Friday, August 29, 2008

Gamers Bill of Rights

PC game developer, among other things, Stardock has come up with a Gamer's Bill of Rights. It only applies to PC games, but the ideals are pretty universal to all video games.

Here it is:

  1. Gamers shall have the right to return games that don’t work with their computers for a full refund.
  2. Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
  3. Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game’s release.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won’t install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their consent.
  7. Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.
  8. Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.

It is encouraging that at least one game developer is thinking in such a consumer-centric way.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Register to vote on Xbox Live

Starting Monday 25th of August, users of Xbox Live in the United States can use the online gaming service to register themselves as registered voters for the US Presidential elections later this year.

Microsoft, the owner of the Xbox Live service, is partnering with Rock the Vote for the initiative. Rock the Vote is hoping the campaign will help them reach their goal of registering 2 million young Americans before the elections.

Let's get out there and register, gamers!