Is Video Game Cheating Illegal In The United States

Most people have found many ways to cheat in there video games both individual and online. Most websites prohibit cheating in online games as it is unfair to the other players. Cheaters of online games could get banned from the sited they are playing on. Now wether you see cheating as wrong or not is up to each individual person. Recently a news story came out about 'Manfred', a hacker who makes a living exploiting bugs in online video games to make in-game currency (or items) which he then sells to other gamers. Here is a description: A hacker says he turned finding and exploiting flaws in popular MMO video games into a lucrative, full-time job.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Rogue online gamers have designed, sold or used computer code to crush competitors playing the popular “Fortnite” survival video game, spoiling the experience and the creator’s profit potential, the game’s maker charges in a series of lawsuits.

Cary, North Carolina-based Epic Games has sued three Americans and six foreign gamers from Sweden to South Africa for hacks that undercut the game played by more than 10 million players worldwide. The lawsuits, which were filed in North Carolina and California, allege violation of the game’s copyright and terms of use contract. One of their targets may be a 14-year-old Delaware boy.

Cheating gamers are able to overpower their opponents by using tools that allow them to see through solid objects, impersonate other players and make moves other players cannot, according to one lawsuit. Up to 100 people can play the game at a time.

When cheaters “gain an unfair advantage, they ruin games for people who are playing fairly,” Epic Games spokesman Nick Chester said in an emailed statement. “We take cheating seriously, and we’ll pursue all available options to make sure our games are fun, fair, and competitive for players.”

“Fortnite,” which costs nothing to play online, generates revenue by charging players for cosmetic options, like different outfits for their virtual character, which don’t give players an edge against rivals. Some video-game makers are aggressively cracking down on cheaters, who they fear could drive away eyeballs from advertising some developers sell, said Kevin Greene, who teaches entertainment law at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego.

“From the perspective of these game makers, it’s a big disruption,” Greene said.

None of the nine defendants could be reached for comment. Two U.S. residents in Louisiana and Minnesota and one Canadian did not have listed telephone numbers matching addresses where court summonses were sent. Two Russians, one Ukrainian, one Swede and one South African did not respond to emails sent to addresses listed in court documents. The Minnesota man, Charles Vraspir, is negotiating a settlement to the lawsuit, Minneapolis attorney Mick Spence said.

But in a letter to the North Carolina federal judge hearing one case, a Newark, Delaware, woman described one defendant as her 14-year-old son. Lauren Rogers said in the letter that the boy didn’t modify “Fortnite,” but instead obtained the tools from an easily accessible public web site that Epic Games should be suing instead. As a minor, the boy isn’t able to agree to the terms and conditions of using the game, she said.

“They are using a 14 year old child as a scape goat (sic) to make an example of him,” Rogers said. There was no answer at a number matching Lauren Rogers’ address.

The Epic Games spokesman did not answer when asked whether the company knew the player it sued was a minor before filing its case. The lawsuit said the boy has used fake names to keep playing “Fortnite” despite being banned more than a dozen times and posting videos on YouTube showing himself using the illicit software and displaying links to a web site distributing the cheats.

“Epic is not okay with ongoing cheating or copyright infringement from anyone at any age,” Chester said in an email. He didn’t respond when asked whether the company has also sued web hosting or other companies used to distribute the cheating code, or how those targeted were identified.

A 1990s-era update to federal copyright law sets up procedures where companies can demand that online service providers like YouTube remove material that violates the companies’ rights. The person or company that posted the challenged material can counter with a statement that the material isn’t illegal. But it’s largely unknown that challenging the takedown notice can give U.S. courts jurisdiction over foreign residents in the dispute, said Xuan-Thao Nguyen, who teaches intellectual property law at Indiana University.

Greene said the video-gaming lawsuits remind him of the 1990s, when music licensing organizations aggressively enforced copyrights, even for campfire sing-alongs.

“I think legally they were right but the backlash against them was enormous,” Greene said. Video-game makers “have to be careful from a public relations standpoint that, yeah, they might win the battle but they could lose the war.”

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Follow Emery P. Dalesio on Twitter at http://twitter.com/emerydalesio. His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/emery%20dalesio

According to certain people, violent video games should be banned; they feel that violent video games are the source of today’s violence amongst children. I strongly disagree with them. Video games, like movies, music and any other form of art, are there to entertain people and to enjoy, not restrict. What most people fail to realize is that the video game industry, like the film industry, is heavily regulated with a strict code of parental guidelines already in place. Even the game consoles to play these violent games have parental controls.

What I fail to understand is that some parents believe its okay to give their children 18+ rated games even though they are well under that age, and say that these games are the sources of violence between children. If parents would not let a 10-year-old watch 18+ rated horrors movies, then why would parents let a 10-year-old play Gears of War, or Grand Theft Auto with its gang, crime and sexual content? Today, the debate to ban violent video games is drastically increasing in popularity.

Video games that have violence in them such as Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, or Gears of War, might be banned for showing mature content. Video games sold in the United States reach retail sales of twenty one billion dollars a year. If they are banned, the economy can lose a tremendous amount of profit, and not to mention almost every mature adult around the world would be extremely furious. When people say that video games are very influential on the youth of today, they are probably right.

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However, the youth of today probably shouldn't be playing violent video games to start with, just as they shouldn't be watching violent movies. Violent video games have an age rating on them for a reason. If parents want buy their under aged children violent video games, then they should not complain that the video games are causing their children to become violent. Before complaining, they should actually pay attention to the age ratings posted on the games themselves and not ignore it, and then to make things worse; try to ban the games that other people might enjoy playing.

Today’s game consoles (Sony's Play station 3and Microsoft's Xbox 360) are both aimed at mature adults, with the consoles having parental controls, and age warnings on the game boxes. Personally, I couldn't think of anything worse if violent video games get banned. The last thing that I want to do is go into any store and only be able to buy games that are aimed at 3-year-olds, such as Kung fu Panda or Dora the Explorer.

In conclusion, I can say that violent video games have become one of the most favorable forms of entertainment to any teenager or adult around the world in the 21st century. And if they were to get banned, many people would get extremely furious. Violent video games are aimed strictly at mature teenagers and adults (as indicated on the game box itself), not children. Parents that complain that some video games are too violent and should be banned should stop and think; because after all, they are the ones who bought their kids the violent video games.

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The facts demonstrate that a few investigations have indicated certain computer games can improve dexterity, critical thinking aptitudes, and the brain's capacity to process data. However, an excessive amount of computer game playing may cause issues. It's difficult to get enough dynamic play and exercise in case you're constantly inside playing computer games.

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Is Video Game Cheating Illegal In The United States Of America

US Court of Advances for the Ninth Circuit insisted. Dark colored v. Amusement Dealers Affiliation, 564 U.S. 786 (2011), is a milestone case by the Preeminent Court of the US that struck down a 2005 California law forbidding the offer of certain fierce computer games to kids without parental supervision.

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Are video games the cause of violence?

Computer games are regularly observed as a potential reason to rough activities, eminently in the fallout of the 1999 Columbine Secondary School slaughter, yet scholarly investigations presently can't seem to recognize any immediate proof between portrayals of viciousness in computer games and fierce conduct; the American Mental Affiliation's legitimate ...

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