Kevin Fuchs does not dispute that he was a software pirate.

As GamePolitics reported yesterday (see: ESA Happy to See Game Pirates Going to Jail), Fuchs copped a plea to federal charges that he was part of a warez group which shared pirated game software. He will begin an 8-month stretch in a federal prison soon, followed by another 8 months of house arrest.

So what did Kevin Fuchs do? The ESA's press release didn't specify, except to say that Fuchs supplied and tested software for his warez group. But GamePolitics has obtained a copy of Fuchs' indictment, which alleges that he targeted the following games and software products:

• NCAA Football 2004 (Xbox)
• NFL Street (Xbox)
• MS Encarta Deluxe 2004
• Unreal Tournament 2004
• MS Windows 2000 Professional
• Kill Bill, Vol. 2

Fuchs' role in his warez group was to download software cracked by other members, test to make sure it worked properly, and then re-upload it for distribution. He also supplied "key generators," software which creates access keys for copyrighted software.

While the FBI alleges Fuchs committed piracy for personal gain, his indictment reads more like that of a gardern-variety warez kid. Even the feds acknowledge this aspect of the warez scene in the indictments's introductory paragraphs:

Other motives in addition to profit include the thrill and social comradery members obtain through clandestine participation in the illegal activity; and the reputation and fame that attends membership and participation in the "top" warez groups.

Indeed, if Fuchs was in it for the money, it wasn't working. A March, 2008 motion filed by Fuchs' attorney with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina (where the case originated) asks for a continuance of Fuchs' sentencing because he and his parents could not afford to travel from New York to North Carolina.

The motion also notes that Fuchs has apparently engaged in efforts to rid himself of the pirate's stain:

Professor William Haslinger, of the Hilbert College Economic Crime Investigation Department located in Hamburg, New York... has worked with Fuchs since his arrest and plea to enhance awareness of the illegality and economic harms associated with digital downloading of music and software via the internet, which remains widespread and is often perceived as legal activity. Professor Haslinger will provide evidence of Fuchs’ post offense rehabilitation and his participation as a speaker in forums for college students regarding the illegality downloading and what can happen if you are caught.

While E3 bashing has quieted with the passage of time, new comments by famed game designer Will Wright have driven another nail into the show's coffin.

In an interview with gamesindustry.biz, Wright likened E3 to a zombie - and not in a positive, Resident Evil fashion:

It almost feels like a zombie at this point; it's the walking dead. It's such an abrupt end to what was E3, which had been this huge escalating arms race.

 

I understand why they really pulled the plug on the big E3. Looking at the amount of money a company like EA would spend on it, it was ridiculous amounts of money just to be present and competitive with everyone else, so I think they were looking for a way to sign the arms treaty and de-escalate the whole thing.

 

Right now we're in this kind of dicey, do we have an event, what event is it, which one do we go to? I think we're in an uncomfortable transition zone when really the real E3 died a couple of years ago.

CNN is now reporting that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will be John McCain's running mate.

Palin, 44, who has been governor for only two years, appears to have little track record with video games - or much of anything else.

She was a city council person in Wasilla, Alaska from 1992-1996 and was later mayor of that town. She failed in an attempt to become Alaska's Lt. Gov. in 2002, and won the top seat in 2006.

Palin has two sons and three daughters. Her oldest son, age 18, is scheduled to be deployed to Iraq later this yer.

Tim Pawlenty? Mitt Romney? Tom Ridge?

With Republican presidential candidate John McCain's VP choice due later today, these three names have been bandied about in recent days. While Ridge has historically been quiet on video game issues, Pawlenty and Romney (seen with McCain at left)come with major baggage as far as gamers are concerned.

That said, Ridge seems an unlikely choice, since he adds little to the McCain ticket. For one thing, he's older than the other two and McCain would seem to need some youthful balance in a running mate. For another, as former Homeland Security Director, he's too closely associated with the Bush Administration in a time when the electorate craves change. And although he is from a key state, he doesn't seem likely to swing Pennsylvania red in November.

That leaves Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts as potential VP choices. As we said, both have a negative history with video game issues.

Pawlenty signed Minnesota's notorious, 2006 "fine the buyer" legislation into law. The bill, which would have fined underage buyers of M-rated games $25, was quickly overturned by a federal judge. Minnesota also lost a subsequent appeal on that decision. Pawlenty, who has owned up to playing NHL2K5 with his kids, brings youth to the McCain ticket.

