Microsoft Banks $170 Million in First Day of Halo 3 Release

Microsoft said Wednesday Halo 3, the company's new game exclusive to Xbox 360, was responsible for $170 million in sales in the first 24 hours it was available. The number topped Halo 2, which drummed up $125 million in sales on its first day out in November 2004. Microsoft had called the Halo 3's release "the biggest entertainment launch in history," and it might have a point, after it beat movie releases for mega hits like Spider-Man 3 and book launches like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. "The initial demand we've seen for Halo 3 has been astounding and the game is on track to become the number-one gaming title of all time," Jill Hamburger, vice-president of movies and games at Best Buy, said. The game was launched in 37 countries and is expected to boost sales of Microsoft's Xbox 360. Microsoft shares finished Wednesday down 0.24% to $29.49.

Sources: MSN Money, CNN
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Comments

[GRiddick:]

Halo 3 is now free!

What if I could figure out how to deliver Halo 3 to everyone for free and be protected from attacks by Microsoft based on the "safe harbor" or "fair use" provisions of the DMCA (that's the Digital Millennium Copyright Act for those of you new to copyright law in this country)?

What if I could make it run on any game console you had, or sell you a really cheap new one I'm having made in China? We're thinking about calling it the X-Boxx.

What if I could then sell advertising on the web pages where Halo 3 was displayed for downloading and keep most of the money for myself?

What if I could keep records of everyone who downloaded or used Halo 3 and then send them e-mails and other solicitations for hardware and software (maybe even travel and food!) owned by companies other than Microsoft?

Waht if I could bypass the standard distribution channels, like Best Buy, Game Stop, and Wal-Mart and keep all of the money for myself?

What if all Halo 3 users could then join my new social networking community and I could sell even more advertising for every minute they surfed or "stuck around" on the Web?

Well, don't fool yourself. There are only a few things stopping this scenario from happening. It's called "the companies with all the money". It is also sometimes called a "monopoly", or certainly at least an "oligopoly". Some call it "truckloads of lawyers", probably even more dangerous than all of the other three combined. Years ago it used to be called "Japan".

Microsoft routinely steals other people's copyright-protected property every single second of every single day. And so does Google. I know. My small graphic arts development company is one of the victims. We have had to lay off more talented people in the last few years than we have hired.

Let me give you a specific example of how this illegal activity occurs routinely at Microsoft:

1. Microsoft chose to copy Google's illegal image search approach rather than make some simple changes to make their's legal. Again, I know. I pointed this out to senior Microsoft executives and lawyers earlier this year and was politely told to pound sand.

2. I showed senior Microsoft officials a specific example. They claimed they were somehow protected by the DCMA. NONSENSE!

3. At the time, the N.Y. Yankees were 8 games behind the Boston Redsox. Their playoff chances looked "iffy" at best.

4. I found several web site publishers, one called Freefever and the other called Lunapic, that had been infringing our electronic clip art illustrations for some time, AND who had removed the infringing images after receiving an official notice from my company, Imageline.

5. I showed Microsoft exactly how they could still retrieve the Yankees clip art illustrations we had produced and registered with the U.S. Copyright Office many years ago from the Microsoft servers. AFTER they were removed from the infringing web sites. You see, top quality electronic graphic arts content actually increases in value over time. It's not like an old version of WordPerfect or Microsoft Works.

6. Try it now yourself if you want to watch these ongoing infringements in action. Go to Microsoft Live image search and key in "Yankees clipart". You can do the exact same thing on Google if you'd prefer. The cartoon image with the fans in Yankee caps and the "Go Yankees" banner is one of ours.

7. You might also notice the official logo of Major League Baseball, several original Yankees' logos as well, and some other copyrighted works that are displayed by Microsoft on the exact same page with the Imageline clip art. Do you think Microsoft has a license to display and download any of these images?

8. Microsoft claims it is retrieving the Imageline clip art illustrations from Lunapics or Freefever or other infringing web sites, but they are NOT. They are stored in the Microsoft servers. The infringing web sites took the images down long ago!

9. Microsoft encourages you to place the infringed image into the Microsoft Scratchpad. From there, you can a) copy it to your computer, b) re-size it for use in other applications, c) e-mail it to a friend or business associate (or even a Boston fan), d) use it for your computer background as I have done here in Virginia, e) put it into a tiled background for a more dramatic impact, f) create a customized screen saver, or g) use readily available Windows software tools to modify, combine, or animate the copyrighted image. All EXCLUSIVE rights of the copyright holder.

10. We're talking about using the infringing images in the exact same size and resolution as they are stored in the Microsoft servers. This is not "indexing" or "framing" folks ... this is DIRECT copyright infringement.

11. If ALL of the above are not flagrant examples of willful copyright infringement, I do not know what is. And I have been in this technology copyright game for over 25 years now. Remember, all of these infringements occur as a direct result of Microsoft instructions, Microsoft tools, and Microsoft trying to make extra billions of dollars from the hard work of others.

