warner | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Wed, 04 May 2022 16:03:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png warner | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 WB reportedly trying to sell their studios again https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/mustafa-mahmoud/wb-reportedly-trying-to-sell-their-studios-again/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/mustafa-mahmoud/wb-reportedly-trying-to-sell-their-studios-again/#respond Wed, 04 May 2022 17:00:52 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=559225 Last year we reported that Warner Bros was looking to sell its games division. This never came to be, with the publisher later choosing to remain within the industry. It seems the latest round of acquisitions has sparked WB’s interest once again, as the publisher is reportedly looking to sell its game studios. This latest …

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Last year we reported that Warner Bros was looking to sell its games division. This never came to be, with the publisher later choosing to remain within the industry. It seems the latest round of acquisitions has sparked WB’s interest once again, as the publisher is reportedly looking to sell its game studios.

This latest rumour comes from industry insider Imran Khan, who claimed that he has been “hearing a decent bit of chatter this week about WB Discovery shopping their game development studios around.”

According to Khan, the companies which have expressed interest include “EA, Take-Two, Microsoft, Sony, Tencent, Netease, and PUBG Corp”. The sale itself focuses on the studios primarily, though according to Khan, WB’s IPs could potentially be licensed out.

Warner Bros owns many talented game studios, including but not limited to Avalanche Software; Monolith Productions; NetherRealm Studios; Portkey Games; Rocksteady Studios and TT Games, representing a wide 

With WB owning many major IPs and being in charge of some of the best studios in the industry, this sale (if the leaks are true) would serve as another major turning point for the video games industry – especially if either Sony or Microsoft end up purchasing the studios.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the current acquisition spree by companies? Will it slow down soon? Which of the publishers would you prefer WB sell to if it had to happen? Let us know down below.

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Rocksteady officially delays Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League to 2023 https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/rocksteady-officially-delays-suicide-squad-kill-the-justice-league-to-2023/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/rocksteady-officially-delays-suicide-squad-kill-the-justice-league-to-2023/#respond Wed, 23 Mar 2022 14:16:28 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=554465 Back in February, WarnerMedia’s CEO made some comments about the company’s 2022 slate of video games, mentioning titles like Hogwarts Legacy and Gotham Knights. We immediately noticed the lack of mention for Rocksteady’s upcoming Suicide Squad, leading us to believe that the game has been delayed. Now, Rocksteady has made the delay official, pushing the …

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Back in February, WarnerMedia’s CEO made some comments about the company’s 2022 slate of video games, mentioning titles like Hogwarts Legacy and Gotham Knights. We immediately noticed the lack of mention for Rocksteady’s upcoming Suicide Squad, leading us to believe that the game has been delayed. Now, Rocksteady has made the delay official, pushing the game back to 2023. 

This news initially broke a month ago, when sources with knowledge of the situation claimed that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was now targeting a 2023 release window. Now in the midst of GDC, Rocksteady's creative director and co-founder, Sefton Hill, confirmed the delay.

In a statement, Hill said: “We've made the difficult decision to delay Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League to Spring 2023. I know a delay is frustrating but that time is going into making the best game we can. I look forward to bringing the chaos to Metropolis together. Thanks for your patience.”

Rocksteady first announced its new game in 2020, promising a co-op action adventure set in an open-world version of Metropolis. Like any good Suicide Squad story, our cast of villains will be going head to head against the heroes of the Justice League and attempting to stop Brainiac in order to save the world.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will have four playable characters, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Harley Quinn, and King Shark. The game will be playable solo with AI companions, or in co-op with up to four players. There have been no announcements for post-launch DLCs, additional characters or any form of microtransaction.

KitGuru Says: We've been anticipating this delay for a while, but we now have full confirmation. While Suicide Squad won't be releasing this year, hopefully we can get a new look at gameplay. 

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Hogwarts Legacy gets impressive gameplay reveal and screenshots https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/hogwarts-legacy-gets-impressive-gameplay-reveal-and-screenshots/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/hogwarts-legacy-gets-impressive-gameplay-reveal-and-screenshots/#respond Fri, 18 Mar 2022 14:00:54 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=553985 Just as promised, last night roughly 15 minutes of gameplay were revealed for Hogwarts Legacy. We've now got multiple trailers, screenshots, new gameplay details and most importantly, a release window.  As the game was shown during State of Play, all game footage was captured from the PS5 version of the game. We can already see …

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Just as promised, last night roughly 15 minutes of gameplay were revealed for Hogwarts Legacy. We've now got multiple trailers, screenshots, new gameplay details and most importantly, a release window. 

