Well, if this isn’t another reason why more people are pirating then I don’t know what is.  It seems that the DRM authentication servers over at Ubisoft have been down ALL DAY.  Wow, did I call it or what?  So, if you legal bought the game, and installed it, without cracking it or anything, you would have been completely unable to play the game that you paid money for.  Imagine that, You dropped 50 bucks on a game that you can not play, simply because someone else’s computer wasn’t working.  Not even single player Campaign.  you simply can not play your game, that you OWN.

Score one for pirates today.

Gamespy has a pretty funny write comic up (at the link provided) about gaming in the future, none of it is any REAL predictions, there all pretty funny though.  I especially like the idea of Apples new gaming device that requires a loyalty oath.

Yeah…. uh, maybe Ubisoft should have taken notes while watching "Titanic".  Don’t tempt the gods by saying your DRM scheme is uncrackable.  Or, when you say such silly things, at least back it up with.. I dunno, some beta testing before hand?

Ubisoft recently released a new DRM scheme in there newest game Silent Hunter 5, which would effectively call home CONSTANTLY, doing boot up of the game, during play, saving, checkpoints, etc. etc.  There pretty much wasn’t a time that the game wasn’t calling back to ubisoft servers to verify files and such, making sure everything was authentic and not eff’ed with.

Well, not even 24hours of the games release… it was cracked.  Making the much touted, hollybooed, and hyped RM anti-piracy system obsolete before day 1 was over.

Stepping aside from the overall "1984" feel of this system (which sucks, and is a little unsettling.) It’s really bad form to begin with.  There would be too many factors that would keep ou from playing the game EVEN if you paid full price for it, and are a legit owner.  internet down?.. can’t play it, Ubisoft server down? sorry, can’t play it.  if your roommate is downloading a bunch of swedish porn?.. yeah, can’t play it.  Back in my day, all you needed was the CD.. scratch that, back in MY day all you needed was a 5 1/4" disk and a boot disk to allocate EMS memory into XMS memory.  You kids and your googles..

The 2 lead developers at Infinity Ward who where fired by Activision for "insubordination" have filed there own suit against Activision.  There claim states that the company carried out "Orwellian", "pre-ordained" investigations designed to "manufacture a basis to fire" them in order to not have to pay out bonuses and royalites.

The 2 are seeking damages in excess of 36-million dollars!

Jason West and Vince Zampella explains in there lawsuit that "Activision conducted the investigation in a manner designed to maximize the inconvenience and anxiety it would cause West and Zampella," the lawsuit claims, alleging that the two were "interrogated for over six hours in a windowless conference room" and that other Infinity Ward employees were "brought…to tears" by Activision investigators.

So, When West and Zampella had enough and refused something, possibly in a later investigation, they where fired on grounds of "insubordination".

Wow, that is very Orson Wells like isn’t it?…

Wow… crazy.  Apparently, Activision, for reasons not quite yet known by anyone other than "insubordination".  Have fired the heads of Infinity Ward.. you may know them from a little game called MODERN WARFARE 1 and 2!.

G4 has been keeping up on the matter pretty good, so here is the link to that.  "G4 coverage of IW firing".

So far, we know it’s real and not some stunt.  We know Tim Shafer from Double Fine Studio (Brutal Legend creator.) had some not so nice things to say about Activision on his twitter AND…we know that Jason West (one of those fired.)…. obviously isn’t taking it too well.

Now for my opinion.. caution. NSFW: ActiBlizzard…. What in the fuck are you fucking drinking in your crystal palace that rotted your shitsmear of a brain that you think firing the HEAD developers of your MOST PROFITTABLE development studio was a good fucking idea?!.  Seriously… I don’t care if these guys gangbanged your wives covered in hotsauce while wearing your underwear.  They brought in the money. 

Really guys… What did they do that they needed to be escorted out of the IW HQ by 2 "guards".  that’s crazy. 

Guess what everyone, another study deems that violent video games makes us all murders!.

Well, maybe not to that extent, but, according to this study right here. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkup/2010/03/study_shows_violent_video_game.html it says that all those studies that say violent games don’t do much if anything to the overall being of a person where "selectively bias" in finding there data or subjects.

Yeah, what the hell ever dude.  a few problems that I REALLY have with this stupid study.  for one, the length of said "Study" was never really given.  Another issue is… all this guy did was go through a bunch of older studies.  He didn’t collect new data or do his own subject study owkr or actual field analysis.  Just went through older studies.  And probably the biggest issue is that I have actually read "Grand Theft Childhood", which was a 6 year study of hunderds of randomly selected kids who play random games which was funded by the Federal drug and health.  Ya wanna guess what that study found?.  pretty much nothing.  in the end, is basically says "if you’re already a little messed up in the head, you shouldn’t be doing ANYTHING that would further your screwed up thinking."