In-Game - Members of the gaming press are calling for a boycott of E3

ScrewAttack.com

The opening line to ScrewAttack's call for banning E3.

By Matthew Hawkins

Most people reading this?are well aware of?the self-imposed blackout? taking place across the Web. Various outlets for information and congregation chose to go offline for 24 hours Wednesday, in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, as well as the recently introduced Protect IP Act, or PIPA. One group of opposing voices have been gamers, and their causes have been fueled primarily by video game news outlets.

For the past several weeks, almost all of the major gaming blogs, as well as plenty of smaller guys, urged their audience to contact their favorite game publishers, who are in support of the legislation, mostly by listing contact info. The primary target of the protests however has been the Entertainment Software Association, which represents the interests of game makers on the behalf of lawmakers and like parties.

The efforts of disgruntled game players seem to have paid off in certain instances, with various high profile publishers and developers withdrawing their support publicly. Though in the case of Sony, some would argue that their change in attitude was mostly motivated by threats of renewed attacks by the Internet hacking cabal known as Anonymous, which took the PlayStation Network down early last year.

But in each instance, these victories were considered hollow since each company withdrawing support for SOPA is still a member of the ESA.?Which is why last night, the gaming website ScrewAttack posted the following the video, which proposes another grassroots initiative, this time involved the Electronic Entertainment Expo:

As the video points out, not only is the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, gaming industry's biggest event, but the ESA's biggest money maker, since it organizes the show. And instead of just going after game publishers who support the group, ScrewAttack and its supporters (which along with other websites, includes a game maker) are asking gamers to appeal to their favorite journalists and news outlets to join in on the ban.

Reaction among other journalists are mixed, and their sentiment is echoed with how they are conducting business today. Several sites, including Kotaku and Joystiq are still operational, despite expectations that they'd be joining the blackout. Many readers voiced disappointment, which in turn has led to the aforementioned sites to clairify their stances. As JC Fletcher, Joystiq's Managing Editor explains: "As journalists, we feel that the best thing we can do is to continue reporting, rather than to go silent."

It also needs to be remembered that these outlets, and many others,?are a primary reason why there has been as much education regarding SOPA in the first place.

More SOPA related stories:

Be sure to check out In-Game on Facebook, and follow Matthew Hawkins on Twitter, who is also vehemently opposed to SOPA.

Source: http://ingame.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/18/10182772-members-of-the-gaming-press-are-calling-for-a-boycott-of-e3

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