Microsoft Puts the Kibosh On Kinect Sex Game Plans 419
theodp writes "Microsoft's Kinect has been out for less than two months and already there's an adult company looking to produce a 3-D sex game for the Xbox 360 console. But Microsoft immediately shot down any speculation that the game will pass the certification process. 'This isn't the first example of a technology being used in ways not intended by its manufacturer, and it won't be the last,' a Microsoft spokesman said in a statement. 'Microsoft did not authorize or license its technology for this use. Xbox is a family friendly games and entertainment console and does not allow Adults Only content to be certified for use on its platform, and would not condone this type of game for Kinect.'"
Family friendly (Score:5, Funny)
Xbox is a family friendly games and entertainment console
Well how do they think people get families? Duh.
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Here's the demo video (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bk7AMY_ocU&has_verified=1 [youtube.com]
Make the game for PC/Mac/Linux.. the Kinect just plugs right in.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bk7AMY_ocU&has_verified=1 [youtube.com]
Make the game for PC/Mac/Linux.. the Kinect just plugs right in.
Shit that was LAME! Anyone with an imagination can do better than that just by closing their eyes and pretending.
Inputdev (Score:2)
Has really taken on new meaning these days
And there goes... (Score:2)
My idea for an automatic "PANIC SOMEONE ELSE IS IN THE ROOM" feature for adult entertainment failsafes...
Typical. (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't have any objection to Microsoft refusing to certify whatever software they don't want to certify, for whatever reason they choose. If "not certified" means "won't run on Xbox", then perhaps the market will exist for alternatives, such as the Kinect-to-Linux setup already mentioned. (Or maybe not; porn seems to be aimed at the least common denominator, as evidenced by the fact that it's mostly crap.)
But it's somewhat ridiculous to say that the reason for denying such apps is that the Xbox is "a family friendly games and entertainment console". By that standard, any number of violent games should be excluded, from Bioshock to Stubbs the Zombie. Sure, "Family Friendly" is a fuzzy, undefinable term -- heck, you could make the argument that Portal would make little children sad (oh, how I miss the Companion Cube).
Reject the app because it's explicitly sexual. Or because it's poorly written, which is equally likely. But don't rack in Christmas sales of Call of Duty while saying the Xbox is "family friendly".
[insert obligatory Microsoft-is-evil throwaway line here]
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I think of it as "would it be reasonable to have this content in front of a family." Think grandma, aunts and kids visiting. Violence is borderline acceptable, but hardcore porn- wouldn't work.
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It's obviously not a family-friendly type of game, but does publishing it for the XBox make the XBox itself a non-family-friendly console?
Any piece of consumer electronics that can possibly contain adult content (no matter how) is now unsafe for your children. Better toss out that DVD player, and your television as well. Neither of them are protected!
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I am not really trying to take a position here one way or the other. I don't even know that our societal acceptance of explicit violence and rejection of explicit sex is actually sensible but I do sorta identify with the following thinking.
Violence is part of the human story as is sex. Depictions of violence make most normal people glad they are not experiencing it themselves and while it might be fascinating to see depictions of most people are not inclined to engage in it and thankfully many will never
Re:Typical. (Score:4, Insightful)
But it's somewhat ridiculous to say that the reason for denying such apps is that the Xbox is "a family friendly games and entertainment console". By that standard, any number of violent games should be excluded
I don't think you understand. "Family friendly" is American corporate/political jargon for "observing mainstream American cultural taboos regarding depictions of sex". Its got nothing to do with friendliness to families.
If you know Microsoft's policy... (Score:4, Funny)
Shit like this annoys me (Score:5, Insightful)
Not so much the not making a sex game, after all just because it is based on sex doesn't mean the game would be any good at all, but the "We won't certify AO games." Screw you. I get rather tired of ratings systems working so that the highest rating is effectively a ban. You see this all the time. When was the last time you saw an AO game? How about an NC-17 movie?
The thing is I'm not even after sexual titles, I'm just after something that perhaps has more adult content, and that can include violence or disturbing topics, than allowed by an M/R rating. However because companies like MS and Walmart (Walmart won't sell AO/NC-17 titles) get all prudish about it, we can't have that.
