While the video game industry sorts its position out concerning SOPA/PIPA — The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and most of its members are onboard with the anti-piracy acts — some prominent members are going against the SOPA grain.
One company in particular, NVIDIA, is considered something of a giant in the video game industry, and thanks to a recent blog post, they have let their position, even as members of the ESA, be known. The question is, is lack of support good enough or do potential NVIDIA consumers need a declaration of outright opposition before they trust the company again?
In some cases, yes. Before that, however, here’s NVIDIA’s statement, in full:
NVIDIA wasn’t consulted by ESA in formulating their position on SOPA. Our position is this: we oppose piracy, as it hurts our game-developer partners. However, we do not support SOPA. We don’t believe it is the right solution to the problem. We remain committed to working to address this problem in a constructive and fair manner.
NVIDIA’s position on piracy only makes sense, considering how rampant these acts are in the gaming industry. Nevertheless, the company was clear in its lack of support for SOPA, but according to the post’s comments, not every potential NVIDIA supporter is happy with the way the company denounced SOPA. Some examples:
Levi Wilcox
Not supporting is different than opposing. I won’t be ending my boycott until I see Nvidia publicly opposing the SOPA bill. Please like this comment if you agree.
And:
Nathan Salapat
Please, don’t only not support, but oppose SOPA. You said it hurts your game-developer partners, keep the hurt from happening by outright apposing this legislation.
However, some levelheadedness was provided in the comments as well:
Matthew Saltzman
I don’t think there’s any further need to boycott NVIDIA, as they’ve clearly said they don’t agree with SOPA. That’s enough for me to continue to purchase their products and continue to recommend them to others. However, when we say we want to see a public statement against SOPA, we don’t mean a blog post. This is enough for the internet community, but not for the offices of naval contemplation (read: government).NVIDIA belongs to the ESA, an active *proponent* for SOPA. Since NVIDIA belongs to this group, their opinions, when not made to the contrary, are assumed to agree with them. The ESA has not rescinded their support for SOPA. What would be ideal is this organization as a whole making a public statement withdrawing their support for the bill. Alternatively, the members who disagree could send a press release opposing the bill. The goal is to show widespread opposition to the bill, which blog posts do not do for anyone who isn’t internet savvy.
In essence, while the lack of SOPA support is a beginning, people/potential NVIDIA customers want the company to actively oppose the anti-piracy bills, and the thinking is, it takes more than a blog post to do so.
What about you? Is NVIDIA’s position clear enough or should they take a stronger stand? Let us know what you think.