American Company Aggressively Censoring Japanese Games
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 10/28/18 at 02:56 PM CT
Just when it seemed like Weeaboos, self-proclaimed Otaku, and the handful of normal people who just happen to like modern Japanese games had achieved victory in receiving non-Bowdlerized localizations and releases of niche titles that would otherwise not see the light of day outside of Japan, another Nintendo-in-the-90s-calibur crackdown on content that could be seen as “offensive” in the West is underway. In a stunning victory for both Social Justice Warriors – who hate the idea that women could be sexually appealing to men – and for fundamentalist Christians – who hate the idea of non-procreative sex – (normally two groups on the opposite side of everything) one large American console-maker has expanded their content approval process, making it impossible even to release fanservicey Japanese games in Japan
“GRRR! Microsoft sucks for doing this! We should boycott all Xbox products until they reverse their decision!”
But wait, I never said it was Microsoft! I …
Sixense Finally Falls after Years on the Fence
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 10/21/18 at 03:13 PM CT
For years, I’ve been covering the non-appearance of the STEM, a wireless, v2.0 successor to the incredible Razer Hydra PC motion controller. Sixense, the company that owns the technology patents used in both the Hydra and the STEM, successfully ran a Kickstarter campaign in October, 2013, where they raised just over $600,000 to fund development of the new hardware. Preorders for non-backers opened in October 2014, which is when I submitted my $300 for a 2-tracker STEM system.
This past week, though, Sixense’s web of promises and delays came crashing down, when company President, CEO, and overall terrible person, Amir Rubin, sent a mass email to all STEM Kickstarter backers and pre-order-ers stating that all STEM pre-orders were canceled and would be refunded via PayPal. I reached out to my contact at Sixense, Steve Hansted, Director of Business Development, for an explanation, and he directed me to this article on VentureBeat.
Apparently, Sixense’s leadership made the …
Could Copyright Crush CD Projekt?
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 10/14/18 at 02:57 PM CT
News broke recently that the Polish author, Andrzej Sapkowski, of the original novels upon which CD Projekt’s blockbuster videogame franchise, ‘The Witcher,’ is based had decided to sue the Poland-based developer, publisher, and owner of DRM-free PC gaming superstore GOG, for $16 million in additional compensation. It seems that Sapkowski originally agreed to accept a lump sum payment in order to license CD Projekt with the rights to make a game based on his novels instead of accepting a percentage of the total profits because he “didn’t believe they would be successful.” In a classic case of sour grapes, Sapkowski has decided to take legal action now that the scope of his poor judgment has become apparent.
The sad thing is that Sapkowski actually has a leg to stand on thanks to Poland’s version of the Digital Millennium Copyright act. Copyright has existed in Poland since 1926, and originally favored the Public Domain quite heavily, with a meager 10-year term. …
Goodbye Gamers
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 10/06/18 at 02:33 PM CT
I have some sad news for readers in Western Iowa and Eastern Nebraska: Gamers is gone. As reported by KETV Channel 7 this past week, every store in the Midwestern used videogames chain were seized by their bank and shut down without warning. Not only did this leave Gamers employees in the lurch, with no idea if/when they’ll receive their final paychecks, but any customers with store credit may as well have thrown their second-hand merchandise in the nearest pond, as they’re almost guaranteed to receive no compensation.
As someone who found his feet and identity as a gamer in the ‘90s, Gamers was like a home away from home. Between that place and Spellbound Books & Games (which has been closed for just over a decade already), I always felt like there was a local place to let my geek flag fly. In the ‘90s, it seemed like every Midwestern city had a second-hand videogame store and a local comic/tabletop RPG shop. Frequent family trips to Kansas saw me becoming a regular at …
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