The Ethical Consequence Of Online Gaming
Online games are video games played over an interconnected network. i. e. the internet. The growth of these gaming platforms has equaled the growth of computer networking with new technologies improving the essential functionality needed for playing video games on a remote server. Many video games have an online element, allowing gamers to play against or cooperatively with gamers across a network around the world.
The online gaming community is so robust now that it has now become a career for a lot of people otherwise known as professional gamers. It also involves gaming tournaments where a lot of gamers come together to network, recruit, showcase their gaming skills and trade virtual items in a bid to win money. “The top pro gamers make an estimated $1. 1 million a year from playing video games professionally. The money comes from prize money, salary, Twitch subscriptions(a streaming service dedicated to video games), streaming ad revenue and sponsorships. The highest paid gamer in the world in terms of prize money is American Saahil Arora, known by his player ID as UNiVeRsE, with a career $2. 7 million. All of the top 30 biggest prizewinners (and most of the top 100) play Dota 2, though the players with highest salary are said to play Counterstrike.
On average, players stand to make the most money from streaming ad revenue on YouTube, with many pro gamers earning more than half their annual income from that source. Next in order of pay comes sponsorship deals followed by Twitch subscriptions, with prize money bringing up the rear. ” In my own view, there has to be some legal and ethical consequence of the gaming world having monetary incentives. I believe that no matter the wonderful results of bringing more people into the gaming community, playing games for cash may compromise what many may consider as the innocence of the gaming experience.
Nowadays, the gaming marketplace has an extensive variety, ranging from educational games for kids to adult themed games. With this boom of gaming and game enthusiasts, a new market has emerged. However, this market focuses upon the players themselves and attaches real, economic values to their digital accomplishments and not the makers of those video games. As this revolution arises, what does gaming stand to lose or benefit from its development as a financial venture, by its newfound recognition? As a gaming aficionado myself, I feel the effect of monetary import in gaming may attract a criminal and ethically questionable element.
Most game freaks would be fascinated by the idea of getting paid to play video games. In my own opinion, making money by doing something you love like a hobby seems the ideal scenario. Yet as gaming continues to evolve and as it turns into an extra valuable craft, the reasons and manner in which us gamers play is bound to change. This will affect not only professional gamers but also people who play for fun as gaming for cash will become greater than usual.
As the monetary incentives increase in gaming, so also does the temptation to cheat in order to gain an advantage over others. Hacking is such a common trend in gaming that it has even become a huge concern for video game developers. “How does one cheat in online video gaming? They acquire the assets or arsenal they need to beat other players. They also use “bots” to play the game, bots that can easily beat even the best human players. The online gaming community is affected by such actions since players who feel that others are “cheating” will no longer be as motivated to join those websites or participate in those communities since they have reputations for attracting people who are circumventing the rules of fair play to gain unfair advantages. The impact this kind of behavior has on the video game industry extends beyond online. With so much money at stake, there is a direct impact cheating has on a developer’s business model and revenue stream. Some developers have taken legal action to combat cheating and hacking on their networks, usually against third parties who sell devices that broadly enable such behavior. In response, some companies are leaning on the Copyright Act, the anti-circumvent provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), contract law, and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)”.
As a professional gamer, getting caught cheating may also mean the end of your gaming career as you could be banned for life or even ruin your reputation, which could in turn lead to the loss of sponsorship just like any other sport. This link is a youtube video of popular gamers being caught cheating. The author exposes some of the worlds biggest professional gamers caught cheating and the consequence of their actions.
There is no doubt in my mind that gaming professionally is now a lucrative business which has grown beyond the realms of imagination and will continue to grow as long as the internet grows; From the first generation video game console; the Magnavox odyssey in 1972 by Ralph Baer- A German born American video game developer to the fully immersed experience of virtual reality we have today. Video games are now the leaders in developing a rich, some would say unhealthy virtual environment.
This has definitely led the way for virtual commerce or V-commerce which is defined as an application, service, or product feature that helps enterprises implement strategies and design web sites for e-commerce (the buying and selling of goods and services online. A typical example or virtual commerce is the buying and selling of virtual coins to purchase or upgrade teams in FIFA video game - the most popular video game in the world or even buying downloadable content (DLC) in many video games. The big question now is to what extent will a gamer go in order to succeed in the gaming industry? I believe it all depends on the passion for particular games. While some like the challenge of rising to the top through practice, others who have tried and failed, resort to ethically questionable means whether it is for fun or professionally.