Also the amount of sexual content that push something to that limit is stupidly small. For example: Ever see American Pie? How about the unrated version? If you have seen the original, but not the unrated version, and some time has passed, I encourage you to get and watch the unrated version. Then when you are done, see if you can even tell what the difference was. It is extremely minor, only a few scenes with minor alterations. What's the deal then? Well the "unrated" version was the original cut, as the director wanted. However the MPAA said they'd have to hang an NC-17 on it, which means no theater would play it. So the director made the cuts they wanted to get an R rating. It was then released unrated (remember ratings are 100% voluntary) on DVD later. However were it rated, it'd get an NC-17 and thus nobody would carry it.
It annoys me greatly. I don't mind content ratings, I can appreciate how they are a useful guide for parents, particularly since with $50-60 videogames "Just buy it and play it first," isn't a viable plan. However I get tired of them being used as effective censorship. Just rate the games and sell them dammit, let the market decide.
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"Just rate the games and sell them dammit, let the market decide."
Isn't the market deciding already, by not selling AO games?
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No. As this story illustrates, those that might want to sell AO games are being blocked by technological means from doing so.
If ThriXXX (or whatever they're called) were to bring the game to market, and no one bought it, then it would be the market deciding.
But it would be bought. We all know it.
Re:Shit like this annoys me (Score:4, Insightful)
"Just rate the games and sell them dammit, let the market decide."
Isn't the market deciding already, by not selling AO games?
Seems to me the "market solution" would involve selling those games openly to the people who want them. If that's a niche market, then it won't be very large, but it would still exist.
Blatant censorship doesn't sound much like "let the market decide" to me. It sounds more to me like "if the market decided this, it might produce a result we don't like, so we won't let the market decide this one."
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Back on topic, if MS stopped intervening, and let "the market" decide, AO sex games may very well disappear....but th
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"Just rate the games and sell them dammit, let the market decide."
Isn't the market deciding already, by not selling AO games?
Sure, in the same way that the people of dictatorships decide their leader during elections--when popular opposition candidates are deliberately kept off the ballot.
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Re:Shit like this annoys me (Score:5, Insightful)
What is more annoying is when people claim businesses are guilty of censorship. I'm not even sure you can even call it censorship if people, business or any privately controlled entity determines what they will endorse, sell, disclose, etc. That's just called using judgement, being responsible, marketing, making money, etc. Instead, get annoyed when governments and media outlets censor.
Microsoft is free to choose not to produce games containing sex and/or nudity if they don't want to do that. That would be "judgment" and would be deciding "what they will endorse, sell, disclose, etc."
However, Microsoft is saying they don't want anybody else to produce games containing sex and/or nudity. That's beyond exercising their own discretion. That's more like saying "because we don't want to do this, no one else should do this either". Leveraging their ownership of a console to enforce this may be fully legal but that doesn't make it right or justifiable or anything other than censorship.
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Censorship is the use of power to prevent the dissemination of material considered objectionable. Market dominance is a form of power, and when a large proportion of movie theaters refuse to show NC17 films, or stores refuse to stock AO videos, or publishers refuse to license AO games to be used with their hardware, they are using their market power to prevent material they dislike being distributed, that is, they are censoring. They may have good reasons and a legal right to censor, and they don't have the
Let's stop using euphemisms like "family friendly" (Score:5, Insightful)
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In fairness, the events depicted in this family-unfriendly game are pretty unlikely to be the type that actually result in families. Recreational sex and procreation are not the same thing.
So much for adult gaming (Score:2)
They'll strongly defend their right produce violent games claiming adults eat that shit up but it's because it's easier to for get the story and entertain kids just by giving them abilit
Sex is bad but Murder is okay (Score:5, Insightful)
How many times do we have to explain this to people? Sniping, hand-to-hand, rocket launchers, rail guns, grenades, claymores and even nuclear attacks are ALL "good family oriented fun" and of course Grand Theft Auto is just good clean fun. But sex? NO! That's just dirty and no one ever does that.
