Gamers Rights Law » online games

The “Memphis Mafia” and Running a Company

jaymoffitt — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:11:43 +0000

This is just a short news post about credit card overcharges at Warhammer Online. It’s so peripheral to the “business” of video games that I don’t have much original to add from a legal standpoint. But I do have a short personal commentary at the end(after the jump) .

Mythic Entertainment has double and triple-billed some customers. Here’s a sampling of the dozen or so blogs I’ve found that have mentioned the over-billing “issue”.

Broken Toys is always reliable to have a snarky take on a subject, and they didn’t spare Mythic Entertainment.

Massively Multiverse has a critical article about the incident(s) and the response thus far.

Grimnir’s Grudge has the actual credit card charges scanned onto the site…

Slashdot Online has a mention of the alleged overcharges.

No Prisoners, No Mercy has it’s own take.

WasdStomp Gaming Blog talks about reading about it on Twitter, and then discovering it hit him too. Favorite quote: “It only took them 23 seconds to charge my account 16 times, but I may not see my money for two months.”

And now, for the usual suspects, Kotaku has an article on this incident, as well as Gamasutra.

THE OFFICIAL RESPONSE from Mythic Entertainment. They do assert “To be clear, at no point during this event was there a security breach or was subscriber account information compromised.”

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Personal commentary: Goodwill has been characterized as “Every possible advantage that has been acquired by a firm in carrying on it’s business” (Mills v Rich, 1930, Mich). Personally, I look to the example of the “Memphis Mafia” that Elvis had around him.

When Elvis and Priscilla split up in the 1970s, there were not to my knowledge a ton of tabloid articles about the subject. Rumors, innuendo, but there were no “inside sources”. You can look it up, I could be wrong, but my point is that Elvis, as the king of rock and roll, had “his people” who ran “his business” and there were mistakes, sure, but those mistakes were taken care of internally. You can read the Mythic Entertainment official statement and see that it seems they did everything right, yet “somehow” people were billed hundreds of dollars (each) in a mistake that has never happened before or will again.

That’s a relief. It shows great resolve they’ve immediately made a move to repair the overcharges and immediately refund the money. But where is the resolve that “heads will roll” and people will “get a good talking-to”? I read a commentary that said people who a $300 charge would overdraft them should stop playing MMOs anyway. With the way debit cards are set up, and the lack of consumer protections built into them, I would hope no one has thousands of dollars available on an online-used debit card! A couple of hundred unexpectedly disappearing SHOULD cause you an issue on a simple debit card; at least enough to make you notice. I’ve read the full “official notice” on the site and it’s a little more sympathetic than some of the blogs would have you believe; but it’s not the words but the “follow-through”. I’ll update this news item whenever there’s a significant change; keep in mind this is a dated post, and the online gaming blogs are your best source to follow developments on a day-to-day basis.

Photo Courtesy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninette_luz/3413779145/ ; Creative Commons, some rights reserved.

Jay Moffitt is a Tennessee attorney. This blog is for entertainment and educational purposes only and does not consitute legal advice or create an attorney/client relationship. Jay Moffitt is not certified as a specialist in this area by Tennessee and Tennessee does not certify specialists in this practice area. All comments will be answered promptly and courteously as long as they are germane to the discussion and do not contain specific game names or incidents.

Being There

jaymoffitt — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:50:28 +0000

I believe I read it in the intro to a science fiction novel. “Who will mourn the earth when she is gone?”

It just goes to show: when you hear complaints, and compliments, and rivalries, between games, or pasttimes, in online discussions and blogs, it seems to continue forever. Yet “There.com” is shut down, March 9th, and I read hardly anything about it. Where are all the “Citizens There” going to go? Discussions and links after the jump….

