There has always been a direct link to legal issues when it comes to video games, but today, I have something a step away from the typical “violent video games lead to violent people.” You won’t believe what’s in store!
The first legal news we have today comes, in part, from Kotaku. You may remember from March, Justin D. May, 21, was accused of attempting to steal the source code for the video game, Breach. May was arrested March 28 after he attempted to steal the code at the Penny Arcade Expo in Boston.
Officials from Atomic Games, who are the ones responsible for catching May’s devious act, say the code is worth an estimated $6 million. As a result, May was placed on pre-trial bail which prohibits him from Xbox LIVE websites and services, remain in school and forfeit his computer, amongst other things. If May abides by these limitations, his case will be dropped after 18 months, if not, off to trial he goes!
The next story is a little less interesting, and much more gruesome! A 22 year-old mother, Alexandra V. Tobias, from Jacksonville, FL has pleaded guilty to second degree murder after an incident involving FarmVille!
The mother of a 3 month old infant, Tobias was outraged when her son interrupted her by crying while she was deep in an intense session of the casual game, FarmVille. Tobias told authorities she grabbed her son, shook him, had a cigarette, then shook him again to make him stop crying. As a result, authorities say Tobias may have hit her son’s head while shaking him, causing his death.
Second degree murder carries a possible sentence of life in prison. I wonder who’d going to check her crops now!?