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No, indeed, there is no difference. Children shouldn't be exposed to explicit sex or violence. So why are Microsoft OK with violent games that only adults should play, but not OK with sex-based games that only adults should play?
Re:Are You Stupid, Disingenuous, or just Childless (Score:5, Interesting)
That difference depends entirely on you.
The fact is, you can't get away from sexual crap even if you only watch the Disney Channel. It's the fact that you think sex is inherently harmful to children proves that you already have the wrong idea engrained in your psyche. Let's draw another analogy that is closer to the truth of the matter:
Knives and Fire. They are not inherently bad. They are, however, bad if not handled properly. You can get cut, burned or even die if not properly respected. Sex is VERY similar in those respects.
So instead of teaching children (little girls and little boys) that sex is bad, dirty and they shouldn't do it (because the conflicting messages will exist and screw up their brains no matter how hard you try) teach them what and who it is for and what bad things can happen if they aren't careful. And most importantly, lead by example!!
It's really not that hard. Sex is *private." Good. We understand that easily enough -- we don't poop and pee in public too often. Sex is fun. There's no denying that -- it's such a natural need that no one needs to be told and telling people that their natural needs are "wrong" just screws up people's minds. Sex comes with risks and can result in a screwed up life!!! Teach children the TRUTH and lead by good example and it will work!!!
DON'T tell kids to eat properly while you don't and are an obese slob.
DON'T tell kids not to smoke while you remain addicted.
DON'T tell kids sex is bad while you are still doing it and that sex is what brought them into existence.
You are the reason kids are so screwed up and grow up into screwed up adults. And your parents and surrounding society is the reason you are screwed up. Break the cycle here and now.
Re:Are You Stupid, Disingenuous, or just Childless (Score:5, Insightful)
The difference you see is purely religious cultural.
There's nothing I can say that will change your mind and I'll accept that. Back when I thought like you, no one could have told me anything either. (BTW, I'm so not a hipster. You really should look at my history here before you start making presumptions.) But one day, I hope, you will begin to see bits of reality and start making connections that you refused to see before.
Your job, as a parent is to teach your children how to be good adults. It is a bad assumption to believe that your job is to teach your children to be good children. To believe so is to ignore the reality that they will be adults one day. So tell them lies about the world they live in. Tell them lies about their own feelings and urges as they grow and develop. All you are doing is preventing them from learning about the world before the world teaches them the hard way.
Holier than thou (Score:3)
Sure, having smut in front of young children is not desirable, but c'mon, have you seen a music video lately (probably not if think a Zune would be cool for your sounds)? Also, Microsoft have no problem with their devices being used to represent (in increasingly high definition) people being dismembered, gutted, run over, shot, bombed, zapped, crushed, stabbed, exploded, etc. etc. on their console but can't stand to have people have natural human relations while also messing around with an XBox. "Just think of the shareholders" is a ridiculous excuse for being so heavy handed to their development partners and clients.
What gets put on an XBox should be at the discretion of the owners and the marketplace supplying those owners, provided all relevant laws are adhered to. Both adults and parents can manage that with enough the need of a nanny state or nanny corporation just as they already can manage what is on their DVD player or computer (and if they can't, they can purchase from a large range of software to sort it out for them). Microsoft are as big dickheads as Apple (for all you haters out there slamming Apple as if they were the only ones).
Simple solution. Don't reward Microsoft by buying or giving an XBox. Corporates only listen to money, and they notice trends, so do your duty.
Boy am I in trouble (Score:2)
'This isn't the first example of a technology being used in ways not intended by its manufacturer, and it won't be the last,' a Microsoft spokesman said in a statement.
I spent hours last night playing strip connect four with my wife.
japan (Score:2)
Damn, just imagine if Sony did the same. I mean, like half the games for PS2 are japan-only adult titles.
The game is not even being developed for the 360 (Score:5, Informative)
MS can not stop the development of this game since it is not, nor has it ever been, made for the 360. The game is made for the PC using the open Kinect drivers available everywhere on the web.