As the game was shown during State of Play, all game footage was captured from the PS5 version of the game. We can already see an impressive level of graphical detail from the trailers, and combat animations look fluid and flashy. Still, this game is also being built to run on last-gen consoles and a Switch version has also just been announced.

 

The game itself is set in the late 1800s, with a new cast of professors and students at Hogwarts, looking to protect the school from an alliance between goblins and dark wizards. As previously promised, players will get to create their own characters, go to classes, brew potions, learn new spells and explore the entire castle, as well as the surrounding areas of Hogwarts.

Unfortunately, while rumours indicated this game was targeting a September launch, Hogwarts Legacy will now be releasing in ‘Holiday 2022' for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. A Switch version has also been announced but that version does not have a release date.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Hogwarts Legacy is looking great so far and the visuals are particularly impressive. What did you all think of the gameplay reveal? 

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Hogwarts Legacy tipped to release in September https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/hogwarts-legacy-tipped-to-release-in-september/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/hogwarts-legacy-tipped-to-release-in-september/#respond Mon, 07 Feb 2022 15:07:06 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=549336 Ever since its initial leak back in 2018, we've been waiting to get our hands on Hogwarts Legacy. The game does not have an official release date just yet, but if the upcoming artbook for the game is anything to go by, it should be releasing in September.  We tend to get artbooks and guides …

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Ever since its initial leak back in 2018, we've been waiting to get our hands on Hogwarts Legacy. The game does not have an official release date just yet, but if the upcoming artbook for the game is anything to go by, it should be releasing in September. 

We tend to get artbooks and guides for major video game releases close to that game's launch. In the case of Hogwarts Legacy, the “Art and Making Of” book has recently been revealed by publisher, Insight Editions, with a planned release date of the 6th of September, which implies that the game will be releasing at a similar time. It is also worth noting that September 1st is the date that students begin learning at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter books, so targeting a September launch makes good sense.

Hogwarts Legacy has been in development at Avalanche Software for at least four years now. While we don't know much about the game, we do know that it takes place in the Wizarding World 100 years prior to the events of the Harry Potter books.

Players will get to explore an open world containing the Hogwarts school grounds, Hogsmeade Village and the Forbidden Forest. The game includes character creation and RPG elements, as well as a levelling system and the ability to learn new spells, brew potions and tame magical beasts.

KitGuru Says: There is still a lot we don't know about this game, but it has a lot of promise behind it. Hopefully in a few months time, we'll have our first good look at gameplay, learn a bit more about the story premise and have a final release date. 

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Hogwarts Legacy and Gotham Knights to launch this year https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/hogwarts-legacy-and-gotham-knights-to-launch-this-year/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/hogwarts-legacy-and-gotham-knights-to-launch-this-year/#respond Thu, 27 Jan 2022 14:54:23 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=548066 At this point, two of WB's most anticipated games, Hogwarts Legacy and Gotham Knights, have received delays and have yet to receive proper release dates. There is reason to believe that we'll see both titles release this year though, thanks to recent comments from WarnerMedia CEO, Jason Kilar.  During a series of tweets detailing WarnerMedia's …

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At this point, two of WB's most anticipated games, Hogwarts Legacy and Gotham Knights, have received delays and have yet to receive proper release dates. There is reason to believe that we'll see both titles release this year though, thanks to recent comments from WarnerMedia CEO, Jason Kilar. 

During a series of tweets detailing WarnerMedia's recent financial and growth results, Kilar took some time to address upcoming video games, specifically noting Hogwarts Legacy and Gotham Knights as titles coming in 2022.

Interestingly, Rocksteady's upcoming Suicide Squad game was not mentioned, which could just be an error, but it could also mean that Warner is looking to spread Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad out a bit, giving Rocksteady an extra year to work on it.

Hogwarts Legacy being mentioned is noteworthy too, as recent rumours claimed that the game was in some kind of trouble internally and could be delayed again. This tweet denies that rumour, reaffirming a 2022 launch.

KitGuru Says: Over the summer we should get confirmation on Warner's video game plans as gaming events start to take place again. 

