Supreme Court – MMO Fallout

Nepal Supreme Court Demands Justification On PUBG Ban

You may have read the news that PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds had been banned in Nepal and thought “this makes no sense,” and you would have the backing of the Nepal Supreme Court on your side. The South Asian country took the banhammer to the popular battle royale shooter just two weeks ago and directed all internet service providers and mobile data centers to block access to the game.

Justice Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada demanded an explanation for the ban and asked the government to provide justification beyond the vague excuse that the game was distracting children from schoolwork and chores, as well as unsubstantiated claim of violent behavior coming from addicted gamers.

Unlike India where more than a dozen people were arrested for violating its own ban, it doesn’t appear that anyone has actually been punished in the two weeks that the law was in effect. As of right now, PUBG is once again playable. Whether the government will be able to come up with a convincing excuse to put access back on the kibosh will have to be seen.

Source: Gamasutra

[Less Massive] Anti-Gamer Senator Leland Yee Off To Prison

Former California State Senator Leland Yee this week pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering in the San Francisco federal court. Yee admitted to accepting bribes in return for favors, including ten thousand in return for assisting in obtaining a state grant, eleven grand to meet with another state senator to discuss legislation, extorting money in return for favorable votes, and conspiring to purchase weapons from the Philippines and sell them illegally in the United States.

“Senator Yee’s admission of guilt today brings some measure of justice to the true victims of his crimes: the people of the state of California,” said David J. Johnson, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the San Francisco Field Office.

Yee become an antagonist of the gaming industry ten years ago when he authored the 2005 bill to ban the sale of ultra-violent video games in California, a bill which was struck down by the Supreme Court. After the Sandy Hook massacre, Yee took further shots at the gaming community and industry at large.

“Gamers have got to just quiet down,” Yee, D-San Francisco, said in an interview Tuesday. “Gamers have no credibility in this argument. This is all about their lust for violence and the industry’s lust for money. This is a billion-dollar industry. This is about their self-interest.”

Incidentally, Leland Yee is a strong supporter of gun control, presumably including the ones he planned to sell after smuggling them illegally from the Philippines.

(Source: Justice.gov)

Korean Supreme Court Finds Bluehole Innocent, Three Employees Guilty

Back when the internet was powered by Steam and everything cost a nickel NCSoft sued Bluehole Studios, a company made up of ex-Lineage III developers. There has been a bit of confusion with convictions being upheld while others were later appealed and overturned, and I hadn’t noticed that the case has made its way to the South Korean Supreme Court, who yesterday came out with their ruling.

Bluehole Studios has been found innocent of any charges of wrongdoing. However, three employees were convicted of leaking trade secrets and must both pay two billion won in restitution ($1.7 million USD, approximately). The story might be over for now for Bluehole Studios, but the three employees mentioned now face criminal charges for which sentencing will take place at a later date.

In January, NCSoft launched a lawsuit in the United States to keep TERA from releasing, and from the outside looking in this ruling does not bode well for a guilty verdict. While the case in Korea has successfully taken down those responsible for the theft, NCSoft has failed in their other objective: Shutting down TERA.

So those of you on the bench in regard to preordering TERA can probably breath a sigh of relief and grab those credit cards. TERA launches in just a few weeks.

(Source)