I think Chris should just go back to… well, whatever he’s doing these days and not talk to the press until either of the games finally releases. There were so many promises, dates and pledges that nothing he says has any value at this point. Not to mention the delusions in some of the things he says here.

Let the games do the talking and just watch from sidelines until then, please.

Man, I’ve been waiting for this since the [white label] demo four years ago. Can’t believe it’s almost finally here. AND it had an updated demo all this time?! I know what I’m doing tonight.

Yeah, it’s a shame they only got one side of the story for this one. I was hoping there’d be a bit more when I wrote my initial comment but they pretty much focused on Argo’s and Dora’s perspective. I understand why (not much new stuff happened in terms of the whole picture, not everyone wanted to talk as can be seen with the limited responses Chris received) but I think waiting a bit longer and seeing how things turned out for everyone involved would be a better idea.

There were some interesting new details there but overall it didn’t really feel like the amount or weight of material worth making another documentary about at this point.

The first 20 minutes are about acknowledging and discussing the criticism of the original documentary which is a welcome addition. While I didn’t have as many issues with that as some, it wasn’t perfect and it’s good to know that Chris and the team are aware of what could be improved in the future.

It’s a pretty interesting video so far (haven’t finished it yet) and clarifies some things left unsaid in the first one, on top of bringing new topics that came up since. Seems like a really good follow-up.

Oh absolutely, that’s as much (if not more) of a reason for them keeping quiet. No big company will willingly jump into the pit against payment processors, there’s way too much to lose.

I mean, Valve’s silence isn’t really surprising to be honest. They generally tend to keep quiet and let things go away on their own whenever possible. I’d be more surprised if the came out in force on this issue.

They did respond to the recent claim by Mastercard about them not being responsible for this recent mess - that’s something, I guess? Here is a Kotaku article (don’t kill me, that’s the source I have for this) and here is the relevant part:

“Mastercard did not communicate with Valve directly, despite our request to do so,” Valve’s statement sent over email to Kotaku reads. “Mastercard communicated with payment processors and their acquiring banks. Payment processors communicated this with Valve, and we replied by outlining Steam’s policy since 2018 of attempting to distribute games that are legal for distribution. Payment processors rejected this, and specifically cited Mastercard’s Rule 5.12.7 and risk to the Mastercard brand.”

There’s a bit more in the linked article but that’s pretty much the gist of it.

Man, I really appreciate GOG. They’re not perfect and, as with all corporations, one shouldn’t take them completely at face value but their approach to game preservation, DRM and stuff like this are the reasons why I keep them as my primary choice for purchases whenever possible.

Is it a relatively cheap PR stunt? Maybe. Probably. It’s still more than any other store did or said in regards to the recent events. Might as well grab some free publicity.

Most likely, or maybe someone will try to use this to score some easy points with more online conscious voters. Probably not but one can dream.

There’s a UK Parliament petition to repeal the Online Safety act. There’s no guarantee it’ll do anything but might be worth a try for anyone in the UK.

Yeah, I’d like to think people would focus on other things now that SKG picked up the pace but he’ll most likely be brought up for a long time regardless on what happens with the campaign in the future - even if just as a punching bag for people to feel superior about.

It’s a jab at the Pirate Software guy, I believe.

Yeah, that tracks - it’s a business organisation first and foremost. And yeah, we definitely do.

It’s a group representing the biggest publishers in the industry, used as a front to pretend they’re able to self-regulate when it comes to consumer laws vs business wants. So no, not a governing body but more of a cartel or lobbying group, I guess? One with A LOT of money on the line and enough lobbying power to push against things like the Stop Killing Games campaign the moment they feel threatened.

Either way it’s pure speculation considering something truly massive would have to happen for Steam to even get to this point.

He did say something similar years ago if I recall correctly but we never got any details and it was so long ago it’s hard to guess whether that’s still the plan. Reassurance or update on that wouldn’t be unwelcome, that’s for sure.

Here are the board members of this organisation in case someone is curious about their relevancy/neutrality on the matter:

• Hester Woodliffe – Chair (Warner Bros. Games)
• Canon Pence (Epic Games)
• Kerry Hopkins (Electronic Arts)
• Ian Mattingly (Activision)
• Klemens Kundratitz (Embracer)
• Qumar Jamil (Microsoft)
• Clemens Mayer-Wegelin (Nintendo of Europe)
• Cinnamon Rogers (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Matt Spencer (Take 2)
• Alain Corre (Ubisoft)
• Alberto Gonzalez-Lorca (Bandai Namco Entertainment)
• Karine Parker (Square Enix)
• Mark Maslowicz (Level Infinite)
• Felix Falk (game)
• Nicolas Vignolles (SELL)
• David Verbruggen (VGFB)
• Nick Poole (UKIE)

You know, the people who “ensured that the voice of a responsible games ecosystem is heard and understood” (direct quote from their website).

Fresh update video from Ross about the campaign.

TL;DW:

• There’s a chance many of the signatures for the EU petition aren’t real. Keep signing to build up a safety margin. Official suggestions are: 10% more minimum, 20% pretty OK, up to 40% more for an actual safety net.
• Some countries had problems with signing using the digital ID system - suggests to use the manual method (instructions on the campaign page) or try again later.
• Someone not related with the campaign released a SKG crypto. Don’t touch it, obviously.
• Ross heard about people harassing Pirate Software, asks to stop.
• He’s got a lot of messages to reply to, prioritises ones important to the campaign for now.
• UK petition cleared 100k signatures. Number is most likely more reliable than the EU one.
• Link about contacting UK MP’s for those who want to do more than just sign a petition.

That’s actually one of the most annoying parts about the whole thing. SKG campaign has been running for what, a year now? Barely anyone with an audience cared enough to even look into it, let alone spread the news. Now that things came close to failing suddenly everyone thinks it’s an important topic and scrambled to make videos/posts/whatever. I’d like to give them the benefit of the doubt but I just don’t have that in me any more…
We could’ve been in so much better place with awareness, petitions and general sentiment if people in the industry actually cared about these things from the start.

Better late than never, I guess. I just hope there’s enough time to push through the EU petition as well.

After Ross announced the campaign is dead a bunch of YouTubers (and media, I think?) picked up the topic and started spreading the word far and wide. This is the result.

He actively misrepresented the campaign and spread misinformation about its goals. I don’t know if he genuinely didn’t understand or if he was too embarrassed to admit to a mistake but he did a lot of damage to the momentum and perception of the whole thing.

It sucks these big creators only now pick up the mantle but it’s better than nothing. There’s still some time left.