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Video games crack down on cheating

Some players give themselves the ability to magically see and shoot through walls. Others find a way to fly, making them nearly impossible to defeat.

Cheating like this in video games has a long and even respected tradition. Games have often slyly included ways -- intentionally or not -- for sophisticated players to hack into the software and then skip levels or take on supernatural powers.

But these days, the subject is getting a more serious look. Unlike older games, today's are networked to be played with strangers over the Internet. And now, real money is at stake. Fantasy games like "World of Warcraft" and computer environs like "Second Life," to name a few, have their own currency or other virtual valuables that can be traded for hard U.S. dollars.

In other words, hacking into a video game to cheat can be a business strategy. And so clamping down on it could be key to maintaining virtual worlds' economies and reputations. Even chip-maker Intel Corp. is suggesting a technology for doing it.

But one huge question is: Can cheating really be stifled?

Capt CHAOS6799d ago

Good to see any progress on cracking down on these lamers..

fredy6799d ago

I would rather stick to XBL knowing the chances of getting caught is greater then the open ended pc and probably theps3 and linux soon with their free service.

Rooftrellen6799d ago

You can never stop cheating. Anyone who wants to cheat will find a way to be one step ahead of those who want to ban them.

As far as trading game money for real money goes, as far as I know, that's actually illegal in the real world, because you are trading something you don't own (the company that made the game maintains ownership of your character and all items and money on it in most cases), like selling your neighbor's house.

Where possible, it is a better strategy to try to crack down on the practices that lead to cheating than to crack down on the cheaters themselves, because the cheaters can always get around you, but if the reasons for cheating start going away, so too will the cheaters.

They'll always be around, but so will many evils in the world. That is no excuse not to try to stop it.

BLACKJACK VII6799d ago

BURN THE GLITCHERS !!!

BURN THEM ALL !!!

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Microsoft Gaming Revenue Drops 7% Year-on-Year, Content and Services Down 5%, Xbox Hardware Down 33%

Microsoft announced its financial results for Q3 of fiscal year 2026, including an update on its gaming Xbox business and more.

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simulationdaily.com
Jin_Sakai15d ago (Edited 15d ago )

Not looking good. Hopefully Asha Sharma is able to turn Phil’s disaster around.

dveio15d ago

To me it's still quite remarkable how they can cash-in 5.3bn in revenue in a single quarter, since their hardware is basically dead.

Jingsing15d ago

The stock mark is what makes Microsoft remarkable, They have convinced every institutional and retail investor to just keep piling money into them. Like many big tech giants they are just a big growing pyramid scheme. As long as people keep dropping money into ETF's that cover the market Microsoft will always be liquid. At the same time it is completely stifling innovation and competition. People need to start being more discreet in how they invest their money as it's killing the system.

Tanktopmaster9215d ago

Once they re-evaluate exclusive all will be fine….

S2Killinit15d ago

Riiiiight because people will just flock back to them for one or two games per year.

Jingsing15d ago

15+ years of bad performance is what they call irreparable in business. It is time for them to sell off the assets and get out of entertainment.

Tanktopmaster9215d ago

These declines are on the back of extra revenue received from releasing games like Forza horizon 5 on PlayStation. So I’m being sarcastic here when I said they should go back to exclusives. Killing off a revenue stream from Ps5 sales will only make things worse

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Report: Injustice 3 in Development at NetherRealm Studios

Thanks to the slip-up of an artist working on the title, we now have more evidence that a new Injustice game is in the works.

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Spiders Studio, Developers of GreedFall: The Dying World, Announce Liquidation of the Company

Spiders: "We're going to cut straight to the chase so you're not left wondering: After a long period without clear answers, we have received confirmation that Spiders is being liquidated.

What does it mean? This means the company as a whole no longer exists. We'll cease our functions immediately. The planned DLC will release via Nacon, and then-- well, that's it.

We're sorry that it's come to this and would like to thank each and every one of you for your support over the years.

If you have any questions or run into issues with your games, please contact Nacon directly as we'll no longer be able to reply."