A minor actor has had his identity used to create Venezuelan propaganda. He's not too happy about that, and hopes the unions will be able to prevent this in the future.

Playstation have spent ten years suing a company for making hacks for their games, and they just lost. While this might lead to a proliferation of cheaters, we're more excited about the legal protection for modding.

The Tasmanian Tiger has been extinct for less than a hundred years, and an American company reckon they can bring it back to life. DJ is worried about a Jurassic Park situation. Also, that mini moon we spoke about last week might actually be a good place to mine.

AI Avatar

-- ‘Prometheus’ Actor Warns Against AI Avatars After He Says Face Used For Venezuelan Propaganda 

Playstation Parasite mods

-- PlayStation loses fight in EU courts to stop sale of 'parasite' mods because, among other reasons, a book author can't stop 'the reader from skipping to the end' | PC Gamer 

Bringing back the dead through the power of SCIENCE & mini moon update

-- Colossal Biosciences behind thylacine de-extinction effort announces genome progress, but others call for peer review - ABC News 

-- Earth’s New Mini-Moon is Sign of Tremendous Potential for Space Mining, Scientists Say | Sci.News 

Full Show Notes : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mrPq3o38qfSneeVTt7B03l8jDeUAf4oyhg-CqdyvwUI/edit?usp=sharing

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The Nobel Prizes for 2024 have been awarded. AI. AI everywhere...

A study has attempted to estimate the actual cost of game piracy for developers who use Denuvo DRM. Is it really worth using on games?

Hollywood has changed a lot in the last few decades with the rise of streaming. Some insiders have concerns about its ability to adapt.

Nobel Prize 2024 Winners

- Nobel Prize 2024: All the Winners | TIME 

Game Piracy and its costs

- The true cost of game piracy: 20 percent of revenue, according to a new study - Ars Technica 

Industry Veterans question Hollywood’s direction

- Industry Veteran Jeff Sagansky Rebukes Hollywood Studios for Decisions Leading to ‘Unbelievable Cataclysm in the Business’ 

Full Show Notes : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1969WJIcl-T2aR8Imo9wCC5SpEVE8X9IGvUL2QHsbJlc/edit?usp=sharing

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EA have announced that they aren't working on The Sims 5 after a decade. Instead, they're farming out future content releases to the fans. Is this a sign of EA's laziness or is it the right move?

Toxic fans ruin everything. Fortunately, studios are developing techniques for protecting actors and fans from their actions.

A recently discovered bacteria eats plastic. Yay. Also not yay. Can it cause a grey goo scenario? We hope not.

The future of The Sims

-- EA turns to the fans to keep The Sims relevant | GamesIndustry.biz 

Hollywood vs Toxic fandom

-- Toxic Fandom: How Hollywood Is Battling Fans Who Are ‘Just Out for Blood’ — From Social Media Boot Camps to Superfan Focus Groups 

Wastewater bacteria can now eat plastics

-- Wastewater bacteria can breakdown plastic for food 

Full Show Notes : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pn16eNBRkHN3VIxJdAnmkicEAtP5Xk-5VN5O4YtI7aY/edit?usp=sharing

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Steam has once again broken their record for most concurrent users online. So where are all these new users coming from? What do they want? What does this mean for the future of Steam?

OpenAI is being sued for copyright infringement. If they lose it could mean the end of the existing LLM AI hype.

For the next few months Earth will have a new moon too small to see with the naked eye. Well maybe you can see it if you squint a bit.

Newly released steam player counts

-- https://x.com/tomwarren/status/1837858638620176459 

The People vs OpenAI

-- OpenAI Training Data to Be Inspected in Authors' Copyright Cases 

The Mini Moon

-- 'Mini Moon' to orbit Earth for two months 

-- A Two-month Mini-moon: 2024 PT5 Captured by Earth from September to November - IOPscience 

Full Show Notes : https://docs.google.com/document/d/15G9fdZgI5cZjUx8-GNT56HtCU9yr587jZjsa8tcbDW0/edit?usp=sharing

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Australia has now brought in an R18 rating for games featuring gambling. We discuss the merits behind this change and whether it will really protect the children from gambling addictions.

Lionsgate have decided to use AI to create AI generated "augmentations" to their films. We go deep on deep fakes, and appropriate usage of AI.

New research explains how sleep resets your brain and prepares it for learning more the next day. So learn how science might help you reach your full potential by sleeping more.

New changes to Australian gaming

- Australia introduces new "mandatory classifications" for games with "gambling-like" content | GamesIndustry.biz 

Lionsgate now with A.i.

- Lionsgate partners with AI firm to train generative model on film and TV library | Movies | The Guardian 

Sleep resets everything

- Scientists discover sleep "reset" mechanism in the brain that prevents memory overload 

Full Show Notes : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c-fnwq6Ql6OoeGXyuR3G05sPw9mktWURKf79JuWi2r4/edit?usp=sharing

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A New Nerd Approaches and his name is Phoenix

If you own the game Oxenfree through Itch.io, you're about to lose access to it. The Netflix owned games studio is pulling the game from storefronts and libraries, leaving nothing in its wake. This time, even if you own it, you won't be able to download it. This should be completely unacceptable, so how do we fight back?