For his part, Romney (who apparently thinks torturing real people is okay) made the cartoon violence of video games a theme of his failed 2008 presidential bid. Romney is a favorite of the religious right, a group which is not particularly fond of McCain.

UPDATE: CNN is reporting that Pawlenty is out of the running and is also speculating that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is in the VP mix...

Gamer-friendly PC publisher Stardock (Sins of a Solar Empire) has released what it is terming the "Gamer’s Bill of Rights" at PAX.

The company calls the document:

...a statement of principles that it hopes will encourage the PC game industry to adopt standards that are more supportive of PC gamers. The document contains 10 specific “rights” that video game enthusiasts can expect from Stardock as an independent developer and publisher that it hopes that other publishers will embrace...

 

the objective of the Gamer’s Bill of Rights is to increase the confidence of consumers of the quality of PC games which in turn will lead to more sales and a better gaming experience.

Of the Bill of Rights, Stardock CEO Brad Wardell commented:

As an industry, we need to begin setting some basic, common sense standards that reward PC gamers for purchasing our games. The console market effectively already has something like this in that its games have to go through the platform maker such as Nintendo, Microsoft, or Sony. But on the PC, publishers can release games that are scarcely completed, poorly supported, and full of intrusive copy protection and then be stuck on it.

Chris Taylor, CEO and founder of Gas Powered Games, expressed support for the Bill of Rights, which Stardock enumerates as:

• Gamers shall have the right to return games that don’t work with their computers for a full refund.
• Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
• Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game’s release.
• Gamers shall have the right to demand that download managers and updaters not force themselves to run or be forced to load in order to play a game.
• Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will play adequately on that computer.
• Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won’t install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their consent.
• Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.
• Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.
• Gamers shall have the right to demand that a single-player game not force them to be connected to the Internet every time they wish to play.
• Gamers shall have the right that games which are installed to the hard drive shall not require a CD/DVD to remain in the drive to play.

GP: While this would more properly be termed the PC Gamer's Bill of Rights, we have to say, Bravo, Stardock! 

When we think of marathon video games, it's usually some 100-hour RPG.

So how does a 14-year-long game sound?

It's a spoof, of course. the Onion Radio News serves up an audio report on Middle East Meltdown, a new game based on the Iraq War. The fanciful title includes fun activities like building and re-building the same infrastructure, beheadings, and spending time in rat-infested V.A. hospitals.

Okay, so we've got a soft spot for board games as well as the video variety.

Maybe you do, too. 

If so, jump over to Campaign.com. The self-described nonpartisan voter education site is giving away a Stratego: Democrats vs. Republicans game every day between now and the presidential election on November 4th.

Game publishers lobbying group the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) today issued a press release high-fiving jail terms handed down to a pair of software pirates.

As GamePolitics reported recently, Kifah Maswadi of Florida received a 15-month sentence for peddling nearly $400,000 worth of Power Player handhelds. Each contained ROMs of dozens of old NES games.

The ESA is also pleased to see Kevin Fuchs of West Amherst, New York headng off to the Big House for 8 months of jail time followed by another 8 months of house arrest. Based on court records reviewed by GamePolitics, Fuchs wasn't in it for the money, but rather was part of the game warez scene in a big way.

We'll have more exclusive details on Fuchs' case in Friday's GP coverage.

ESA boss Michael Gallagher commented on the sentences handed down to Maswadi and Fuchs:

We commend the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Western District of North Carolina and the Eastern District of Virginia and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their work in bringing these criminals to justice. These decisions illustrate, once again, that game piracy will not be tolerated and the extent at which these criminals will be prosecuted.  The ESA and its members will continue to support law enforcement’s efforts to protect the intellectual property of our industry.

Until now, the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) could only accept U.S. residents as members.

All that has changed with today's announcement that Canadian gamers can now join the ranks of the ECA, the only organization devoted to the issues which are important to video game consumers.

Organization president Hal Halpin commented on the news:

With a thriving gaming community already present and growing in Canada, we are proud to extend the opportunities and benefits that our U.S. ECA members have been enjoying over the years. Canada is an important area of growth for us and we are excited to welcome Canadian gamers who are interested in community and any issues that affect gamers.

