or the whole) of it may be unenforceable, but the doctrine of acceptance by notice and/or course of dealing is pretty much solid. On balance, you have probably impliedly accepted the contract. Whether the contract is worth anything is another issue.

I certainly am not saying that you should buy an Apple TV, 3 iPhones and an iPad, but the fact is that these are items that many people have (well iPhones at least) and that they can be repurposed into a console is I think, what Gabe was driving at.

Pissed does indeed = Drunk. Pissed off = Angry.

You accept the license by using the software. It's acceptance by notice, or by course of dealings. Unless of course you've gone to the trouble of amending the EULA and sending it back to the publisher and they have accepted your changes. Somewhat unsurprisingly, in my time (~7 years) in software publishing I've not seen this once, and I can't imagine we'd agree to a change in EULA. Even if you aren't in breach of the license, FFVII being a PS1 title, I'm not sure what the EULA says or if there even is one, and are not responsible for the initial breach of Copyright, you are still guilty of secondary Copyright infringement for dealing with material that you know, or ought reasonably to know is infringing material, especially if you went on to seed the material.

Got some funny looks when I described an EA offer as "niggardly" today. Must remember not to use that one in front of Americans again.

Check out Firemint's Real Racer 2. 4 player split screen racing. Each iDevice is a controller, routed through AppleTV to your tellybox. I'd embed, but I can't be arsed to learn how. Oh... it auto embeds. Coolio.

It's in the license you agree to. As I've said before it's something that I (and in fact EA judging by some of their public statements) would like to see changed, but it's the fault of platform holders rather than publishers.

How is it obsolete when you can buy it on that platform?

Because you're Sony and your business model is over promise, under deliver. Ahhh, a graduate of the Molyneux school of business.

Haha. 12! How is that test about the English language and / or life in the UK? Half the questions are based on history. The first census? Women first able to divorce their husbands. How is that about the UK today?

I don't think I've heard anyone really asking for it though. For PSP Go it was a deal breaker. For PS Vita, it's a nice to have, so why promise what (most likely the Legal department have decided) you can't deliver?

Hot Heart was over them before they were cool!

Flesh Spoiler: General Series Spoiler:

Awwww, Grave of the Fireflies is amazing, but really sad.

Hot Heart liked them before they were cool!

I quite liked the look of the Flyer too... If that price drop is coming this side of the pond I may jump at it.

Just beat Ico again... Man what a game. So beautiful. My heart still skips a beat every time Yorda jumps and Ico catches her.

Saw Drive last Wednesday. Liked the film, great soundtrack, well shot. The guy who played the mobster (not Ron Perlman) reminded me of Colm Meaney, with a bit of Gene Hackman thrown in.

The only video game exemption I'm aware of is ... (4) Video games accessible on personal computers and protected by technological protection measures that control access to lawfully obtained works, when circumvention is accomplished solely for the purpose of good faith testing for, investigating, or correcting security flaws or vulnerabilities, if: (i) The information derived from the security testing is used primarily to promote the security of the owner or operator of a computer, computer system, or computer network; and (ii) The information derived from the security testing is used or maintained in a manner that does not facilitate copyright infringement or a violation of applicable law. http://www.copyright.gov/1201/2010/ TL;DR You may only hack PC games and then only to check for/fix security flaws.