Graphics card kingpin nVidia has joined the disappointingly small ranks of ESA members voicing public criticism of SOPA. The company said that, while it doesn't like piracy, it was not consulted when the trade organization it belonged to decided to support the controversial bill.
"nVidia wasn’t consulted by ESA in formulating their position on SOPA," announced Bob Sherbin. "Our position is this: we oppose piracy, as it hurts our game-developer partners. However, we do not support SOPA. We don’t believe it is the right solution to the problem. We remain committed to working to address this problem in a constructive and fair manner."
As with Epic, nVidia's statement does not exactly stop it supporting SOPA, not while it's still a member of the Entertainment Software Association. One can only hope these companies start pressuring the ESA to stop digging its damn heels in. Remaining aligned with SOPA in the face of consistent public opposition and simple common sense is starting to look vindictive.
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
8:00 AM on 01.13.2012 | 
"I'm still convinced most people don't know what SOPA is."
Clearly. I think someone should grab some of the nastier bits of the bill and post them for some of these dummies to have a look at. Some people don't seem to understand the wide range of negative effects this could have on the way the entire world enjoys the Internet.
I just said that it's easy for them, because piracy doesn't affect them.
And they don't like it? Why? The pirates need good graphics card too, it probably is good for their bussiness, because the money they save on games might go in to a better gaming rig.
But whatever. Who cares if people who don't sell their games dislike SOPA? They aren't victims of the pirates..
Oh well maybe they'll pay attention when Facebook isn't there.
For every PC game that has Nvidia's logo before the Title Screen, they get money when the game sells. Just because they don't make software doesn't mean they don't have a stake in the success of software sales.
You're a moron.
Kinda how like the Destructoid show is still a part of Revision 3, which still supports SOPA and still offers Destructoid-specific GoDaddy.com coupons?
Then again when the bill is most likely passed, because of how many big corporations support it, things will go even more south.
I still see them below AppJudgment.
GoDaddy pulled their support for SOPA last month, according to Ars Techica:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/12/victory-boycott-forces-godaddy-to-drop-its-support-for-sopa.ars
Am I imagining this? Just sayin' Keep the SOPA coverage coming.
I can't speak for Dtoid, but a lot of other domains have still stayed off GoDaddy even though they "switched" their stance, because their stance against SOPA seems disingenuous, only half a day after the boycott.
GoDaddy should have thought about the repercussions before supporting a bill that would screw over their customer base.
"Fighting online piracy is of the utmost importance, which is why Go Daddy has been working to help craft revisions to this legislation—but we can clearly do better,"
- GoDaddy's Warren Adelman
Who knows where (or who) GoDaddy will strike next.
I remember hearing that DToid is actually moving their domain to a new host over SOPA.
Anyway, I think game companies need to grow some fucking balls. They can talk the talk, but they are still with the fucking ESA, which openly supports SOPA. You know what Kaspersky Labs did? They left their fucking trade organization over SOPA. Why can't any of these guys who say they don't support SOPA do the same? Because they're a bunch of fucking sackless cowards.
Dtoid already moved off of GoDaddy in protest.
It's the Dtoid show that's still under Revision3.com/GoDaddy hosting, that Rammstein is referring to.
Meanwhile, the ESA explicitly claims to represent the companies in its membership. Rev 3 does not own this company, does not operate a club of which this company is a member and does not represent this company politically.
Don't worry Rammstein, I'll be keeping this post on the clipboard for every time you try and draw direct parallels between things that are different.
You can not support something and still work with someone who does. I don't have the same political leanings as Jonathan or Max just because I am on a podcast with them. But when a trade organization that legally represents you supports something, then you DO support it.
I can say that piracy probably hurts more a small developer than a large one, and the small one has the balls...
CNN, FOX, MSNBC, CBS, and ABC are all owned by mega-corporations that support SOPA. This is why you'll never hear a peep about it on any of the networks. The less the public knows about SOPA the better it is for those corporations who want the bill to pass.
Rammstein is a bit more radical than I am, as I never insinuated that a business relationship with GoDaddy instantly means "Pro-SOPA", but as you said, it's something I'd like Rev3 to stop, and it's a far cry from the extreme measures that Dtoid opposing SOPA with.
Ok buddy, whatever helps you sleep at night lol
I don't think that's even possible without committing some form of suicide.
Either way though, Jim's right. Still doesn't help all that much unless nVidia is willing to take a much larger stand. I really wish we'd see a bunch of companies leave the ESA over this and start their own thing.
Being correct is a good sleep aid, yes.
Even if Nvidia makes the better cards as long as they are with the ESA they still support it no matter what they say!