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Twitch has made it even easier for music companies to shut down streamers https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/mustafa-mahmoud/twitch-has-made-it-even-easier-for-music-companies-to-shut-down-streamers/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/mustafa-mahmoud/twitch-has-made-it-even-easier-for-music-companies-to-shut-down-streamers/#respond Tue, 28 Sep 2021 15:00:39 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=533444 The past few years has seen the relationship between game streamers and the music industry get increasingly strained. Now more than ever, streamers are unable to play games with licensed music without the entire stream being taken down. In an odd decision, Twitch has now struck a deal to make it even easier to report …

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The past few years has seen the relationship between game streamers and the music industry get increasingly strained. Now more than ever, streamers are unable to play games with licensed music without the entire stream being taken down. In an odd decision, Twitch has now struck a deal to make it even easier to report these streamers.

In a press release provided by Warner Music Group Corp, the company announced that “Warner Music Group (WMG) and Twitch today announced a first-of-its-kind partnership that will see the companies launch various recording artist channels and create a standalone music space featuring premium music-centric programming,” claiming that “The innovative deal marks Twitch's first partnership with a major record company, bringing users new ways to interact with music-related content on the service, and granting artists a more direct connection with fans.”

While this may initially seem to bode well for the future of streaming, later in this same press release, it was revealed that as part of this partnership “Twitch has created a new process that participating music rights holders, including WMG, can opt into to report certain uses of their music, to address when creators inadvertently or incidentally use music in their streams.”

What this means is that it will now be even easier for music companies to report and take down streamer content – a backwards move on Twitch’s part. The issue surrounding streaming has gotten so strenuous that many games are implementing ‘streamer modes’, though this often involves the complete removal of all music – a fundamental part of a video game’s experience.

The music industry is one of the oldest media industries, and so many of their outlooks are somewhat archaic when compared to newer media such as video games. Hopefully this issue is resolved sooner rather than later. The full press release can be found HERE.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the press release? What is the best way forward to solve the issues between streamers and music companies? What’s your favourite instance of licensed music in games? Let us know down below.

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Players give Asheron’s Call a final, communal send off https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/players-give-asherons-call-a-final-communal-send-off/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/players-give-asherons-call-a-final-communal-send-off/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2017 08:50:47 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=320322 17 year old MMO, Asheron's Call, has finally been shut down for good. To celebrate its life and mourn its death, players clubbed together on various servers to bid farewell to the world they had been questing and fighting in for the best part of two decades. Originally released by Microsoft in 1999 and then …

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17 year old MMO, Asheron's Call, has finally been shut down for good. To celebrate its life and mourn its death, players clubbed together on various servers to bid farewell to the world they had been questing and fighting in for the best part of two decades.

Originally released by Microsoft in 1999 and then managed by Turbine and Warner Bros. for various periods of time, Asheron's Call and its Sequel, Asheron's Call 2, were classic fantasy MMOs. They featured questing, monsters to fight, gear to craft and large, open worlds to explore. While newer MMOs would eventually steal much of their thunder, the original game remained popular enough to warrant servers all these years and the second was renewed in 2012 after being shut down in 2005.

But as with every online game world, there is a beginning and an end and when Turbine announced that it would no longer be developing MMOs in late 2016, and would not be transferring the Asheron's Call IPs to a new studio that would continue working on the genre, the writing was on the wall.

Many players gathered on Asheron's Call servers to say goodbye to one another, to the world and the many years of gaming they had together. In one particularly touching video, Youtuber Rob Williams captured the mass disconnects as everyone's characters were logged out at the same time. It's actually rather beautiful (thanks Kotaku).

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLamPUP01E0′]

Others captured much longer farewells to the world, so if you'd like to see more of what it was like in its final moments, there are hour long tributes and streams out there.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: I hope somewhere along the line Asheron's Call and its sequel can be archived for exploration. These game worlds that have harboured so much joy for people over years shouldn't just disappear for good. 

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Warner theme park used pirated music for years, gets small fine https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/uncategorized/jon-martindale/warner-theme-park-used-pirated-music-for-years-gets-small-fine/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/uncategorized/jon-martindale/warner-theme-park-used-pirated-music-for-years-gets-small-fine/#comments Tue, 08 Mar 2016 11:52:56 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=286365 A Spanish theme park operated by Warner Bros., called Parque Warner, has been found guilty of playing unlicensed music to its customers for over six years. Despite the fact that Warner has in the past demanded huge settlements from pirates and sites that facilitated it for infringing its copyright, courts have ordered it to pay …

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A Spanish theme park operated by Warner Bros., called Parque Warner, has been found guilty of playing unlicensed music to its customers for over six years. Despite the fact that Warner has in the past demanded huge settlements from pirates and sites that facilitated it for infringing its copyright, courts have ordered it to pay a fine of just $354,000.