It was a groundbreaking world, a direct competitor for Second Life (and I can read the chuckling Sl-izens, thanks very much) and yet… there it goes. Closed down without so much as a barbed-wire fence or a “by-your-leave”. First, I offer to you several links of esteemed sources which describe the demise and effect of the loss:

Official Announcement from There.com

Real-world woes shuttering virtual world There (CNET blog)

Makena closing There.com on March 9th (WorldsinMotion.Biz Industry blog)

And here is what I found to be the best commentaries on the subject of There’s closing:

5 Lessons Unlearned by the MMO industry (from the excellent blog Pop Culture of Destruction)

Another World bites the dust (Fatfoogoo blog, discussing the difference a year makes)

My own take on this follows after the break: __________________________________________________________________________

The explanations are very nice, very detailed, seemingly very open. But as the last article points out, the companies that run the virtual worlds insist upon their great health until the bitter end. The announcement of the end of a virtual world that had been running for the better part of a decade is…. ahem, March 9. (That would be less than 2 weeks notice for your non-math-majors out there).

With all due apologies to the great developers, industry people, and those with great foresight within there.com – are they serious? A world that is built of conversation, openness, and social interaction of what I’ve been told is some of the better minds (to engage in avatar chat) they couldn’t figure out a better end than that?

This is the second major virtual world within the past 3 months to close, and each of them has given less notice than is required for a tenured employee at any small employer? I’m amazed that the second There.com closed its doors, they shuttered their forums. If There.com participants wanted to complain, they had to find another forum. See article on Virtual Worlds News. Noted at the bottom of that article, is that those who had the forums closed, had a place at Utherverse to vent their grief or try to reconnect with old friends (and Frenzoo also is running a promotion). Even though the closure of Metaplace was criticized in some circles as being fairly short notice, at least Raph Koster and his team did give an aura of dignity to the termination of Metaplace by allowing the citizens to interact, grieve over the loss of the world, and have a final get-together in the same venue and same forums.

This is purely commentary of course, and I welcome and will respond to citizens from There.com who feel I’m being a little harsh: but the whole purpose of a virtual world is immersion. I would think many at There.com would have loved to hear about the financial difficulties; try to participate in a solution, get some transparency from the developers, and do everything, everything in their power to save There.com before an announcement had been made. Maybe that’s naive of me to believe, but so was the belief only a couple of years ago that the majority of your social interaction would happen online; and that’s true for most people today. And that’s not a direct criticism of There.com, but just a statement that these large publishers and developers are building something more important than even they realize.

Activision/Infinity Ward Studios Dustup: THIS COULD BE THE ONE

jaymoffitt — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:07:22 +0000

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jorgemiente/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Yes, the one that hits the mainstream media. Allegedly security called, developers dismissed from their office, power struggles, money struggles, the biggest one-shot in gaming history (bigger than movie Avatar). This could be “THE ONE” that the mainstream media reports on as if it were a movie star or a rock star. Anonymity goodbye? More after the jump…

This disagreement is not about money, this is about power. Within the past month Activision has taken major personnel moves at 3-4 studios they control, and also announced the possibility the next Call of Duty Title (which has always been done by Infinity Ward; all 6 versions) would be a subscription-based MMO.

I’ll provide a couple of links to the core news story; and then I’ll conclude with a couple of my own thoughts as to why THIS IS HUGE!

In sequence:

Security called to Infinity Ward (from Maximum PC)

Lawsuit filed by Infinity Ward (from Kotaku)

Infinity Ward suing for unpaid royalties (from Kotaku)

Activision accused of conspiracy (from Escapist Magazine)

Legal Warfare Break out over Modern Warfare (from Barrons)

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Now, to the commentary part. This isn’t about money. This isn’t about whether Activision is paying a king’s ransom (which I’m sure they are) to keep the developers happy. This isn’t about whether the developers are giving the best efforts to produce a good product and other good products for Infinity Ward and Activision (they obviously have, and obviously have done that… in a groundbreaking fashion). As pointed out in the Barron’s article, this is about control. Control of the Future of THE BIG ONE, THE ONE THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING.

This is parallel in the Gaming Industry to the legacy fights over the Tolkien books, to the final editing fights about “The Godfather” between Robert Evans and Francis Ford Coppola; this is parallel to the “Palimony” case in the 1970s in California. THIS IS THE BIG ONE.

