Man Tunnels Into GameStop, Steals Games 210
An anonymous reader writes "Life imitates Minecraft: Computer game piracy is big business, but there are still those who prefer to get their games the old-fashioned way: by digging a tunnel into their local games shop and making off with as much stock as they can carry. At least, that's the slightly bizarre approach taken by a man from Greeneville, Tennessee, who was arrested late last week after being caught tunneling into his local GameStop store from an empty adjoining building."
Note that the link is thin, and the sources are behind logins and subscription links, so please post better URLs if you can find them.
Done before (Score:3)
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Ocean's 1.
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Someone needs to learn about BitTorrent. If he's hoping to make money off of it, he could just burn games and movies onto DVDs and sell them to other people who are ignorant of BitTorrent.
I don't approve of illegal downloads, but this is just stupid. Which is even worse than "slightly immoral".
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In a manner of speaking [emulator-zone.com]
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If you do that, you'll have to get a new /. nick, Commodore64_Love.
I was hoping someone pointed this out already. (Score:2)
You still can't download game consoles. The article pokes fun at the thief's stone-age method used to steal games. OK, but I would imagine that he would be after the highest ticket items in the store - consoles of every flavor. Seems like he had access to a shared, perhaps basement, wall and basically tired to knock a hole in it. Hardly a tunnel. When I think of a tunnel I think border crossing feats of rogue engineering like this.http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2006/07/14/bc-pot-tunnel
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Afaict most gift cards in shops at least in the UK are only assigned their value when the purchaser checks out, the ones sitting on the shelves are worthless. I wonder if they do the same for game cards.
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They do the same for game and gift cards. Nobody leaves stacks of easy-to-pocket cash laying around on the store floor. It's all just bits of plastic and paper until scanned and activated at the register.
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If you have a PC you shouldn't need a game console.
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OK, but I would imagine that he would be after the highest ticket items in the store - consoles of every flavor.
That just seems foolish to me, after thinking about it for five seconds. Sure, the consoles are going to bring the most value per item, so it makes sense at face value. It would also be harder to move stolen consoles without raising suspicion. It really makes sense to go for games and accessories. Nobody is going to question a bunch of new games being sold, especially this time of year ("I got them for Christmas but they didn't interest me"), and a small handful of games - five or so - is going to easily me
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I can.
I downloaded a SNES a Nintendo 64, a PS1, and a Sega Genesis.
Honestly, some of the newer consoles emulators are coming along as well. I saw news of a Wii emulator being worked on.
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Wii emulator - http://www.dolphin-emulator.com/ [dolphin-emulator.com]
DS emulator - http://desmume.org/ [desmume.org]
The PS3 and Xbox360 emulators are not functional yet and I can only find loose framework of groups talking about how to approach it. Give it a year and they will exist.
Re:Done before (Score:4, Informative)
You get a lot more for a game in original packaging with unused serial number than you do for a CD-R labelled with a marker pen and crack instructions in a text file somewhere.
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Sure, but you also have much more chance of getting caught if you physically break into a store.
Piracy != Theft (Score:2, Funny)
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Yeah, whoever tagged this as piracy is a dumbass, since this particular case really *IS* theft but it's NOT piracy. Unless of course boats, parrots and wooden legs were involved.
Re:Piracy != Theft (Score:5, Funny)
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But lightscribing the DVDs and printing you own DVD covers with fake serial numbers is easier and safer than opening a hole to a shop.
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Strangely enough, Gamestop opens most of the games and breaks the seal on the original packaging.
Re:Done before (Score:4, Informative)
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I think the major problem with that is that you often don't have multiplayer for a lot of those BitTorrented games.
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I see.
This story just reminded me of a friend ~2 years ago talking about buying dodgy DVDs. I didn't get why if she was going to being going the illegal route that she wouldn't just download them. She had a computer with a DVD burner and decent internet access. I suppose it does somewhat reduce the chance of the RIAA and their ilk catching up to you.
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I see.