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Ok, seriously, mod this fucker up.
All the people arguing semantics and it will all be irrelevant.
family friendly? (Score:5, Insightful)
Xbox is a family friendly games and entertainment console
sure, check out the titles below. in the good ol' USA violence IS family friendly.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas--"... mission includes murder, theft, and destruction on every imaginable level. Player recovers his health by visiting prostitutes then recovers funds by beating them to death and taking their money. Player can wreak as much havoc as he likes without progressing through the game's storyline."
God of War--"Player becomes a ruthless warrior, seeking revenge against the gods who tricked him into murdering his own family. Prisoners are burned alive and player can use 'finishing moves' to kill opponents, like tearing a victim in half."
NARC--"Player can choose between two narcotics agents attempting to take a dangerous drug off the streets and shut down the KRAK cartel while being subject to temptations including drugs and money. To enhance abilities, player takes drugs including pot, Quaaludes, ecstasy, LSD, and 'Liquid Soul'--which provides the ability to kick enemies' heads off."
and more!
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/action/gta4/news.html?sid=6140463 [gamespot.com]
I thought ThriXXX was releasing it... (Score:4, Informative)
...for the PC, not the Xbox. I was pretty certain that was incredibly clear...did they announce something I'm unaware of?
Obligatory Penny Arcade (Score:4, Funny)
Kinect Sutra [penny-arcade.com]
Re:Killing millions is fine. (Score:4, Insightful)
america is the one with tit fear, not humans as a whole.
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If you don't like strawmen... (Score:2)
... then maybe you should not do them in the first place?
I actually looked at the messages up the thread. Nobody was proposing to show hardcore porn to children. The first to even mention it is you. Heck, neither the one you were answering to nor the OP even mentioned hardcore porn, they mentioned titties. And again, nobody was proposing to show even those to children.
Then here you build one more strawman ("It seems a small step to go from the nonsense argument that sex is harmless to children": nobody had
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Whenever I hear this, I wonder what our hunter/gather ancestors did when they were having sex. Kick the kids outta the cave? Or does that just explain how screwed up the human race is?
Re:Obligatory (Score:5, Insightful)
Fuck you, Microsoft. ;-)
Yes, thank you for that wonderful insight, but rather than that, this is again a case that is much bigger than what people are seeing - or bigger than some people want it to be.
Does a company really have the power to decide who and what can be developed for a piece of hardware it makes? Today they are saying no to an adult game. Okay, sure, I wouldn't want my kids getting their hands on this game, but that is up to ME as the parent to monitor and choose.
I thought this was part of American "First Sale" doctrine? As in, once someone buys it, they are allowed to do anything they like with it? I would say a lot of people will agree with this choice today, but what happens when the precident is already set and they start making decisions that folks don't actually like?
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Re:Obligatory (Score:5, Insightful)
You are allowed to do anything you want with your console. Microsoft isn't obligated to make it easy for you, however.
It's funny how their decision-making parallels American television censorship customs.
Want to show a hardcore war-themed game? Ok. Does it involve gruesome up-close violence? That's fine. Showing someone getting their head blown off at point-blank range with a shotgun? That's alright, just make sure it's realistic.
Want to show a pair of breasts? Not cool. Does it involve graphic depictions of sex between consentual adults? Not acceptable. That'd be obscene, and we will use licensing and any other means available to shut you down.
The message? Graphic violence is OK and normal and natural. Sex is obscene, uncommon, not a part of normal adult life, and must not be shown for any reason.
Anybody else think maybe we have this backwards?
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I remember way back when I bought PC Gamer there was a letter to the mag complaining about FEAR's frequent swearing. They agreed with him too. I guess sex and swearing is far more deplorable than the cannibalism, dismemberment and showers of blood in that game..
Which is completely ridiculous. These games and the ratings systems attached to them are designed for marketing to adults. Do you know any adults who have never before heard swearing?
It reminds me of that Janet Jackson incident during the Super Bowl. One breast was exposed. The FCC had to "crack down" by issuing stiff fines and penalties for the network(s) involved. That was for one breast. It was simple nudity and didn't involve any genitals. No sex was depicted there. The whole thing was a trem
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Re:Obligatory (Score:5, Insightful)
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Anybody else think maybe we have this backwards?