Drama, Security Called, The biggest retail gaming franchise launch (by far) in gaming, and entertainment history, and now this? All the mainstream media, not just Joystiq, Gamasutra, G4, and the other gaming magazines, but Barrons, the Wall Street Journal, the LA Times, and yes, even Newsweek, the New York Times, and CNN and Fox News will have their say about this. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the one that changes everything and “Gaming” will no longer be a niche industry; behind Movies, Publishing, and Network TV.

Hasbro means Christmas

jaymoffitt — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 21:09:00 +0000

(Lawsuit, that is).

Apparently the holiday seasons were an excellent time for Hasbro to sue. This story from Industrygamers says Hasbro ” today (Dec 17) announced its intentions to file a lawsuit against Atari, accusing the game publisher of fraud and five separate licensing agreement breaches of the Dungeons & Dragons brand.”

Here is the text of the lawsuit, from the incomparable Courthouse News.

I would urge my readers to peruse this. 176 counts? really? I enjoyed the fact that it did recount the emails, phone calls, contradictions, and internal friction that preceded the lawsuit. It asks for damages plus an accounting, among other other things.

Here is another take on the lawsuit, from 1UP.

Yet another, very clean synopsis, here at play.tm.

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In a somewhat similar lawsuit, Turbine announced earlier it was suing Atari for damages. Here is another article from Big Download about that lawsuit over the game Dungeons and Dragons.

You can read the full text of the August lawsuit here.

Any comments on either of these suits are welcome. As the details become more fleshed out I will follow this dispute.

Lump of Coal(for some MMOs)

jaymoffitt — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:55:34 +0000

This is the best definition of “Griefing” that I have found. Buy Mortal Gold calls it ” the act of chronically causing grief to other members of an online community, or rather, intentionally disrupting the immersion of another player in their gameplay.”

There aren’t any lawsuits for griefing, or glitches, or general screwball hatefulness that goes on in MMOs or online worlds. But I’m always taking emails if you’ve found one or know of one. Here’s a list of the different types of Griefing articles I’ve found lately.

Pixels and Policy has a very interesting article about antisocial gaming.

Ten Ton Hammer discussesThe Seven Types of Spies, Like the Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, but for internet sociopaths.

Play No Evil discusses the Ten Ton Hammer article along with its own persepctive on dissension.

Not quite an other-gamer issue with fun, but a game-based complaint. The blog In Between the RPG has a great article about the disappointment of an MMO. Not a rant, but a thoughtfully written interesting article that you should read for perspective and hopefully your feedback on your disappointments of the past year.

Offline play really stinks in the MMO world(From Anyway Games Blog).

Griefing for Academia; Univ. of Loyola professor reviled in City of Heroes Older article, but still one of the best in-depth pieces on Griefing. And ironically, it’s told from the “Griefer’s” Standpoint.

And finally, a currently hilarious article in Destructoid Magazine about The Five Stages of Griefing.

Lost Garden discusses Games as Government, the surrogacy that each online world must project and administer.

More serious lumps of coal:

Metaplace is closing down. Official letter can be found here. Key points, ” over the last few months it has become apparent that Metaplace as a consumer UGC service is not gaining enough traction to be a viable product, requiring a strategic shift for our company. We’re sorry to announce today that Metaplace.com will be closing to the public at 11:59pm on January 1st, 2010. ”

Personal note: I have an account on Metaplace.com, and I also subscribe to Raph Koster’s blog (for about 2 years). I love open-form MMOs/Games (no rules) and it’s a shame to see it close.

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Below the fold, the indepth viewpoints:

An Avatar’s Day in Court: A Proposal for Obtaining Relief and Resolving Disputes in Virtual World Games
by Farnaz Alemi, cite as 2007 UCLA J.L. & Tech. 6. You really should read this to see her suggestions on alternative in-game courts sytems for expedited relief.

Virtual Parentalism: (In a way criticizing too much energy used on becoming a “virtual parent” instead of a games publisher/administrator). Cite as Fairfield, Joshua, Virtual Parentalism (September 30, 2009). Washington & Lee Legal Studies Paper No. 2009-08. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1480701

As always, any suggestions, comments, or ideas for upcoming articles are welcome.

