Voting the measure down by a 7-2 margin, justices declared video games have the same rights to free speech as books and films.  California, as many video game opponents before them, couldn’t provide conclusive proof that games harm children. Justices also noted California’s law was so vague in determining what a violent video game is, it would have impossible to enforce. That defeat put the state on the hook for the Entertainment Software Association’s court costs.

The bill became law in 2005 and the legal challenges came quickly afterwards. The ESA has now received more than $3 million in legal fees from failed video game legislation. ESA President Michael Gallagher said the trade organization will use some of the money to develop afterschool programs.

Senator Leland Yee, the bill’s author, has promised to keep fighting. This court decision leaves him and fellow supporters of similar legislation without much legal recourse, however. Considering the state’s problems in balancing its budget, the $1.3 million debacle could have far reaching political costs as well. I can think of a few better the ways the state could have spent that money. I’m betting the 545 employees who just received layoff notices, including 140 correctional officers, could as well. Had California won this case, it likely wouldn’t have been able to pay the police tasked with enforcing the law.

Site [Entertainment Software Association ] Also Read [Sacramento Bee]

The decision stated the law was so vague in determining what a violent video game was, it would have been impossible to enforce.

Justices also felt California failed to prove exposure to video game violence harms children. Similar cases had been debated in other courts and courts in California reached the same conclusion as the Supreme Court (but this was  the first ruling on games by the highest court). Proponents of California’s law vowed to keep fighting. Supreme Court Justices serve for life, so there is little reason to try again with the court’s current makeup.

On the dissenting side were Justices Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer. Thomas believes legal precedent shows that children do not enjoy the same First Amendment freedoms that adults do. He argued parents should have the right to protect their kids from objectionable materials, and that California’s law was Constitutional. Breyer worried about a double standard for sex and violence.  He said it’s illegal to sell a magazine containing naked pictures to a 13-year-old boy, but O.K. to sell him a game in which he might shoot or torture the woman.

This ruling should bring an end to states trying to enact their own violent game bans. As for the debate about video game content that has raged since the days of Doom and Mortal Kombat, there’s not a law you could pass that would end that. Honestly, those of us that engage in such debates for a living wouldn’t have it any other way.

Read [Gamertell] Also Read [Kotaku]

April 2011, Sony showed other corporations how not to react in the face of a security breach. After the PlayStation Network was hacked, Sony initially refused to admit anything was wrong. A full week passed before Sony openly admitted what most of its customers already knew: The PlayStation Network had, indeed, been hacked.  The company’s slow reaction was as controversial as its suspect security practices.

Games including Mortal Kombat and SOCOM had launches marred by a month without players having access to online multiplayer modes. More seriously, the attack put the data of 77 million customers in jeopardy, including sensitive information such as real names and unencrypted passwords.  Sony is working hard to restore users’ trust, offering free identity theft protection and games in the way of apology. The mess made Sony’s court battles with George “GeoHot” Hotz seem trivial by comparison.

Hackers remained in the headlines as the group called LulzSec unleashed a series of attacks.  They didn’t appear to be seeking any financial gain but claimed to be exposing security flaws in major websites. Fox and PBS were among the high profile sites it compromised. Some 283,000 Twitter followers hung on the group’s antics. The “Lulz Boat” sailed into the sunset after 50 days of the most brazen hacking imaginable, citing boredom as the cause. The group also said it had always planned to stop after a predetermined amount of time. In truth, some a high-profile hacking rampage would have been difficult to pull off much longer. That was confirmed have now made several arrests in connection with the group, including suspects believed to be core group members TFlow and Topiary.

Read [Gamertell]

Chris Matheny, vice president for instruction at the school, told the The Northwestern it gives students a unique perspective.

The game complements classroom instruction and the Northwestern piece mentions other interactive opportunities. The Games Learning Society in Madison, Wisconsin, is dedicated to exploring such ideas. University of Wisconsin educational technology professor Kurt Squire thinks this is just the tip of the iceberg. He notes that teachers have used books and movies for years to help with instruction and games are the next logical step. Examples cited in the article include a California program that uses MMO World of Warcraft to teach students skills including teamwork and communication.

