The head of Tiga, the trade association for game developers in the U.K., has renewed calls for government support.

As reported by Edge Online, CEO Richard Wilson paid notice the current world economic crisis, but maintained that it should not deter the British government from backing home grown game developers:

The credit crunch, turmoil in the financial markets and declining economic activity constrain a government’s fiscal room for manoeuvre; but constraint is not the same as paralysis. Just as the Ontario administration is supporting its games developers in the midst of difficult economic conditions, so the UK government should back its video games industry.

 

UK video games developers have a skilled workforce; experienced management teams; and an effective approach to outsourcing. UK games businesses offer high quality games, produced on time and at great value...

 

The UK government can build on these competitive advantages.. by announcing a consultation on the merits of a tax credit for games production and eventual reductions in corporation tax. Consultation on these measures would give a powerful signal of support to the UK games industry...

Wilson's comments about Ontario refer to the recent announcement that the provincial government would create a $1.5 billion fund to provide incentives for game developers. The disparity in government support between Canada and the U.K. has long been a sore point for U.K. developers.

As GamePolitics has reported in the past, the Entertainment Software Association, which represents the interests of U.S. video game publishers, is keenly interested in seeing Canada adopt legislation similar to the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. The DMCA however, is controversial even here in the United States. Many Canadians are opposed to seeing a similar law adopted north of the border.

We note that the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa gave ESA VP Stevan Mitchell (left) air time on a recent podcast to explain the ESA's position on a couple of issues, including a condemnation of mod chips. These devices, which are currently legal in Canada as well as Australia and the U.K., are a long-standing target of the ESA.

INTERVIEWER: Hello. This is Ryan Stoner, an economic officer with the U.S. Embassy here in Ottawa. I am here today with Stevan Mitchell, Vice President of Intellectual Property Policy of the Entertainment Software Association, and Jason Kee, Director of Policy and Legal Affairs of the Entertainment Software Association of Canada. We are here together today to talk for a few minutes about the North American video game industry...

 

Stevan, can you tell me are there any particular aspects of U.S. intellectual property law that have been helpful in growing the entertainment software industry in the United States?

MR. MITCHELL: There are, Ryan, thank you... U.S. law contains strong prohibitions on the manufacture, sale, and trafficking in circumvention devices which, for our industry, are mostly known as MOD chips. These are devices that are installed in video game consoles to bypass the protections that our publishers and the hardware manufacturers build in that prevent the play of a pirated game. If you just simply download a game and burn it to a CD or DVD and insert it into one of your modern game consoles, it will not play. But, with these MOD chips installed, unfortunately, it does enable the play of pirated games, which makes them tremendously popular and they can sell for as much as $80-$100 U.S.

 

For that reason, they really do fuel the demand for pirated product and they are integral to piracy and, for that reason, they should be separately prohibited as well because oftentimes people who are involved in the manufacturer of these devices might not actually be involved in the making of the sale of pirated copies.

 

In the U.S., we do have civil prohibitions against the creation, trafficking of those devices, incredible provisions which have been used quite effectively in taking down large manufacturing and distribution operations...

INTERVIEWER: Well, thank you both very much for joining us today. I really enjoyed this conversation.

GP: While one supposes that it is part of the mission of the Embassy to help push U.S. trade policy goals, we would have liked to have seen the Embassy podcast include at least a passing mention of the opposing view. Maybe then it wouldn't have sounded so much like propaganda...

Canada's Agriculture Minister is under fire from the public as well as from players of a satirical online game.

As reported by Canada.com, the minister, Gerry Ritz, outraged citizens after he cracked jokes about a deadly outbreak of Listeriosis, caused by tainted lunch meat:

The jokes were made during a conference call with bureaucrats held at the end of August to review progress dealing with the listeria crisis. During the phone conversation, Ritz said that, for the government, "it was like death by a thousand cuts - or, should I say, 'cold cuts?'"

 

Later, when told about another listeriosis case in P.E.I., he said, "Please tell me it's (Liberal agriculture critic) Wayne Easter."

By way of response, programmers at a Toronto web design studio created Cold Cut Cannon, a Flash game in which players "fire salami slices from your cold cut cannon over the skies of Parliament to defend the honour of Canada and the sensibilities of your fellow citizens!"

