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Top 5: Get Up, Stand Up
Coming off perhaps the longest election of all eternity, one aspect that stands out for me is the relentless demand for voting. Particularly for young people, the act of voting transcended the realm of obligation and became more of a societal requirement. 2004's "Vote or Die" campaign resurrected itself as "Don't Vote": a series of videos where celebrities tell us to be apathetic about voting ... and then hit us with a psych! You just got sarcasm'd! In reality, the "Don't Vote" videos are giving the viewer a wink which nonverbally says "we're messin' around; go vote, you moron!" Inarguably, such campaigns have been successful. The youth turnout was very large in 2004 and even larger this year. 24 million of them, in fact, aged 18 to 29 showed up, which is an increase of 2.2 million from 2004. While it's great to see participation in our political process, one wonders about the old newspaper to voting question, which goes something like this: "About half the population vote and about half read the newspaper. Let's hope it's the same half." Indeed, I question who is the better person: an uninformed voter, or an informed abstainer. On the other hand, perhaps pressuring us into the voting booth is justified: by voting for or against a candidate, we're investing ourselves in those individuals. Thus, we follow their progress and learn as we go. Whether the ends justify the means is for someone wiser than me to decide. Which leads me to gaming. Gaming is both entertainment and an art-form. It's evolved from an experiment by college researchers to a hobby for electronic enthusiasts to a distraction for bar patrons to a culture for children before finally reaching its final stage of metamorphosis: a global juggernaut larger than film and music which appeals to an incredibly diverse group of folks. And as it becomes more relevant in our society, those of us who follow it closely should feel a responsibility to stay informed and take action when appropriate and/or necessary. Last week I presented a list of items that divides gamers. Here's the Top 5 issues that should leave you standing shoulder to shoulder with your gaming comrades. NEXT >> #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
Spore will allow more than one user per account
Even after the initial buzz has faded, Spore's DRM issues live on. One problem was the inability to have multiple accounts for the game, despite the the manual saying otherwise. EA Producer Lucy Bradshaw writes on the game's official forum, called the Sporum, that users will still have one account, but they'll be able to add five Spore screen names to that account.These screen names will have separate entries in the Sporepedia, along with their own buddy lists and achievements. It's good to see Maxis and EA loosening its iron grip a little. Moments like this seem appropriate for quoting Princess Leia: "The more you tighten your grip ... the more star systems will slip through your fingers."[Via Big Download]
Joystiq talks DRM with Microsoft
With the new DRM tool finally available on Xbox.com, we're sure that everyone has plenty of questions. Thankfully, Joystiq has the answers you need. What can you transfer? How many consoles can you transfer to and from? And then there are questions you may not have though about like: can you sell your licenses to someone else? What about moving licenses to the next Xbox. Head over to Joystiq for their Q&A with Marc Whitten, general manager of Xbox Live.
See how the Xbox DRM tool works, in photos and video
click to enlarge Curious how Microsoft's now available Xbox Live DRM tool works, but don't want to futz through it on your own? Well, we've got two solutions: first, sift through our gallery of the service's various screens by clicking on the above image; second, have the affable Major Nelson hold your hand through the entire thing, in video format after the break. Two great tastes that taste great (or at least show you how to fix DRM-isses on a video game console) together. %Gallery-26236%
Exclusive Q&A with Marc Whitten on Microsoft DRM tool
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/xbox/Exclusive_Q_A_with_Marc_Whitten_on_Microsoft_DRM_tool'; Maybe it was our constant pestering, week after week, month after month, asking everyone at Microsoft what was going on with the DRM situation on Xbox Live – read: some consoles which had been repaired or replaced had lost the ability to play certain XBLA games or view some Xbox Live video content without being signed into Xbox Live – but sometime after announcing the pending release of the DRM tool, we were given the opportunity to speak with Microsoft's Marc Whitten, general manager of Xbox Live, about some of the outstanding questions we had. Anything we missed? Leave your own questions in the comments and we'll try and get the best ones answered. Joystiq: What took so long? And how long has Microsoft been cognizant of the problem and did the RRoD situation exacerbate this situation?Marc Whitten: This update is in response to the requests for this from our community. Xbox LIVE members have been asking for an easier way to transfer licenses, and we've been working hard behind the scenes to make this happen. We know the license transfer process has been difficult... I experienced it first hand when I upgraded to an Xbox 360 Elite, but we think this new DRM tool will be great and worth the wait. How does the tool work? Can we reauthorize content from console to console, or enable on multiple consoles (ala PS3)? If so, how many consoles?The process is really easy. The Xbox.com DRM tool lets you consolidate all of your downloaded content licenses to one console. So let's say you downloaded UNO from Xbox LIVE Marketplace and an episode of South Park from the Video Store on your Xbox 360, and then upgraded to an Elite down the line and downloaded more games and videos on the new console. In this scenario your content would be licensed to two consoles, and by using the DRM tool you could then download your older content licenses to your new console. With this tool you can transfer licenses from multiple consoles to a single console.
Fix your XBLA DRM mess! Microsoft DRM tool now available
In lieu of your regularly scheduled "Spring" Dashboard update, Microsoft promised to release a DRM tool that would "allow you to better consolidate your licenses for downloaded content to a single Xbox and allow you the freedom to be able to play your content both online and offline." In other words, this is for the sad saps whose Xbox 360 red-ringed, only to have it returned with Xbox Live Arcade titles that required you to be signed into Live to play. Now instead of jumping through a series of customer-service related hoops, this new tool – available immediately at Xbox.com – will allow you to quickly manage that content. If you're looking for some more info on how the DRM tool works, check out our exclusive Q&A with Microsoft's Marc Whitten, general manager of Xbox Live.
