![\"Copyright\"](\"http:\/\/www.digital-digest.com\/blog\/DVDGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/copyright.gif\" "\\"Copyright\\"")
<\/p>\nWell E3 came and went, and both Sony and Microsoft had some great announcements, even if some\u00a0were definitely way overdue (*cough*, DLNA support, *cough*), and even if some took everyone completely by surprise (*cough*, Xbox 360 backwards compatibility, *cough* – I really need to get this cough looked at).<\/p>\n
I think I might have just spoiled some of this week’s news stories. Better this than having a key plot development in the Game of Thrones season finale being spoiled mid-episode while I was searching for background info on\u00a0Meryn Trant on my phone – thanks a lot Variety! Don’t worry, while we talk a lot about Game of\u00a0Thrones in this WNR, there won’t be any spoilers.<\/p>\n
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![\"Jon](\"http:\/\/www.digital-digest.com\/blog\/DVDGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/jon_snow.jpg\")
<\/a>Even Jon Snow knows that Game of Thrones season finale equals new piracy record<\/p><\/div>\n
WTF? Those familiar with Game of Thrones will\u00a0also be familiar with this expression, and the season 5 finale was no different.\u00a0While some of the twists and turns on the show come totally unexpected for the unsuspecting viewer (when it comes to guessing what fate will befall the truly honorable citizens of Westeros, and there aren’t many of those left, we’ve become more and more cynical I think), what was a total non surprise was the fact that a new piracy record has been broken again<\/a> for the season finale, a record that was last set only a couple of weeks ago by another GoT episode.<\/p>\n But it’s not so much a case of more people downloading, and less people paying – ratings for the show are at a record too – it’s just that the show has become so popular that piracy inevitably goes up (and given the way the season 5 finale ended, expect the season 6 premier to break a couple of more records again).<\/p>\n For HBO, they definitely can do more to convert at least a small\u00a0group of downloaders into paying customers, first by lowering the price of HBO Now, and by\u00a0making it possible to watch new\u00a0episodes via streaming in other parts of the world without having to be tied to a cable service (either by making HBO Now available, or selling the license to local streaming platforms).<\/p>\n But even if they do that, a large portion of the viewing public will still be downloading. Just take a look at the piracy problem with Netflix’s Orange is the New Black<\/a>, despite Netflix’s ubiquity and low entry point when it comes to pricing, some will still pirate (and that some includes many who already pay for\u00a0Netflix, but want a way to watch these episodes offline). So piracy will never be eliminated, but HBO can definitely do more to convince\u00a0those willing to pay, to pay something.<\/p>\n ——<\/p>\n Google is profiting from piracy, according to the MPAA<\/p><\/div>\n Google’s pretty mad these days. At\u00a0Mississippi State Attorney General Jim Hood and his MPAA backers, mainly. The search giant is finally using some of its massive cash reserves to hire a lawyers or a hundred to punish the MPAA, via Hood, for trying to mess with them (Hood tried to build case against Google, with the MPAA’s help<\/a>, in a very clumsy attempt to bring back SOPA like legislation on the state level – but\u00a0the Sony hack revealed all,\u00a0forcing Google to on the legal offensive).<\/p>\n With Google winning in the courts against Hood, the search giant then started to target the puppetmasters, and when the MPAA refused to hand over internal documents, Google sued them too. The MPAA has just responded to Google’s lawsuit, and they really didn’t hold anything back. The MPAA accuses Google of\u00a0both helping to facilitate and also profiting from piracy<\/a>, and says Google’s lawsuit is nothing but a PR campaign.<\/p>\n Interesting, the MPAA argues that Google is trying to make them look bad by making public Hollywood’s anti-piracy strategy.\u00a0I’m glad the MPAA finally agrees that their anti-piracy strategy is naturally unpopular, and that the truth is all you need to make them look bad!<\/p>\n PS4 finally getting a proper media player, with USB, DLNA and MKV support<\/p><\/div>\n Both Sony and\u00a0Microsoft have had a good E3 (as for\u00a0Nintendo …), but among Sony’s big PS4 announcements, the one that’s most interesting to me and probably to readers here would be the announcement of a new, proper, media player<\/a>, for the company’s flagship console. Finally, we get back DLNA playback and USB media support, and as a bonus, we also now get native MKV playback too.<\/p>\n Better late than never, I suppose. And I can finally seriously consider replacing my PS3 with the PS4 as my hub of all things entertaining.<\/p>\n For Microsoft, their big\u00a0surprise announcement was not something new, but something old. Or rather, backwards compatibility to allow you to play your old Xbox 360 games on the Xbox One<\/a>. Insert\u00a0your old Xbox 360 game disc, the 360 emulator will load up and you’ll be able to instantly play one of the 100 titles<\/a> that are supported currently. Backwards compatibility also works with digital purchases too.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>