A file isn’t something that you can pick up, look at, hand to your friend, or put in your pocket. You can put files onto a CD, DVD, flash drive, hard drive, memory card, or other medium that stores files. Files are physically an entity, yet so intangible that people feel they are simply thin air. Qiu, a 41 year old online gamer in Shanghai, China stabbed 26 year old Zhu to death. The 26 year old sold Qui’s virtual sword, acquired in the game “Legend Of Mir 3”. This is a sad story; $840.00 US is not worth a human life. The real issue I grasp from this act is the fact that Qui went to the police first, and was given no assistance.
“Qui went to the police to report the “theft” but was told the weapon was not real property protected by law.”
That really bothers me. Tell the music or movie industry this, and they’ll flip. College students have been sued for a combined millions of dollars, due to ‘sharing’ music files. Apple’s iTunes Music Store has made millions of dollars in music downloads. When money becomes involved with these thin air concepts called files, people take note and get serious. Virtual weapons, armor, and other items people purchase with actual currency for use in video games, should be protected just as the new Coldplay single is. When are we going to stop playing ostrich and pull our heads out of the sand?