Gone to America

Before I begin I’d like to just ask anyone who has been kind enough to have a link to me on their page if they could please update it to point to www.anthonylitton.com. I’m not entirely sure how long anthonyemigration.net will hold out. I’m changing my domain registrar at the moment and it may be a bumpy ride.

I haven’t posted for a while. Hey, I’ve been busy. A lot of my time has been spent in R*, and a lot more spent in R* related activities. Which is to say, MC3:DE was released last week, and I got a free copy even though I didn’t actually work on it. Ah, the joys of working for a games company. I first played it about a month ago, but it wasn’t quite finished. I have become quite addicted. Soon they will release a version for PSP which I hope I will also get for free, and shortly after that the holy grail of forthcoming PSP titles. I actually have done some work on that, so my free copy should it be forthcoming will have been deserved.

I’m also playing Fable which I borrowed from Sean, a friend of Eby’s. So, ethically, if I borrow it and complete it and give it back, I’m not guilty of piracy, am I? I have exactly the same experience that I would get if I paid for it (I never play through RPG games twice) at no cost to me, and therefore no profit for the manufacturer. But it’s ok as long as while I have the physical DVD Sean doesn’t, and then when I give it back to him I no longer have it. Just like borrowing a book.

One of my favourite things to do with my PSP is watch TV. It’s better than playing games in some ways. Partly because I only have two games, but mostly because it’s perfect for the commute. It takes two hands to play a game, but I can hold it in one hand to watch a TV show. This handily frees up the other for holding onto poles and preventing unsightly falling on a moving train. Games are great when you can get a seat.

I missed the US version of The Office last night, choosing instead to watch House. I downloaded it today using BitTorrent and I’ll watch it tomorrow on the way to the city. This is highly illegal. Ethically, it doesn’t really bother me. I could just as easily have watched it last night, or taped it. I’m paying for cable, albeit indirectly (it’s included in my rent), which includes watching rights. They didn’t fail to make any money off me because I downloaded it rather than watch it while it was being broadcast.

Actually, I suppose they did. They certainly make more money from advertising than from cable subscriptions, and if I don’t watch the ads it makes the time harder to sell. But there’s nothing in the contract about watching ads. I could flip around, read a book. I could tape it and fast forward while averting my eyes. And what about the BBC? They don’t have ads. They make money from license fees and cable subscriptions. BBC America is included with my cable. Does this mean it’s ok for me to download Dr. Who, even though it’s not being shown here yet? I’d hate it if I had to stop, particularly after last weeks cliffhanger.

But who am I kidding? I’m not going to stop. It’s too easy, and I feel way too little guilt. It’s not like downloading music, where the record company demonstrably loses a sale, or a movie, where the distributor sells less popcorn. It seems technology has made it possible for people to have access to the content they want the way they want it, and unfortunately there’s no business model yet. Somebody needs a Big Idea.

Product placement is a good one. It’s a revenue stream independent of popcorn sales or cable subscriptions. Even if people aren’t going to the theatres, buying the DVDs or watching the ads they can’t avoid seeing the product placement, so theoretically the film/TV companies could charge commensurate with the number of people that actually see the film rather than just pay to see the film.

Of course, it doesn’t really work for period films. Maybe they just won’t be made any more. Oh, they’re mostly fairly dull anyway. For people who are worried about art, well, most films are made for profit not art and always have been. The kind of films that are made strictly for art aren’t effected that badly by piracy to begin with because nobody really wants to watch them.

Anyway, I don’t have an answer. It’s just been on my mind recently what with all this shady tv watching I’ve been doing.