An interesting turb of events in the world of criminal law happened recently as a man in Japan was recently arrested for selling hacked Pokemon in the latest titles. He was arrested under Japan’s ‘Unfair Competition Act’ and has the potential to face up to 5 years in prison for this.
Now, I’m no law expert and Nintendo certainly are within their right to try and protect their IP and any parts of it that may entail, but I can’t be the only one to think this is a bit ridiculous right? Back in the Gameboy Advance days I used to generate hacked pokemon using a gameshark and trade with my friends all the time, does that make me a criminal? The man in question who was arrested stated that the reason why he did this was to “Earn a Living” which in today’s economy is certainly an understandable answer. To me, it seems like the greater prominence of Pokemon as an E-sport and the greater interactivity with online players is what has sparked this crackdown and I for one find it incredibly disheartening to see something like this actually being prosecuted in a court of law. Wanna make sure those damn Pokemon generators are behind bars… where the public can be safe from their dangerous actions… or something like that.
That’s all for now, and as always. It’s not just a game, It’s a Life.