Accursed Farms

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I'm glad Ross made a good video to round out the year, but I'm even more excited for the next episode of Freeman's Mind. As a reminder, we are still in Ravenholm, with the last episode being aired on October 2023(so if he releases the next one in the coming weeks/months it will be about 2 and a half years between episodes) and we entered Ravenholm on May 2022, which adds another year/year and a half to the total time. Yeah, I would say Ross has to at least attempt some sort of release schedule if he's serious about finishing Freeman's Mind, it went fine for him when he vowed to finish up Xen by the end of 2014. Speaking of which, Freeman's Mind 2 started on April Fools 2017, meaning we're almost nearing the tenth anniversary of the series. Feeling old yet?
 
Hooked on phobics said:
I just want a damn "follow up" episode. God knows theres more than enough to cover for it. I like them since they are kinda tirades into just anything.
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Good news, via his latest blogpost he says FM2 is up next, and then there is going to be a Game Dungeon followup episode. He probably had a whole bunch of stuff in the pipeline, but SKG took up all his time.
 
30+GameOvers said:
Good news, via his latest blogpost he says FM2 is up next, and then there is going to be a Game Dungeon followup episode. He probably had a whole bunch of stuff in the pipeline, but SKG took up all his time.
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I remember his mentioning a followup episode was up next in I think the Sabotain episode, but then there was all of the SKG stuff over the summer (eat shit, Mald), and by the time that was over, Halloween and Christmas were just around the corner, so he had to postpone while he did his usual holiday episodes. Kind of funny that he still does Christmas episodes when he's given up even trying to fit a Christmas theme, but whatever. At any rate, now that all that's done, it's good to see he's back on track with his usual stuff.
 
I'm hoping that Ross devotes more time to FM this year than GD to be honest, last 4 or so GD episodes were substantially weaker than his usual offering whereas with FM2 it feels like he's finally found his footing with Ravenholm.
 
Lithos said:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=TGSBpYf3reA:28
Well, here we go. 1.3 million verified signatures. It goes on to Brussels.
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For reference, the initiative got just over 1.4 million signatures, so almost 93% of signatures were valid. Ross was definitely right to keep pushing for more signatures after hitting the goal, but it's great that they still managed almost 300k more valid signatures on top of that.

Once again, eat shit, Mald.
 
We’re gonna win so much, you may even get tired of winning. And you’ll say, ‘Please, please. It’s too much winning. We can’t take it anymore, Mr. freeman, it’s too much.
 
Pierre D'Olnique said:
Fresh off the press.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=CNVKqRDalLoThere's lots of talk of "winning".
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For those that can't watch or want to read:

Ran it through NotebookLM after watching it, this summary took a little bit of prompting, but is accurate enough:

Based on the source provided, here is a highly detailed, point-by-point summary of the updates regarding the "Stop Killing Games" campaign:

Strategic Shift and Confidence​

  • Move to Politics: The campaign has transitioned from seeking general internet attention to political maneuvering and influencing regulators behind the scenes.
  • Confidence in Victory: The creator believes they will win because the law is already on their side. Even if several current paths (like the Citizens Initiative) fail, they have multiple other avenues in play.
  • Professionalization: The campaign has evolved from an "amateur effort" into a movement supported by competent experts and political insiders.

The EU Commission and "Digital Fairness"​

  • Upcoming Meeting: A critical meeting with the EU Commission is approaching, but the vibe from previous interactions has been mixed.
  • Industry Talking Points: In an October meeting, the Commission repeated industry lines, calling games "living, breathing things" because of updates.
  • The "Teenage Developer" Rebuttal: The Commission worried that new regulations would discourage teenagers making games in their bedrooms. The creator countered this using Nelson Sexton, who created the live-service game Unturned at age 16. The game had 24 million players and, crucially, included private server support from the start—proving that billion-dollar companies have no excuse if a 16-year-old could do it in 2014.
  • Record Public Engagement: A major highlight is that the campaign set a record for the number of public comments (4000+) received on a pending EU act regarding the "Digital Fairness Act".
  • Deregulatory Agenda: Despite the campaign’s alignment with the goals of the Digital Fairness Act, the Commission stated they are currently pursuing a "deregulatory agenda," which presents a hurdle for new rules.

The "Ready Player EU" Leak​

  • The Deleted Statement: On July 10, 2023, the Commission briefly released a statement titled "Ready Player EU" but deleted it within 24 hours. A Euractive reporter saw it and described it as a "token gesture" involving a non-binding communication planned for 2026.
  • Failure of Self-Regulation: The creator argues that the industry has already had 13 years to self-regulate (dating back to the 2013 shutdown of BattleForge). The results show a failure: only 4% to 6.5% of games remain playable after support ends.
  • Recent Example: Anthem (EA) was permanently disabled last month after selling 5 million copies, with no refunds provided to customers.