No, because sex and violence are hardly comparable.
Normal people don't yearn to kill someone when they see a mangled body. Normal people do yearn to fuck someone when they see a naked body. There's a bit of a difference.
I'm not saying it's good to glorify violence or that sex is evil and violence is not, but pretending that they're analogous categories is just silly.
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Re:Obligatory (Score:5, Insightful)
Normal people do yearn to fuck someone when they see a naked body. There's a bit of a difference.
You're an American, aren't you?
Normal people who grow up in societies without the kind of bizzare fetishization and commericalization of sexuality that saturates American society do not yearn to fuck someone when they see a naked body. Sometimes we just look on appreciatively, somethings we think, "Whatever". Sometimes in the right circumstances we are aroused, but only someone who has grown up in a sexually dysfunctional society would think that nudity in any way normally causes people to yearn to fuck someone.
And only someone who is seriously twisted would think that the desire to fuck someone is generally a bad thing. Would you say that food ads are in any way problematic because they induce a desire to eat?
Re:Obligatory (Score:5, Interesting)
We're raising a warrior tribe. Where tolerance of and comfort with violence and carnage is essential. And so is motivation based on sexual abstinence. How else do you expect us to mount the next Crusade?
Re:Obligatory (Score:4, Insightful)
The message? Graphic violence is OK and normal and natural. Sex is obscene, uncommon, not a part of normal adult life, and must not be shown for any reason.
Empires depend for their existence on the normalization of extreme violence against subject peoples. Therefore the normalization of violence is an important feature of any imperial system, from the Rome to Washington.
Human evolution has been driven primarily by mate-competition and sexual selection. As such sexuality is a powerful influencer of human behaviour. Make mating opportunities seem scarce and only available via socially approved means and you will have a high level of control of male behaviour.
To make this happen you will need a high level of control of female behaviour, which is most easily done by imbuing society with a great horror of sex and beating (sometimes literally) into women that if they have sex with men outside of socially approved circumstances they are evil, dispicable people.
Sexually liberal societies tend not to be particularly war-like. Sexually repressed societies tend to produce male violence in abundance, which finds many channels, from the freelance terrorism of the Nineteen Nitwits (18 of whom were from Saudi Arabia, 1 from Yemen) to the more extensive and organized violence carried out by the American and allied militaries.
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Re:Obligatory (Score:4, Insightful)
Short of some kind of console hack, I'd guess Microsoft could make it nearly impossible for customers to run the game. I'm not a lawyer, but I'd think they have every right to do this.
Though the other big question is, if they're happy with Activision selling many millions of copies of COD games, where kids run around murdering each other with guns, hatchets, napalm, etc... how is a sex game totally inappropriate for their "family platform"? No doubt it reflects the opinions of the market, but it seems a little bizarre to me that we have such a problem with sex, but not extreme violence.
Personally, I have no problem with either. Maybe I'm messed up.
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Maybe; that question is very similar to the legality of jailbreaking and such.
Does a company really have the power to decide who and what can be developed for a piece of hardware it makes?
Mostly indirectly. A company can control:
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DRM
The box simply won't run your disc.
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Well.. is there even a single indie console game out that is sold boxed and/or runs on an unmodded console?
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Yes, there are quite a few "commercial homebrew" titles for older consoles such as Atari 2600, Vectrex, Mega Drive, Neo Geo, and Dreamcast.
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Yes, yes you are forced to have DRM, or encoded content, on your Official MS X-box game disc. All the CD/DVD based first-party console systems "protect" their content with DRM, and so do most cartridge systems. This all began with Nintendo using a special chip in their NES carts:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10NES [wikipedia.org]
It forces all development for the platform through the first party. Play by their rules, or you don't get to play. This is why the videogame industry is so fucking boring; they are afraid of the
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Easily. Even if this company manages to develop the game (I believe the devkits require licenses), it won't be signed by MS, a necessary step to run on an unmodified console. If you had a mod chip, you would likely be able to run it as could then run unsigned code.
