Red 5 founder calls ESA SOPA position 'disingenuous'

Mark Kern, founder of Red 5 and the "League for Gamers" protest group, talks about SOPA and PIPA, the ESA's shifting position, and how gamers need to be mindful of future legislation.

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Plenty of game developers publicly expressed their opposition to SOPA and PIPA, but perhaps none quite so fiercely as Red 5 founder Mark Kern. His company pulled the beta in protest, canceled E3 plans, and launched a non-profit protest group called the "League for Gamers." Now that the controversial bills are effectively dead in the water, Kern has shared some thoughts on his motivation for such vocal opposition.

"If you hold an opinion that differs from the gamers, and you think that it will benefit them in the long run, that's okay," Kern said. "But the fact that you're not saying that to them, when you've enlisted their support in the past and are now completely unresponsive, I think that was disingenuous.

"And as the outrage grew - this is conjecture on my part - I think they found themselves between a rock and hard place. 'Oh my gosh, we really do have competing values here.' To me, it looked like they went into paralysis mode, and then afterwards when both bills were shelved, that was kind of damage control, to come out and say, 'Actually, we're withdrawing support.' They were trying to have their cake and eat it too," Kern told GamesIndustry.biz. He says he was "disappointed" that the withdrawal was "wishy-washy."

That withdrawal he's referring to came several hours after major backers of the bills, like Senator Harry Reid and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, publicly stated they were putting the bill on hold.

Kern suggests these pieces of legislation, and others in the future, are the product of old thinking. "What you're seeing is a reaction to try and preserve the old business model, and so you've got big companies lining up on one side and a lot of small studios lining up on the other," he said. "Small studios are tired of being reliant on publishers, for distribution, for finance, for everything else. It doesn't have to be that way any more."

As for the League for Gamers, Kern says that his lobbying group and gamers need to be mindful of future attempts to make similar legislation. He warns that ACTA is being pushed under the guise of "anti-counterfeiting," and that lawmakers might try to split the bills into component parts. "So it's going to be a lot more subtle next time, and we're going to have to be that much more attentive," he said. "It might involve looking at multiple pieces of legislation and figuring out if they're coalescing into something that would be detrimental to the internet and to gaming."

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  • reply
    January 27, 2012 9:45 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Red 5 founder calls ESA SOPA position 'disingenuous'.

    Mark Kern, founder of Red 5 and the "League for Gamers" protest group, talks about SOPA and PIPA, the ESA's shifting position, and how gamers need to be mindful of future legislation.

    • reply
      January 27, 2012 10:05 AM

      I can't take this guy seriously. It seems like everything he does is for publicity. it does bot work either. I always forget what his company does

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        January 27, 2012 10:11 AM

        Maybe but the ESA still deserves to be called out for supporting SOPA

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          January 27, 2012 1:17 PM

          agree, and i dont understand why everyone so critical of Red 5, 1 - any business will take an opportunity to promote themselves, now if it help the community at the same time, like bringing awareness about SOPA, i say hell yes...
          and regarding their game, it looks very interesting, the fact that they are not some big blizzard like studio doesn't mean anything, i say they have all the chances to create a great game.

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      January 27, 2012 10:15 AM

      I think he's just trying to buy time, he probably has nothing to show for this game

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        January 27, 2012 1:18 PM

        1 - i say he is doing a good job promoting
        2 - why not, if it helps to bring the attention of the crowd to things like SOPA, i say YES!

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      January 27, 2012 10:17 AM

      I saw this and thought Xav was still here.

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        January 27, 2012 10:23 AM

        Yea, they should have let Xav post that ....

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          January 27, 2012 10:26 AM

          Hopefully he finds some Firefall news to post before leaving today.

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          January 27, 2012 12:49 PM

          I don't think Xav's allowed to post firefall news, even on his last day, after accepting the community manger position at Red 5. It would be a conflict of interest.

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      January 27, 2012 5:15 PM

      "Kern says that his lobbying group and gamers need to be mindful of future attempts to make similar legislation. He warns that ACTA is being pushed under the guise of "anti-counterfeiting," and that lawmakers might try to split the bills into component parts. "So it's going to be a lot more subtle next time, and we're going to have to be that much more attentive," he said. "It might involve looking at multiple pieces of legislation and figuring out if they're coalescing into something that would be detrimental to the internet and to gaming.""


      You mean, heaven forbid, people need to start actually PAYING ATTENTION to whats being done in Washington and letting the Govt. know that they represent US instead of lobbying groups?

      I'm shocked and appalled, this is simply asking TOO MUCH of today's youth.

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