This story just reminded me of a friend ~2 years ago talking about buying dodgy DVDs. I didn't get why if she was going to being going the illegal route that she wouldn't just download them. She had a computer with a DVD burner and decent internet access. I suppose it does somewhat reduce the chance of the RIAA and their ilk catching up to you.
I think you answered your own question.
You're never realistically going to get caught buying dodgy DVDs.
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Re:Done before (Score:5, Insightful)
Felony burglarly: State offense, 2-12 years in state prison, plus a $5000 fine. Likely at least two counts because two buildings were involved, but I'd expect the sentences to be served concurrently. Quite likely to be plea-bargained, and parole is available.
Criminal copyright infringement under the No Electronic Theft Act: 5 years imprisonment in pound-me-in-the-ass Federal Prison (plea bargain unlikely and parole unavailable), a fine of up to $250,000, plus civil penalties of up to $100,000 per work infringed.
Neither is likely to be much fun, but it looks like criminal copyright infringement still carries higher penalties. Note that if this is a second offense it goes up to 10 years imprisonment in PMITA Federal Prison.
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Castle Doctrine *IS* the enhanced risk/penalty for committing crimes in person.
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Burglary of a residence (where the Castle law might apply) in TN is Aggravated Burglary and carries a higher penalty. If anyone is injured (whether in a residence or not) it immediately escalates to Epecially Aggravated Burglary.
If committing an act that could lead to violence ...has less penalty than one that only has economic impact, we have a problem in our system
As a general rule, to make that evaluation you have to determine the social damage of the violence vs. the economics. I'd definitely want Ber
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do you do it for enjoyment or are you paid ?
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But the risk of being caught for the first is much higher. So the average penalty per crime would be lower for the second.
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it looks like criminal copyright infringement still carries higher penalties
No, it doesn't. The penalty for infringement is up to 3 years in jail. That's less than "2-12" years. I couldn't figure out the fines from the title; that's one effed-up piece of legislative writing, there.
And to get that 3 years you have to infringe 10 times in 6 months. Up to 3 years for 10 charges? that's up to 3.6 months per crime, if they throw the book at you. 1 burglary can get you at least 2 years. Which is a lot harsher all the way around.
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Up to 5 years for a first offense, up to 10 years for a second or subsequent offense, for willful copyright violation for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain. Burning torrents to DVDs and selling them would come under this categorization.
The fines are hard to find, they're actually hidden in 18 USC 3571.
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To get the (up to) 5 years it's 10 instances or more with total value of $2500, which for games would take a few dozen instances and for songs would take hundreds. Do that many burglaries and the upper limit is centuries.
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However, for copyright infringement it would likely be treated as one instance per game while for burglary it would be one instance per break in.
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Here the law explicitly aggregates both muliple copies and multiple works into one count. Do a total of 10 or more in a 6-month period and it's one count.
Which brings up the obvious legal questions of is it 2 counts if you do 11? 20? 10 per 6 months for 1 year?
For burglary it's 1 count per act, which comes with other charges. Break into an empty store, that's 1 B&E. Break into the store next door through the wall, that's a second B&E. Take stuff away with you, that's 1 Burglary, which may obviat
Ha ha (Score:5, Interesting)
I had a conversation with an avowed American "patriot" railing against the draconian laws of countries like Iran where infidelity can get you stoned to death. My counter was similar to this example. You Westerners have even more draconian laws that don't even make sense. In the Western world, copying and idea will get you thrown into prison and bankrupted. And in a capitalistic society, being bankrupted is equivalent to an amputation of the limbs or even death. It seems, copyright infringements is the equivalent of religious heresy in secular capitalist countries.
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And in a capitalistic society, being bankrupted is equivalent to an amputation of the limbs or even death.
I'm sorry but are you and everyone who modded this up insane in the mind?
I don't think there is anybody in this capitalist society who would even pause for thought if given the choice between being bankrupted, amputated or killed.
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this is just stupid. Which is even worse than "slightly immoral".
You can't help being stupid; morality is a matter of choice.
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morality is a matter of choice
Unless you're stupid.
Re:Done before (Score:4, Funny)
Did they have Battletoads?