Danger in Online Worlds

jaymoffitt — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:45:24 +0000

FTC’s report on adult content in online worlds

A full story from PC Mag says report claims adult content still viewable by children, despite precautions. Notably, “It is far too easy for children and young teens to access explicit content in some of these virtual worlds,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement. ”

One short thing to note in the virtual worlds’ defense, in the reports’ Footnote 26: “In visiting each online virtual world studied, the Commission’s researchers did not put themselves in 45. the place of an average virtual world user. Instead, the researchers were specifically instructed to search for as many different types of explicit content as possible in the time allotted, performing key word searches using explicit terms, looking for explicitly-themed discussion forums and chat rooms, and observing explicit avatar chat.” I only have an opinion as an attorney, not a researcher, but that kind of testing would seem much beyond the pale of unbiased researcher and would go towards “ghost hunting”(i.e. if you go looking for ghosts you’re going to find them).

From Ypulse, a Website focused on youth worlds, “The FTC report brings to light the challenges facing companies trying to cash in on the virtual world phenomenon.Unlike traditional pre-packaged products, online virtual worlds are driven partially (and sometimes primarily) by user-generated content.”

A family-friendly Website, Netfamily news says “This is a great start. As purely user-driven media, virtual worlds are a frontier for research on online behavior.”

A social games Website article notes “Given important First Amendment considerations, the Commission supports virtual world operators’ self-regulatory efforts to implement these recommendations.”

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Here is a representative sample of the many Websites attacking the content or methodology of the Study.

Ars Technicais critical of the FTC study. It says “That’s on top of the fact that the biggest threat to kids online is… other kids. According to a 2009 report by Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, the percentage of children being sexually targeted by adults online is very low compared to kids targeting other kids

Massively (features on Massive Multiplayer Online games) reported the results were to be expected. They pointed out ” some elements of the study’s methodology are a bit questionable, especially as their list of explicit material included words common to anyone with a history of playing video games. (Or cable television.)”

PlayNoEvil, predomimnatly a developer and security Website, talks about the difficulty of the type of age verification proposed in the government report. ” One suggestion that is solid is to use an “Age Neutral” request for a new user’s age – e.g. “Enter your birthdate” rather than “Are you under 13″.The other is to tag a computer as being used by a minor if they try to login again with a different age.”

A difficulty that’s not discussed is online access through simple devices, Nintendo DSi, Iphones, and other platforms that aren’t really computers but allow net acess. I would predict that to be a “hot point” of the next government report following up on this report.

Last note: one recommendation by the report would seem to be unanimous to both sides of the argument. “The report recommends that parents and children become better educated about online virtual worlds, and affirms the FTC’s commitment to ensuring that parents have the informationthey need to make informed choices. A consumer alert, Virtual Worlds and Kids: Mapping the Risks, is available at www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt038.shtm.

As always; a couple of intellectual discussions which further the brief discussion above, for those wishing to inform themselves:

Protecting Children in Virtual Worlds, cited as Protecting Children in Virtual Worlds Without Undermining Their Economic, Educational and Social Benefits, Benjamin Duranske, Pillsbury Winthrop LLP, Robert J. Bloomfield, Cornell University – Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, October 13, 2009
Washington and Lee Law Review, Vol. 66, 2009

Social Networking and Age Verification, cite as Thierer, Adam D., Social Networking and Age Verification: Many Hard Questions; No Easy Solutions (March 21, 2007). Progress & Freedom Foundation Progress on Point Paper No. 14.5. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=976936

A related but interestingly similar argument: a Supreme Court case related to delivery of another contraband, tobacco products, to a minor, and the expectation that online delivery measure up to the standards of actual in-person delivery of product.

I encourage comments upon this topic, pro or con, as I consider this one of the most important issues facing online games.

Your avatar and your identity?

jaymoffitt — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:14:07 +0000

A lot of thoughts lately from various sites about the role of your avatar and your identity.

