Surfing the web, I spotted a story that quip my interest.
24-year-old James Burt bought the game New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii gaming console when a shop accidentally put it on its shelves before the official sale date. Nothing wrong with that because he did bought the game legally. However, Mr. Burt then hacked into New Super Mario Bros. and then put the game on the internet on November 6, 2009.
In a comedy of errors, the Australian man now has to pay game developer Nintendo US$1.3 million for breaching copyright law by hacking into the game and illegally making it available on the Internet, all ahead of its global release. Now I know video game piracy is a big problem, I know New Super Mario Bros. is a big game, I know the Wii is the most popular gaming console in the world, but US$1.3million?
I’m not saying the man didn’t do anything illegal but there are thousands of websites which offer thousands of downloads, for everything from music, to television series, to movies, to games, and this guy got a fine of US$1.3 million? Wow…if game companies can get that much money, then they should hire less game developers and more of these electronic forensic specialists to pin-point who put these downloads on the internet.
With judgments like this, we might have a new industry on our hands.
1 comment:
Dear blogger of Musings from the Lion City,
Let me first apologise for leaving my request on your comments page, as I couldn't reach you through any other way. I am a PhD candidate from the Communications and New Media programme at the National University of Singapore, and my research examines blogging and collective action. "Musings from the Lion City" came up in my sampling process and I am writing to you to seek your valued participation in a survey.
WHAT is this study about?
Without saying too much to bias your responses, my study concerns bloggers' online usage, their social networks and their participation/non-participation in activism. Whether you have participated or have not participated in any activism activity, your responses will be vital in helping me gather empirical evidence on blogging and its effects.
WHY should you help?
There has been much talk in the media and in the parliament on the rise of blogging and online discourse. But do blogging really impact civic participation? How does it do so? Your responses to the simple survey will go a long way in contributing to the nascent field of research on blogging in Singapore.
HOW can you help?
The survey involves easy-to-answer questions (e.g. Yes/No, ratings of “1” to “5”) and will take only about 20 minutes of your time. Based on your preference, I can conduct the survey via email (or any other ways you prefer). Just send me an email and I will forward you the survey form.
Please help!
Bearing in mind the potential difficulties in getting an adequate sample for such a study, I would like to stress that every single participation counts. In addition, this study has been approved by the NUS Ethical Review Committee. You have my complete assurance that all your responses will be kept strictly confidential and your identity anonymous.
Do visit http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/cnm/research%20students/2006_grad_carol.htm for a brief write-up of my profile (please cut and paste if the link doesn't work). Being a student with no funding support, I am bearing all research costs and appealing to your goodwill (and hopefully curiosity?) to take part in this study.
I look forward to hearing positively from you soon. Thank you for reading this and giving my request your due consideration.
Best regards,
Carol Soon
(Emails: wtsoon@nus.edu.sg and carol_soon@yahoo.com.sg)
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