Blizzard Squeezes $88 Million From Private Server Owner

[Warstratigier]

Man it feels like i am looking at many evils and sorting out which ones are necessary and which ones are not....hrm.....shall I test the waters? You know what why not....things aren't going to change in the gaming community anyway.

You know I don't get what the big fuss is all about from those that think this is cruelly unjust...This just sounds like the amount this private server company had stolen and deprived blizzard of. It doesn't matter how it is done, stealing is stealing. How would you feel if someone stolen from you? Wouldn't be a happy feeling would it now? Though there are those that will still seek to cheat and steal, and even make excuses to make it feel justifiable....though i don't think it would be because they mean well for the people. So to that end, the light is seen: the ugly truth of hypocrisy.

I am looking the two sides of the blackened coin: and they are both greedy.

 

[pinchy]

The thing is, it's a product they're selling- once they have sold it it is no longer theirs- it is the property of the person who bought it. Would you be happy if someone sold you a house and then told you you were only allowed to use "x brand" furnature in it to make it hospitable? and that you would be prosecuted if you bought the cheaper "y brand"

You didn't read the terms and conditions did you? How about the box which clearly states there's a monthly toll to be paid? Your analogy doesn't work because it suggests withheld information which may have prevented you from buying the product in the first place.

Hell, it doesn't even work with normal games, and certainly not with MMOs. Almost all games are still owned by the company who made them, and you only own a licence to use the game. That's all in the terms and conditions you agree to when you tick the box and install the game, and it's entirely legal for the company to do.

So yea, when it comes to computer games/programs, your "house" analogy is entirely 100% incorrect. You should probably read the legal contract (terms and conditions) you are agreeing too next time kerkanka, because a court won't accept that as an excuse if you said that to them.

I don't know how things work in other parts of the world but I thought the house analogy worked to an extent. There's a local development where if you wanted to buy a house there you had to agree to a rediculous numbers of conditions as to what you would do with the property (i.e- you could only build a fence to a certain height). Hell there's a restiction on my property where I can't do anything to block the driveway to the other house behind mine.

Even if you did own the game (which you dont usually as much as it annoys me) there are other conditions that you agreed to which restrict the way in which you could use it. If you bought a house and were dumb enough to not read the agreement and as a result had to only use certain furniture then that's your own fault. You wouldn't be prosecuted (neither were these private server people) but they could sue you in civil court (as Blizzard did here) for not doing what you agreed to do.

 

[Azmael Silverlance]

I think blizz wouldve closed their eyes if it wa simply a free server. BUt microtransactions to buy stuff....that is bad rep for the game itself...and who would pay for 10% of wow instead of paying monthly fees to play the 100% WoW? o.o doesnt make sense....

 

[ezeroast]

Wow that's way over the top, I'm all for making an example of someone but 88mil is just insane.

 

[neurohazzard]

Honestly, it shouldn't be legal to sue someone for more money then they actually have, and it certainly shouldn't be possible to sue someone for more money then they could ever possibly make. Unless she made somewhere near that amount of money off her server, she's going to be paying blizzard all the money she makes for the rest of her life....which actually sounds a little like a form of indentured servitude when you think about it.

 

[Meshekal]

I highly doubt Blizzard expect to recieve anything more than the $3 million, it's an aggresive act to warn others. What this Ms. Reeves did was criminal - she can file for bankrupcy and that will affect her for life, but so would a criminal record. It won't destroy her, but it will hit her hard enough to ensure she won't even think of doing it again. Also, wasn't it Scapegaming that was sued, and not Reeves personally? I'm not sure exactly how Bankrupcy works for companies and their owners over personal bankrupcy, so I'll leave that open.

Good to see running a private gaming server has harsher penalties than the maximum liability limit on a catastrophic oil spill (They were capped at 75 million but chose to pay more).

GG America, nothing like making digital theft always more extreme than real world disasters or actual physical theft.

