Capcom’s Christian Svensson Responds to Anti-Streaming Bill

On the Ask Capcom forums over at Capcom-Unity, Corporate Officer/Senior Vice-President Christian Svensson responded to concerns about the anti-streaming bill talked about in UltraDavid’s “Tolling the Stream” article. Overall, he thinks that there isn’t much cause for concern, even if the bill should pass.

The reality is, historically we have been helped by these activities (e.g. Evo streaming) and on some occasions we have been hurt by these things (MvC3 Galactus and other video leaks, AE video leaks, etc.).

There is no question there is an ownership and copywrite issue in these cases, though I’m not terribly sure legal action is in our best interests in most cases unless we have to do so to demonstrate continued protection of the IP ownership.

That said, if this legislation comes to pass I’m sure we’ll figure out ways to support folks whose efforts and intentions have historically been helpful. Our community team will likely take center stage in facilitating those activities.

And as you know, we’ve got games releasing soon that enable Youtube uploads directly from in-game… in the future I hope to have games that out of the gate enable streaming. Obviously we’ll have click through licenses to allow for those uses as facilitated by those products.

What’s more, I don’t believe the government is likely to take proactive action on criminal merits without the prompting of an IP holder to initiate the probe. They just don’t have the budget or bandwidth to police that.

In short, I don’t forsee this being a major issue for most organizations today.

[tip from Liana C]

Diemme

As expected. Capcom is amazing, with the amount of fan service in their games.
Abbel

Hes basically saying its not worth the time and effort to seek out individuals and prosecute them, both from capcom and the government. But its not out of the picture if the video in question is a leak of some sort.
- ahdonye
  
  I think simply because there is a lack of funds that the government will go after us just to collect fines.
  - BillyBones
    
    If you roll through a stop sign on main street they can make money because 90% of people will just pay the fine and enforcement is easier. One cop sits behind a bush and writes 30 tickets to people who don’t stop properly.
    
    Enforcement here cost a LOT more: finding you, gathering evidence on you, prosecuting you, etc. That’s a lot of man hours and a lot of paperwork. If they are going to go through all that they want to put someone in jail and get a good headline about it. You aren’t worth their time.
    - GM Dak
      
      Just because it’s “not worth their time” to prosecute, doesn’t mean this law should be passed, or we shouldn’t try to stop it. If they make something illegal that our community revolves around to survive, we shouldn’t just hope they don’t enforce the law.
      
      As a hyperbolic example: “We’re just going to make Jews wear these arm bands, just put them on to avoid a ticket, don’t worry, we won’t take it any further…”
DeathReaper47

The last part is what caught my eye, in that Capcom would have to actually step in and try to shut shit down, something they don’t do because how streaming actually helps their business, and they openly support it.

Still, don’t want this crappy law to be passed :/
Athrex

You are still playing with fire. How many times have we seen people arrested and prosecuted because someone feels like exploiting some obscure law. We shouldn’t just shrug our shoulders and let this pass.
zherow

Hopefully, this bill gets filibustered and everyone thanks their lucky stars; if not, the FGC is about to hit a nasty snag
And thus, it begins…
http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-6-most-ominous-trends-in-video-games/
- Travis Epic
  
  LOL I posted this on my Facebook awhile back.
- ironboy89
  
  I don’t like that article.
Pimp Willy

Sorry capcom, the AE leaks didn’t hurt you guys at all, and since you claim it did, you will at some point in the future use this law to crack down on your loyal fans. You, nor anybody else, needs this tool to protect your IP.
- thejohnsonrock
  
  you speak as if you know Pimp Willy, for whatever marketing intentions they may have had or projected, those leaks may have hindered them and could have affected their bottom line profits in a negative way even if the games in question did well, possibly hindering future marketing plans. the point is that Svenson is saying to keep calm when it comes to capcom properties and this bill since they have our back. he, seth killian and their respective teams have proved this even in the face of vicious leaks, high criticism of their products and disrespectful spouts just like the one you typed out above. if you’re saying you don’t believe him on all fronts then it’s your prerogative, but it’s also mine to call it out as garbage since there’s a reply button right by it.
Shidosha

Translation: “Spooky you can stream shit, but YOU BETTER STOP LEAKING SHIT!”
Ellipsen

Basically said, “Hey dont worry about it you guys”
Goatbot

Streaming straight from console is something Ive seen coming for a while but now Im beginning to wonder if its really efficient for games to do that. Definitely pretty cool but Im not exactly sure people would use it for tournaments that much because you wouldnt have the camera shots and the commentary necessarily. I think replays works very well because its on demand viewing so good matches youre bound to come across but streams can be very hit or miss. Ive seen a bunch of streams with awful play or just a view of the endless battle lobby with just the streamer in it for an hour. I think Id like to see in game replay and replay editing in FG games, like Skate did, before onboard streaming comes along.
- thejohnsonrock
  
  i hear u goatBot, i dunno if it’d be efficient but trendsetting rarely is on the first build. as time progresses, all the things we come to expect from captured video are going to look better, and for real the world’s been spoiled with more and more highspeed internet, cloud storage and processors that keep upping the ante each iteration. in 2- 3 years, this may just be the standard.
  