Warner is no stranger to piracy. It's been involved in some big lawsuits over the years, including one against a site in recent months which claims to be operating entirely legally. It's even been known to kick up a fuss about trailer leaks. More nefariously though, it's also helped sue individuals in the past, often for exorbitant sums.

Which makes it all the more puzzling that despite the company playing unlicensed music on ” intense and continuous basis,” for six years at its facility, it's being charged $354,000 in compensation for the artists it ripped off.

parkwarner

Someone should check Warner has the license for these guys…

This case has been ongoing for a long time, with the original filing by a local rights group representing artists in the region, receiving a ruling in its favour as far back as 2010. However an appeal meant that a second trial was needed, which didn't take place until 2013; again though, courts ruled in favour of the artists (as per TorrentFreak).

A secondary appeal has now been rejected, which is why the final judgement has finally been handed down. Part of the reason the amount was not as impressive as some might expect, is because it only applied to periods of the year. Since the park was only open from March through November each year, Warner was not required to pay compensation for all of it.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: $350,000 is a joke. Companies like Warner have demanded more than that from one person downloading a handful of songs in the past. How is that a fair judgement, but playing music by various artists for years, in public no less, is just a few hundred thousand?

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Refunds offered for Batman: Arkham Knight PC until 2016 https://www.kitguru.net/professional/development/jon-martindale/refunds-offered-for-batman-arkham-knight-pc-until-2016/ https://www.kitguru.net/professional/development/jon-martindale/refunds-offered-for-batman-arkham-knight-pc-until-2016/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2015 08:58:56 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=273686 It almost feels at this point that Batman: Arkham Knight on the PC is never going to be ‘fixed' to the standard that it was supposed to be released at earlier this year. Not only was it suspended from sale and everyone involved in the more successful console versions brought back to fix up the shoddy …

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It almost feels at this point that Batman: Arkham Knight on the PC is never going to be ‘fixed' to the standard that it was supposed to be released at earlier this year. Not only was it suspended from sale and everyone involved in the more successful console versions brought back to fix up the shoddy PC port, but following its re-release it's still got a number of issues. Perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, Warner has now announced everyone can have a refund if they want it.

This is a refund though that goes beyond the usual two week, two hour restrictions placed on Steam games. Warner is offering a refund to anyone who ordered or pre-ordered Batman: Arkham Knight on PC, regardless of how long they've played it for and they can do so throughout the rest of the year too.

That should be comforting to those that expect it to be purchased for them for Christmas by a well-meaning relative.

“We are very sorry that many our customers continue to be unhappy with the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight. We worked hard to get the game to live up to the standard you deserve, but understand that many of you are still experiencing issues,” reads the announcement post on the Steam forums (via Kotaku).

arkhamknightflying
Source: Kamikaze/Steam

It also goes on to say that for those that don't receive a refund – like all the people who didn't buy the game through Steam – that the developers will continue to discuss ongoing efforts to fix the game and perhaps more worryingly, the issues that it says “we cannot fix.”

Perhaps that it more the reason that near-indefinate refunds are being offered, in-case anyone buys it in the future and feels the need to be refunded for their ill-choice.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: This is perhaps worse than any of the news that's gone before. It was a poor show to deliver such a shoddy port in the first place, but to wait five months only to tell people that there are problems with the game that cannot be fixed feels pretty unsavoury. PC players deserve better. 

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Batman Arkham Origins dev prioritising DLC over bug fixes https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/batman-arkham-origins-dev-prioritising-dlc-over-bug-fixes/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/batman-arkham-origins-dev-prioritising-dlc-over-bug-fixes/#comments Mon, 10 Feb 2014 10:48:51 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=176780 Batman Arkham Origins developer, Warner Bros Montreal, has announced that it has no plans to further patch the game despite acknowledging that game breaking bugs still exist. What's the team doing instead of fixing the game? Making DLC of course. When the latest Arkham game released, it was riddled with some pretty bad bugs which …

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Batman Arkham Origins developer, Warner Bros Montreal, has announced that it has no plans to further patch the game despite acknowledging that game breaking bugs still exist. What's the team doing instead of fixing the game? Making DLC of course.

