Should Video Gamers Be Prosecuted for Virtual Theft>

In today’s time with the new head turning technology in video games most of the games have some sort of violence present in them. Many games past and present incorporate some kind of violence such as, killing with weapons, using explosives, and crashing cars. With all of the present day technology all activities portrayed during in-game scenarios are becoming more and more realistic. In 2005 the state of California enacted a law to ban the sale of certain violent games to children without the consent of their parents. The law was created based upon the idea that with the realistic in-game events real behavior could be drastically effected by the violence. The worries are that tragic events such as massacres could occur based on ideas seen in games. Incidents such as high school shooting have heightened concerns of potential connections between violent games and violent actions.

The argument essay “Should Gamers Be Prosecuted for Virtual Stealing” by Alex Weiss, starts off by him revealing the story of the Dutch Supreme Court that is convicting a 13-year old teenager of virtually stealing another players amulet and shield. Alex then proceeds to elucidate “disappointing teenage years” while participating in massively multiplayer online video games as a thief. He then starts to discuss the ethics and rules of frequent massive multiplayer online games and brings up evidence on how it is not against the policy of

Alex Weiss wrote, “Should Gamers Be Prosecuted for Virtual Stealing” which compares virtual laws to real life laws. The thesis of his argument is “video games are not work or investments for which people should be compensated; they are escapism” (Weiss). He is saying that what happens in a video game should stay in a video game. It should have no correlation to the outside world. One an example he gives to support his thesis is,” These projects may seem foolish to those outside of the gaming world but they represent a great a deal to their creators. And these hopes and dreams can be destroyed rapidly by another player who just wan to be a jerk” (Weiss 732). He says right there that a player could spend months on making something when in just

One reason why I think people should be prosecuted to an extent is because it is a harmless crime. People in the world have gotten a lesser charge for things that are worst than piracy. Some of the crimes actually can involve hurting others yet they get a lesser crime. On a website

 In 2012, the Dutch Supreme Court convicted a teenager of “virtual theft.” The defendant stole two items within the then-popular game Runescape. Although the defendant’s attorney pointed out the neither items even existed or had any real economic value, the court ruled that the time spent by the victim in the acquisition of these items within the game actually gave them economic value. The author gives examples of similar behavior being not only allowed, but accepted within older, similar games. The author argues that gamers should not be prosecuted for theft within games, assuming the stolen “object” has no economic value, and that cases like this one “[make] no sense to [him].”

It is common knowledge that crime exists all over the world and that justice and punishment may vary in different countries and societies. However, how justice and punishment is enforced in a society and globally is not common knowledge. Global justice refers to the belief that the world is unjust; while social justice, in a manner of speaking, refers to the fair treatment of everyone in a society.(“Social Justice”). Both social and global justice value human rights, remove inequality, and holds people accountable for fair practices.(“Social Justice”). If someone commits the same crime as another person, for example, they should receive the same punishment. That is what most people would be inclined to believe, but in the reading “The Moral Ambivalence of Crime in an Unjust Society” by Jeffrey Reiman, crime and justice is reviewed and defined in an uncommon way. Reiman discusses justice in a society where a crime was committed against him and his wife.

punishment is already in existence, the problem is that it is not enforced. This lack of

There are also a significant number of thefts targeted at electricity supply lines and sub-stations. These may result in a high level of danger, not only for those committing the theft but for members of the public as a result of fires and danger from insecure installations.

Although in majority of cases capital punishment should not be an option worldwide, some offenders have too high of a chance

Summary: In this article a situation involving two parties is broken down and explained. First there is the victim who claims he was stolen from on a virtual game called runescape. While the other party is the thief who is being charged with theft. The writer states his opinion throughout the piece and makes it very apparent that this is childish. However the victim felt it was enough to take to federal court. The victim claims that the thief stole a amulet and a sword from him in the game. The reason he feels he can take this 13 year old to court is because he invested money in the subscription and also time to obtain the virtual currency to buy these items. The big issue with this case however is the fact that the thief used violent actions with his virtual character to obtain the objects from the owner. The writer goes on to state that it is a virtual game and therefore no crime was committed. This case in the end concluded in court that the thief believes that it was a crime and sentences the 13 year old to 145 hours of community service.

　　Punishment is a necessary evil, it is required to deter criminals from committing crimes and to serve as an example to other potential criminals

One of the biggest games of all time that go on the fairy tale ride is Grand Theft Auto. GTA has been one of the best-selling and most controversial games ever made Kids from all ages play it with many adults advocating for its ban. I have played and enjoyed this game myself over the years with friends and random people on the internet. Everyone that I have come across can always discern the difference between the game and real life. The game itself has a beginning, middle, and end. The main goal is to get to the end. Sure, you have to do some questionable things along the way but at the end of the day there has been no proof to link this game to the real-world violence and crimes.

Video games are highly designed with artistic expression in the digital world. There is a

I truly see no harm in virtual murder. According to the PBS News Hour (2013), there is no evidence that any violent video game has ever caused a real world violent act. I look at playing these games as a way for children to explore and gain knowledge about the world. In most cases, the child ends up playing the game as the “good guy”, who is fighting the “bad guy” and helping to save the world. I see nothing wrong with this. I think we should be allowing our children to feel like heroes by allowing them to participate in such virtual worlds. When referring to the most advanced games such as Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto, I would not argue against placing age restriction on these games and I mentioned in my own post, but I do not believe we need to go as far as making them illegal. Unlike virtual paedophilia, I do not think that virtual murder takes away from the innocence of a child. I believe that all players realize that the world they are playing in online is a different world from reality. The players do not act the same way in the real world as they do in the virtual world. In addition, I do not believe that the people who commit murder in real life do so because they have done it in

The rise in popularity of violent games has been the subject of many a debate as to whether this fuels violent crime. Games such as Grand Theft Auto take the player into a violent underworld. This fuels anxieties of how relationships in the real and virtual world are perceived. (Crime; Global and Local, chapter 3, p.101). The possibility to take on a different virtual identity has become a way of depicting social harm and criminal activity. The characters in these games are often stereotypes, ethnic minority gang members and drug dealers. In this way the gaming industry reinforces