Rather than simply adjusting their ties and googling nice places to visit on a trip to Brussels while they wait for their meeting, the group have announced some more action they'll be taking to get their message out in the ling term. Two Stop Killing Games non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are going to be set up to cover Europe and the US.
Last week, YouTuber Ross Scott shared an update on the Stop Killing Games movement and its upcoming visit to the European Union Commission, which will see the campaign officially provide the over one million signatures of a citizens initiative as well as provide representatives an opportunity to talk with the Commission about the shutdown of […]
The Most Realistic Fishing Game I’ve Ever Played (Maybe Too Realistic)
So I decided to relax.
Booted up Fishing Planet, grabbed my rod, and prepared for a chill hour of digital fishing.
How many fish did I catch in 60 minutes?
Two.
Yes. Two.
And here’s the crazy part…
I upgraded to THREE fishing rods.
Still two fish.
From One Rod to Three (Still Pain)
I started simple. One rod. Peaceful vibes. Calm water.
Nothing.
So I thought — okay, maybe I need more lines in the water.
Two rods.
Still nothing.
Finally, I went full efficiency mode: three rods cast out, waiting for that satisfying bite sound.
After an hour?
Two fish.
At this point I couldn’t even be mad. It was honestly kind of impressive how realistic it felt. If you’ve ever fished in real life, you know sometimes you just sit there questioning your life choices.
Fishing Planet absolutely nailed that feeling.
Gaming News While Waiting for Fish
While staring at the water, I watched some gaming commentary.
I had an Asmongold video playing where he talked about Valve Corporation and Steam not bending to pressure over review moderation and censorship debates. Whether you agree or not, it sparked interesting discussion about user reviews and platform control.
I also checked out an update on Stop Killing Games, the initiative pushing for laws to prevent publishers from shutting down purchased games completely.
There are talks that the European Union may actually listen to the proposal. If that turns into legislation, it could seriously change how live-service games are handled in the future.
So while I wasn’t catching fish, at least I was catching gaming drama.
Is Fishing Planet Too Realistic?
Here’s the real question:
Do we want realism…
Or do we want fun?
Because if realism means one hour for two fish — mission accomplished.
But somehow, that struggle made it more memorable. When you finally do hook something, it actually feels earned.
I just wrapped up another fun hour in AvatarLife, the OpenSim alternative to Second Life, and I wanted to share what I got up to! My main goal today was to work on my massive platform floating 2000 meters in the sky, pretty cool, right? But as usual, I needed more stuff, so I went on a freebie hunt.
First stop was AvatarLife Mall, but sadly, no freebies there 😅. Not giving up, I headed to London Town – Camden, hoping for a better luck… but then I got distracted by Fish Coin!
Luckily, I did grab the Fish Coin Free Rod from the Welcome Area and finally decided to give fishing a try. It was super relaxing watching my avatar fish hile also tuning into Josh Strife-Hayes on YouTube talking about the Stop Killing Games initiative. I hear they were presenting it to the EU Parliament, fingers crossed it makes a difference!
Before ending the stream, I tried figuring out if I could exchange Fish Coins for AV$, but no luck finding info yet. Maybe next time I’ll dig into that.
Ross Scott, one of the greatest advocates for gamers' consumer rights, as well as one of the main proponents of the Stop Killing Games initiative, has shared loads of new information about the movement ahead of the organizers' meeting with the EU Commission on Feb. 23.
In a video posted on Feb. 19, Scott revealed information about the past half a year or so, commenting on all sorts of oddities, hiccups, and hitches he and the initiative's organizers have run into since starting to collect signatures. Scott said that the EU Commission seemed primed to run against the initiative in some older meetings because it believed that the initiative's push for more regulation did not overlap with its "deregulatory agenda."
On top of that, Scott says the Commission parroted talking points that could have originated from the industry itself, such as referring to games as "living, breathing things" that get constantly updated, which would explain why, without updates, they would cease to function. The organizers countered the point by saying that phones get updates also, but do not stop working once support has ended.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNVKqRDalLo
Ross said that the EU Commission leaked an article before deleting it immediately last summer, while the initiative was still collecting signatures. In the article, the Commission appeared to voice support for positions adjacent to the initiative, but only as a non-binding statement, which would prompt the industry to self-regulate instead of new legislation being drafted to enforce these rules.
Naturally, Scott voiced concerns over how the meeting will go with the EU Commission on Feb. 23, but based on what he spoke of, he doesn't seem to be convinced it'll be great.
Despite that, however, Scott also revealed that the initiative allegedly has majority support in the EU Parliament, which would be a major win for the movement. Even if it were to pass there, a lot of extra steps would need to be taken, but it would certainly be a significant step forward. In Poland, the organization has strong support from both the government and the opposition, with some other governing bodies also nominally supporting the movement.
Scott believes that Stop Killing Games is on the path to victory, no matter what happens, but that one path would be less painful than the other. He hopes that a new law will be drafted in the EU to protect gamers specifically from one malpractice, i.e., that of shutting games down indiscriminately and basically robbing players of their property (copies).
A new NGO is going to be founded to help lobby for the initiative in Europe, and a new USA-based NGO is also going to be propped up, hopefully to bring the fight to America as well.
If new legislation cannot be passed or introduced to existing frameworks, then Scott says only one thing remains: enforcing existing laws. This would turn the gaming industry into a hellscape, with lawsuits flooding every single court in every single EU member state because, as he explains, everything would have to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis in each individual country.
That would take an incredibly long time, but also potentially lead to harsher punishments and stricter rules than what the initiative's more lenient approach would require. If companies like Ubisoft or other EU-based gaming giants were found in violation of decades-old laws, then the consequences could be rather dire
Be it as it may, the initiative has a tremendous amount of support in the EU and among national governments. Whether the EU Commission itself becomes a hurdle remains to be seen, but it's almost certain that the initiative is only getting started on its path to reshaping global gamer rights.
