The Stop Online Piracy Act, currently a bill before the US Congress, is utterly detested by the internet, in case you don’t read the internet. Gamers don’t think much of it either, as it would have some rather stupid ramifications for how they enjoy that lifestyle and consume its products. So it’s of note that Nintendo, Sony and Electronic Arts have taken their names off the latest list of supporters of the bill.
Business Insider points us to the official Senate Judiciary committee roundup of supporters and notes that, last time, Sony, Nintendo and EA were on this list. This time they aren’t. It’s not hard to guess why, given what happened to GoDaddy; it’s terrible PR in the sector that is most opposed to the bill and requires the most management, even on a good day.
Now, Sony still has three music divisions listed in support, and as Voodoo Extreme notes, it, Nintendo and EA are members of the Entertainment Software Association, and that organisation is still listed in support. So there’s still lobbying in support of this bill done on behalf of all three and you better believe they are very influential members of that organisation. My opinion is that one of the three, maybe, and two of them definitely, could get the ESA to drop its name. That is my opinion, though.
To make a record of it, yes, we’re aware that Anonymous has allegedly threatened Sony over this. Again, this is by definition a leaderless organisation, so anyone can make and upload a video threat in its name. Similar calls to action have been shot down by others within Anonymous in the past. So whether this comes to pass, no one can say, and no one can say if this is even a legitimate threat.
But it does speak, generally, for the anger against SOPA, and it’s not hard to see why Sony would pull its name — well, the names over its video game unit, anyway — from the bill in light of that. That’s not to say it, Nintendo of America and EA no longer support it, not with the ESA still aboard.
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