Bohemia will order DayZ Bounty to cease and desist, labels it ‘commercial exploitation’
By Tim Colwill on November 8, 2012 at 2:04 pm
Just yesterday we reported that ‘DayZ Bounty’, a website dedicated to running a specific Chernarus server where you could earn cash for kills, was set to launch. Today, Bohemia are gearing up to put the kibosh on the bounty-hunt before it even begins.
In an email sent to PC Gamer, DayZ Production Assistant Matthew Lightfoot at Bohemia slams the idea as “undermining” the spirit of DayZ and commercially exploiting it. “The DayZ development team and Bohemia Interactive is not involved or has had any contact with with DayZ Bounty and it’s creators,” reads the email. “While we fully support modifications created by the community, to improve the gaming experience for players of DayZ and ArmA II, we do not support their creators putting a cost on them. As commercially exploiting their small additions to DayZ undermines the work done by the original team.”
“We believe that the elements of gambling that DayZ Bounty introduces challenges the basic game design aspects that DayZ is built upon. It changes the focus of DayZ from being a creative, enjoyable, gritty gaming experience to a game that is based almost solely on financial gain and that is not something we want to be associated with.”
“We will be contacting the owners of the DayZ Bounty website directly over the coming days, to ask that they cease their activities in their current form.”
Source: PC Gamer
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Fair damn call. They didn’t make the game or the mod. They shouldn’t be profiting off it, nor should anyone else, vestigally or directly.
Isn’t there a minecraft equivalent This?
wasn’t aware dayz bounty were making a profit on the endeavour. I endorse this.
good on em. what a bullshit idea
From a legal perspective how is it different then Bohemia profiting from their commercial endeavour using direct X or windows?
I have no interest in this product but its not like they are stealing anything, their software is just another bit of software running along side the game?
so legally how does Bohemia have any more say with what people are running along side arma II then Microsoft has a say on what people run on windows?
Context and scope…
in the case of Windows, given the multitude of software out there and the PURPOSE of windows it basically makes no sense to govern what ppl can and cannot do with it nor is it viable because windows is MEANT to be a platform from which applications that benefit ppl are launched from.
In the terms and condition for Windows i am fairly certain they did not mention anything that prevent you from using it as such platform even if the application is a commercial application.
In contrast, most game terms and condition should specifically mentioned something along the line of “the Software (collectively, the “Properties”) are provided for your individual, non-commercial, entertainment purposes only”
Except that the company isn’t reselling the software.
they are just running another application along side it to record kills.
its like trying to make a rule that people can’t use teamspeak while playing DayZ and can only use in-game voice.
There doesn’t seem to be any legal leg to stand on.
These guys seem to be running a private hive like loads of other people do and running it with a white list system like loads of other people and the only difference seems to be the additional kill tracker.
and again I have no interest in their operation, I no longer play DayZ at all, but I just can’t see the legal obligation they have to stop running their service.
Teamspeak is a pay-for service [servers aren't free] that is made to run along-side games, even games with in-game audio.
now if they are reselling or modifying arma 2
I’m no lawyer or anything (far from it) but going by this quote -
“It changes the focus of DayZ from being a creative, enjoyable, gritty gaming experience to a game that is based almost solely on financial gain and that is not something we want to be associated with.”
I’d imagine it would be something along the lines of defamation.
That’s one way yeah,
True, but think about it… their software works alongside DayZ and works in conjunction with it with the sole purpose of acting as the facilitator for what’s essentially a gamble.
if you are to use a Teamspeak for example, what you do exactly with the Teamspeak is open to it’s users intent and more importantly, teamspeak is independent of the game itself… it functions just as well with or without the game, any game and can’t really be associated with any single one.
Here we have a case where the software made with the full intent for commercial purpose ties itself with the game and make use of the game’s function.
So to put it in simple terms,
the software ties itself with the game and alter the game function into one for commercial purpose. If the software does not need to tie itself with the game (for example: Teamspeak), then it would lend more strength for argument in it’s favor, but as it is since it cannot function without the game it’s difficult to see how one can separate it away in this case.
as the one facilitating such breach, there should be a ground usable in the legal power either within the terms and condition or otherwise that can be used to stop the software.
Besides, the term and condition most definitely have the clause ““the Software (collectively, the “Properties”) are provided for your individual, non-commercial, entertainment purposes only”
somewhere there like i said above
here they are running the server (that is equipped with their software tracker) with the express intent of commercial purpose.
they may not be reselling the game, but they are USING the game asset for commercial purpose which should be in clear breach of the terms and condition.
This topic is a grey area.
I do not feel that this sort of thing should be allowed, its just ridiculous that some company and players can make money off getting kills in a game mod. It could change the entire DayZ community if some guns for hire are shooting zombies in servers for money, the social element will disappear even more than it already has.
My biggest concern overall is that it could ruin Armas name as DayZ almost already has (If Bohemia give in to DayZ new comers and add social networking bullshit to Arma 3 and Steam exclusivity god forbid).
It’s not that much of a grey area if u ask me,
i mean they have to RUN THE SERVER with their modified software…
when you agree with the terms and condition of the game it forbade you from using them for commercial purpose, running the game’s server using their software made for the purpose of commercial act is obviously not going to agree with that.
it will be a bit more difficult to implicate them if for example, they do not run any part of the software itself… and their software runs independent of the game function, but in this case… i am not sure how one set up an argument in their favor.
So far as I can tell they aren’t modifying the game in any way, just parsing the events.
Yes, but they have to HOST the server that runs the game using the game’s server software, and run that alongside their software which reads directly with the game’s event.
In either direction it can’t possibly avoid a breach on the clause ‘commercial purpose’
When we buy and play or use the game we agreed to use it in a non commercial purpose…
while they are not reselling the game they are in fact USING the game (the server software) in order to host the session from which they draw the profit as a commercial act.
“we do not support their creators putting a cost on them.”
“However putting a cost on Day Z via making it stand-alone is totally cool, but only because we are doing it, as we are profit hungry ass-hats.”
Bohemia are such a hypocritical dev it’s not funny “every game should have mod tools” proceeds not to release tools for Day Z stand-alone, “players being able to host dedicated servers is important”, proceeds to state that only special people like GoN will be able to host Day Z servers.
Not to mention doesn’t Rhinocrunch charge people to access his Day Z servers ? and Bohemia is completely aware of that guy. I really am not a fan of Bohemia, they are more hypocritical than EA
1. Bohemia didn’t make DayZ, they made ARMAII.
2. Bohemia allow non commercial mods, which is why DayZ exists. However, they are preventing a company making a modification of a mod to make money (commercial).
3. I don’t know the specifics of Rhinocrush but I would guess his fee is for the server infrastructure to supply the game, not the game itself. The game and mod are available from their respective distributors.
If the bounty site worked purely on reports/screenshots etc, it might have gotten away with it, but modifying the software crosses the line.