Links Roundup for 30 November 2011

Here’s a roundup of stories on corporate decision making affecting gamers that might be of interest to fans:

• Scottish journalist Rachael Carmen Simpson reported on a video game freebie for the game Assassin’s Creed that was offered only to those using a male avatar. “Essentially this is the online equivalent of [her sister] Eleanor visiting a real life game shop offering free cloaks with a purchase and being told she can’t have one as she is the wrong gender.”
• Microsoft has made changes to its X-Box consoles that prevents people from playing pirated games. Microsoft “made the silent update without user consent and without many being aware that it actually took place at all” and there are concerns that Microsoft will follow this with mass bans. “The last time Microsoft had carried out mass ban [sic] was in 2009, when the company had banned Xbox Live accounts playing pirated versions of Halo Reach. The company also does not approve of consoles that have been modded by users.”
• A non-profit organization “”dedicated to the appreciation and promotion of video game music as an art form,”” had its YouTube account suspended. While asking their users to protest the decision, the community’s manager stated “We’re all volunteers, and all of the work we’ve done since 1999 on OverClocked ReMix is to help promote the art of video game music, as well as the great musicians who create the OC ReMixes, which have always been distributed for free and with the artists’ permission.””

If you are part of a gaming fandom or have experienced a YouTube takedown of your fannish work, why not share your experiences on Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!