[Viva Sonata]

And we're back with another week of the roundup! Let's get to it <3

TOPIC OF THE WEEK

The New American Patenting System and How it Affects Video Games

In a new move to promore entrepreneurism and promote job increase, President Barack Obama signed the 'America Invents Act' last week that, in eighteen months, would adjust the patenting system in America to a 'first-to-file' process - the first to file the patent, gets the rights to it. For video game developers, that means no more court battles over who had the rights to what ideas.

But according to the article:

Quote:

"The new law is decidedly a mixed bag for the video game industry," he said. "The promised sweeping reform never happened. The trolls remain alive and well in rural Marshall, Texas. It is not a simple matter to break down the pros and cons of the law. In part, this is due to the fact that the video game industry is made up of both large and small tech companies and what is good for one is not necessarily good for the other. Most prominently, the U.S. adoption of the first-to-file standard benefits large companies over small inventors who tend to shop tech around before filing an application.

... Steve S. Chang, an attorney who specializes in the games industry at law firm Banner & Witcoff, concurred that "a first-to-file system can create somewhat of a 'race' to the PTO [Patent Trade Office] among inventors, and this kind of system will be easier to handle for larger game companies that have the budget to file quickly. Smaller developers might lack the resources to immediately file applications for the various concepts they invent, so they could lose out on this race in some situations."

How will the new patenting system affect smaller, independent companies?

NEWS STORIES
- In possibly one of the coolest stories all year, an AIDS enzyme that has been untouched for a decade was cracked by a group of online gamers.

- The Binding of Isaac, from the man whose big success has been Super Meat Boy, will be released on the 28th.

-Did you get Dark Souls early and start playing already? Tsk, tsk, says developer From Software. Your character's getting murdered.

- Final Fantasy XIII-2 is getting DLC. Mucho DLC.

- PS3 players who missed out on the first Assassin's Creed can now play catch-up and receive a copy when they buy Assassin's Creed: Revelations.

- Anyone who receives DVDs from Netflix can add video games to the repetoire, but instead can expect this from 'Qwikster.'

- The PC version of Batman: Arkham City has been delayed.

-Code for HL2: Episode Three? It couldn't be...

MMO NEWS
Lotta big stories this week in the MMO world, so it gets its own section.

- Diablo III's beta has been extended. That's the good news. The bad news? the game itself got pushed back to 2012.

- Valve responded to upset fans about the leak of Dota 2 with assurance that the game would be released ASAP.

- Battlefield 3, the controversial 'CoD Killer,' is getting its open beta September 29th.

- World of Warcraft is getting patch 4.3, which would end the Cataclysm story.

- Minecraft 1.9 was leaked by Mojang.

- Star Wars: The Old Republic will be released December 20th in America, and the 21st in Europe.

- A beta for a new League of Legends game type, "Dominion", has opened.

Sources: sydney morning herald, pikigeek, siliconera, gamerrant, PC Gaming, gameranx, gamasutra, joystiq, gamepro,edmundmcmillan's blogspot, VG24/7, escapistmagazine, edge, lambdageneration

[Viva Sonata]

Originally Posted by Linda Ferreira

quote me when you are ready

Go for it

[Linda Ferreira]

Originally Posted by Viva Sonata

Go for it

Thanks. Posted. Let me know if I need to change anything.

[Viva Sonata]

Originally Posted by Linda Ferreira

Thanks. Posted. Let me know if I need to change anything.

Few quick adjustments.

Quote:

How do you think the new patenting system will affect smaller, independent companies?

Quote:

- Star Wars: The Old Republic will be released December 20th in America, and the 22nd in Europe.

Sorry about that D:

[Linda Ferreira]

Originally Posted by Viva Sonata

Few quick adjustments.

quote me when you are ready for this week

[Viva Sonata]

Hey, everyone! Another week, another roundup of all the video games a hipster could ask for.

THIS WEEK IN GAMING

- Mojang, the developer of Minecraft led by Notch, is going to court as Bethesda has sued over the Swedish developer's new game, Scrolls, claiming the title is too similar to their critically acclaimed series, Elder Scrolls. smh.

- Dead Space 3 has finally been announced, and the first details have been leaked. Warning: Some plot elements are spoiled!

- Remedy, the development team behind Max Payne, has dropped a few help wanted ads that tease at the possibility of a sequel to their hit Alan Wake.

- Free. Portal 2 DLC. FREE. This week. GET IT.

- Skyrim news ahoy! This week, the voice cast that somehow, by some weird stroke of luck, includes more than five people, as well as perks and racial abilities for your viewing pleasure.

- So, that trailer for Dead Island was apparently so good, the movie studio Lionsgate is doing a movie based solely on it.

