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Blizzard ushered in the month of October by showing Starcraft II cheaters the door, suspending or banning roughly 5,000 players of the real-time strategy game for using hacks to gain an advantage in the game. Days later, the company went after some of the people responsible for the cheat programs.

Blizzard is wasting little time cracking down on Starcraft II hackers.

Blizzard last week filed suit in the Los Angeles US District Court against three programmers, accusing them of creating and selling hacks for Starcraft II in violation of the end-user license agreement, Battle.net terms of use, and copyright law.

According to the suit, "Just days after the release of Starcraft II, Defendants already had developed, marketed, and distributed to the public a variety of hacks and cheats designed to modify (and in fact destroy) the Starcraft II online game experience. In fact, on the very day that Starcraft II was released, representatives of the hacks Web site advised members of the public that 'our staff is already planning new releases for this game.'"

Blizzard is accusing the trio of multiple counts of copyright infringement, and demanding damages and disgorgement of any profits reaped by the distribution and sale of the hacks. The company also accuse the defendants of inducing others to infringe on their copyright, saying, "When users of the Hacks download, install, and use the Hacks, they copy StarCraft II copyrighted content into their computer's RAM in excess of the scope of their limited license, as set forth in the EULA and ToU, and create derivative works of StarCraft II."

"The harm to Blizzard from Defendants' conduct is immediate, massive and irreparable," the suit claims. "By distributing the Hacks to the public, Defendants cause serious harm to the value of StarCraft II. Among other things, Defendants irreparably harm the ability of Blizzard's legitimate customers (i.e. those who purchase and use unmodified games) to enjoy and participate in the competitive online experience. That, in turn, causes users to grow dissatisfied with the game, lose interest in the game, and communicate that dissatisfaction, thereby resulting in lost sales of the game or 'add-on' packs and expansions thereto."

The three defendants named in the suit go by the handles "Permaphrost," "Cranix," and "Linuxawesome," with the former two residing in Canada and the latter in Peru. It's unclear what jurisdiction the court has over the accused, although Starcraft II's end-user license agreement specifically states that disputes would be decided by a court within Los Angeles County. Additionally, among the relief demanded by the developer is a requirement that the defendants pull their programs hosted anywhere within the court's jurisdiction. There are other allged hackers named in the suit--including "Wiggley," "Zynastor," and "Dark Mage," but Blizzard has not included their real identities in the suit.

Blizzard had not responded to GameSpot's request for comment as of press time.

Original article at au.gamespot.com/news/6282171.html.

I have no idea what will come of this, but I would be terrified if I was being sued by Blizzard.  I love their aggressiveness though.

Yeah, this is all Actionvision trying to make a money grab here. Ever since Actionvision grabbed hold of Blizzard, the quality of their product has gone down. They have region-locked Starcraft, so that you can't play a game in Europe with a friend unless you buy a whole copy of Starcraft for Europe. On top of that they have removed chat rooms from the game, where most would meet other people to play practice games, because of "spam". The multiplayer interface has been dumbed down, mostly because the guy responsible for making XBox live's UI was in charge, thus designing the UI for a console and controller, rather than a mouse and keyboard. A shareholder of Actionvision has gone on the record saying that they wish they could charge more for videogames over the current $60 fee. And seeing as this game has been out for months, the majority of sales has already happened, especially within the first two-three weeks of release. Blizzard/Actionvision is making little money right now, because pretty much everyone who wanted SC2 already bought it.

Besides that, most of the hacks distributed were used in the single player campaign, not the multiplayer experience. The case is blown out of preportion. I guess if they consider cheating at the achievement system (also brought in by the guy who made the UI) "ruining the experience", then they are going to really show that players give a fig about achievement points.

/money hungry parent company is money hungry

no hacks for me =C

 Actionvision? You mean Activision?

It's not a money grab, every game developper who is is "haunted" by any cheat should sue the pants of any hacker. No remorse from me. I even hope those hackers - especially those releasing a commercial version of a hack - end up like that russian spammer with a few bulletholes in the head. If they have programming skills they can get a job easely, no need to ruin other people's platforms.

Activision is behind this. The only reason that they are going for the source of hacks now (and rather publically) is that they are trying to do what the DEA does: create a link in a chain to find other hackers, take them down, and move on to the next one. Its a ploy to create positive value in the market on their product. As I mentioned, Blizzard has made most of its money already, and that has gone in part to Activision. They are hoping to scare cash out of these guys and gals, and scare other hackers into cooperation or into hiding

A hacker, given that they already are of the mindset that they are in, would not find a job very easily. Despite skill (which everyone looks for) entry-level jobs are not high-paying, not to mention the fact that these hackers were not in the United States, which has one of the higher salaries for programmers in general. A job in their home country might mean a very lower salary. In effect, it might be more lucartive for the hackers to sell hacks than to get less sketchy employment.

