Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: RetroJames on April 01, 2004, 12:48:14 pm
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Hide your roms boys...on CNN today
Redmond, WA (Reuters) -- The video game industry, has unleashed its first wave of international lawsuits against Internet rom-swappers. Roms are the read-only programs used in commercial arcade and video game machines.
Writs are being issued against 247 individuals in the U.S. and Canada. The industry vowed more countries will be added to the dragnet in coming weeks.
The North American Video Game Consortium (NAVGC) alleges those targeted put hundreds, even thousands of roms on Internet file-sharing services such as Kazaa and WinMX as well as "newsgroups" such as Google groups and Arcadecontrols.com for others to download.
The industry blames the extensive trade of free games on the Internet for contributing to a five-year slide in coin-operated arcade sales and believes that unless it threatens the biggest file traders with lawsuits, game fans will never buy games on the Internet in meaningful amounts.
"We have made it clear that file-sharing without the permission of the copyright holder is illegal, that it amounts to "file-stealing," and that it affect jobs and livelihoods across the whole industry," said NAVGC chairman Eugene Jarvis.
"Ultimately, though, we have learned that education alone is not sufficient," he added in a conference call with the media.
Some analysts questioned the timing of the lawsuits, saying the recently launched, industry-sanctioned "rom stores" offer an inferior alternative at the moment due to the high cost and lack of selection.
"I think it is misplaced to put this into effect now before there is a wide choice of compelling, legal, arcade game services," said an ArcadeControls.com Research analyst known as "The Saint".
"All it does is deter people from coming into the legitimate folds because it breeds resentment."
The latest legal clampdown is patterned on a controversial campaign by U.S. trade body the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which has sued over 2,000 of the most prolific American music file-sharers since September.
Hefty fines
The individuals in the latest round-up face fines in the thousands of euros or Canadian dollars range, the NAVGC said.
The proceedings are at various stages, with Canadian authorities having obtained the identities of alleged copyright infringers while U.S. officials have gone to court to determine identities.
Until now, the NAVGC had opted for a more cautious approach, investing in education campaigns about the illegality of file-sharing and trying to entice gaming fans to buy roms from the authorized online rom stores.
"This is designed to stop an illegal activity and promote a legal activity," Berman said. "Hopefully, the net result of that will be to increase demand for legitimate services."
Stamping out Internet piracy is viewed as crucial to restoring the fortunes of an industry in decline. Global sales of various arcade gamess fell 7.4 percent in value to $32.2 billion in 2002 and are expected to show a similar decrease in 2003 when figures are released later this year.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/ptech/04/01/videogame.lawsuits.mame/index.html
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Nice try. Posting this on RGVAC was a nice touch too :)
Brian
http://www.orubin.com
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I, for one, never trust news on April 1st...... Especially article URLs that go nowhere.
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You nearly gave me a heart attack! It wasn't until I read, "arcadecontrols.com" that I realized (I'm a sucker). I should just crawl under a rock until tomorrow, when all this fake news comes to an end.
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::deletes all roms and burns MAME cabinet::
*phew*
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"the Saint" isn't that roger moore? I had no idea we had a celebrity amongst us--loved you in moonraker dude! ;)
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"the Saint" isn't that roger moore?
No, dumbass, that was Val Kilmer!!! ;) :D
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Man, I am super gullible. Howard Stern got me this morning too.
:-[
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No, dumbass, that was Val Kilmer!!!
Someone of your advanced years should know better ;)
8)
http://www.saint.org/sttv.htm
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Maybe just a little too close to the truth for some of us! Nice job though.
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Wow. That one got me. I was shakin in my boots.... Good one Space Cadet!
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;D
Thanks, it looks like the post on RGVAC is actually roping some folks in as well...check out these replies even after someone else gave it away...
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I don't think there going to have much success in Canada. Yesterday's
news:
"Sharing copyrighted works on peer-to-peer networks is legal in Canada, a
federal judge ruled on Wednesday, handing the record industry a sharp
setback in its international fight against file-swappers. "
from:
http://www.silicon.com/networks/webwatch/0,39024667,39119727,00.htm
There are a lot of different factors, but basically it's always been
acceptable to acquire copyrighted articles for personal use in Canada.
Richard----------------------------
: Exactly what I was going to say. Playing "Ms. Pac-Man" through MAME on
: your computer using a keyboard and a high-resolution monitor isn't going
: to cause you not to go out and play the real thing for $0.25 at your
: local arcade (if your town even has one anymore). This is even more the
: case with Visual Pinball. Nice to play, but nothing matches the feel of
: playing pinball better than the real thing.
The connection is even weaker than that...
The copyright holder does not profit from you playing the game in the arcade,
only from the original sale of the game to the operator. On your average
classic game (the re-releases not withstanding), the companies would have
a VERY challenging time arguing any sort of damage.