Material that might seem dry when read from a textbook is often easier to remember when we find a way to make it fun. Remember memory devices such as the “My Very Educated Mother” sentence to learn the nine planets? Or better yet, Theo and Cockroach’s Shakespeare Rap from The Cosby Show? Games offer a chance to read about Julius Caesar and then face his virtual likeness in battle. Imagine a virtual Abraham Lincoln giving a tour of the White House as it stood in his era. There’s enough video game material on World War II alone to publish 20 papers on. Technology is moving forward and becoming more interactive with each console generation.

As a kid, I would have to finish my homework before I could play video games. Now students today can do both at the same time.

Read [The Northwestern] Also Read [Game Politics]

The coincidence has taken on a life of its own. A reporter in Tennessee asked Cain a question about this, perhaps jokingly. Cain doesn’t think it’s too funny. He called the allegations lies and said they had been cooked up because he is rising in the polls. The idea that this might be in good fun may not have occurred to him. I wonder if he considers Kenan Thompson’s Saturday Night Live portrayals of him to be an attack? Rachel Maddow did a segment on the 9-9-9 connection on her October 14,2 011, show. EA, the publisher of SimCity 4, is taking full advantage of all the publicity. It has placed the game on sale for $9.99, a parody of the whole controversy and a $10 discount.

To announce the sale, EA has put out a promotional video featuring Sim versions of Cain, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry among others. It remains to be seen if “9-9-9″ will stimulate the national economy, but it could help EA’s bottom line for a while. The publisher hasn’t said how long the sale will last. My money is on “as long as they can milk this story for publicity.”

Read [Huffington Post] Also Read [New York Daily News]

Madden NFL is one of the most successful franchises in video game history but its creator now alleges EA conspired to cheat him out of promised royalties.

Robin Antonick created the 1988 version of Madden released on the Commodore 64, MS Dos and Apple II computers. Antonick was on a developmental contract that promised him royalties from later versions. No one could have foreseen Madden NFL becoming an industry juggernaut, a game that’s become part of the American pop culture fabric. Even NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledges the game’s impact on the league. In the ’90s, EA replaced Antonick with Park Place Productions as consoles became the means of spreading the Madden gospel. Antonick said EA told him the Sega Genesis game would be arcade based and not use his intellectual property.

EA founder Trip Hawkins told a different story during the celebrations of Madden’s 20th Anniversary in 2009, saying console versions cribbed from the original PC games. After these interviews began appearing everywhere, Antonick filed a lawsuit alleging EA had cheated him. The publisher countered that after 20 years, any claim Antonick should have had would have expired. Antonick argued that EA was untruthful in dealing with him and he only learned how much of his work led to current versions of Madden NFL recently. US District Court Judge Charles Breyer found’s the Madden creator’s arguments compelling enough to continue the legal proceedings. EA was hoping for a dismissal.

Judge Breyer cited a 2009 interview with Trip Hawkins, noting it was “reasonable for the plantiff to become suspicious.” This lawsuit has the potential to cost EA millions of dollars. If Antonick can prove that EA used his work to create the console versions of the bestselling football simulation, he would also have proof the company didn’t stick to the contract and promises of royalties.

The industry will be keeping a watchful eye on this case, to be certain.

Read [Hollywood Reporter] Also Read [Courthouse News]

EA Sports scored a significant victory September 9, 2011, as a New Jersey federal court judge ended a lawsuit regarding the use of college athletes’ likenesses. Former Rutgers quarterback Ryan Hart, in his 2009 class action lawsuit, alleged NCAA Football had infringed on his publicity rights. A ruling against EA Sports could have caused problems for that publisher or any game maker that uses the likeness of college athletes.

Judge Freda Wolfson cited the recent U.S Supreme Court decision on video games in her ruling, noting that games have First Amendment protection. Wolfson’s ruling was that EA’s First Amendment rights outweighed the plaintiff’s publicity rights. The judge also noted that NCAA Football consumers have options to change a player’s name, skin color and other attributes. Those artistic licenses, Wolfson’s ruling said, should be protected. She also noted that any user of the game can create any athlete’s likeness they want without any help from EA.

Wolfson’s decision supports EA’s longtime stance on the issue. Movies have never been forced to pay celebrities for their likeness, so video game publishers don’t believe they should have to either.

A California likeness lawsuit brought by former college athletes Samuel Keller and Ed O’ Bannon is still working its way through the legal system. Different judges can always offer different rulings, so a victory in New Jersey doesn’t guarantee one in California. Momentum certainly seems to be on EA’s side.