If they were smart, they would develop it for the PC. At the same time, they should also devote some devs to improve the open source drivers for the Kinect. That way they have their swingin 3D sex game and, aside from the fact that very few, if an
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But how in the hell they can stop them?
AFAIK you need to have your code digitally signed by microsoft before it'll be loaded by the xbox OS -- in theory, this stops piracy; in practice, it stops homebrow / third party development
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First sale? Won't be there for much longer. Really, between Vernor v. Autodesk [wikipedia.org] and Omega v. Costco [wired.com] there isn't much left.
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Does a company really have the power to decide who and what can be developed for a piece of hardware it makes?
Yes, they do and they have been doing so for at least 20 years, see the censorship needed on Maniac Mansion to be allowed a release on NES.
As in, once someone buys it, they are allowed to do anything they like with it?
The consoles only run authorized code, so you might be able to do what you want with it, but you can't do that as you can't break the encryption, "being allow to" != "being able to". The other issue is that even if you manage to get past the encryption, you can really do that, as they will send lawyers and police after you for breaking the encryption, as that is illegal
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Yes they do have that right. They use encryption on there system and they can pick and choose who they give keys too. If you do not like it then do not get a console and stick to the PC.
I think even that's giving them enough credit (Score:3)
I think even the scenario of your kids getting your game is one scare that's blown out of proportion. It's letting them sneak the canard right back in that consoles are for kids, only this time in the form of necessarily having a kid around in some form or another. I wouldn't give them even that as a given.
The fact is, the average age for marriage in the USA has risen lately to 27 years old. Very likely more than that if you exclude the Amish. While they do breed more often and earlier, you don't really hav
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Licensing? (Score:5, Insightful)
So does Ford. I can't make and sell a Mustang unless Ford says I can use that name and their parts. But I can buy a fucking Mustang and do what I like with it and resell it. I can also make shit to add onto the Mustang without Ford having right to say what is what. Somehow just because a device now incorporates electronics to provide the core sum of its functionality that right is taken away? Bullshit. It's like Ford being able to sue someone because they used an F150 to flee a ban robbery, or refuse to sell and Aztek to a teen because they might have sex in the back seat.
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Your post is silly. Microsoft is not stopping you from doing anything you like with your Xbox. You can download their dev kit and develop whatever crazy midget sex game you want.
You can't sell it as an Xbox 360 (TM) game, or distribute their libraries with it unless you get a license.
In other words, try selling an accessory you fashion as a Genuine Ford Mustang Accessory and see how long you can go without being sued.
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But thats's exactly the difference!
I'm free to distribute and sell Ford Mustang Accessories as much as I want to, and Ford can't do sh.. against it, while I can't distribute and sell an XBoX game.
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You absolutely can distribute an uncertified xbox game. It just wont run on the xbox.
Re:Licensing? (Score:5, Insightful)
Which is still different from the Mustang case. You can develop, produce, and install an accessory for the car and have it perform how you intended (assuming you're good enough to make it do that) with or without Ford's permission. You can distribute an Xbox game with or without Microsoft's permission, but actually using it for anything more than a coaster (I know, I know, digital distribution) is an entirely different story.
The difference is that of the two devices you own, the car and the Xbox, one can be modified (aftermarket parts put on) with the expectation of reaping the full benefits of that modification, and the other can be modified (homebrew software written and installed) with no expectation whatsoever of any functionality at all from that modification unless the hardware manufacturer says so.
This should not be.
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Could there be a case made for you being able to modify and use Ford's computer system in a way you legally cannot with Xbox?
There are lots of aftermarket ECUs for cars, Fords included.
Re:Licensing? (Score:5, Insightful)
Your example doesn't hold, because you can sell aftermarket parts that fit Ford Mustangs.
Of course it would be fraud if you claimed if those were Ford factory parts.
But nobody is trying to claim that some sex game came from Microsoft.
This is about Microsoft wanting to own the platform after they sold it to you.
