Gaming
Rockstar Sues BBC Over GTA Drama
Rockstar Games’ parent company, Take Two Interactive, has filed a lawsuit against the BBC for copyright infringement. The suit revolves around the BBC’s upcoming docu-drama about Grand Theft Auto, whose working title is ‘Game Changer’. According to a statement Rockstar made to IGN, the developer has not been involved in the creation of the TV-movie, which began filming last month, and the movie infringes on its trademarks.
“While holders of the trademarks referenced in the film title and its promotion, Rockstar Games has had no involvement with this project. Our goal is to ensure that our trademarks are not misused in the BBC’s pursuit of an unofficial depiction of purported events related to Rockstar Games.”
Rockstar also claims to have already made several efforts to settle the matter with the BBC. “We have attempted multiple times to resolve this matter with the BBC without any meaningful resolution. It is our obligation to protect our intellectual property and unfortunately in this case litigation was necessary.” The BBC has refused to comment.
The docu-drama will apparently focus on the rise of Grand Theft Auto, its popular success, and the controversy surrounding the game for its graphic violence. Or, at least, what was considered graphic violence in those days. It revolves around Rockstar’s co-founder Sam Houser, played by Daniel Radcliffe, facing off against lawyer and activist Jack Thompson, played by Bill Paxton. For a bit of background, Jack Thompson campaigned against violence in video games in the early 2000s, beginning with the case of a 16-year-old who murdered a fellow teenager. Apparently, the boy was obsessed with Grand Theft Auto III and Thompson argued that the game had “trained” him in how to kill.
Thompson went on to campaign against violent video games with a particular focus on Grand Theft Auto for several years. He sought millions of dollars worth in damages from Rockstar and Take Two Interactive and attempted to sue retailers who sold games that allowed players to kill police officers. Basically, he was a big thorn in Rockstar’s side.
Take Two Interactive’s reluctance to let a media company run loose with the story of Grand Theft Auto is understandable, given the way the media has treated the series in the past. Thompson may have been the game’s biggest opponent, but it should come as no surprise to anybody that the media was largely happy to go along with his claims that violent games like Grand Theft Auto make players behave violently. Still, the movie looks set to be very interesting, provided its creators stick to the truth.
Disney Speedstorm, Gameloft’s free-to-play kart racer, will enter its latest season with a wintery backdrop of Arendelle. Let It Go will add Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff, and Hans as racers. As always, they’ll have unique moves and abilities.
Oaken and other musical movie crew members will be unlocked, along with a new Golden Pass. After fan feedback, the developer is rebalancing this aspect of the release so you can progress faster and unlock more rewards.
The developer also announced on Twitter that it’s lowering in-game shop prices starting today, and if you’ve paid for microtransactions, you’ll get a big payout. The French studio appears to be betting on this season’s success.
Adding non-Frozen characters Oswald, Ortensia, and WALL-E could also help. A comprehensive game update should bring back lapsed players and attract new ones. Will you challenge the kart racer?
Bungie has pulled a contentious $15 starter pack from Season of the Wish, which launched yesterday. The pack had a poor selection and was marketed to new players, which the community strongly opposed.
The starter pack proudly stated that players could “experience the power of build-defining Exotic weapons by instantly unlocking three of Destiny 2’s finest: Traveler’s Chosen, Ruinous Effigy, and Sleeper Simulant.” An exotic ship, a sparrow, a ghost shell, 125,000 glimmer, 50 enhancement cores, five enhancement prisms, and one ascendant shard are also included.
This offering may seem harmless to a new player, but Forbes’ Paul Tassi says, “You sort of have to be a Destiny 2 player to understand what an outrageously bad deal this is.” The Forsaken Pack, another Bungie release, includes two dozen Exotics, a dungeon, and a raid. It cost $20 and is now $5. It looks bad, from what we can tell.
Guardians retaliated with negative Steam reviews. They orchestrated the DLC page to include “Capitalism,” “Crime,” and “Psychological Horror” user tags, which is funny.
After Bungie pulled the pack, Redditor Grizz3d summarized the community response: “I don’t get how that starter pack was approved. What part of stealing from new players wasn’t going to result in community outrage? Bungie’s disconnect with players is shocking. I’m glad you got rid of the pack, but it’s disappointing that Bungie thought it was a good idea.”
This follows the Witcher 3 crossover armour sets, which look great but are expensive. Sony’s independent live service outpost is in danger due to a delayed expansion and studio layoffs.
Sony announced last year that it would plant trees for Horizon Forbidden West PlayStation fans who unlocked a simple trophy in the open-world game. This, in partnership with several charities, sought to protect the global environment and biodiversity.
Over a year later, it released a trailer showing its progress. The company has planted 600,000 trees worldwide, restoring 1,800 acres. More importantly, the gaming industry has planted 2.5 million trees worldwide.
Gaming is fun, but we must protect our world. Sony has taken steps to be more environmentally friendly, such as adding energy-saving features to the PS5 and shipping all its products in fully recyclable packaging.
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