Of the satirical game, co-creator Roger Grant said:

Gerry Ritz made his comments and we were outraged. We feel that he should've been fired... We believe political satire plays an important role in voter involvement. We didn't want to make it a serious game or a serious site. We made light of it. We wanted to draw attention to it and that's why we put it the way we did it so people would look at it.

Unanticipated Consequences Dept: Ironically, the context-sensitive Google Ads on the Cold Cut Cannon site are primarily for products such as lunch meat, hot dogs and Canadian bacon. 

The Edmonton Journal reports that a pair of Canadian teenagers have been barred from playing violent video games after they pleaded guilty to killing a family cat by placing it in a microwave.

The boys, now 16, were placed on probation for one year, must perform 100 hours of community service, will see a therapist, can't stay out later than 9 p.m. and must pay $250 in restitution. The grisly killing of the elderly cat named Princess followed a Christmas holiday break-in and vandalism rampage at a local home.

GP: Clearly, these are troubled kids. But what did video games have to do with it? Why the game ban? That's not so clear:

According to court ordered psychological asessments, video games were not found to have directly encouraged the boys' actions. But barring their access to such games was nonetheless a recommendation put forward in the assessments. It was also suggested that the teens' cellphone access be limited to work and calls to family. But youth court Judge Shauna Miller said that condition would have served no purpose.

 

Two more suspects have declined to plead guilty and have trials pending.

CTV has more on the original crime...

THANKS TO: GP reader Georg Zoeller for the tip!

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.

As GamePolitics has reported in the past, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which represents the interests of US game publishers, is backing a proposal to bring tougher, DMCA-syle copyright laws to Canada.

Along those lines, GP just picked up on this video of a May, 2008 TV debate on the issue between ESA VP Stevan Mitchell and Howard Knopf, a Canadian attorney. Mitchell is specifically worried about mod chips. He holds one aloft during the program.

For his part, Knopf is aghast at the notion that American corporate interests might force copyright changes in Canadian law. Knopf seems to have the interests of Canadian consumers at heart.

Unfortunately, Knopf does not articulate his points especially well - perhaps due to the tight time frame of the debate - while the hosts of the program seem to jump right in line with Mitchell of the ESA. Maybe that's because the program aired on the Business News Network. shiny dot bulletin comments:

It’s amazing how the hosts are really willing to bend to American market interests as opposed to listening to Howard about the facts and issues.

Knopf runs the Excess Copyright blog, the motto of which is:

Copyright is good. Excess in copyright is not.

The ESA's Canadian cousin, ESA Canada (ESAC), has issued a press release in support of a copyright reform bill introduced by the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper (left).

Joan Ramsay, president of ESAC, praised the measure:

It's simple: Every time someone acquires an illegal copy of a video game, money, in turn, is not going to those Canadians who work so hard to develop and publish games. That's money that cannot be reinvested in creativity, job growth, and industry development. Copyright reform is essential to strengthen our competitiveness as an industry.

But not every Canadian is so pleased with the proposed new law. David Shipley of the Kings County Record writes:

I'm not opposed to making illegal to download copyrighted music, movies and video games... But I'm dead set against any law that would make it illegal to take music from legally-purchased CDs and put it on your own personal computer or MP3 player - that's fair use.

 

If the Tories include fair-use killing provisions in the updated copyright law, I hope it is defeated either in the House of Commons or by the courts.

A report in the Canadian Press labels the bill controversial:

The long-awaited changes [to the bill] are a hot political potato for [Industry Minister] Prentice, who must find a middle ground between business interests who want strict protection for intellectual property, including recordings and films, and Internet users accustomed to downloading material free.

 

There's speculation is that Mr. Prentice will try to come down the middle as much as possible, imposing a $500 fine on individuals caught downloading copyrighted files... The video game industry wants the law strengthened to allow Internet service providers to monitor high-speed downloads and shut down transfers containing unauthorized copies of games and other files.

University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist is concerned that the legislation will be too restrictive - like the USA's:

I expect Minister Prentice to characterize the law as a Made in Canada solution, yet the reality will be that the key provisions are born in the USA. In doing so, the new law will have serious negative effects for Canadian consumers who could be locked out of their own purchased content, as well as for privacy, education, and research.

As GamePolitics has previously reported, here in the US, the ESA has been complaining for years about what it views as lax Canadian copyright protections. Yet, some officials north of the border are loathe to implement a Canadian version of the US's consumer-unfriendly Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA).