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Thousands of sites on Wednesday went dark in protest over the controversial and broad nature of SOPA and PIPA, the anti-piracy bills that are being considered in Congress, bringing awareness to millions of web surfers. Just take a look at this Twitter account scanning through the complaints about Wikipedia's blackout to get a general idea of how many homework assignments went unfinished (there's some frank language in there, so tread carefully).

Both bills have been critically debated by many within the tech industry over the dangers that the incredibly broad nature of the powers they propose to use against illegal sites hosting pirated material inherently have.

Imagine shutting down a street because someone decided to paint their house with something obscene, and you'll get the gist of just how broad those powers could be. Never mind that you buy your groceries at a corner store on the same street. That's just too bad.

Now it looks like the doubts that many have had over both has finally earned some action on Capitol Hill. Or rather, inaction.

According to Reuters, both the Senate and the House of Representatives had decided to delay a critical vote on the bills scheduled for the 24th for the foreseeable future. SOPA and PIPA aren't dead, but it's clear that Wednesday had been a wake up call for many of the bill's supporters...some of whom have withdrawn their support.

And according to ProPublica's Nerd Blog, opposition in Congress surged following Wednesday's blackout as you can see in the image above. That number includes a few of the co-sponsors for bills.

Everyone sees eye to eye that there's clearly a need to deal with piracy. But it's just as clear that passing legislation with deep, and potentially devastating, flaws is not the way to do it.

This is a rare serious post on Tech-Out, but the most important story in gaming this week is not about the experience of playing games, but the Iranian government sentencing American game designer Amir Mizraei Hekmati to death for espionage.

From GamaSutra, via GiantBomb:

After the former U.S. Marine was detained while visiting Iran in August (supposedly to visit family), local daily newspaper Tehran Times published excerpts from a purported confession in which Hekmati admitted to helping create games designed to "manipulate public opinion in the Middle East" at New York City-based developer Kuma Reality Games, under the CIA's direction and payroll.

Hekmati allegedly said, "[Kuma] was receiving money from the CIA to (produce) and design and distribute for free special movies and games with the aim of manipulating public opinion in the Middle East. The goal of the company in question was to convince the people of Iran and the people of the entire world that whatever the U.S. does in other countries is a good measure."

The U.S. government denies Hekmati worked for the CIA and condemned the Iranian government's actions. From the Associated Press.

The State Department called them a "complete fabrication," and White House spokesman Tommy Vietor added that "allegations that Mr. Hekmati either worked for or was sent to Iran by the CIA are false."

"The Iranian regime has a history of falsely accusing people of being spies, of eliciting forced confessions, and of holding innocent Americans for political reasons," Vietor said in a statement.

Kuma Reality Games has published its Kuma War series of war-themed games since February 2004. The free-to-download games are presented as episodes, most frequently from real conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The series debuted with a two-part episode intended to recreate the death of Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay Hussein, in the early aftermath of the American-led invasion of Iraq.

The series' most recent episodes feature the deaths of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi and al Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. Most of the playable missions listed on Kuma's website are based on actual U.S. engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Mission 58, "Assault on Iran" is an attempt to create what Kuma describes as a plausible scenario for a Special Forces strike aimed at neutralizing Iran's nuclear capability.

Kuma's mission descriptions are undeniably pro-American, but that of course is no evidence that Hekmati committed espionage or that Kuma Reality Games is a CIA front. Kuma head Keith Halper did, however, tell Kotaku.com that the company has produced training software for the military.

I honestly wouldn't be shocked if the CIA tried to use games to influence popular opinion, but it seems like a waste of taxpayer dollars when the makers of the Call of Duty and Battlefield series are spending millions on games that show the U.S. military in a positive light. That bit of semi-paranoia out of the way, I have a harder time believing the Iranian government and Hekmati's purported "confession."

My guess is that the Iranian government won't really execute Hekmati, and that his trial and imprisonment is just one big show amidst the current diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States. That prediction, of course, depends on whether or not the U.S. and Iranian navies end up shooting at each other in the Straits of Hormuz.

Funcom is making this the "Week of the Illuminati" as they continue gearing up for the release of their MMO, "The Secret World", expected in April. There's also a Q&A with the developers coming up on Facebook on January 15th, though Funcom has started taking questions so be sure to check it out.

