this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2025
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[–] dragonfucker@lemmy.nz 63 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Copyright was invented so artists would be able to sell their art, and more art would be made.

When copyright is protected on a product that's no longer sold, less art is made.

When a copyright holder stops selling their art, copyright protections should immediately cease, and they should be responsible for copyright obligations - releasing the source code to the public. Use it or lose it!

[–] Couldbealeotard@lemmy.world 21 points 6 days ago (3 children)

This is the most level headed approach to IP I've seen. If you're not willing to use the property you forfeit it. It's a common contact for licensing rights for movies that forces a studio to make a movie or lose rights. That way people can't squat on a licence to prevent others using it.

[–] dragonfucker@lemmy.nz 8 points 6 days ago

Sony has to make a Spiderman movie every few years even though DVDs of the old ones are still being sold, but Ubisoft can just delete games forever and they can never be played again.

[–] MunkyNutts@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

A good book on this is: Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity by Lawrence Lessig

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[–] Nalivai@discuss.tchncs.de 44 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Anti-murder laws are cuttailing my choice! What if I someday would like to make a choice to murder someone?

[–] lemmy_outta_here@lemmy.world 10 points 6 days ago

Yes! When I read that, I immediately thought "curtailing developer choice is exactly the point."

[–] umbraroze@slrpnk.net 75 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (2 children)

This initiative sure would make things more complicated for the game publishers, yes.

Because they're currently not doing the bare minimum.

If they weren't so accustomed to not doing the bare minimum, maybe they would have different opinions! Just saying.

Edit: Just signed the petition. Didn't think this was necessary before because, as soon as I heard of it, Finland was already top of the list percentage wise. But I did sign it, just for the hell yeah of it.

[–] Klear@lemmy.world 44 points 6 days ago (1 children)

It's not just for the hell of it!

Invalid votes will be removed when it's time for the final tally, so the initiative needs a solid buffer to still he over a million after.

There's been a talk of some people using bots to inflate the numbers in a misguided attempt to help the initiative, so every vote is still very welcome.

Also, I kinda want to see just how high Finland can go above the threshold.

Tell your friends!

[–] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago (2 children)

I wouldn't be surprised if the game industry isn't also using bots to inflate the numbers to make people procrastinating not feel the need to contribute and make the petition look less valid.

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[–] andxz@lemmy.world 18 points 6 days ago

I agree wholeheartedly and I also signed late while being Finnish.

[–] AceFuzzLord@lemmy.zip 68 points 6 days ago

Whenever a large games company talks about "developer choice" you know they're referring to one of a few things:

  1. Think of the shareholders!
  2. Think of the rich CEO who adds zero value to the company!
  3. The people don't know what they want and therefore we need to tell them exactly what they want and need!
[–] Almacca@aussie.zone 39 points 6 days ago (1 children)

"... curtail developer choice" - This from a bunch of people for whom the term 'executive meddling' was created.

[–] WorldsDumbestMan@lemmy.today 5 points 6 days ago

Sounds like they just put together a bunch of meaningful sounding words. I know what they want to say though: "Noooo! But mah freedumbs! NOOOO 😭 "

[–] Shanmugha@lemmy.world 48 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

Developer choice, ha-ha, very funny. I am not familiar with the industry and still feel safe to bet most of them (edit: actual software developers making games) just want to get enough money for doing what they can do without too much stress/disgust and also most of them don't have a desire to see their work die just because some manager decided it is time to make some other games instead

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 17 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I bet they're really pissed off with ubisoft right now. They basically started this whole movement by being so egregious with The Crew. Less than a month before they shut the servers down the game was still on sale for the full price that it had launched with.

Granted it was shut down because it was the most mediocre game ever made but that still isn't an excuse.

[–] Nikls94@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Tbh when I read of it, being an open world driving game where you can just drive around a very large area, I kind of wanted it. Not as a game, but simply for driving around. MarioKart is too happy for that. I just want to get lost in thoughts while driving.

[–] Manticore@lemmy.nz 1 points 3 days ago

I hear thats what European Truck Simulator 1, 2, and American truck simulator are excellent for. Driving around on long roads with meditative scenery.

