Random Ramblings #7

In the distance, there is a sound... It's moving quickly, and is heading toward us. Oh my goodness IT'S THE RANDOM RAMBLINGS! This time around a rapper loses it, Activision Blizzard gets moving and someone makes me sad.

Rapper wants GTAV Recalled

A rapper by the name of Daz Dillinger wants GTAV recalled due to the fact that Rockstar included two of his tracks in the game without permission. Allegedly the developer put the tracks C-Walk and Nothin' but the Cavi Hit despite him not giving them permission to use the tracks in the game. Daz responded by giving Rockstar 14 days to reply to his request to have all copies of GTAV recalled and destroyed, or to make him an offer to use the music. There isn't much more information on exactly how Rockstar tried to get permission at this stage, but Daz was offered $4,271 for the use of them, an offer he turned down as "offensive." Hopefully some more information will come to light from Rockstar as to how exactly they got rights to use the music before this gets out of hand.

Problems with Activision Blizzard's Seperation

Activision Blizzard had announced back in July that it was breaking away from parent company Vivendi for a deal to the tune of 8.17 billion dollars. Then in September it was announced that a shareholder in the company had filed a complaint against the company for a: 

"breach of fiduciary duties, waste of corporate assets and unjust enrichment" and that ASAC II (the investor group owned by Bobby Kotick) will "score an immediate paper windfall of $664 million."

However the Delaware Supreme court lifted the decision earlier this week and Activision Blizzard announced yesterday that the acquisition had been successfully completed. Hopefully this means that Blizzard can continue to make fantastic games as they have been for the last 22 years.

Delayed PC Releases - Piracy to Blame

Someone finally asked the question to a developer about why PC game releases are delayed. The answer? Piracy. Now while this answer is off the record, it is not unsurprising. PC games are usually the most pirated due to how easy it is to crack them compared to having to chip a console to pirate games.

I am the first to admit, I have pirated games in the past. I downloaded the pirate version of Game Dev Tycoon to see the message that popped up for myself. When I was living at home and couldn't afford games I would pirate them. Even now, even though I have the money to buy any game I desire, every now and then I will pirate a game to see if I like it or if it is worth dropping money on it. If I had known that actions like this had led to this fear for developers to the point where PC games are delayed to help with figures, I honestly believe I wouldn't have pirated any games at all.

As always folks,

GAME ON!