Disney didn't have the rights to use Peter Cushing's likeness in Rogue One, and they're being sued about it. We discuss IP law and the right someone has to their own face.

Gene editing is a new technology that could allow us to create new and improved forms of existing animals and plants that are more resilient to climate change and disease. Is this the solution to all our problems?

Oxenfree erasure

- Another reminder that your digital library isn't forever: Oxenfree will be completely removed from Itch.io next month | PC Gamer 

Another Disney Lawsuit

- After UK Judge Denies Disney's Attempt To Dismiss, Lawsuit Alleging Peter Cushing's Likeness Was Used Without Permission In 'Rogue One' Headed To Trial - Bounding Into Comics 

Gene editing and its results

- The great gene editing debate: can it be safe and ethical? 

Full Show Notes : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R7NG58u84Zs-JY8elnxilRD2sJfbq5LLmuPuFqIJjEA/edit?usp=sharing

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Suda51 and Shinji Mikami got together to talk about Japan's CERO system of games classification. They've raised some excellent points about the inconsistencies in the system.

Humans don't like the heat much. New research shows that the fatal limit for temperature and humidity might be much lower than expected.

Jenna Ortega thinks more women led franchises should be original IPs, not gender flipped traditionally male roles. This take is certainly not controversial and won't lead to heated arguments in comment sections around the internet.

Pushback against Japanese Censorship in games

- Shinji Mikami slams video game censorship in Japan: “The rules are made by people who don’t play games” - AUTOMATON WEST 

Humans in heat

- Scientists testing deadly heat limits on humans show thresholds may be much lower than first thought - ABC News 

Woman should have own franchises – Jenna Ortega

- Jenna Ortega Says Women Should Have Their Own Franchises: “I Don't Want 'Jamie Bond'” 

- “I just read it and went, oh sh*t” Jenna Ortega & Catherine O’Hara on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 

Full Show Notes : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vf8IQVWuZni1P1bumPi6OHkffsziC_pmZ4XFbL2EIaw/edit?usp=sharing

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Epic Games Store's long running free games program seems to be paying off for their user acquisition strategy, despite their low sales of exclusives. They still can't hold a candle to Steam though.

The Marshmallow test is supposed to determine a child's future. The latest studies actually debunk it, and prove that you really aren't limited. At least not that way.

The US FTC has finally banned fake reviews. YAY. We'll see how they enforce it but hopefully this leads to a major reduction in fraud.

Epic games free giveaway 

- Epic Games' free game giveaways have been "magical" for user acquisition | GamesIndustry.biz 

Debunking the Marshmallow testing

- Delay of gratification and adult outcomes: The Marshmallow Test does not reliably predict adult functioning - Sperber - Child Development - Wiley Online Library

- Delay of gratification and adult outcomes: The Marshmallow Test does not reliably predict adult functioning  

FTC vs Reviews

- New 163-Page FTC Regulation Bans Fake Reviews, Testimonials, And More In "Final Rule" - What Does It Mean For Review Bombing? - Bounding Into Comics 

Full Show Notes : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S1JXbx8j5kULMFGaHMONym5vt2dSG68stYsHlHGxEv8/edit?usp=sharing

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Roblox is now banned in another country for child exploitation. These are serious allegations, so we're lucky serious journalists have investigated and uncovered the reasons why Roblox isn't great for kids. We discuss the issues and whether Australia should follow suit.

Mathematicians have worked out the optimum swimming stroke, and are training swimmers to perform it at the Olympics. We also discuss the just past Paris Olympics and some of the standout memes from the event.

Disney have announced everything they're working on, and it's a field as empty of originality as the Sea of Tranquility is of liquid water. We're not impressed.

Roblox is banned in Turkey

- Update on the Roblox ban in Türkiye 

Olympic swimmers and maths

- The mathematician who helps Olympic swimmers go faster 

D23 Film announcements

- Here's Everything We Learned At D23 2024: New Film Announcements And More 

Full Show Notes : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X5ciHYmh_nHfJgMVa_e6YmHtTuGbWk_Y8MiaaxGeLrs/edit?usp=sharing

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The CEO of Warframe developer Digital Extremes has explained why he thinks there hasn't been another Live Service hit like Warframe.

Jim Shooter, a former Marvel head, has some thoughts on modern comics - There isn't enough dialogue apparently.

Sharks in Brazil have gotten their fins on large amounts of cocaine from drug smugglers. Everything humans do affects the environment, including dumping contraband in the ocean.

Is Live Service game an actual good model

- Big publishers ‘eject too soon’ from live service titles, says Warframe boss | VGC 

The current state of modern comics books

- Former Marvel EIC Jim Shooter Slams The Current State Of Western Comics: "It's Supposed To Be Entertainment, But A Lot Of It Comes Out Like Propaganda" 

Cocaine Shark

- Brazilian sharpnose sharks test positive for cocaine, new study shows - ABC News 

- First report on cocaine and benzoylecgonine detection in sharks - ScienceDirect 

Full Show Notes : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1i3GOEon4GR-kEhuyxYNAxe7i1z_qEBO8QTIVnbRk014/edit?usp=sharing

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