A statement from the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) is currently causing frustration and ridicule among gamers on Reddit. According to the statement, private servers are suddenly illegal.
As part of the debate surroundingStop Killing Games
(which is actually an issue concerning the preservation and protection of games as cultural heritage),the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has rubbed many gamers the wrong wayand is facing a barrage of criticism on Reddit. The reason is a statement made before a California Senate committee, which you canin this video clipin English.
Specifically, the goal was to enact a new law in the long term. In response to the “Stop Killing Games” initiative, this law would require publishers to preserve games in some form. The aim is to ensure permanent—or at least long-term—access to them, even if they are no longer officially developed or supported.
This primarily affects online games that are at risk of potential server shutdowns,as was the case with E The CrewE , for example.
In response to an inquiry, a spokesperson for the lobbying association—which represents the interests of many well-known developers and publishers—confirmed during the session that private community servers, such as those currently popular for games like Minecraft or Call of Duty, are, in their view, illegal.
Private servers are the same as pirated copies
A statement the organization continues to stand by. BecauseIn a statement to PC Gamer, officials have once again confirmed this,even though the remark had previously met with a great deal of criticism and confusion:
Private servers infringe on the intellectual property (IP) rights of game publishers. Game publishers reserve the right to enforce their rights against these servers.
Furthermore, private servers do not meet the providers’ official security standards, meaning playerscannot place the same level of trust in them. During the session, private servers had previously been suggested as a potential way to preserve online games in the long term, but the ESA does not consider this a viable solution.
They even go so far as to equate private servers with game piracy and intend to take legal action against them. Regardless, the draft bill failed to advance to the next round due to a lack of a majority vote, but is set to be given another chance.
If you play on a private server or even own one, you don’t need to worry. Contrary to the ESA’s opinion , they (currently) do not violate any laws and should not be equated with private servers that are deliberately used for illegal activities (such as playing subscription-based MMOs like WoW without paying for them).
The “Stop Killing Games” campaignsharply criticized the statement on Reddit in a press release and emphasized,that people are using fear instead of facts to thwart efforts in the publishers’ interest
.
Turn off your brain, turn on the money
: This is how the community is reacting
On Reddit, many players share this view andexpress outrage over the accusation that private servers are illegal.A post, which also references the PC Gamer article, received around 2,400 upvotes and over 150 comments:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/1uk1v6l/esa_doubled_down_on_community_servers_being/? embed_host_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamestar.de%2Fartikel%2Fstop-killing-games-private-server-illegal-diskussion%2C3455623.html
User Manaeais simply statingthe obvious
that many players have on their minds:
How is this supposed to work at all if Mojang itself provides us with the necessary tools to create a private server in the first place?
If private servers were truly illegal and simply a form of piracy, the developer would be shooting itself in the foot.The permission to create your own servers is even enshrined in the Minecraft EULA.
The comments below clearly agree with this criticism. For example, Thendericksaid somewhat mockingly:Shut up, brain—corporate money is speaking.
and magistrate101Adds a more objective perspective:They are acting in bad faith. They know exactly what they’re doing
.
Most comments agree that this cannot be a misunderstanding, but rather a deliberate and targeted interpretation intended to absolve the publishers of responsibility.Many comments on this Reddit postalso address this issue. However, not everyone accuses the ESA of sinister intentions. For example, Abbiegator notes, for example, that herethings might be lumped together—perhaps by mistake—:
I think the speaker is confusing private servers in Minecraft with those in World of Warcraft. It all makes sense with Minecraft, but it’s illegal in World of Warcraft. I don’t think the speaker understands the difference.
After all, when you’re deeply immersed in gaming yourself, it’s easy to forget that the usual circumstances and processes can seem confusing to outsiders. Still, initial ignorance shouldn’t, of course, excuse one from conducting thorough research.
Either way, Stop Killing Games isn’t ready to give up just yet and will continue to fight for the preservation of games as part of the movement—on private servers or elsewhere.
What’s your take on this? Do you think online games should be preserved in some form permanently, or at least for a long time after they’re shut down, and do you perhaps even have ideas on how that could be achieved? Let us know in the comments!
