There are multiple purposes for the online check, one of which is to stem the outside occurrence of piracy.

They're "working on" these gestures? What they need to show me, if they want me to pay $100 over a PS4 for the required Kinect, is actual gesture implementations, in game-related situations (not just for getting around the OS interface), that justify paying that much for what is otherwise just a fancy tech brick. This…

What's the issue with online checking? If people are being honest, I think they'll admit that it doesn't have much to do with the nitty-gritty of connecting itself. Sure, peoples' power can go out. Their internet can be finnicky. Maybe they live somewhere that doesn't have solid broadband access. But I think those…

The difference is that Microsoft built a feature into their console that would allow publishers to hinder or control used sales, trades, etc. by linking a game to an account. The PS4 has no such thing. It'll be the same as it ever was, with publishers responsible for implementing any used game restrictions (like super…

This is exactly as things are in the current generation. What he's saying is that with any scheme currently in use (such as the much hated online pass) or any scheme that publishers could think up in the future, it will be on those publishers to implement it. The console itself is not going to have some tool…

I think the sticks are very nice. And of course, it helps that there are two of them.

I'm so glad that Sony has decided to leave the Eye as a true peripheral and not a mandatory add-on to the console. Microsoft is placing a huge bet that guaranteeing the Kinect's install base will drive developers to create compelling, meaningful motion control elements. First off, I don't think that's going to happen.…

Seriously, the region-locking of the 3DS is pretty much the only thing that has kept me from purchasing it. Got a Vita about 2 weeks ago, and have been extremely happy with it thus far. The Vita itself doesn't have a ton of killer titles yet, but the library of older games goes a long way toward making up for that.

I think that Sony's handling of the PS4 has been pretty stellar all-around, Microsoft flubbage or no. But you're right, Microsoft is really making it pretty easy for Sony to blow them out of the water here. Sony seems like a company that's coming to the table with just about what you'd expect from a new console…

I'm pointing out that there's a difference between social features that are directly linked to the gaming experience and those which are wholly external to the gaming experience. There's a pretty good reason why gamers may be excited about one and ambivalent about the other.

No, it's not a big deal. All I'm pointing out is that these social features on the PS4 aren't the same thing as Twitter or Facebook, and therefore don't warrant a response that is 100% equivalent to the introduction of a Twitter or Facebook app on the console.

Because these social features are about gaming. Who the fuck does Facebook or Twitter on their console?

I also live outside the US (though I am a US citizen), so I'm happy for Sony's continuation of the region-free model. It's just one more reason to at least get the PS4 first, if not have it as my exclusive next-gen console.

You don't know if the occurrence is "remote" or "hypothetical," so you have absolutely no basis to argue that the court will definitely not award moral damages.

Well, I'm sure Desilets can afford good legal representation, so I'm assuming they must believe they've at least got a shot at proving it. And I'm not a lawyer, I just play one on Kinja.

I don't think either of us knows whether the court can legally point to moral damages here. I think that's something that needs to be settled by the court. It's purely speculation, but if Desilets can prove that Ubisoft had malicious intent in what they did here (i.e. that they bought up his project and his contract…

The problem is—and again, we don't know what's guaranteed or not in these contracts, so it's all speculation on our part—you generally have to be terminated for a legitimate reason, even if the company pays you a severance package, or whatever. If you're not performing your work duties, they can fire you. If they have…

I think the moral damages component comes from the fact that Desilets's termination was the result of maliciousness on Ubisoft's part, born out of their prior rocky professional relationship and subsequent reunion after the THQ sell-off. He may want to argue that Ubisoft specifically went after his project in the…

None of us know the contents of these contracts, so we can't say anything for certain. But I think what's at issue here is that Desilets believes he was wrongly terminated. If Ubisoft bought his contract from THQ, then I'm pretty sure (btw, I'm not a lawyer and could totally be wrong about this) they are implicitly…

The only problem I see with this is that, since a controller is an optional peripheral that people will have to opt into, most developers are still going to develop games first with touch in mind and with a controller as an afterthought. This isn't to say that both control schemes couldn't be made to work perfectly…