Read [The Hollywood Reporter] Also Read [Spong]

Madden NFL 12 had the National Football League lockout to deal with. The National Basketball Association has locked its players out as well. NBA 2K12 won’t be able to include rookies drafted in 2011 until the league’s labor problems are fixed. Once the lockout is done with, the rookies can enter the game through a roster update.

2K Sports has the players, their season starting ratings and commentary about them ready to go for that update. The only thing holding 2K up is the lockout. Right now, there’s little progress on that front.

The NBA 2K series is revered for its realism, so this could be a big blow. High profile rookies are often expected to play big minutes on teams. If your favorite NBA squad has a much discussed rookie, you probably want to check his stats. Also, teams won’t be able to sign new players until these labor issues are resolved. NBA 2K12 is slated for an October 4 release, meaning there’s a very good chance it ships with outdated rosters.

Enter Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and a host of legends to save the day. The Jordan Challenges, which allowed players to relive the greatest moments of Michael Jordan’s career, are now expanding. You’ll get to step into the Converse tennis shoes of Hall of Famers including Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Isiah Thomas. The game will also include legendary teams, so you can find out what might happen if today’s best players battled the greatest of all time.

Read [Operation Sports] Also Read [Pastapadre]

Some games start controversies without trying, others openly seek to raise someone’s ire. StarvingEyes Viral Advergaming has created Tea Party Zombies Must Die, a shooter starring undead versions of political figures including Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich and Bill O’ Reilly.

Game designer Jason Oda has done political satire in games before. His 2008 offering Kung Fu Election was a fighting game including presidential hopefuls such as John McCain and Hilary Clinton. In 2004, Bushgame.com pitted ’80s TV characters against Bush administration officials.

Conservative commentator Mike Huckabee, also zombified in this game, told his employer Fox News he was “flattered” to be a target in the game. He said he supported Oda’s First Amendment right to make the game, although he considers it offensive to “rational people.” Oda’s true career path may be marketing, not game design. Media outlets from the Washington Post to CBS News have picked up the story. Numerous conservative media outlets are bashing it, but in doing so they’re still publicizing it.

This zombie game isn’t the first time in 2011 a violently-themed piece of political humor drew attention. Sarah Palin came under scrutiny for using a list of “targeted” Democrats in upcoming elections on a map using crosshairs. One of the politicians, Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, was later injured in a shooting. There has never been any indication alleged shooter Jared Loughner was inspired by the map or even saw it. Violence in satire is nothing new. One of the textbook examples of satire, Jonathan Swift’s essay A Modest Proposal, discussed eating Irish babies to help ease economic strain on the nation. It too drew criticism from those who didn’t realize Swift was kidding as well as some who knew exactly what he was doing.

Read [Tea Party Zombies Must Die] Also Read [New York Daily News]

After being denied a Michigan tax credit to create a Man vs Wild video game, Scientifically Proven Entertainment finally got tax incentives to create a game. So far the tentative title for the game is “Ghost Game” and will be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Scientifically Proven Games, originally based in the Los Angeles area, had relocated to Michigan to use the state’s media incentives.

The story goes back a while to when Scientifically Proven was turned down for the tax incentives for, as stated earlier, a Man vs Wild-based game. The reasoning is that they didn’t have enough control over the actual property since it would be based off of a television show. The lack of control of intellectual rights made it seem like the company wouldn’t have the resources to actually make the game. It seems like a cheap argument but it does make sense.

Anyway, the case had been decided in favor of the game company and the state appealed the case. Because the “Ghost Game” is original, the State of Michigan Film Office decided to approve the tax credit incentive. “Ghost Game” was awarded $411,650 on the projected $1,029,125 in-state expenditures. As a result, Nathaniel McClure, CEO of Scientifically Proven Entertainment, announced his intentions to increase the development team from a staff of 15 to 25. This should increase the quality of the game while also slightly lowering the amount of time that we have to wait to see how the game is.

So why did the Michigan Film Office deny Scientifically Proven Games for Man vs Wild while approving the “Ghost Game?” Film office spokeswoman Michelle Begnoche ended up essentially saying that projects are reviewed based on their own merits. The office felt that “Ghost Game” would actually be a great prospect for the state.

Well I guess we can welcome Michigan into the ranks of people actually supporting games in some way or another now.

Read [Detroit Free Press]