When is a fansite not a fansite? When it defies BioWare, apparently.
BioWare’s legal monkeys have been making the rounds to various Old Republic fansites to inform them that if they make any money from the site (via advertising, donations or merchandise), they’re going to be cut off from the BioWare teat.
So basically it’s a choice for TOR-specific fansite and blog operators: Do we want to get paid for our hard work but get cut out of any promotions from BioWare, or do we play nice, do it for free, and get linked to by BioWare and get more access to the devs?
TOROZ is struggling with this exact situation, because the site — like many other fansites — accepts advertising to help pay the cost of the sites and the writers. The site’s administrator feels caught in an unfair situation due to the fact that these same standards aren’t being levied against multi-game press sites like IGN, but just the little guys who aren’t considered “press” by the company. When TOROZ contacted BioWare for comment, David Bass clarified:
“There’s a big difference between press and fansites. Fansites are those who cover SW:TOR exclusively, as TOROZ does. IGN and Wired are press, and therefore they have a completely different process (and have to go through EA and Lucas in order to get anything). The benefit of being a fansite is that you get a direct line to BioWare (i.e. Me).”
To present a counterpoint, TORWars feels that this is manufactured controversy that doesn’t really amount to much.
Another sticky part of the situation is that BioWare considers that anyone who downloaded the official fansite kit has agreed to this stipulation already (as they’re using official assets, etc.).
This is a hard story to analyze, because there’s a lot of factors in play — legal for one, and a definition of what is “press” and what is not for another. I think there’s a natural inclination to root for the underdog (i.e. the hard-working fansite folks) against the heavyweight (the studio with armies of lawyers at its back), although I know well enough to know that it’s never as cut-and-dry as you’d want it to be.
That said, it does seem in bad form, at the very least, for a studio to crack down on fansites and blogs like this. Whether they make money from their efforts or not, they’re still promoting your game for no cost to you (you being the studio), and they’re still a critical part of the communication pipeline that you’re trying to lay down with your fans. Fansites often cost a lot of money for hosting and bandwidth, especially when they’re covering a very popular game that draws in a lot of traffic, and it seems reasonable to at least give them enough leeway to earn money so that they can break even.
Another angle is the increasingly murky line of what is press, what is journalism, what is blogging, what are opinion pieces, and what is the Force (midiclorians or a mystical phenomenon). I guess I can sort of see BioWare’s perspective on this — if you’re solely devoted to just one game, you’re hardly unbiased. Then again, there are members of the non-gaming press who solely cover one sports team for their publications — are they considered fans and not press then? This is why definitions frustrate me sometimes, because when it’s more relative than absolute, you can twist the definition to be anything that supports your stance.
Ultimately, these sites end up with a Sophie’s Choice of sorts, and I would feel pulled in both directions if it were me. I have nothing against making money for your writing and creative talents (I don’t think it should be the only reason one writes, but it’s good to be compensated for your work in some way), but it’s a huge blow to be kicked to the outside of the party when everyone else is rubbing shoulders with the company and they refuse to acknowledge that you even exist. It may be better for your perceived integrity to refuse to go along with BioWare here, but it may be better for your site’s traffic if you do.
Update: I just got off the phone with BioWare, who wanted to clarify a few points (as I suspected, we don’t always understand everything that’s going on). The fansite agreement has been in place for two years now, and only recently has BioWare taken steps to break down and clarify the legalese for everyone to understand (which is why the sites were apparently contacted).
The issue here is that any official TOR assets are property of Lucas, and as such, BioWare can’t sanction sites who use these assets to make money (as the sites would need to become licensed by Lucas or somesuch).
BioWare wanted to make it clear that they weren’t going to shun fansites that refused the agreement, such as Darth Hater (which runs its own ads), just that the company will not be able to publicly link to these sites from the official ones. Other than that, the fansites will not be cut off from talking with the devs and being part of the communication line.
This is just a case of bullying the little guys. I suppose they’ll also pull your support if you say anything they don’t like too.
Bloggers and fansites need to tell these guys to go to hell, before it becomes an accepted practise.
Wow, this is a tricky one. A lot of people will kneejerk to this and blame Bioware for being evil overlords for this move, but…
I guess the whole point of Bioware here – and I’m of course simply speculating – is that “fansites” aren’t pro sites that would simply be able to make money from a brand that does not belong to them without paying license money to Bioware for doing so.
We can, of course, start discussing what press is or isn’t. That’s a whole big can of bloated worms. But this is the same reason that EA used to go after Warhammer Alliance – “you use our brand to make money, you better pay us licensing money.”
Yeah, and I certainly didn’t want to go into overreaction mode here. There’s a LOT going on with this, and it could be we just don’t see or understand all of the sides.
I’m not especially inclined to defend Bioware here. However, it’s worth pointing out that it’s not just their own IP they are defending, but Lucasfilm’s, and that may be driving a policy that seems from the outside to be overzealous.
Interesting dilemma. Is this so-called “teat” really flowing with milk? I mean is it really worth it for the fan-sites to dance to their rules? Is it really going to pay off? I guess that’s what I’m wondering.
Maybe I am naive, but I think good fan-sites are going to be followed regardless of BioWare direction.
Thought I’d just add that EA didn’t go after WAR Alliance, that was Games Workshop. My bad, had forgotten the details – Ark helped clear that up for me.
Also, they are not suing anyone or forcing them to shut down. They are simply saying that they won’t help these sites make money by giving them priveleged information and promoting them on official Bioware channels. Quite an important distinction.
BioWare called you? Or you called them?
Either way: It’s good to get a clarification. Transparency on why things are done (especially when there’s controversy involved) is always better than just being silent about it.
It’s interesting that these sort of situations are taking place specifically when an outside IP is being used and a third party holds the license, like LucasArts or Games Workshop, both of whom have been known for being sticklers for their IP.
I wonder if SZC (the company that holds the LotR IP) has a similar policy? I haven’t heard any similar stories regarding LotRO fansites.
Things are much easier when your game is made around an in-house IP, like WoW, Rift, CoH, etc.
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Um, did they lie to you about that date? Because it was enacted less than a year ago. Which by the way is way after the sites mentioned (DH and TOROZ) started accepting advertising from what I remember.
SWTOR.com proof – http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=2534965#edit2534965
The real lesson here, for developers, is to be careful who you get into bed with when it comes to using IP. Lucas has a long history of being somewhat hostile to people using Star Wars stuff without official sanction. Looks like this could come around to bite EA/Bioware in the ass.
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Never be an “official” fansite. I remember reading the Mythic (WAR) agreement one time and it was certifiable, at one juncture declaring that the fansite owner could not initiate a private meeting with any fansite readers.
Ultimately this is Bioware’s loss . Look at RIFT , all fans & fansites promoting the game, how’s that working out for RIFT ? In fact i see more FAN marketing than actual TRION marketing.
If Bioware/Lucasarts want to shoot themselves in the foot by directly or indirectly shut down “FREE MARKETING” [i mean they are not paying for Fansites are they? ] , then it’s their own problem.
I suppose Bioware [or Lucasarts] are happier everyone going to an UNBRANDED forum which has nothing to do with Lucasarts “assets” and discuss TOR in a “CLOUD OF RUMOUR” rather than allow a site with all the right “assets” and having “official” information.
I actually hope a few fansites just revert to no-name blog sites with bunch of rumours and opinions, lets see how that works out for Bioware’s marketing strategy.
Yep, just compare this to Rift’s recent Gamer Day. And well, I was at the first one in November, and I know their approach to fansites and a tiny bit about their legal approach to fansites (as in, they love em!).
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