Square Enix Hates Viral Marketing

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Originally Posted by Tupsi

Well since you're playing FFXIV ARR you kind of agreed to the terms lol. You hit "Decline" or "Don't Agree" if you find it bad.

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lol no offence but what are you even talking about? just because i agree to not break the ToS, doesn't mean i have to like everything in it. you know people are allowed to have opinions, right?

I can understand why they took it down, well, kinda. The entire video shows a glitched character. While I absolutely love the video (and really need to D/L it before it's gone again...), it shows a bug in their game, and maybe that's not the message they want to put out there. Hey Guys, look at our new shiny game, complete with glitches!

There are ton of fan videos from the game, and they havent had any issues, so it's not entirely fair to say SE is trying to kill the fun. /shrug.

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Originally Posted by Skivvy

I can understand why they took it down, well, kinda. The entire video shows a glitched character. While I absolutely love the video (and really need to D/L it before it's gone again...), it shows a bug in their game, and maybe that's not the message they want to put out there..

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On one hand I agree, and on the other...I think you have to sometimes be self-aware and have a sense of humor about these things. Every game has bugs, and I think most people just find them funny rather than the bugs actually giving them a negative perception of the game (as long as they aren't completely game-breaking) The corrupted blood glitch in world of warcraft was one of the things that made that game huge, after all. Not to mention the fact that the whole reason that the video was taken down was because it had music that wasn't from the game...which in my opinion is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard (no offence SE...)

I would also like to point out the fact that gamers absolutely hate when games feel too policed and strict, especially an MMO. This is something that caused GW2 to lose a TON of players when it first came out. As I said earlier, boring stock footage doesn't make a game huge, it is the community that does. SE need to lighten up

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Originally Posted by Orophin

Whether you think it shouldn't or not doesn't matter. It's listed in the ToS and has also been explicitly stated in numerous posts by the devs that due to the copyrights the game falls under, you're not allowed to alter the music while showing recorded footage.

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With that logic SE could put "By agreeing to the TOS, you must submit a blood sample and hand over your firstborn child to us" and they'd get away with it.

That's just stupid though.

The "we don't want to showcase bugs and glitches" argument is entirely bogus in this case. Why? Because this is a largely harmless glitch that in no way affects gameplay in any serious manner, but is hysterical to see in action (especially with the choice of music).

Personally I think it comes down more to different sensibilities. JP culture is waaaay different from ours, and the guys up top might not like seeing this at all and demanded it get pulled (and I'm not talking about YP either, he doesn't strike me as the type - I'm thinking more upper management). As example, I remember watching this YT video of a young JP girl doing some funny dancing on camera, but she was wearing a mask to cover part of her face because that sort of thing is frowned on in Japan and could have cost her getting into the school she was applying for.

At least that's how it looks to me.

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Originally Posted by Orophin

Whether you think it shouldn't or not doesn't matter. It's listed in the ToS and has also been explicitly stated in numerous posts by the devs that due to the copyrights the game falls under, you're not allowed to alter the music while showing recorded footage.

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All the ToS can do is give Square-Enix a reason to suspend/ban your account if they find out that you made the video. The Terms of Service is not a club that they can swing at anything on the web that they don't like; It is only the agreement you enter into with Square-Enix for your continued access to the game.

I don't know what kind of copyright & Fair Use laws Japan has or how it interacts on the international stage, but that's what Machinima would fall under on the web, not the Terms of Service; Though, I would imagine that a company would have to adhere to the Fair Use laws of the nation they are selling their product in.

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Originally Posted by Gravehill

I would also like to point out the fact that gamers absolutely hate when games feel too policed and strict, especially an MMO. This is something that caused GW2 to lose a TON of players when it first came out. As I said earlier, boring stock footage doesn't make a game huge, it is the community that does. SE need to lighten up

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Square-Enix really does need to lighten up about things. One of the things that make a lot of games popular in social circles is not the advertisement footage.. but rather the Machinima made by users of that game; Whether it's a bug showcased in an entertaining way, music videos like "Ni Hao" or "Hard Like Heroic"(by Nyhm) for World of Warcraft, or a full-blown "movie" showcasing someone's unique story for the world.

Myself, i never would have tried out the Mage class in WoW, which was the class that kept me playing for -years- before the deathknight was released, if i never saw a music video called "Big Blue Dress"(by Cranius) that made the class look like a lot of fun.

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/571/8p1l.jpg

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Originally Posted by frostmagemari

All the ToS can do is give Square-Enix a reason to suspend/ban your account if they find out that you made the video. The Terms of Service is not a club that they can swing at anything on the web that they don't like; It is only the agreement you enter into with Square-Enix for your continued access to the game.

I don't know what kind of copyright & Fair Use laws Japan has or how it interacts on the international stage, but that's what Machinima would fall under on the web, not the Terms of Service; Though, I would imagine that a company would have to adhere to the Fair Use laws of the nation they are selling their product in.

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This is an example with Sega of Japan, explains the YouTube copyright system (by John "TotalBiscuit" Bain). The ToS doesn't apply per se, but if you infringe said ToS, then you risk them striking you with a copyright strike. For any YouTube channel, 3 strikes = channel down, ALL videos removed, end of your activity if this was your livelihood.
http://youtu.be/k84i3Op-LQI?t=15m29s (direct reference to Fair Use at 17:05)

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Originally Posted by frostmagemari

Square-Enix really does need to lighten up about things. One of the things that make a lot of games popular in social circles is not the advertisement footage.. but rather the Machinima made by users of that game; Whether it's a bug showcased in an entertaining way, music videos like "Ni Hao" or "Hard Like Heroic"(by Nyhm) for World of Warcraft, or a full-blown "movie" showcasing someone's unique story for the world.

Myself, i never would have tried out the Mage class in WoW, which was the class that kept me playing for -years- before the deathknight was released, if i never saw a music video called "Big Blue Dress"(by Cranius) that made the class look like a lot of fun.

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Here's what happens for Final Fantasy XIV on YouTube because of SE's antique approach to copyright: most pro commentators and fan channels decided to basically NOT COVER the game. Too much at stake for them to risk losing their channel over one game. Way to go, SE…
http://youtu.be/ybJr3SDB42Y?t=34s

And there's a long post I made (#73 in this thread) with more links if you wish to know more.

Dear SE,

Please don't stifle things like the lalafell average day video , it will help you sell more copies as it creates some genuine interest from people outside of the MMO community!