Comment Re:But isn't that the point? (Score 1) 745
I have played Lineage II since its open beta period in North America and the issue is not as cut and dry as one would think.
It is against the EULA to use bots in the game, alhtough bots are a huge problem. It is also against the EULA to buy and sell in-game goods for real life money. Yet if you do a search for Lineage II on ebay you will see an extensive amount of listings. Also, large corporations have gotten into the act creating "sweatshops" in China that farm the virtual goods in this and other games for sale for real life cash. Visit http://www.ige.com/ and you will get the picture.
How is NCSOFT liable in my opinion? If they left a known bug within the game that led to the loss of this in-game item that has precarious if unsanctioned real life value, then shouldn't they be considered liable?
Of course, they have the ultimate settlement for this type of thing, they can replace the items with a quick insert to the player equipment database and he has little recourse. Doubt if he could claim pain and suffering for this type of action.
But keep in mind that the game does not ordinarily allow players to steal directly from players. Players do have a probability of dropping items upon death to Non-Player Characters "monsters" or "mobs". They also have the probability of dropping items when dying to players when they are in a "chaotic" state, after killing another Player character. Under these circumstances a player can drop items, although a recent patch allows players with less then 5 player kills to not suffer this fate.
The economy of this game is facinating where it might take months to gather enough virtual money to equip your character with a higher end piece of equipment.
It is against the EULA to use bots in the game, alhtough bots are a huge problem. It is also against the EULA to buy and sell in-game goods for real life money. Yet if you do a search for Lineage II on ebay you will see an extensive amount of listings. Also, large corporations have gotten into the act creating "sweatshops" in China that farm the virtual goods in this and other games for sale for real life cash. Visit http://www.ige.com/ and you will get the picture.
How is NCSOFT liable in my opinion? If they left a known bug within the game that led to the loss of this in-game item that has precarious if unsanctioned real life value, then shouldn't they be considered liable?
Of course, they have the ultimate settlement for this type of thing, they can replace the items with a quick insert to the player equipment database and he has little recourse. Doubt if he could claim pain and suffering for this type of action.
But keep in mind that the game does not ordinarily allow players to steal directly from players. Players do have a probability of dropping items upon death to Non-Player Characters "monsters" or "mobs". They also have the probability of dropping items when dying to players when they are in a "chaotic" state, after killing another Player character. Under these circumstances a player can drop items, although a recent patch allows players with less then 5 player kills to not suffer this fate.
The economy of this game is facinating where it might take months to gather enough virtual money to equip your character with a higher end piece of equipment.