  also i for one will have evidence about MANY a ragequit scrub on my youtube once this happens so i kind of can’t wait.
Travis Epic

If its a law then anyone that complains enough can get you in trouble. If someone is ill-educated and thinks that a Tournament is a bother to the neighbor hood or if a parent catches their kid watching MK or something that don’t want them to then I could see them making enough noise to get an eye or two looking in that direction. Look at skateboarding it use to be similar to bike riding or roller skating but it got a bad rap because people didn’t understand and now every where you see “No Skateboards” soon you’ll see places with “No Streaming” signs.

No hate or anything but sometimes when I’m watching streams I have to put my headphones on so that my children don’t hear the language. I use fowl language myself but I still want to teach my children that its not always acceptable. So I could see some parents going over board and petitioning against streams if they think the community is exposing their child to something they shouldn’t see/hear.
NickGuy0320

i hope this passes and more people actually go to tournaments
- PurpleLemonadeGGPO
  
  it’ll pass and less people will go to tournaments
  - Goatbot
    
    I agree with Purple. To an extent I think streams have actually drawn more attention to these tournaments and people do want to go to them when they see a stream now, especially when they see the well run streams like Spookys which do a great job capturing the atmosphere at these events. It does make you wish you were there.
- ahdonye
  
  I disagree. Through streams ads can be sold and needed money brought into the scene. Without cashflow the scene will not grow.
The 4th Letter

Basically he means when the government shuts down Team Spookys website and confiscates all of his equipment Capcom is going to act like “hey we didn’t want that… it was the government not us”

This is the exact same scenario as whats going on w/ the music industry and the blog sites.

Won’t end well. Trust me.
UltraDavid

Thanks for the response, Christian.
akumous

This bill shouldn’t be passed or any bill of that nature until the net has matured and the proper people that are educated in tech and internet are in government. If this bill is passed, which I hope it doesn’t, it may not be a problem today but it will be a huge problem tomorrow. That’s why the bills that being processed through government are so broad and open ended with loop holes because no one knows how to proper managed this digital era. It is still growing and even we who are encompassed by it don’t know where it is going. However, only a few things we know are for certain, cable is going to die; online media streaming, regardless of content, is the future; and wireless or wifi will replaced wired connections.
rtdzign

Why are they even wasting taxpayer money and time working on this bill? I think they need to concentrate on fixing the economy and making jobs.
- Goatbot
  
  Because the area where this bill is being blindly fired at rather than properly focused is on those people who stream movies, tv and music from their channels meaning that the people who take the time and effort to make these things dont get the money. Its piracy which ultimately will lead to production budgets being cut and so less productions being made and less jobs available so probably more people who cant afford to pay for these things and watch them on streams instead. Its a downward spiral caused by piracy. I think the intentions of the bill are good but the problem is that, as I said before, it is a blind fire in the general direction with a lack of research, definition and understanding of the different types of media and how streaming affects each one. Clearly theres a difference between interactive media like gaming and run time media such as films and tv which produce very different results and so result in very different attitudes. You see a film on a stream and you say “Ok seen that. Dont need to buy it” but you see a game on a stream and you say “HOOOOLLLYYY Crumpets!!! I AM BUYING THIS GAME BECAUSE I WANT TO DO THAT STUFF!” but the people behind this bill have dont understand the difference between interactive and run time so have just swiped their arm across the table and knocked every piece to the floor whether its right or not.
lunarhostility

FGC getting political all of a sudden is lulz. Ultradavid is very bright and well informed and his analysis was much appreciated, but let’s be honest guys: this bill is designed to go after streaming movies, TV shows, and prereleased music, not videogame streams. If you really think the government is going to create problems for Sp00ky, you’re simply not thinking about how this is likely to play out in reality and/or being overly paranoid.
- akumous
  
  I can’t say about government but companies will. Profit centric companies will certainly capitalized on this bill and they will snatch every dollar possible. As for Capcom, Capcom today might not care but they will be tomorrow. Once this scene becomes massive, Capcom will intervene and devised their own streaming program…they’ll benefit by many means, such as revenue from marketers wanting to put content on their site.
  
  EA is another example….they have a similar online retail store as Steam has and they want to make successful and the center of all digital mediums. They pulled off Crysis 2 and other related Crysis content from Steam, redirecting the traffic to their site.
  