The ECA will soon be unveiling a host of unique benefits and programs that will be specifically targeted towards Canadian consumers. Canadian chapter organizations are already underway in local gaming communities and these newly-formed networks will continue to grow and offer a great way for videogame players to stay informed and connect with like-minded ECA members in their area.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.

Is this TV sport for Mercenaries 2 the best game commercial of the year?

Time's Lev Grossman thinks so...

...most [video game commercials] are forgettable. What do you want, they're ads. But sometimes you see one that just rips off your head and thrusts its awesomeness down your neck. I'm thinking of the "Mad World" spot for Gears of War, for example.

 

But check out this one. I don't have any special interest in playing Mercenaries 2.... I caught this ad while I was watching clips on adultswim.com, and dang. It's the white-boy rap-singing video-game jingle of the summer...

Sorry for the lack of stories today... Had an early flight to PAX, including a mid-day change of planes in Detroit.

I'm in the cab at the Seattle Airport, and will get some GP goodness posted a little later...

An attorney not named Jack Thompson has loaned credence to the use of the  video games made me do it defense.

Writing for the Palm Beach Post, Terry Bosky dishes on the increasingly familiar defense tactic of blaming violent behavior of video games. Illinois attorney James Waller told Boesky:

The goal of the ‘video games’ defense is to both shift blame and to explain to a judge and jury why this good kid is suddenly acting like a terrorist. Portraying your client as the victim of outside forces... humanizes the client and shifts the culpability... my job is to present ANY theory to a jury that would explain why my client did the things he did...

 

[The games made me do it defense works on] an unsophisticated, typically older, somewhat more rural jury pool or judge. To an extent, the defendant is playing on the prejudices that these members of society already have towards video games...

 

The manufacturers do everything they can to make sure that [the games] are a household name... Restricting supply to create buzz, sensationalizing their own violence to the media, doing idiotic things like leaving the “Hot Coffee” code in the game…the jury knows that a lot of kids today are playing this Grand Theft Auto game and that it’s very violent or adult before we even walk into the courtroom.

Law Prof. Ashley Lipson agreed:

A good defense lawyer will blame everyone in sight, except of course the client - When he or she runs out of people to blame - it’s time to look around for objects. What could be better than a popular videogame?

If the heathen lyrics in Guitar Hero or Rock Band are starting to warp your mind, you may want to check out a new Christian-themed guitar game.

GameDaily reports that Guitar Praise: Solid Rock will ship in late September. A blurb on the game site says:

Grab the guitar and play along with top Christian bands! Shred those riffs or blast the bass…you add a unique sound to the solid Christian rock. But watch out: if you can't keep up, the artists will take a break and stop the music. Crank it up and try again - you'll soon be rockin' with the best while praising the Lord!  Order the second guitar and jam with a friend!

Guitar Praise: Solid Rock sells for $99.95. An extra guitar for two-player games is $69.95.

Gamers who want to test their skills at the upcoming Austin Game Developers Conference will be making a charitable donation at the same time.

Twenty buck entry fees for the Level Up Charity Games competition will be donated to the ESA Foundation. Said Marc Mencher, CEO of competition sponsor GameRecruiter:

We have a long-standing commitment to supporting the educational needs of minority and female students who are interested in being part of the video game industry. By providing this support to the ESA Foundation’s Scholarship Program, we hope to allow deserving individuals to further their education and expand workplace diversity within our industry.

The September 17th competition at the Four Seasons Hotel Austin is open to all gamers. Featured titles include:

• Rock Band 2
• Madden 08
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl
• I-Play Bowling

Don Reisinger, who pens The Digital Home column for Cnet, takes a dim view of video game publisher mergers - especially the proposed deal between Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive.

Reisinger believes consolidation results in high profits for pubishers and low-risk, lackluster titles for gamers:

Since the age of consolidation hit the video game industry, it has changed drastically... In fact, consolidation has spawned an industry that's dominated by sequel after sequel and enough first-person shooters and sports games that barely differ from year to year...

 

A quick glance at EA's upcoming lineup of games tells you everything you need to know about consolidation. Aside from Spore, it's dominated by sequels and titles that will do little but provide the same basic experience...

 

And if EA and Take-Two -- two of the biggest culprits of derivative gaming -- combine to form one major developer, this will only get worse.