- Crysis has been for XBLA and PSN on October 2nd and will be twenty bucks.

- A videographer who was trying to re enter the country from Canada has been detained by Homeland Security and all his footage of multiple fighting tournaments seized.

- LA Noire: Complete was greenlit by Rockstar, but only for the PC. The Complete version, along with refined visuals, will bundle all the DLC packs together.

- League of Legends' new game mode, 'Dominion', has been released.

Sources: gamasutra, siliconera, eurogamer, joystiq, pikigeek, kotaku, gamespot, andriasang, gamepro, ign

[Viva Sonata]

Originally Posted by Linda Ferreira

quote me when you are ready for this week

I'm all good. Post away! <3

[Linda Ferreira]

Originally Posted by Viva Sonata

I'm all good. Post away! <3

posted. Quote me if I need to edit anything.

[Linda Ferreira]

Originally Posted by Viva Sonata

I'm all good. Post away! <3

Quote me when you are ready this week.

[Viva Sonata]

Same AP games round up, same AP channel. :D In honor of the new release of We Are The In Crowd's new album, Best Intentions, I'm starting a new section called 'Rumor Mill,' which deals solely in murmurs of the mayhaps and possibilities in the gaming world.

TOPIC OF THE WEEK

DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT

- Earlier this week, Valve released the first DLC under the co-op section for it's smash game Portal 2, entitled 'Peer Review', for free. Those familiar with the franchise can beat the new section of the game in about a few hours , making the content worth its non-existent price.

Downloadable content has always been a slippery slope - most recently, the LA Noire: Complete Edition released for the PC has come under criticism. For 50$, one can buy the PC edition and buy all five DLC cases - totaling about an hour each - whilst PS3 and 360 owners buying the game new this spring only have, depending on where the game was bought, one new DLC pack and have had to buy the other four with a 'Rockstar Pass' for nearly thirty dollars more.

How does the promise of more content sway your interest in purchasing a game? How do you think it should be price?


THIS WEEK IN GAMING

- After five years, one highly successful game, and a bedlam of controversy, Team Bondi is shutting down for good.

- A follow up the recent Bethesda/Mojang lawsuit: Bethesda has made a public statement about both Notch's handling of the suit, and the recent refusal of Mojang's withdrawal of the trademark for the name of their new game, Scrolls. SERIOUSLY, guys?

- Indie smash game VVVVVV is coming to the 3DS, courtesy of the company that dd the same for N.

- Sony has announced a a bunch of new goodies for Gran Turismo 5, including a price drop and free updates.

- Gears of War 3 has announced its first DLC pack - new characters, weapons, maps, all for 800 MS points.


- Game Informer's November cover reveals a follow up to the recent game, Transformers: War for Cybertron, which will be covered fully once the issue drops October 11th.

- Batman: Arkham City has been met to a few early reviews, with two calling it 'one of the best games ever made.'


RUMOR MILL

- In addition to being seen in a new trailer for a movie, the XBox 720 looks more and more likely, with a bunch of new games being released into the Alan Wake, Fable, and other franchises in 2013.

- There are reports that most games for the upcoming PS Vita, such as the new Uncharted, are too big to fit the standard side data stick of 1.8 GB, and would have to shell out more money just to fit it. Uh oh.

- Ni No Kuni, the PS3 game being developed by Studio Ghibli [Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle] that drops in NA next year,, might have its localized title already.

- In the Assassin's Creed universe, it looks like after Revelations and a final game in 2012, Ubi is releasing a new, yearly game to bring a possibly new character.

Sources: computer and video games, edge, ars technica, joystiq, playstation blog, eurogamer, kotaku

[Viva Sonata]

Originally Posted by Linda Ferreira

Quote me when you are ready this week.

There we go. So sorry for the wait!

[Linda Ferreira]

Originally Posted by Viva Sonata

There we go. So sorry for the wait!

Thanks. I just posted it. Quote me if I need to edit anything.

[Viva Sonata]

Originally Posted by Linda Ferreira

Thanks. I just posted it. Quote me if I need to edit anything.

"buy the other four with a 'Rockstar Pass' for nearly twentydollars more."

Just that one bit and we're golden, hun. :D

[Linda Ferreira]

Originally Posted by Viva Sonata

"buy the other four with a 'Rockstar Pass' for nearly twentydollars more."

Just that one bit and we're golden, hun. :D

fixed

[Linda Ferreira]

Originally Posted by Viva Sonata

There we go. So sorry for the wait!

quote me whenever you are ready for this weekend

edit on 10/16: I am going to be away from the computer for a bit today, so you can both quote me and email deborah.remus@absolutepunk.net if you get your roundup ready today.