  This not only affect’s this community’s future as far as streaming SF content goes but other games as well – SC2, COD, and so on – and it is also bad for all of us as a whole.
Halbard100

I would hope that if a piece of media would provide the means to distribute recordings of itself, that would completely undermine the bill and prevent criminal prosecution. That seems like it would be like giving someone a candy bar then having them arrested for theft.
Archer V2.0

OH NO

NOT GALACTUS LEAKING

THAT REALLY HURT SALES MAAAAAAAN

This guy is full of shit and should be hanged.
- MrSoada
  
  Think about what you said for another 10 seconds and tell me why your post was stupid.
  - Archer V2.0
    
    is this where I pretend to give a fuck about your shitty trolling?
    - b3nz0r
      
      pot to kettle: you are black
Xpert565

Though I think this law they are trying to pass is pretty shitty and hope it doesn’t pass it is reassuring to know that Capcom would actively support the people that stream if it ever came down to it.
freija

heres how to stop leaks: get loyal employees, or better security. other than that there’s no reason
shaktazuki

Capcom shows they have either missed the big picture or are in cahoots with the recording industries in supporting the passage of the bill. All it takes is a career-minded lawyer with his snout buried in the public trough and a little time on his hands to begin action against streamers even if the companies whose products are featured don’t complain. They’re easy targets, and convictions move one up the ladder.

Bad days ahead, folks. Take off the rose-colored blinders.
Last Dragon

Capcom’s got so serious issues, but they’re cool people.
randomjohn

Just like I thought, Capcom is not going to prevent / charge people to market their games for them. If money was to be involved, streamers like Spooky should charging Capcom if anything else (Not saying he would). Streams are free marketing mediums for games and allow the best players to showcase the full potential of a game. Which in turn, may convince viewers to buy the game or engage the game even more than they already are. However, I’m not sure about Warner Brothers with MK and Namco with Tekken, etc.
Berzerk

The other element that can be argued about this bill is that the performance is not all about the game. The players are part of the performance. The commentators, the crowd.

It’s a combination of elements that make it it’s own thing and not simply a rebroadcast of existing entertainment.

It’s different each time as players have their own styles and that is evident even when their faces are not shown. The game is a tool allowing the performance but the players are the performers.
Nitro263

It’s honestly the principle of the matter that makes this bill so appalling. The fact that even if action isn’t taken, what we do would be considered illegal and we could be shut down or jailed at any time is a serious issue, whether Capcom, the government, or anyone else makes good on the threat or not.
lufia22

Oh, great. So we’ll have to live in fear under the giant shadow of possibility and put trust in greed mongering suits. The second someone gets crucified for sticking their neck out, everyone is going to go into their shell and hide.
Phalsetto

I don’t know about everyone else, but I personally don’t have the income to fly out to a tourney to watch it. I’m not gonna lie, I’m kind of a scrub in comparison to many players out there. That said, I look to streams for entertainment and learning tools. It’s almost like watching a PPV event. If this is taken away, then I feel that the community will be hurt in a way. But if streaming is stopped, then what’s stopping them from uploading the videos on youtube the same day?I do feel that this whole thing is kinda pointless and a waste of time and money.
ChaosReaper

Unfortunately this bill will pass and will crush the video game community as a whole. Older people truly don’t understand the situation. Example: my dad believe that this bill is a good thing that will protect ips and companies right. That is most likely the thought in washington. This could be a good thing if it was more thought out and researched.
- CannonSpike
  
  No matter what gets passed I wouldn’t worry that it will crush the videogame community as a whole, since it’s existed for decades without streaming and all the other things more recently associated with technological advances such as broadband internet. As long as people are playing games and talking to each other about it, we’ve got a community.
  
  I agree that the US government has probably made an uninformed sweeping statement regarding various forms of entertainment, since that’s the kind of thing my government does aswell, but yeah… no streamed footage doesn’t mean all of a sudden the PSN and XBL would just die.
  
  It’s nice to Christian Svensson replying to this subject though, it shows that Capcom are actively involved and taking notice of what we all think.
Zenme

“That said, if this legislation comes to pass I’m sure we’ll figure out ways to support folks whose efforts and intentions have historically been helpful.”
AKA support good reviews of their game, and take down bad ones.
RayK

How the fuck does a video of a boss character hurt Capcom in anyway?
gaemmk

seeing galactus early actually got me more hyped for the game. seeing oni and evil didn’t stop me from buying a.e. i see your point, chris, but it’s kinda like when you find all your christmas presents early, does it stop you from enjoying them on dec. 25th? no.

next, the movie industry will start prosecuting people who spoil movies.
- CannonSpike
  
  Yeah good point. It may be Svensson means something like they had some big expensive marketing hoopla ready to go, they paid people to plan/write/direct/whatever, then it was all wasted money when it was blown open before said campaign/event.
  
  Just a thought and completely hypothetical.
ukyo_rulz

Anyone who doesn’t think that intellectual property laws will be abused as a matter of course needs to look up a couple of patents for tablet computers with rounded corners or read up on doctors using copyright to stifle critics of their practice.
d3f1anc3

Good to know CAPCOM has the FGC’s back on this.

Capcom’s Christian Svensson Responds to Anti-Streaming Bill

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