If you really think that being able to hack in a single-player campaign is worth a few bullets, then I seriously have to question your sanity. I'm not saying hacking is good, but its a video game. Everyone expects someone to not play fair. Given the fact that most profit had already been made for the game, the damage is slight. Its scare tactics, and Blizzard doesn't do that. People who percieve threats to their business portfolio use scare tactics.

Yes my sanity has issues, no dispute there. The fact that you're already used to the idea there will be hackers is an issue at your side though. Another issue at your side (no pun intended) is that you seem to define what the roof is they should earn with their product.

Lastly, I know hackers with VERY good jobs and even no official qualifications. I know for a fact corporations actively seek out people with similar skills. It's 2010, jobs aren't location bound anymore, hell, most are even outsourced to areas western people rarely visit. If they write a hack to prove their skills, ok, they can restrain their functionality again after getting attention. If they write a hack because they think an official job doesn't earn enough they are at the same level as an ordinary thief/fraud and justice needs to be swift and effective.

First of all, there is one thing your forgetting.

1. Our Real Life Constitution Means more than some stupid game companies TOS, OR EULA.
 

2. All the game companies do is threaten people with their stupid agreements no offense, but software companies who sell you games in a store do not make you sign an agreement with your signature, and say by Installing this software you agree to this, and you cant do this, cant cheat, and all that kind of stuff. This can be voided in a court or LAW unless real damages can be proven.

For example I could go into any game I want, Click a stupid I agree button, play the game, and the company could try to SUE me for cheating, or hacking with a third party program, and there is nothing they can do besides Ban the account, and call my ISP and get it black listed from connecting to their servers anymore. A Lawsuit against me would not hold up in a court or law for cheating because they would have to actually prove it, by taking my computer inspecting the hard drive, and everything.

3. My Policy before I buy any software from a store is simple. If there is an agreement you better make me sign it before I buy the software. I don't read your manuals, I dont even read the book, or agreement, nor is there proof I accepted, or did not accept.

I see these type of threats all the time in the game industry where game companies sue cheaters for making cheats, and such. There really isn't anything Blizzard can do now besides banning accounts, or suspending t hem or whatever they want, because their claims of intellectual property are clearly false. They are just mad because the game company has made a cheat program to cheat their game, and don't like it. Personally I modify any file I want to as long as it is on my pc, and do what the hell I please, and no software company is going to tell me what I can, and can't do.

Also there is the Fair Use policy, although if they are using any Blizzard images or LOGO on their cheat they maybe required to get rid of them.

I am not saying that Cheating is right, because I dont agree with any type of Aimbotting, Hacking, OR Cheating of any kind. I am just sick and tired of the software companies, and game industry on the market trying to tell me what I can, and can't do with the software I have purchased, and stick agreements in my face, which if I open the package I cant return it for a refund, and over 99% of the time I never read the manual anyways so I am not aware of such agreements. I also remember when the game I played called all points Bulletin installed spyware called Punk Buster on my computer without my consent, and without accepting any agreement, and then they told me their agreement was in the manual on steam which I never even agreed to or saw, although this was also before I made an account to play their game, and Technically I could have sued RTW for installing it without consent, and monitoring my pc illegally, because I record video of that install as evidence, and other things. I am also sick and tired of all the creators in Second Life who violate Real World Intellectual Property and then claim content theft when someone comes around and copybots their work, and those who use spyware software themselves in their creations and on lands to illegally datamine its residents. These people then threaten Lawsuits on the cheaters, or content thieves/IP Violaters but 99% of the time nothing happens because it is all 100% Legal although it does violate the games TOS, the game company would have to sue, and they wont.

So my advice if your a game company...

Make people sign their signature on a paper,because without it your TOS could get thrown out of a court, and such, I have seen some Lawsuit where this has happend.

http://www.your2ndplace.com/node/138

http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/service-agreements--legally-binding-without-a-sign-18788.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terms_of_service

Also Certain corrupt gaming companies like Linden Lab/Second Life. I made an account there over 3 years ago, and they made everyone believe that they owned 100% Rights to their creations, and that they owned the Land they purchased and that such could not be taken away from them. Then in 2009/2010 after Thousands/Millions of residents spent millions on this game total or thousands, they go and make changes saying they have certain rights to all content uploaded, and that They can change their agreement any time they want to within 30 days notice things I never agreed to when I made my account, and spent thousands in this game and the virtual world. They did not provide people any way to delete data which they have uploaded, and it will remain on their service even if the person cancels their account, and if a person did not accept their agreement the same thing still happend their data remians on the server even if they requested it be removed for IP right violations. This is an example of how the gaming industry is today, and the corruption of it. Should they ever try to remove my account from their service for any reason, they will be hearing from a lawyer real life, and I will file a petition against them along with the other dozens of people who have been violated, and provide evidence in a court or law, and to the public which can seriously put them out of business becuase no one wants to even create anything anymore in this game because of cheaters/IP violations.
 