And no, I don't support what they did, I just find it odd that physically stealing a copy of a game gets me lighter charges than downloading a copy of it (which is true).

Many, many more people would be willing to download a pirate game / film / cd than steal an actual physical product. Piracy, or theft of digital products/services, is a problem companies like Blizzard are trying to stamp out, so the ones who are caught are made an example of in order to prevent it and make people aware there are consequences.

 

[Blatherscythe]

Good, private servers are shitty watered down versions of the game anyways. She took something that wasen't hers, tried to make money off of it and gets burned, beaten and raped by the law when Blizzard got wind of what she was doing. Blizzard isn't interested in the money, her lawsuit is like an execution, showing all who run private servers for profit the extent companies will go to when defending what's theirs. Serves her right the fucking theif.

 

[Blatherscythe]

Honestly, it shouldn't be legal to sue someone for more money then they actually have, and it certainly shouldn't be possible to sue someone for more money then they could ever possibly make. Unless she made somewhere near that amount of money off her server, she's going to be paying blizzard all the money she makes for the rest of her life....which actually sounds a little like a form of indentured servitude when you think about it.

Wonder what Blizzard would do if they took people like her and made them slaves?

 

[Vilcus]

No sympathy from me, zilch, zero, nadda.

I have no tolerance for people who try to profit off of other's products. Now, if the private servers had been 100% free (no microtransactions), I would have been shocked at Blizzard's actions. However, because she profited from a crime, and she ignored a cease and desist order which makes no sense (and even if she herself never got one, other private servers received them and the news spread like wild fire, that should have been her clue to gtfo).

 

[rynocerator]

Its really not necessary to ruin this woman's life over this. They easily could've sought 10,000 and made a statement. This just makes them seem like bullies. I feel very sorry for this lady and her kids and her kid's kids cuz when she dies, the debt gets passed on.

 

[tetron]

Yeah hosting a private server is one thing. Making money off of someone else's product like this is just plain wrong. I suppose regardless of the amount she was going to get hit with a lawsuit for debt for life anyways. Guess there's nothing to do for her now but leave the country.

 

[Christemo]

The banhammer just got swung.

 

[Motiv_]

So is it illegal, to run a private server, FOR YOURSELF, that only you can access?
For the purpose of solo dicking around and the like

DISCLAIMER: I HAVE NEVER PLAYED WORLD OF WARCRAFT AND NEVER WILL. THE ACCURACY OF THIS INFORMATION IS TO BE TAKEN WITH A GRAIN OF SALT.

From what I understand, there are "Realms" that are hosted on servers. You pay 15 dollars per month to access these servers. So, this unfortunate woman set up a private "Realm", and charged people to enter it, what I would assume is a reduced fee. On top of that, she also added the ability to purchase "Loot" from her and other players using real money. So Blizzard is not only losing subscription fees, but also losing money spent on these items.

That's what gotten them so miffed. The players were playing the game, and enjoying it, and Blizzard wasn't seeing a penny of it. Not saying that what they did was in any way justified, just thought I'd clear it up a tad.

 

[zungerman090]

That sure was a dick move. If I were that woman, I would be thinking of suicide now.

 

[ItsAPaul]

So basically it'll get appealed to like 6 digits and the person will move out of the country, got it.

 

[Klagermeister]

This is making me rethink wanting to work for them after college...
88 million? I'm not sure, but I'm betting this is just an average joe with average income.
I couldn't imagine having to pay 88 million outta my own wallet.

 

[Blackvegie]

If I was her I would leave the country.

 

[Enigmers]

I don't understand what filing for bankruptcy means. Do you just say "yeah I'll never have this much?" and a judge says "okay fine" and then you go on earning minimum wage for the rest of your life?

 

[almostgold]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Seriously though guys, she declare bankruptcy and walk away. Yeah, she'll still take a big blow, but that what you get. Her own fault.

 

[Firehopper]

Maybe they can make Mages/Paladins good in Cata now.