Posted Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 08:30 AM PST by Dick Ward
The people behind E3 and dedicated to helping game companies have finally pulled their SOPA support, just after the bill's sponsor did.
Most political issues are pretty contentious but SOPA seems to be reviled by most of the internet. The unpopular proposition that would allow government control of the internet - or at least specific websites - was essentially shut down on Friday. For all intents and purposes, SOPA and PIPA are dead.
Lamar Smith, who sponsored the bill in the first place, pulled his support Friday morning and said that he sees now that a new approach is needed. With both SOPA and PIPA on the shelf, there's not much more to do than look forward to the new bills being worked up. Well, unless you're the ESA.
The Entertainment Software Association, which has strongly supported SOPA since its inception, pulled its support after Smith did. Considering that no game developers or publishers supported SOPA and many railed out against it, it's surprising that the ESA took so long to make a change. Nothing like changing sides of a battle just before a winner is declared.
Then again, maybe the ESA did finally see the light in the wake of rising efforts to boycott E3, the industry's biggest trade show.
Source: GameSpot
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