Gather ’round, children, and let me tell you a story about the old bugaboo we used to call DRM. Digital Rights Management was the beast under every gamer’s bed in the mid-2000s, an invisible bit of software baked into game discs that dictated and tracked player behavior under the guise of preventing piracy. DRM software, like SecuROM, limited the times a game could be downloaded and forced players to regularly connect to the internet for authentication checks, at a time when less than half of American adults had reliable broadband connections. DRM features soured the releases of BioShock, Mass Effect and Spore, and by 2010, anti-piracy software had rendered Assassin’s Creed 2 and Splinter-Cell: Conviction unplayable. When Microsoft attempted to release the Xbox One with always-on DRM features in 2013, intense vitriol from fans forced the company to reverse its plans at the 11th hour. There were lawsuits. DRM was a curse word. Meanwhile, Valve was building out Steam. When it landed in 2003, the digital PC storefront was designed to streamline the patch process for games like Counter-Strike and make it easier for Valve to implement anti-piracy and anti-cheat measures. Steam was made to be a DRM machine. In 2004, with the release of Half-Life 2, Valve made Steam a requirement for every player, and even those who’d purchased new, physical copies of the game had to boot up the launcher first. There was some low-level grumbling, but PC players were used to being lab rats, and... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2024-03-04 16:30:21 UTC ]
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“The game industry is out of step with contemporary media in terms of LGBTQ representation, and it is failing its LGBTQ customers.” This sentiment has felt true for years, and now the statistics in GLAAD’s first annual gaming report prove it. The media watchdog and LGBTQ advocacy group today... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-02-13 14:00:21 UTC ]
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Xbox Game Pass’s streaming powers are remarkable, but so far they’ve been limited to titles that have been released on Xbox consoles. Game Pass includes a ton of PC games (and plenty that are available on both), but in order to play them, you have to download the files locally and play... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2023-09-18 14:49:58 UTC ]
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At a glance ProsResolutions up to 8K possible, direct extraction of MP3 filesConsNo downloading of videos behind paywallsOur VerdictThe Video and Audio Downloader Pro 2 is easy to use and useful, especially for users of public service media libraries. Watching videos offline has evolved... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2023-08-04 16:46:51 UTC ]
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At a glance ProsResolutions up to 8K possible, direct extraction of MP3 filesConsNo downloading of videos behind paywallsOur VerdictThe Video and Audio Downloader Pro 2 is easy to use and useful, especially for users of public service media libraries. Watching videos offline has evolved... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2023-07-31 17:44:06 UTC ]
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After dozens of stories, we’re just about wrapped with our coverage of Summer Game Fest 2023. Following the cancellation of E3 back in March, we had a smaller, stripped-back experience at SGF. It began... before it all began, with Sony holding its own PlayStation Showcase livestream on May 24th.... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-06-16 14:00:53 UTC ]
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It’s a weird year for video games. We’re 19 months into a fresh console cycle and support for the PS4 and Xbox One is finally tapering off as developers shift focus to the PS5, Xbox Series X and PC cloud gaming platforms. The pandemic slowed or paused development on a generation of games, and... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-06-20 14:00:16 UTC ]
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Microsoft has a lot of news for Xbox owners and Game Pass fans this morning. In an announcement post, the company shared its plans to expand the Xbox app directly to Samsung smart TVs, opening up the streaming platform to players in Argentina and New Zealand. There are also some new... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2022-06-09 14:47:28 UTC ]
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Over the weekend, Riot Games announced it would respond to calls from its community to provide aid during the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Until March 12th, the studio will donate all proceeds from the sale of Valorant, Legends of Runterra, Teamfight Tactics and Wild Rift battle passes, as well as... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-03-07 20:44:10 UTC ]
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A new creative endeavor from Hatch Escapes and director Arvind Ethan David turns the life story of Mary Shelley into a hybrid tabletop gaming experience rooted in serious storytelling. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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At the recent Digiday Publishing Summit in Key Biscayne, Florida, we asked execs from CNN International, Vox, Horoscope.com and Inquisitr how important video was to them, and the biggest challenges in making a video strategy work. Highlights: The post Digiday Video: When it comes to making good... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2019-10-08 04:00:19 UTC ]
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Video is a big part of growth opportunities for publishers. At the recent Digiday Publishing Summit in Key Biscayne, Florida, we asked execs from CNN Internation, Vox and Inquisitr the role that video plays in their content and monetization strategies. The post Digiday Video: How publishers are... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2019-10-04 04:00:07 UTC ]
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Costs for paid video distribution on Facebook has more than doubled year-over-year. The post Video Briefing: Rising costs on Facebook force publishers to rethink branded video distribution appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2019-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New information in an updated court filing against Facebook has prompted publishers to reconsider the extent of the miscalculation they made when reallocating resources to video teams in an effort to capitalize on the potential of social video. The unredacted court filings, part of an ongoing... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2018-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Disillusioned by Facebook, publishers are eager to do more on Snapchat -- particularly with video shows. The post Video Briefing: Snapchat cozies up to more publishers for video shows appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2018-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Games publisher CoolGames launched Tetris on Instant Games, Facebook's HTML5 cross-platform gaming service that allows users to play asynchronous games with their friends on News Feed and Messenger. Developed by CoolGames' in-house studio, Tetris for Instant Games challenges players to earn as... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2017-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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No one's leaving Facebook, but there might be fewer videos on the platform. The post Video publishers on what happens after Facebook stops subsidizing video content appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2017-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With platforms and subscription services clamoring for high-quality video content, publishers are poised to reap profits from licensing video content. The post Limited in their ability to monetize video on Facebook, publishers eye video-licensing opportunities appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2017-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The shift in Facebook's agreements with publishers for video content, first hinted at in January, appear to be moving forward, "multiple sources" told Kurt Wagner of Recode. Wagner reported that while the new pacts still include payment for Facebook Live videos, they encourage publishers to... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2017-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Video advertising is a bright spot for many online publishers, which is why they’re increasingly experimenting with ways to get as much video as possible in front of their audiences. One recent tactic: using “sticky&rdq ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's been five years since NieR last arrived on consoles, but at today's Square Enix E3 press conference, the publisher announced that a new title is in-development for the PlayStation 4. Fans of the franchise will be pleased to know that Platinum Ga... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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