http://virtuallanddispute.com/

The problem with TOS today is that no one legally signs them, or gives Verbal Consent. While some people say and will debate that these are legal to do, I will say that it is not. A Game company can't prove people got an Updated Agreement.  They can't prove who really hit the I agree button, neither can a software company. I think that all game companies should require that a person signs their agreement Real Life, signature and sends it to them by fax, or email, before they can even play the game. This is the only 100% Legit way to do it, anything else that can't be 100% Proven in a court or law can be thrown out, its just the fact that not many people will debate this in a court because they don't know their own constitutional rights in a court or law. This is a reason that most game companies, or software companies will not sue a person, unless they are 1. Hacking the Service which can be proven, not cheating ,but destroying servers & data. 2. Making illegal copies of movies, software, and selling them with evidence provided, or other serious things which have violated the LAW & can be proven. The most a game company will do is Suspend, or Terminate a users account from the service, and is thet most they can do really.

Here is what the game industry needs to do.

The game industry needs to provide ID Cards to people, such as gaming Cards, which are required to show the Age of the person playing the game, and the ID is just like a creditcard. Basically if you are caught cheating in a game, You can never create an account should you get banned for any reason, and each game company can put their restrictions on how they want their game to run and such, but without the card which is given on a legal scale a person can't play the game again period without getting unbanned, and it would be used across all multiplayer MMO's that are only U.S Based, unless foreign services could be provided. This would prevent cheating on a large scale, and keep people from signing up new accounts and such, and each person could only obtain 1 ID per real Life name, all RL Info would have to be given 100% Legal, and it would prevent people from playing games when they are under the age to even be playing them? Seriously why not?

Last Edited on: Oct 23 2010 07:47 PM UTC (May 23 2012, 11:02am GMT)

When signing up for an account with most games in online gaming industry you do forfeit all rights and submit to the fact that the game; your account and all your online belongings are always to remain property of the developing company - this is a leading agreement in every jurisdiction.  Modifying the game files is a choice you could choose to make; but one strictly prohibited by most gaming industries as it's not actually your property by law even after purchase.

-Freia

Whatever you say, you click accept and you're bound to EULA. This DOES stick up in court. Maybe some fail due to an incompetent lawyer, everyday news proves the justice system IRL is far from being as extended as a EULA. That's because politicians are equally incompetent.

Quote | Psychnosiz posted on Oct 25 2010 07:52 AM UTC

Whatever you say, you click accept and you're bound to EULA. This DOES stick up in court. Maybe some fail due to an incompetent lawyer, everyday news proves the justice system IRL is far from being as extended as a EULA. That's because politicians are equally incompetent.

So you are blaming politicians now? Your logic does not make sense.

The biggest lie in life (next to "No I am not a virgin") is "I have read and agree to the terms and services of the EULA and TOS".  So you are saying that anyone who used the Contra cheat, or any other method of "cheating" in the Single Player mode in video games, should be subject to the EULA and lose their license to play the game entirely, even if the cheat was put in by the developers?

Your philospophy of "no hacking, no cheating" seems Legalist to me. Its way to strict considering the fact that most of the hacks were for the single player campaign, and as such were not ruining Blizzard's game. I doubt the hackers agreed to an EULA or TOS, so despite Blizzard banning the hackers, they will not be able to do much about the people who created the hacks without proving considerable loss. That means showing the hackers causing a loss of a million dollars or more, though I think it will be much higher for the charges to stick. I really doubt these hacks affected the sales of the game at all, seeing as someone is going to cheat at something, and while no one likes being cheated of a win, they have tools readily at their command to communicate with moderators that player X is a cheater. And if you think that my belief that cheaters will always be in a game is a defeatist ideology then you haven't experienced real life; cheating is common from video games up to huge financial institutions as we witnessed recently. Everyone gets nailed pretty much, but in the case of these hackers, does the punishment really fit the crime? Did these hacks cause people not to buy the game enough that Blizzard Entertainment and Activition recieved tangible damage? Or does this seem more like a but hurt parent company that recently said they wanted to sell in-game cutscenes on a seperate DVD, a step on a slippery slope for gamers actually having to pay for cutscenes that currently come with games.

I know what I think is going on.