> OK. When they are encapsulated and then metastasized by SONY, still?
But these are transformations of social relations which have been occurring for decades inside some of the most heavily capitalized culture-industries ever created, including Sony itself. The reality is that if any top-tier gaming firm decided to commit corporate suicide and impose the rule of electronic shabiya, the core gaming employees (digitally networked skilled laborers) would leave and start their own Valve-style operation, and digitally-connected fans would support them.
Bottom line: the videogame industry is in many ways the epitome of neoliberal capitalism, and yet videogame culture harbors some of the most tenacious and effective digital socialisms. A fascinating contradiction, no?
-- DRR