If User A and User B both own instances of the same platform, A should be able to develop something that B is interested in, without some meddling third party dictating what that should be.
``B can get the tools and make it himself''' is not a rational argument. What A and B cannot do is engage in trade with regard to the platform.
Essentially, they are renters, and not owners.
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Except that ThriXXX is actually free to make and market this game. It just won't be certified.
Re:Licensing? (Score:4, Insightful)
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There's technical reasons all right.
Since they use technological means to enforce their economic whims.
And for legal reasons, it's illegal to circumvent, thanks to the draconian DMCA making it a crime.
Conveniently enough, Microsoft abuses this to prevent you from making homebrew games work, since homebrew and piracy have the same effect on their licensing revenue.
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Would it be legal for Ford to design a car that detected if non-ford parts were used and shut the car down (make it non-operable) until the non-allowed parts are removed and allowed parts are put back on?
Voiding the warranty is perfectly fine, denying the use of legally purchased private property via extortion is not.
And who says you are held under any license agreement when you purchase a console anyways?
Last I checked, I didn't sign any contract when I forked over my cas
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Ford has made a lot of crappy cars, the Aktek is Pontiac's fault though.
Re:Obligatory (Score:4, Insightful)
If you don't like it, buy a different product.
name one that does the same thing.
this is why i do not like this argument - it implies the free market will average out all the arseholes into niceness, but as soon as companies start following similar "party lines", competition in this respect becomes useless. you're just choosing between walled gardens in slightly different colours and layouts.
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That's the question... Does developing and selling an XBox game *legally* require a license? That is, if you bypassed Microsoft's technological license-required controls, would you be violating a law? Put another way, is there any legal power behind Microsoft's XBox development licensing scheme? Before the DMCA the answer was obviously pro-consumer. Today it would be a hard case.
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There are numerous unauthorized examples of games out there. Major retailers won't carry them, but in this case, it doesn't matter, really. If the company is in a small "offshore" country(or in China), there's nothing that anyone can do. It's the same as the various "crack" disks from years ago. They hate it, but they can't stop it, either.
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Fuck you, Microsoft. ;-)
In three words, the reason why no console manufacturer has embraced an AO game.
if you want this to happen, develop and market a PC game that introduces mature sexual content in a way that is not adolescently sophomoric or pornographic.
When you've shown that you have moved beyond Custer's Revenge, Duke Nukem and GTA: Hot Coffee, maybe then someone will listen.
But not before.
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Virtual sex is not family friendly... it is somehow hard to make babies like that
In other news, the "House & Garden" magazine is not family friendly because it's hard to buy a house if you see pictures of houses. Also, the "Car & Driver" magazine was found to be not car friendly, because people will not buy a car if they see the picture of one.
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Why would MS be interested in having you procreate.
If your a nerd with no family, you will prob spend more on your 360 then any nuclear family ever would. My room mate would be a prime example. He must own a few thousand dollars worth of 360 stuff.
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So I can't put a durability trophy. That sucks.
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Just like Microsoft isn't required to license whatever software is put in front of them.
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Just like Microsoft isn't required to license whatever software is put in front of them.
I think the problem is that their licensing is important. They've managed to set up a scheme where that matters.
If I buy an AMD or an Intel processor, I don't need AMD or Intel to license Linux. I just install Linux on my system and I expect either processor to run it properly since there is no technical reason why they could not.
If I buy an Xbox360 I am unlikely to succesfully run any game that Microsoft does not license. That's the problem here.
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The AO rating basically means that the game can't be published, as neither Nintendo, Sony nor Microsoft will allow that to happen on their consoles. Even on the PC an AO rating would run into trouble as quite a few stores wouldn't carry it (not sure about Steam and other online platforms).
The reason why GTA:SA has an AO is due to the Hot Coffee incident, before that it was M and it got a rerelease that was M as well. Manhunt 2 also only has an AO on PC, the console version is censored and M.
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if you want to use porn, buy an Xbox
Strange, you say that like this isn't an awesome sales pitch.
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By their own mouth they claim that they are not an authority on the Kinect, http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/11/17/ [penny-arcade.com]