Today marks the 10th Anniversary of Microsoft's Xbox, the console that launched a revolution and raised the stakes in the ongoing war between the gaming giants. To many, most especially its biggest fans, the Xbox brand has proven to be a worthwhile gamble on the part of Microsoft and a tremendous success in ousting rival Sony from the top spot and standing firm in its place as a serious challenger for billions of gaming dollars.

Halo became the killer app that would go on to become a multi-billiion dollar franchise. Western developers would make dramatic splashes through its hardware expanding on what players should expect from a console. Titles such as Bethesda's Morrowind and BioWare's Knights of the Old Republic would help set the kind of foundations that would eventually propel these and other Western developers into superstardom. And when the Xbox 360 hit, fans only wanted more and Microsoft obliged - though RRODs were far less appreciated. Yet that didn't even slow the Xbox juggernaut from rolling ahead on multiple social fronts.

Business site, Gurufocus, notes that CFO Kevin McCarthy has stated in a recent conference that its Xbox Live service now boasts over thirty million plus subscribers. Xbox Live was introduced in 2002.

In October, Yahoo reported on Microsoft's quarterly report revealing that over 57.6 million Xbox 360s have been sold worldwide and remained the "top selling" console in the United States, a place it has held for nine months straight.

With Netflix and a host of other social tools introduced to the console since its inception and building on the Live model begun with the first Xbox, Microsoft's foray into a high-stakes arena strewn with dramatic risks and billions of dollars has evidently paid off.

Helping to celebrate this anniversary, Xbox Live users get a free avatar prop up until this Saturday. Also, Venture Beat's Dean Takahashi (Opening the Xbox: Inside Microsoft's Plan to Unleash an Entertainment Revolution) has written up a two part piece on Microsoft's Xbox journey from the first console and into today's market with the 360.

It's a remarkable success story that has propped the software company up as a member of the worldwide console triumvirate alongside Sony and Nintendo. As for what the next ten years will do for gaming, who can say? But one thing's for certain - Microsoft's Xbox will do everything it can to be there in making it happen.

One of the most anticipated games this year, Activision's Modern Warfare 3 joins its predecessors -- Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2 -- in the pre-release piracy box. Modern Warfare 3 is due out in stores on November 8.

Dean Takahashi reports on Venture Beat that a thief had physically stolen one of the discs from the two-disc set from a distribution warehouse where copies are being stored. According to the story, it's disc 2 of the set for the PC and apparently it's started to circulate.

The story also reports that Activision is actively seeking the pirates with one posting on Craigslist on being forced to delete or destroy his copy of the game or face immediate fines. Apparently, Activision has stepped up its game on being able to track who has what if the posting is to be believed.

Gamespot had also commented on the report by pointing out that simply having the second disc isn't enough to play the game somewhat mitigating fears over a rash of spoiler filled vids raining down from Youtube such as what followed Crysis 2.

Estimates can vary on how much of an impact this might have on sales, yet few doubt that MW3 will be a titanic windfall for Activision's coffers when it hits. Piracy is still piracy, though it arguably did little to dent the record breaking numbers of copies sold for either Modern Warfare 2 or Black Ops when they were released. However, an estimate on revenue lost due to the piracy of Black Ops reportedly tops $200 million that could have gone to Activision. Certainly nothing to sneeze at.

Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities who has often been quoted in the gaming press for his forecasts on associated trends, has estimated that MW3 will sell "16 million units by the end of the fourth quarter" and "another 8 million next year".

Rockstar greeted everyone hitting their homepage today with a dramatic flourish by revealing a huge, Grand Theft Auto V logo and word that a trailer is coming on 11-2-11.

It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that we knew Rockstar was working on it in some capacity and hopefully the trailer will be more than just setting the logo and still shots of the game to music. But Rockstar has been relatively quiet in the last few years on GTA, so any news at this point will undoubtedly set the 'net ablaze with speculation.

Whatever the case might be, I'm excited. Despite GTA IV's flaws, it was a ton of fun, though I'm hoping that they add in more worthwhile rewards for collecting things. And an NPC relative who does more than ask to go out bowling.

Of course, what would Blizzcon be without some mention of Diablo 3. Blizzard's dungeon crawler is currently in beta but a firm release date is still in the air.

The latest one shows Deckard Cain's daughter poring over his notes to discern some meaning from the knowledge he has left behind, eventually stumbling on a villainous vision of apocalyptic terror. In other words, it's likely that you'll have to fight what you will see in the trailer below.

It's also rated Mature, so be warned.