Cockfighting uk ban

I was thinking last week was a bit thin on MMO news, but I’m so glad I do this weekly recap because it’s proved my impression so wrong! This week, Bless Online officially sunsetted its last remaining server, Star Trek Online launched its Awakening expansion, Caravan Stories rolled out for PS4, PlanetSide Arena let folks in for a peek, and there was a smidge of turmoil in the City of Heroes rogue server community. Plus, we debated Elder Scrolls Online’s trade guild mess and mused on EVE Online’s population problem. Oh yeah, and a UK parliament committee berated video game companies for their gross monetization and lockboxes specifically – let’s hope they throw more than shade going forward. Read on to catch up with the very best of this week’s MMO news and opinions today as every Sunday in Massively Overpowered’s Week in Review! THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES EVE Evolved: EVE Online is losing players, and no one can agree on why - Nobody … [Read more...] about MMO Week in Review: Bless goes dark, Star Trek Online awakens

In all our many roundups at the turn of the year, we’ve never done one on the legal dramas that have affected the MMO genre. That changes today! Of note, there’s… the lockbox scuffle as various countries turn their watchful gaze on the industry and self-regulation collapses in a puddle of shrugs; the Crytek lawsuit against Star Citizen studio Cloud Imperium; the potential for dead online games to skirt DMCA laws; multiple Pokemon Go-inspired lawsuits and criminal trials; the end of the Warner Bros. and Tolkien estate lawsuit; the continuation of the Oculus/ZeniMax Media lawsuit; the cease-and-desist filed against Asheron’s Call emulators; and a whole ton of Blizzard lawsuits, including the capsizing of the Bossland cheaters following multiple Blizz victories. My favorite, however, is Andrew’s research into whether lockboxes legally constitute gambling – from last January. Enjoy! Call of Duty swatting incident leads to man’s death in Kansas … [Read more...] about A look back at the MMO industry’s law dramas of 2017

If Retro Computers Limited wants to convince me that the Vega Plus is going to be released, they need to prove it. For those of you who haven’t seen the original Crowdfunding Fraudsters regarding the ZX Spectrum Vega Plus, you can read it here. Today we’re revisiting the ZX Spectrum Vega+, a handheld device slated for release in September 2016. It still hasn’t launched. 1. Retro Computers Ltd Breaks Out The B-Team Where the previous Crowdfunding Fraudster article focused on figures like RCL Managing Director Suzanne Martin, founder David Levy, Chris Smith, and Paul Andrews, Darren Melbourne, and more, the follow up is going to focus on three people whose opinions are entirely present despite being exponentially more immature and irrelevant than people we’d actually like to hear from: Tamara Thomas, Lee Fogarty, and Jan Saggiori. Thomas and Saggiori are volunteer administrators of the unironically named “Democracy” side of the  Retro Vega+ … [Read more...] about Crowdfunding Fraudsters Redux: Return of the ZX Spectrum Vega+

Google is looking at losses worth $750 million (and climbing) ever since 250 brand-advertisers pulled their ad spend following a Times Inc. report, which revealed Google’s seemingly uncaring stance on brand safety. The dust is only now beginning to settle (after Google’s vehement promises of tougher policies, third party measurement, and a string of DFP updates). Not much has changed for publishers, and despite Google’s recent show of fair-play, advertisers’ trust in GDN’s ability to provide safe content to advertise against might be a little harder to gain back. The YouTube exodus itself could be real or just a show of concern; advertisers shouldn’t be crying foul after rooting for cheap inventory at scale (as programmatic promised) for years. It comes with a cost, and all the direct-response advertisers knew that going in. The possibility that their ads would end up against extremist content was part of the bargain. Uncertainty is the by-product of … [Read more...] about Google’s Brand Safety Loss is a Win for News Media Looking to Strike Direct Deals

I am a neglectful person. First I barely acknowledge MMO Fallout hitting nine years old last year, and now I look back at the archives and find out that I never published a predictions piece for 2018? You really get your money’s worth with this website, let me tell you. So in that vein, let’s look forward at 2019 with a new column I like to call “MMO Fallout’s Tips For 2019.” This one is for consumers and the industry, so strap in folks. 1. For The Industry, Know Your Audience: This is a big one, it’s going to prevent a lot of you from getting laid off in the coming years. 2017 and 2018 were the years that big players in the industry snubbed their noses at the consumer, and the consumer hit back with the kind of force to qualify as a crime in ten states plus the district of Columbia. I’m sure most people didn’t think we’d ever see a year where Star Wars, Battlefield, Fallout, Tomb Raider, and a whole host of other games … [Read more...] about MMO Fallout’s Tips For 2019: Consumer/Industry Edition