So I'm reading Broken Toys, which is normal for my Lum stalking, and I came across this entry. It's a writeup about an interview between Brad McQuad (one my absolute favorite people…Oh wait, I'm lying.) and some guy that claims to be…I have no idea. They are talking about Gold Farming and whether it's good for MMORPGs or not. At the end of the article they bring up an interesting point (which is good, because the rest of it is pretty boring).
Brad McQuaid: It is true that many people don't care what other people possess, but I would consider them in the minority.
And I also think that you may well see some lawsuits on the horizon.
Roger Kipe: I agree with you Brad, there will be lawsuits in the near future. In fact when I was at E3 in 2006 I talked to many people who were telling me of the lawsuit that was just decided in the Korea. This was a case of a man who bought a sword in game and afterwards it was deleted somehow. He sued NCSoft (as it was Lineage 2) for his sword back. The court decided that he was the one that put all of the time and effort into the game and thus he was the owner of the property. It was the court decision that he would be given back his sword. I would expect that here in the US it will follow suit soon.
It's something I've been talking about for a long time. Sooner or later, virtual worlds are going to get laws. MMORPG companies are going to give up on the "your virtual property isn't actually yours" theory. Because it's a silly thing they do so they aren't liable, even though it's not actually true. They are liable and they will be taken to court and they will lose and they will have to guarantee their goods…at some point.
And Lum suggests the following:
Because I’ll just come out and say it – over-regulation can very easily choke the MMO industry in its crib. No company is going to operate an entertainment business with anything close to the liabilities being bandied around. It simply will cost too much. No sane MMO publisher will fund a project that requires more lawyers than world builders. Thus, no MMOs, as we currently know them, will be published.
And that will definitely settle the argument.
I'd have to give that a big NO. WoW currently has what, 3 or 4 million real subscribers and a bunch of other payers? You think they'd pack up and go home because they had to lawyer up and guarantee their goods? They'd quit printing money? I have respectfully say, you're very very wrong, dumbass. :P I just can't agree with that all.
It will come MMORPGs having to back up their virtual world and it will come to laws made specifically for MMORPGs and it will come all game companies having to have more lawyers than they do now. But it won't stop the MMORPG juggernaut.
Oh, and Lum, my friend. This is the Internet. Nothing stops the argument.
What Would Matt Do: Print my own money…ya know, if it was legal for me.