The Formation of NGOs​

  • European NGO: Launching to provide long-term counter-lobbying and act as a watchdog for future game shutdowns.
  • United States NGO: A second NGO has launched in the US with secured funding. It is already working on drafting legislation in multiple states, and leader Moritz Katzner has traveled to D.C. to start the process.
  • Global Reach: The NGOs aim to apply pressure in Australia (escalating ACCC complaints), Brazil (potential lawsuits), and across the EU.

Legal and Regional Details​

  • Parliamentary Support: The campaign reportedly has majority support in the EU Parliament to bring the issue to the floor.
  • Expert Legal Opinion: Dr. Alberto Hidalgo Serezo, who wrote a 500-page PhD thesis on the subject, argues that disabling games is already unlawful under Directive 2019/770. He asserts that the sale of a game is a transfer of property and contracts cannot be left solely to the discretion of one party.
  • Regional Updates:
    • Poland: Strong cross-party support from both the government and the major opposition party.
    • France: The DGCCRF is currently examining the issue regarding Ubisoft’s shutdown of The Crew.
    • United Kingdom: The petition was declined. The creator considers the UK "probably cooked" due to weaker consumer laws, though a "long-shot" secret angle is mentioned.
    • Australia: Complaints about The Crew have been escalated internally by the ACCC.

Minor and Side Matters​

  • Lobby Group Silence: The lobby group Video Games Europe claimed seven months ago they wanted to discuss the issue with campaign leaders but has never contacted them.
  • Economic Irony: The industry is likely spending millions on lobbyists to fight this, while implementing basic end-of-life plans would only cost thousands ("peanuts").
  • The "Magic 8-Ball" Agencies: Volunteers reporting the shutdown of The Crew received chaotic, contradictory answers from consumer agencies—sometimes different answers on the same day—showing a total lack of regulatory clarity.
  • Retroactive Risk: If the campaign wins via court cases rather than new law, the outcome could be harsher for the industry because court rulings on existing law can be retroactive, whereas new regulations are not.
Edit because I remember Null using his X advertising money for a campaign in Polish:

Per Ross from Accursed Farms, as summarized by NotebookLM:
The situation in Poland represents one of the more positive national-level developments for the "Stop Killing Games" campaign. While much of the movement's focus remains on the European Commission and Parliament, the organizers have made significant progress in establishing a political foothold within individual member states, with Poland standing out as a key ally.

The following points summarize the Polish aspect of the campaign:

  • Government Support: The campaign organizers have been in direct contact with the Polish government, which has been described as "very supportive" of the initiative's goals.
  • Cross-Party Consensus: One of the most notable details is that this support is not limited to the current administration. The major opposition party in Poland is also backing the movement. This indicates a rare cross-party consensus on the issue of protecting consumers from the deliberate destruction of video games by publishers.
  • Momentum Building: This unified political stance in Poland is cited as a sign that the movement is building momentum and that the legal arguments regarding game destruction are resonating at the national legislative level.
By securing support from both the governing bodies and the opposition in Poland, the campaign has created a stable political environment there that contrasts sharply with other regions, such as the United Kingdom, where similar efforts were declined by Parliament. This regional support serves as a backup and a source of pressure as the campaign continues its broader negotiations with the European Commission.
 
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I'm happy for Ross and SKG, but I will be even happier when he finally gets back to making his usual content. Still, mad respect for not just talking about the issue but genuinely making real political change happen.
 
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https://www.twitch.tv/stopkillinggames_official
There's supposed to be a livestream later in the day. Not sure what about yet.
 
wtfNeedSignUp said:
Strap in sonny, we're about to save gaming.

And unlike Sargon, Ross has a chance to actually pull it off.
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I'm on board with the project but I'm not that optimistic to be honest. I mean the golden grail would be what that Epic MOBA game Paragon did, which is release models and textures and all sorts of stuff to the open source domain(or at least the UE asset market, I'm not 100% sure) and while that game got at least three fan revival projects only one(Predecessor)'s really hanging on with a 1.5k player count and the game is largely forgotten outside an FPS roguelite called Bullets Per Minute that used models from Paragon.

I'm rambling but the point being yeah we can keep games alive but it's not like everyone who yearns for a game's return will actually play said return assuming it's a flawed but functional revival of a game(Tribes Ascend's community server launcher or that one largely forgotten Gigantic revival). The games benefiting from this I doubt would be enough to "save" gaming.
I'll take my puzzle pieces now.
 
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