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[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 39 points 6 days ago

Uh, yeah, that's the point of all regulations. To make you not pick bad things.

[–] Thcdenton@lemmy.world 32 points 6 days ago
[–] TwinTitans@lemmy.world 16 points 6 days ago

Well when the choice is anti consumer, too fucking bad.

[–] TheGreenWizard@lemmy.zip 29 points 6 days ago (1 children)
[–] SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 5 points 6 days ago

From the mind of the one Free Man

[–] 58008@lemmy.world 30 points 6 days ago (1 children)

"Won't somebody PLEASE think of the ~~children~~ devs!?"

The last refuge of a dying argument 😴

The devs would probably prefer if their work for several years wasn't thrown in the trash. It's the publishers and suits killing games.

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 19 points 6 days ago (3 children)

I don't know why these companies think they can talk their way out of this. No one is buying your BS. Just STFU.

[–] daniskarma@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 6 days ago

They can and they will just lobby commission or EU Parliament if needed.

[–] creamlike504@jlai.lu 9 points 6 days ago

It's to give talking points to the politicians they paid for.

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[–] vxx@lemmy.world 11 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

It needs way more people, because I guess a lot of people from all over the world used VPNs to sign the petition and will get nullified.

So if you planned to do it, don't, you will hurt your goals more than you're doing an good.

[–] Doorbook@lemmy.world 13 points 6 days ago

When you work hard to create a consumer economy, the first rule is, don't piss off the consumers!

[–] TheObviousSolution@lemmy.ca 5 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

I think people are overestimating what this petition is going to do. It will likely just end up in a response from the EU listing pros and cons but effectively saying "can't really do anything about it, sorry!". It's still good, even MMOs have server software gaming companies could release if legislation forced them instead of causing fandoms to die. Games are culture. They may also be entertainment, but that's culture as well. But I wouldn't hold out hope.

[–] douglasg14b@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

I think forcing MMOs to release software is a bit much.

Opted for large scaled systems. It's more than just simple software. There is a ton of infrastructure and proprietary solutioning that goes into it. That's likely used for other games as well.

It may not even be possible to release the software because it is not just software and the resources to prepare it for releasing may not be available.

However, if a game company shut down their servers, they should not be allowed to prevent other people from try to reverse engineer and make their own servers.

Single player and local games 100% though should not be allowed to be killed.

[–] TheObviousSolution@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Opted for large scaled systems. It’s more than just simple software. There is a ton of infrastructure and proprietary solutioning that goes into it. That’s likely used for other games as well.

Doesn't mean it can't be released, just that it might be difficult to reproduce. It would still be much, much easier to reverse engineer that than to reverse engineer everything from the client and network communication captures.

It may not even be possible to release the software because it is not just software and the resources to prepare it for releasing may not be available.

In other words, so you don't know, and vague assumptions on a closed box because closed boxes allow you to make them.

Most MMOs usually have multiple instances running, each which need to be maintained separately. That means they have usually gone through the process of encapsulating the server functionality in a way that can be reproduced and recreated into new instances. They have to be maintained at the same time, so they need to be relatively standard. At one point those supposedly absent resources to duplicate the instance of a server have likely existed, and just need to be packaged for public release. Proprietary portions can simply be excluded - an incomplete release is preferable to an absent one. Can't release databases, they can release schemas, etc. Incomplete > absent.

You largely seem to be giving MMO companies the excuse that if their server solution could theoretically be proprietary and convoluted enough, even if it really isn't, that they not be subject to the Stop Killing Games initiative. MMOs, unlike single player games, have a far more notable sociable and persistence factor to them, a bigger cultural footprint within those communities, that makes the Stop Killing Games Initiative particularly applicable to them. There's one simply way not to be subject to its demands - don't kill the games.

[–] Alloi@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago

"but black dynamite!....... i sell drugs to the community!"

[–] moosetwin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 6 days ago
[–] AlexLost@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago

Oh no?! It developer's choices vs purchaser's options. Who will win, it's a mystery only time can solve. Just kidding, we all know who the courts will side with, as it is never "the people".

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