Score a win for freedom of speech. TotalBiscuit's scathing review of Wild Game Studios' Day One: Garry's Incident has been reinstated over on YouTube after the video had been barred due to a copyright strike against the Cynical Brit. The block was lifted by the embittered developers.
According to Blue's News, the video is up and available once more after a huge fallout transpired when the CEO of Wild Game Studios, Stephane Woods, decided to levy a copyright strike against the online game critic, which resulted in the video of the review being blocked on YouTube.
Stephane proclaimed on Steam's forums and to some gaming websites that TotalBiscuit had no right to “monetize” his review of their game and they weren't fond of critic making money for doing his job. Yes, you read it right. In fact, I'm not even going to bother paraphrasing the rest, you can read the complete apology by Stephane, as spotted on Kotaku, below...
We sent TotalBiscuit a Steam key on September 26th, giving him permission to evaluate Day One: Garry’s Incident.Monetizing wasn’t mentioned in our communications and it was an error on our part to not have clarified the issue.It was for that particular fact that Wild Games Studio had asked the video’s removal.After the video was made unavailable, we have taken seriously the reaction from the community concerning freedom of expression.We strongly believe in the freedom of expression of people and medias and have removed our copyright claim.Wild Games Studio didn’t intend on preventing anyone from using their right to freedom of expression.For this reason, Wild Games Studio sincerely apologizes to TotalBiscuit and anyone who felt that their freedom of speech was denied.
TotalBiscuit – in an attempt to get this issue out there – did a video recounting the events that led to his video being blocked on YouTube on copyright infringement charges. The video was an enlightening look at how companies can use copyright laws to basically infringe on freedom of speech in an effect to sway public opinion on piss-poor products, which is functionally identical to publishers using embargos and NDAs to filter public opinion and perception on their products. And, of course, controlling the flow and perception of information is how they control what you spend your money on, because no one able to find out if a product is good or bad until they buy it means companies can make crappy products and sell them without recourse.
Anyway, it's good they went and did the right thing and did so early, otherwise everyone would have thought they were trying to pull a War Z. Yeah, everyone remembers that game, right? The War Z was basically Aliens: Colonial Marines before Aliens: Colonial Marines.
Anyway, Wild Game Studio doesn't want to end up like The War Z devs, but the damage may have already been done. In fact, the whole fiasco blew up to Streisand-effect territory and now their name, their game and everything they do from here on out will be stained with trying to cover up negative press for a game many deemed to be a poverty-stricken offspring of Uwe Boll's Far Cry and Michele Massimo Tarantini's Massacre In Dinosaur Valley. Now if you don't mind looking at ugly babies, and you don't mind playing with ugly babies, then you won't mind dabbling in Day One: Garry's Incident.
For everyone else who values what money they keep stored in their wallets, I would presume this situation would highlight and enforce you to Hold The Wallet on this game.
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