When the latest Arkham game released, it was riddled with some pretty bad bugs which stopped a lot of early buyers from progressing in the game, some of these bugs still exist and what's worse is that Warner knows this but may not ever bother to fix them:

“Hi all, the team is currently working hard on the upcoming story DLC and there currently are no plans for releasing another patch to address the issues that have been reported on the forums.” The official forum post read. “If we do move forward with creating a new patch, it will try to address the progression blocking bugs for players, not the minor glitches that do not prevent one from continuing to play. The issues that are not progression blockers will unfortunately no longer be addressed. We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused for some of you, and want to thank you for having been patient.”

Batman-Arkham-Origins-3

As you can imagine, the thread was immediately flooded with angry gamers voicing their complaints and I can see why, the post basically says: Thanks for waiting around for us to fix the game but it turns out, we might not bother. Not a good look for the developer when fans were already sceptical about it taking on the franchise.

KitGuru Says: I did enjoy Batman Arkham Origins but the game did have its fair share of problems. What do you guys make of this? Surely it's the developer's duty to fix its game before moving on to extra content? 

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Music Mafia threatens Google with hit? https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/site-debate/faith/music-mafia-threatens-google-with-hit/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/site-debate/faith/music-mafia-threatens-google-with-hit/#comments Sun, 20 Jun 2010 10:35:20 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=5599 The music industry is a lap dancer. Pure and simple. It wants to fill the room with it, plaster it everywhere, wave it right in front of your nose and then imprison you if you have the audacity to put a finger on its product. KitGuru just read an article on Thinq and felt a …

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The music industry is a lap dancer. Pure and simple. It wants to fill the room with it, plaster it everywhere, wave it right in front of your nose and then imprison you if you have the audacity to put a finger on its product. KitGuru just read an article on Thinq and felt a cold chill down the spine – which had nothing to do with cold metal poles in dark caverns.

Essentially, the BPI has served papers on Google to prevent the world's number one search engine from giving you music in a list of results.

Think about that for a second.

BPI: We're small. You know - hippies living green on a farm. We're not big business. Honest guv.

Funded by the 4 biggest record companies (think ‘blank cheque' and let's, for now, nickname this group the Mafia), the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) wants to turn 2 million years of evolution on its head. From the dawn of time, when Stig started to bang sticks together in the dump, getting music to the biggest audience possible has always been the goal. Back in the 1760s, while Americans were preparing to enshrine personal freedoms into The Bill of Rights, Mozart's dad was dragging the tiny boy across Europe to play as many gigs as possible.

Will the real BPI please stand up? Ah, yes. The reality check. Not busking hippies after all.

By the time Radio and TV technology hit, music reached out to millions in every country. Happy with this massive, free publicity – the music industry was pushing out as much music as possible, for free, across the airwaves.

Think about that for a second.

As much music as possible, being constantly pumped across all of the available channels. Radio stations etc being bribed every which way to ensure that a promoter's record got as much airplay as possible. At the same time knowing that sales of Radio Cassette machines were enormous and tapes were being bought in their billions.

Did Sony say "We sell these, so that kind of copying is OK. As long as it is on our tapes... we're happy" ?

Seeing how this could massively increase awareness of the Mafia's (sorry, tree-hugging BPI's) products, in a completely free and viral way, they shut up, rubbed their hands and watched their reach, influence and revenue grow.

Now, in the age of the internet, Sky TV, Napster subsciptions, Apple's iTunes store, Amazon – and a host of other ways in which you can buy music over the web…  NOW the Godfather's of the BPI's inner circle have decided that music should be harder to find. Much harder to find. At least by people with limited incomes. Yes. That ‘s an idea. Let's focus on the poor and disenfranchised. They're the people who should ‘do without'.

So Sony, Warner, EMI and Universal (and others, apparently)  issue papers against Google.

Bastards?

Do CNN-backed forces want censorship started in the USA, UK and elsewhere? Ironic? Alanis Morisette wrote a song about that. Look it up - while you can!

Dig for the truth yourself and make your own mind up. Thinq's story might have been spun already before we read it – and now we confess that KitGuru has just spun it again. But, based on the available information, we don't think we've angled it incorrectly. We urge you to make your own research and decide.

KitGuru says: Ask questions. The real question for us? When Sony, EMI, Universal and Warner choose what we see on a search engine results page, is that acceptable?   Warner, through CNN, does a fine job of reporting on the Chinese government's attempts to restrict what its citizens see on Google searches – but then wants to implement its own version of 1984 on ‘free Western civilizations'. Fair?

Tell us what you really think below or in the KitGuru forum

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