Harmonix’s Rock Band Network partners with Distribution, Promotion Sites (Gamasutra)  The article talks about cross-promotion between musician tools Tunecore, Nimbit, Reverb Nation, Indaba Music, and Topspin; while those sites are promoted to RBN users.  On a related note; Rock Band Aide noted  a RBN preview channel on Youtube.

A quite nice article about the difficulties of charting for Rock Band Network. (Music Think Tank)

A similar article decrying the arduousness of making the music ready for the game.

Another article, but hopeful, about a Vancouver band that is putting material on RBN. (Straight.com; Vancouver’s Music Source).

Regularly updated blog about RBN updates that has some impartial opinions. (Plastic Axe)

And last but not least; some very substantial information about Microsoft’s contribution to the RBN project that were given during the Game Developer’s Conference, but are now available for download.

Rock Band Network post-mortem (from Microsoft Website; contains a zip file of a Powerpoint and also audiocast)

Highly enjoyable critique of the above source material from professional gaming Website (Joystiq).  I especially enjoyed the fact that Microsoft’s programmers were much more consumed with the language and graphic images portion of the programming; but commented very little on the copyright-clearance filtering software… which I for one thought was masterfully done.

____________________________________________________________

Editorial comment:  I wondered how it was that RBN was able to filter out any copyright-infringing content?  The articles imply that it was because of direct input from developers/programmers at Microsoft; and that this might be an indirect or even direct reason the songs premiere first on Xbox live (or maybe just coding reasons).  But I’d be interested in reading any more indepth studies of how this was done. (Any of my readers feel free to enlighten me).

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.

Or so say users of Final Fantasy XIII for the Playstation III.  You can find a copy(non-verified) of the lawsuit here. 

More information and links after the jump….

Here is a news source from Courthouse News. The California case, alleging Final Fantasy XIII causes some PS3s to stop functioning,  is described, and includes primary and alleged anecdotal stories.

Very informative article from Gamesradar which includes forums threads, Youtube videos, and various unsusbtantiated claims from PS3 AND Xbox users.  Unsubstantiated, but A LOT.

The usual sarcasm-infused response from Kotaku games-magazine.

A short article with background from 1UP  gaming magazine.

Related: A very good background story from Gamasutra on the emotional attachment (or lack thereof) for Final Fantasy XIII.

Author’s commentary: Another class-action filed in California.  This time by a Florida plaintiff.  (Have to wonder; is Sony’s contract so great as to require California filing, or are California’s protections so wonderful as to lead to this?  Not a California lawyer….only Tennessee, so I’ll have to take their word on it.)  The one thing you have to notice about these lawsuits, the plaintiffs are getting a whole lot more anecdotal and real-life stories to supplement their own experiences.  One day one of these lawsuits will succeed, maybe next year, maybe in 5 years, and we’ll see a flood of them.  Sorry, we’re seeing a flood of them already and we’re still just waiting to see how they turn out. 

Do you think that hopefully Sony/Square Enix and other publishers and big companies will change their policies and comment on these lawsuits?  Are their merits to them, or is it just a natural result of big games on a huge number of game-systems that it’s going to cause death by natural causes to a large number of the systems?  Or have all the updates, changes, and new types of game development just pushed the limit for the systems and caused a breakdown of a very, very tiny percentage (but still a substantial number) of the systems?  Finally… does Sony even have access to that specific data?  If so, would, or could they share it?  I wonder.. but not aloud.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kelloggphotography/3498982867/ ; Flickr; Attribution required, 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.

PSN has decided that they will “downgrade” the system of users. Here’s the official announcement made recently at THE PLAYSTATION BLOG  : ”will disable the “Install Other OS” feature that was available on the PS3 systems prior to the current slimmer models, launched in September 2009. This feature enabled users to install an operating system, but due to security concerns, Sony Computer Entertainment will remove the functionality through the 3.21 system software update.”  More after the jump….

Gamespot reports the lawsuit over this change, their most compelling quote was (from the lawsuit) ”when it designed the PS3, ‘it was fully intended that you, a PS3 owner, could play games, watch movies, view photos, listen to music, and run a full-featured Linux operating system that transforms your PS3 into a home computer,’” the suit reads.

EFF (Electronic Freedom Foundation) has a short biting article about the removal of the feature.

Davis Law Firm, LLP has a short note about the case and some helpful links.  (By the way, ALWAYS read their stuff, very insightful).

_______________________________________________________________________

Personal commentary follows.  This might be a case of first impression where a feature actually mentioned and promoted in company literature is retroactively removed (and of course this would be one of the questionable issues).  Now the question would be, is there actually a substanstial subset of users who bought the PS3 MAINLY for the Linux installation feature.  This would all go towards the price of computers 3-5 years ago (much higher) and the price of PS3s (somewhat higher).  Also, if you’re familiar with Linux at all, you’ll note not many viruses written for it, the startup and other features are quite configurable, but the GUI (Graphical User Interface) leave much to be desired.  Whether the “Red Hat” Linux or other cover-up GUIs developed for computers work on a PS3, I could use some illumination from my Penguinista readers. (term of affection)

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/daveynin/2942594277/   From Creative Commons, flickr, attribution required.

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.

The Escapist reports Sony being sued over PS3 firmware update, the article focuses on the gamers perspective.

The Edge reports about Sony being sued in class-action because of PS3 update, be careful if you’re on a slow connection, it has an embedded video clip.

The original story that the gaming magazines refer to in Courthouse News, reporting the class-action filed in the Northern District of California.

The lawsuit vital statistics are as follow: termed CV 09 4791, filed in N.D. of CA, SF Div, on Oct 2, 2009. The complaint (linked here) alleges:

1. Breach of Implied Warranty

2. Negligence

3. Negligent Misrepresentation

4. Unjust enrichment

5. Trespass to chattels

6. California Unfair Competition Law, Business and Professions Code Section 17200

7. California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, Civil Code 1750

Jury Demand

If you’re interested in all the foundations of the allegations and complaint for relief, you can read that in the 18-page complaint mentioned above. Notable allegations include #12 “Although, as a general rule, Sony “encourages” PS3 owners to install the latest versions of system software, Sony required users to install the Firmware 3.0 update.” And another important factor, #21 “Upon information and belief, the class consists of at least tens of thousand of members in diverse locations throughtout the United States…” is listed.

This case is to my knowledge the first of this exact type, and I will be following it as events warrant.

Jay Moffitt is a TN attorney. The statements here are not legal advice, and no attorney/client relationship is created. Jay Moffitt claims no certification in this specialty, and TN does not offer a certification in this area of law. Copyright, Jay Moffitt, 2009. Comments are welcomed and will be answered promptly and courteously.