12. How long do you think it would take Microsoft's army of lawyers to ascend on Central Virginia if we tried the the exact same stunt with Halo 3 as referenced above? This is simply corporate hypocrisy at its highest and most dangerous level. And the reason I personally do not believe that the government should take any pressure off of Microsoft for complying with the anti-competitive restrictions placed on them years ago. In many areas, I think they've made a turn for the worse, even while under the government scrutiny.

13. In addition, Microsoft is now selling advertising on the exact web pages where all of this infringing activity occurs. Just like Google, Microsoft's new wicked twin sister in the copyright infringement "evil empire".

14. Neither Microsoft nor Google pay the original copyright holders a dime. While their five top so-called "executives" and "visionaries" have accumulated an astonishing $115 billion+ of wealth. What has happened to the morals and ethics of this country? And why aren't the existing copyright laws enforced against the largest violators in the land by far? Surely, lobbyists cannot be THAT powerful.

15. Until Washington politicians, the judiciary, and the business community as a whole, decide to enforce our laws evenly, and follow the rules of decency and fair play, there will be NO END to the damages caused by willful copyright infringement activity in this country. Let alone any chance in hell of lowering the copyright, trademark, and counterfeiting violations abroad.

How long do you think it's going to take before pirated copies of Halo 3 are everywhere? Does Microsoft really deserve protection of its copyrights while they routinely infringe the copyrights of others?

This is a national crisis, folks. And I haven't heard a single candidate for president mention it even once. Nothing that is happening today could have the negative consequences on both the reputation and the pocketbook of hard working Americans like this issue.

Once our morals and standards are gone, we may as well choose which other country we want to "follow". Who knows, maybe Microsoft and Google will form their own country by then. Why not, they are allowed to play by their own set of rules already. What a shame!

And I hear there's a guy named Gates who might be without a job this time time next year and would love to be "president".

Mark my words on this one!

George P. Riddick, III
Chairman/CEO
Imageline, Inc.

[e-mail]...

2007 Sep 27 02:51 PM

[heartless:]

is it copyright infringement for me to paint a picture that i took within the halo 3 game, using the games built in camera function?

2007 Oct 23 03:24 PM

[heartless:]

is it copyright infringement for me to paint a picture that i took within the halo 3 game, using the games built in camera function?

2007 Oct 23 03:24 PM

[Substrata:]

George P. Riddick, III is a man with a mission. A man with a singular and almost fanatical crusade to seek out and destroy those he claims to have violated his copyright and therefore should be burnt in hell (or pay out substantial amounts of cash, whichever the courts decide first, I guess)!

What George P. Riddick, III is possibly unaware of however, is that his collection of bitmap clip art is vastly our-dated crap that no one in their right mind apart from the odd backwater church community or primary school would ever nowadays use. Although he still viciously pursues and targets those as well.

With the immense and truly wonderful power of the Internet, search engines as powered by Google and Microsoft collect and index information that makes it easier for everyone to find images. Mr Riddick is ferociously against this as he believes they infringe his copyright by holding his images on their servers, and therefore people can search and use them freely.

(Read his comment to an article here: seekingalpha.com/artic...)

Well, I guess of course this would be correct them if the images you are so fiercely protecting do not have a copyright watermark on them!

Oddly enough too, Microsoft, one of his targeted companies belongs to the Copyright Alliance Organization, of which George is also a proud member and hypocritically uses this fact when dishing out one of his so-called 'official' emails.

The ironic twist to all this is that the bitter and resentful George P. Riddick, III should look no further for international infringement than within his own collection of shoddy and archaic bitmaps. I noticed one example of the United Nations flag here:

www.imageline2.com/pag...

Now, even though such flags are ineligible for copyright they are still protected by 'Article 6' of the Paris Convention (Protection of State Emblems, and Names, Abbreviations and Emblems of International Intergovernmental Organizations).

I wonder if Mr Riddick therefore realizes that depicted images (including but not limited to photographs and two dimensional drawings) representing partly or in whole of the UN emblem, name and flag are STRICTLY PROHIBITED FOR DISTRIBUTED COMMERCIAL USE without going through proper channels of procedure and obtaining permission.

Mr Riddick claims to have never been accused of any violations within the last 25 years, well I have news, now you have. Yes George P. Riddick, III, you too are seriously infringing the industrial property rights of an international organization, how does it feel?

So Mr Riddick, before you continue your tiresome, pointless and self-indulging evangelistic campaign, maybe you should look nearer home, hold yourself accountable and add Imageline, Inc. to that All Company Listing you so condescendingly produce. And how about sending the United Nations a grovelling apology and one of those huge out-of-court settlement fees that you so enjoy collecting from everyone else.

And remember, an ignorant plea is never a defence in a court of law.

2008 Sep 22 02:16 AM

[George Riddick:]

Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
The IC3's mission is to serve as a vehicle to receive, develop, and refer criminal complaints regarding the rapidly expanding arena of cyber crime. The IC3 aims to give the victims of cyber crime a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism.
www.ic3.gov/default.as...
Evidence:
It is important that you maintain any evidence you may have. Evidence may include copies of emails, a printed copy of a website, canceled checks, credit card receipts, phone bills, mailing envelopes, mail receipts, or similar items. Please keep the items in a safe location, in case you are requested to provide them for investigative purposes.

Feb 05 10:10 AM