_{This is great new-}

Oh, I didn't see you there.
Uh.

I'm not planning anything.

I promise.

That's.........complicated.

Although it was only a matter of time before all this was popularised, video games are just another medium.

Although a murder just for an expensive item? How expensive are we talking here?

Thanks for the gold Susan, I will make sure he gets the "present" you asked for.

I cant wait to watch this Video, it sounds absolutely fascinating.

I can imagine it now "Video games kill Mans Wife!"

So... the lesson is:

Don't give people their money back if they sell ingame items for which they paid real cash, or they will hire assassins with that ingame items? Did I get this right?

So the gold spammers are a bunch of hitmen laundring money, what a shock!

One good point though, when law makes something really messy and overcomplicated means it's being commonplace, but boy they really overdo at times (even though they may have a point).

Susan Arendt:
Well, keep in mind, this scenario depends on the ability to get real-world money back out of the game. One hopes nobody's going to off your wife in return for an epic mount alone.

Epic mount?

EPIC MOUNT?!

Who do I have to kill?
Just say a name, I'll do it.

Sounds really, really far fetched :P Ah well XD

Mwahaha. Nickelback will never know what hit them.

Susan Arendt:

SnipErlite:
That's.........complicated.

Although it was only a matter of time before all this was popularised, video games are just another medium.

Although a murder just for an expensive item? How expensive are we talking here?

Well, keep in mind, this scenario depends on the ability to get real-world money back out of the game. One hopes nobody's going to off your wife in return for an epic mount alone.

Granted, although....looking at my wife...........hmm 0_O

Id love to see someone pull off the worlds greatest bank robbery and get away with it cause they used WoW. That would be such a kick in the nuts for police.

I just realised I finally know what EVE is so money based for. Assassins I tells ya

I'd just like to point out: Project Entropia.

The in-game currency (PED) is, just like the real-world Yuan, pegged to the US$.

The whole scenario isn't so far fetched.

So your trying to hire someone to kill off your better half and you don't want her to find out?

Just turn on InPrivate browsing on Internet Explorer 8, do your thing, clickity click and no-one knows what youve been up to. Your secrets safe.

I'm a PC and you have my condolences.

They're on to me...

What? Oh! I mean...

This concept of money laundering via videogames is pretty interesting. I wonder if there have been any documented cases of this?

No need to investigate a certain Civil Accountant in Spokane I imagine, though. Nothing fishy going on over here. Nosireebob.

Intersting how it seems like they are impling that Developers can be held responsible for that sort of thing. Don't those kind of transactions usually bind to an account? And then accounts are non-transferrable? How is a vendor responsible for what someone uses their services for? Are taxi drivers liable for dropping the hitman off at the house?

Wow i see everything in WoW in a different light......... and I like it :D

Nuke_em_05:
They're on to me...

What? Oh! I mean...

This concept of money laundering via videogames is pretty interesting. I wonder if there have been any documented cases of this?

No need to investigate a certain Civil Accountant in Spokane I imagine, though. Nothing fishy going on over here. Nosireebob.

Intersting how it seems like they are impling that Developers can be held responsible for that sort of thing. Don't those kind of transactions usually bind to an account? And then accounts are non-transferrable? How is a vendor responsible for what someone uses their services for? Are taxi drivers liable for dropping the hitman off at the house?

Have you ever seen the movie Collateral? Tom Cruise's character was being given money laundered through an EQ account or a long dead Horisons account.Also the whole time they thought the cabbie was just going postal no hitman involved at all. I TELLS YE!

*Takes notes*

How could they let this debauchery continue!!!

Think of the children!!!

This is...quite surprising. I'd have never considered that something like this was going behind the scenes in MMOs.

Now I'm going to be looking at every large transaction a second time. >.>

Russ Pitts:
So ... if your spouse gives you grief about playing too much of an MMO, you could theoretically use that game's in-game economy to finance a hit against them. If this wasn't, you know, legally and morally reprehensible, it would be genius.

I'm still willing to call it genius. But then again, I'm not exactly the pinnacle of morals or a shining example of completely following things like "laws".

Hmm... good points.

Don't know if anyone wants to buy anything they wouldn't own in the end, it'd be like renting a flat but not getting a flat, but instead getting a box that disintergrates after a month.

Susan Arendt:

Well, keep in mind, this scenario depends on the ability to get real-world money back out of the game. One hopes nobody's going to off your wife in return for an epic mount alone.

I've seen the kind of people who play WoW. It wouldn't surprise me in many cases, it seems to breed this absolutely obsessive mindset that honestly kind of scares me.

johnman:
I can imagine it now "Video games kill Mans Wife!"

Will be all over the BBC and what not...heh, and ten peoples rights movements!

Its certainly something to think about for sure

Susan Arendt:
Anyone who has ever paid real-world money for a virtual item has bought something they don't actually own. They are, for all intents and purposes, renting it.

Which is probably why I've never bought a virtual item before, they all seem like massive wastes of money.
Unless of course you were playing that game where you can earn real cash for buying virtual worlds and items... but I'm not in that, so, I digress.

Ah laundering. That makes sense.
Also brings up the interesting topic of who you would have "bummped off" if you could but im not going to touch that for fear of mod wrath.
One thing though: a videogamer having their spouse killed? What spouse??!!??

I had actually never even considered game currency could be used by that...

But surely the trail that's left is just as clear? That wad of cash I gave away to that person with the barcode on his head? Yeah, that was a B-day present.

Just as clear as the e-gold would be. I mean, it'd have to be *a lot* of e-gold. I assume. What's the going rate for murder now anyways? <.<