Worlds Blur as Chinese Insanity Locks Up Virtual Arms Dealers
Mir big gun sales bring legal strife.
So, the Chinese government has moved against people impinging on the intellectual property of videogame makers. About time, you might say, for a region that has seen a sales and development environment as close to government-sanctioning piracy as it's possible to get (...away with).
However, ignoring the endemic levels of piracy across all major console game platforms, the Chinese press is trumpeting the apprehension of three men accused with selling unofficial versions of weapons found in the MMo Legend of Mir.
According to notes released by The Guangdong Provincial People's Congress:
"Because top-grade game weapons are very rare and precious for devoted players, they are valuable in the virtual world. We decided to make use of my position to produce a group of the weapons to get money," said Wang Yihui, a former manager of Shanghai Shanda Network Development, the key defendant in the trial.
Please feel free to let us know your opinions in the forum on the massive spectrum of issues this throws up.
However, ignoring the endemic levels of piracy across all major console game platforms, the Chinese press is trumpeting the apprehension of three men accused with selling unofficial versions of weapons found in the MMo Legend of Mir.
According to notes released by The Guangdong Provincial People's Congress:
Prosecutors allege the trio earned illegal profits of more than 2 million yuan (US$250,000) by using the computer code database of Legend of Mir 2, a popular online game operated by Shanda, to produce and sell large quantities of high-level game weapons. The weapons are normally only available to high-level winners, and hadn't been for sale.
Possession of the weapons would allow less skilled players to succeed more easily. The activities of the three also circulated far more virtual weapons than the company planned, which alerted the company that something was amiss.
Prosecutors allege that from September 2004 to August 2005, Wang, former deputy manager of Shanda's game project management center, collaborated with Tang and Jin to duplicate game weapons without Shanda's permission.
Possession of the weapons would allow less skilled players to succeed more easily. The activities of the three also circulated far more virtual weapons than the company planned, which alerted the company that something was amiss.
Prosecutors allege that from September 2004 to August 2005, Wang, former deputy manager of Shanda's game project management center, collaborated with Tang and Jin to duplicate game weapons without Shanda's permission.
"Because top-grade game weapons are very rare and precious for devoted players, they are valuable in the virtual world. We decided to make use of my position to produce a group of the weapons to get money," said Wang Yihui, a former manager of Shanghai Shanda Network Development, the key defendant in the trial.
Please feel free to let us know your opinions in the forum on the massive spectrum of issues this throws up.
Games:
Legend Of Mir, The
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