Lobbying
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The ESA is up to its tired old tricks in helping to block a California games preservation bill
The Electronic Software Association (ESA) is reportedly lobbying against California's AB 1921, the Protect Our Games Act, which aims to preserve online games. The ESA is accused of using misleading claims to deter lawmakers, including calling private servers for games like Minecraft and Call of Duty illegal. Despite the bill failing to pass committee, the 'Stop Killing Games' initiative plans to continue advocating for game preservation.
Game industry lobby group that argued against preservation efforts from libraries is now pushing back on Stop Killing Games, saying it could prevent 'new games, features, and technology'
The game industry lobby group ESA is pushing back against the 'Stop Killing Games' initiative, arguing that preservation efforts could hinder the development of new games and technologies. This follows similar arguments made by Video Games Europe, which warned of increased development costs and potential exposure to unsafe community content. The ESA has a history of lobbying against game preservation efforts, including past arguments against DMCA allowances for libraries.
Stop Killing Games delivers 'absolutely incredible' hearing in European Parliament: 'There was no [parliament member] that wasn't responding positively'
Stop Killing Games founder Ross Scott and organizer Moritz Katzner presented their case for game preservation to the European Parliament, receiving positive responses from various political groups. The initiative aims to establish requirements to prevent server-dependent games from being shut down when they are no longer profitable, with the organization also launching NGOs in the EU and US for long-term counter-lobbying.
Stop Killing Games campaign hope to "signal that we're not just going away" by setting up online game preservation NGOs
The Stop Killing Games campaign is establishing two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Europe and the US to advocate for game preservation and counter-lobbying efforts. These NGOs aim to signal long-term commitment to the issue and enable watchdog actions, such as players reporting game shutdown situations to consumer protection agencies. Organizers are also awaiting a meeting with European Union politicians regarding server shutdowns that render online-only games unplayable.