From Pixels and Policy, a great article about the attractiveness of avatars, and how it influences your popularity in virtual worlds.

From a site focusing on gender, gender equality, and other issues, a great article entitled “Real World Beauty Pressures in Second Life.”

A great article on body-concept in Second Life, with a long string of comments.

And another worry (or perhaps laugh?), Virtual Worlds Forum reports that gender swaps are common for online gaming. A tongue-in-cheek article in the Guardian claims to have a reasoning as to why men play as a female avatar in online games. As a related worrying development, it is rumored some games may have gender self-identification systems in the game, article at Destructoid; warning, probably NSFW.

Now I will probably cover these topics a little more as cases are filed, but for now it is probably someone will at some point declare that this would be none of the game publisher’s business, or some player might declare that this is “shocking, just shocking.”

Visually-impaired gamer sues Sony

jaymoffitt — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:06:34 +0000

Sony is being sued again, this time it is a visually-impaired gamer who does not feel he is getting proper support from the gaming company. You can also read a report at Gamepolitics.Here are a couple of articles with different viewpoints of the case.

From the Website Ablegamers (for challenged gamers of all types)

This comment on Gamertell thinks it may be a bit frivolous…

Just a personal note: a gaming environment is an ideal environment for people with challenges of all types to lift themselves up and gain valuable experience in life and also in work environments.

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Here are some representative articles covering the same subject.

Please read this article in the Jerusalem Post about the “White Cane” for a blind person. The most remarkable quote about the software is “Users can can feel tension beneath their fingertips through the joystick as they navigate around a virtual environment. The joystick stiffens when the user meets a virtual wall or barrier.”

Audio game maker is The Audio Game Maker is “part of Game Accessibility.com, a series of activities conducted by the Accessibility foundation in order to improve the accessibility of computer games for players with impairments.”

Gaming with a Physical Disability (Blindness)

From Metaverse Journal, an article about amputees and gaming.

A very good Journal article (beware, large pdf) which talks about health issues in Second Life and other virtual worlds. The top 5 groups that were found were

(1) Support for Healing 899 members (Mental health and other issues)
(2) Transgender Resource Center 845 members (Gender identity issues.)
(3) Positive Mental Health 763 members
(4) Wheelies 565 members. (Disabilities themed nightclub.)
(5) Depression Support Group 427 members issues.

And some Second Life links to groups for individuals challenged in different ways.

Second Life for the Visually Impaired
Alternate viewers (that may assist the visually impaired, as well as others).. be sure to check the Second Life blog to make certain the viewer is allowable under their Terms of Service.
Second Life accessibility hasn’t been updated in a while but the links page is great.

I’d invite any SL’ers reading this column to contribute their group relevant to this discussion in the comments.

Transparency in Video Games

jaymoffitt — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:04:46 +0000

“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain”. You know what movie that is from, right?

There is a very interesting article on The reticule that talks about this concept. Personally, I loved the idea that “The main tenet of their design is not playability but profit and, while this is true of most every game now, they do very little to hide this. The level grind, the uninspired quests, the ludicrously hard boss fights, it all comes together to make you shell out more money for less gratification. In fact, given that most endgames require large groups of players, your input becomes invisible amongst the unbridled throng of spells and people shouting about DPS.”

That article was not alone. A blogger in The Escapist said “the level of mystery around the games industry is still rather shocking. There remains a layer of secrecy cast over everything that goes on in gaming, something we attempt to maintain by keeping the real creators voiceless and trotting out PR men and producers to be the faces of our games, lest anyone catch a glimpse of Oz behind the curtain.”

He notes another key point, “while wholescale rip-offs do occur, the amount of sameness that plagues the games industry is not a result of outright copying – rather, it’s a more insidious process whereby one example becomes law. Only games that look like they will sell will be commissioned; only games that are similar to what’s already out look like they will sell; therefore only games that look like what’s already out there will ever get made.”