--------------------------------
LOL blames ROM downloads for a slide in arcade sales? Maybe they should
blame the fact that most new arcade games suck, and that home consoles have
improved to the point where they're just as good.
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The North American Video Game Consortium (NAVGC) alleges those targeted put hundreds, even thousands of roms on Internet file-sharing services such as Kazaa and WinMX as well as "newsgroups" such as Google groups and Arcadecontrols.com for others to download.
Yeeeeeaaaaahhh, it sounded good until you read the arcadecontrols.com part.
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It never got me for a second. When it all comes down it isn't going to be about arcade ROMS. It will be about console roms, specifically Gameboy Advance, or some other "current" system that is fully emulated.
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"the Saint" isn't that roger moore?
No, dumbass, that was Val Kilmer!!! ;) :D
LOL. You called him a dumbass, when you are the dumbass! Roger Moore was, infact, The Saint long before Val Kilmer. The Saint was originally a TV show in the 60's starring, you guessed it, Roger Moore! ;D
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055701/ ;)
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it sorta had me going untill it said "The Saint"
{Yeah im pretty gullible :'( }
Happy April Fools Day, Ya Fools ;D
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I'm surprised no one stumbled on this one yet...
""We have made it clear that file-sharing without the permission of the copyright holder is illegal, that it amounts to "file-stealing," and that it affect jobs and livelihoods across the whole industry," said NAVGC chairman Eugene Jarvis."
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You had me until Eugene Jarvis's name came up as the leader of this attack. ;)
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"the Saint" isn't that roger moore?
No, dumbass, that was Val Kilmer!!! ;) :D
LOL. You called him a dumbass, when you are the dumbass! Roger Moore was, infact, The Saint long before Val Kilmer. The Saint was originally a TV show in the 60's starring, you guessed it, Roger Moore! ;D
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055701/ ;)
Did you notice the smileys he put after the name Val Kilmer?
Nice joke BTW. Fooled me at least for half of the article (but then I'm reading it on april 2nd)
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I'm surprised no one stumbled on this one yet...
""We have made it clear that file-sharing without the permission of the copyright holder is illegal, that it amounts to "file-stealing," and that it affect jobs and livelihoods across the whole industry," said NAVGC chairman Eugene Jarvis."
Maybe this is why I was fooled - who is Eugene Jarvis? ???
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I'm surprised no one stumbled on this one yet...
""We have made it clear that file-sharing without the permission of the copyright holder is illegal, that it amounts to "file-stealing," and that it affect jobs and livelihoods across the whole industry," said NAVGC chairman Eugene Jarvis."
Maybe this is why I was fooled - who is Eugene Jarvis? ???
Yeah, I was wondering about that too. Googling his name says he's the programmer for Defender, Stargate and Robotron.
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Nice touch--If he had used Nolan Bushnell it might have got me--he seemed like somebody that would kick your ass for using space invaders without a license :o
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PHEW!...between you and Howard Stern I just thought my whole world came to a horrible crashing end.
...that was well done!
:o
MameMaster! 8)
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What happened on Howard Stern, I keep hearing it mentioned but missed it...
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"the Saint" isn't that roger moore?
No, dumbass, that was Val Kilmer!!! ;) :D
LOL. You called him a dumbass, when you are the dumbass! Roger Moore was, infact, The Saint long before Val Kilmer. The Saint was originally a TV show in the 60's starring, you guessed it, Roger Moore! ;D
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055701/ ;)
Did you notice the smileys he put after the name Val Kilmer?
At least someone got it. I'm just happy the original poster wasn't offended... (I'd flipped past the Val Kilmer version on TV the night before)
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What happened on Howard Stern, I keep hearing it mentioned but missed it...
First Tom Chiasano (sp) read a statement about how Howard was taken off the air because Viacom/Infinity couldn't justify the burden of the fines and FCC pressure to the stockholders. Then there was 1 1/4 hours of a cheesy, wacky, morning drive, top 100 show. They played a few Howard fans calling up and bitching.
The DJs sounded like the real thing. They were called 'Cross and Lopez.' The 'Cross' was no doubt a dig at the religious right. It was pretty funny.
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"the Saint" isn't that roger moore?
No, dumbass, that was Val Kilmer!!! ;) :D
LOL. You called him a dumbass, when you are the dumbass! Roger Moore was, infact, The Saint long before Val Kilmer. The Saint was originally a TV show in the 60's starring, you guessed it, Roger Moore! ;D
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055701/ ;)
Actually the first incarnation of The Saint was in the '50s on radio, with Vincent Price in the role... (and I think one other person as well, but I'm too lazy to check my reference books) but who's picking?
I have to say this "news story" got me pissed off until I re-read the posting date... just as effective as Saint's "death" - I guess I'm just gullible late at night...