And if this leads you to a pessimistic view of the future of gaming, you are not alone. An article in the ominously titled Player vs Developer the writer states “MMORPG’s are not a democracy, and we wouldn’t want them to be – we have seen what happens when you let players make the design choices.” He is commenting on a rather frank quote from a game executive. He brashly states, “We’re not interested in developing under a system where we have to get community buy-off for our decisions. We don’t think that will ultimately lead to a strong design. I don’t mean for that to sound harsh. I’m just trying to steer you away from logic that ends up where we have to justify every decision we make or you can somehow get us to make the decisions you want if you just find the right knobs to turn.”

He is talking about feedback in the gaming industry. Lawyers, customer service professionals, marketing people are used to feedback. But I’m talking about FEEDBACK (all caps intentional). Let me give you a very recent example. Infinity Ward recently announced that Modern Warfare 2 would work not be available on “dedicated servers”.

An article on EL33TOnline says that “an online petition (which has nearly reached 120 000 signatures) seeking to convince Infinity Ward to reconsider the implementation of IWNET for the developer’s upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and re-allow the running of dedicated servers for the hardcore online crowd, and enable players to run custom game mods, maps, and organise private matches more easily.” If you want to read the specifics about the pros and cons of a dedicated server, read that very interesting article. But for the purposes of this discussion; consider, 100,000 signatures plus in a week about what type of server an online game will run in, “once it is released.” Now that is feedback.

You should consider this article an “awakening call” to those who feel that gamers rights is an emerging field. The game companies are digging in their heels as far as their decisions being law, and maybe the gamers rights consist only of a decision whether or not to buy a game. Or maybe this is a perfectly justifiable decision. Is it a symptom of gamers being “too into their games”, or is it a symptom of a greedy game industry? Or is it somewhere in the middle? Is fairness off limits to being influenced by the players’ decisions, or are game companies too insulated from the millions who make the money for them? As for me, personally, the best sign is that the burgeoning games industry faces parallel questions to the movie industry during each of its difficult growing periods. But that’s another whole discussion. So, reader, should game companies have such absolute control over multiplayer once release has been made? Comments?

Death of an Avatar

jaymoffitt — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:17:53 +0000

What happens to your online world when your real-life world ends? When you give it up by choice, or through circumstances such as disability, or even worse, death?

This is not a long, dry exposition on the intricacies of estate law. Heck, there’s not enough case law out there to do a seminar or a paper about this subject. Here’s just a couple of talking points to get your mind thinking about your own personal online experience and how you want to protect your interests, pass on your interests, or wind up your online life in case of the worst.

A good article at Massively about the possibility of an MMO Will and Testament.

CNN has a very good thought piece about the different options available to protect your online legacy. My favorite quote, “Assuming the site is handled with respect, virtual memorials respond to a basic human need to remember our deceased family, friends and colleagues,” said Robert M. Fells, general counsel for the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association.”Based on our members’ feedback, I’d have to say that virtual memorial sites are gaining popularity with the public as a very practical alternative to being present at the grave site,” he added. “There’s nothing ‘weird’ about them as far as we have seen.”

World of Warcraft had a very interesting discussion in one of the forums about accounts after the death of the account-holder.

Digital Immortality and Death 2.0; Article on PSFK. Amazing quote, “To further complicate matters, while the space continues to evolve at an accelerated rate, the legal system struggles to keep pace, leading to a current situation where notions of who exactly owns these digital assets – individuals or sites – remains unclear. Though you may have spent the last 20 years building your character’s dominance in the dungeons and on the battlefields of World of Warcraft, if you never pass along your login information to anyone who can carry on your legacy, what then?”

An amazing article about the symmetries between a life in Second Life and the real-life story of a player. Like all good writing, the article makes you feel like a voyeur for reading, but somehow freed up with the insight of the article. A haunting quote is “Not only were people commodifying themselves, but their commodification had a long tail. Their inner personal lives would remain product for the platform owners long after they had passed on.” You can read the Second Life Terms of Support here discussing serious issues.

Other games are taking it a step farther. Mindark is working on virtual wills for its game Entropia.

Here are a last couple of links about Virtual legacy, one is a project to preserve the legacy, and another finally a Goodbye to this article.