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It's obvious this sort of behavior was inspired by this persons addiction to Dig Dug. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dig_Dug [wikipedia.org]
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It also looks that there is further evidence on another post;
New Study Links Video Games and Mental Problems [slashdot.org]
Maybe the defence strategy should be along the lines of 'mental illness'?
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Don't most bank heist movies incorporate a bloody third act? Frankly, the sandblaster scene in the Bank Job discouraged me from a life of crime.
Jeez (Score:5, Insightful)
Isn't that your job?
Re:Jeez (Score:4, Insightful)
Note that the link is thin, and the sources are behind logins and subscription links, so please post better URLs if you can find them.
Isn't that your job?
You must be new here if you think Taco and his so called 'editors' do anything other than sit around playing video games and collecting paychecks while posting a link once in awhile.
Re:Jeez (Score:4, Funny)
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Perhaps his next modification to this horrible website code will be automatic, unattended story submissions.
How would anyone spot the difference?
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We might get better stories (and better edited, at that)?
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Eh? (Score:5, Insightful)
"Note that the link is thin, and the sources are behind logins and subscription links, so please post better URLs if you can find them."
Er, no? That's what I expect a story-poster to do for me? Or the editors? You know, those *paid* people?
Might as well say "Vague story happens but you can only read about it on other sites - help us do our job and find other people's coverage so we can post the link here!"
Seriously, as the days go buy, there's less and less reason to come to this site, and less and less reason to pay for a subscription.
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http://news.google.de/news/story?pz=1&cf=all&ned=us&hl=en&q=Greeneville,+Tennessee&ncl=dm5qbkfTcoN9UCMSJMUI6rFVH6iCM&channel=suggest [google.de]
Re:Eh? (Score:5, Informative)
Here... a video [wate.com] of the heist.
Re:Eh? (Score:5, Informative)
It would appear that Slashdot is open sourcing its editing, and is now in perpetual Beta.
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Devil's Advocate: /. is a news aggregator: They don't have journalists or reporters, just folks who sift through the cruft posted by regular users. If they can find links, they may well do. Help out and mod down stories which suck on the Firehose.
Google is a news aggregator, and all decisions are primarily based on code, not by humans. Slashdot is a technology news portal where the submissions are selected by, and then EDITED by the EDITORS, to filter out the debris and only allow the best to hit the front
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/. automated the process a long time ago. The "editors" now just select what bubbles up to the top of the +/- ratings on the "recent stories" list (aka "the firehose"), make up a snarky department-of-taglines-department-tagline for the box on the form, then go back to pwning each other in MOH:AA. That Taco took the time to click on the links and realize it's probably link-spam actually puts him in the running for their annual "works too fscking hard" award.
Perhaps done by the Red-Headed League? (Score:2)
It's no use, John Clay [ignisart.com]
Don't be so hard on him.. (Score:5, Funny)
He was just playing Dig Dug ;)
Video games at fault (Score:5, Funny)
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Presumably for profit? (Score:3)
I'm guessing he did this with the intention of selling the games on and profiting. It certainly can't have been for his own enjoyment.
Unless, of course, there's some strange pleasure that he gets from owning 500 used copies of Madden and 500 used copies of Black Ops (plus maybe, if he's really lucky, a single new copy of Madden as well).
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I'm imagining a 20-something in a hoodie with a room piled full of video games swimming around like Scrooge McDuck.
Perhaps Caesar from History of the World Part One, "TREASURE BATH!!!!".
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TheDad: You've heard the saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure," right?
Me: Yeah.
TheDad: How do you make the distinction?
Me: I dunno.
TheDad: "Treasure" is desired by someone in addition to just yourself.
See, I *was* actually paying attention in my yout.
Not an SSH tunnel ! (Score:2, Interesting)
I had to read the post twice to get that the OP was referring to a real, not a virtual, tunnel.
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Security (Score:2)
they are to cheap to sell out for that (Score:2)
they are to cheap to sell out for that why not have a security guard mini wage BYOG.
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The same reason you generally don't pay staff minimum wage. Minimum wage = minimum work and minimum trust.
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"Life imitates Minecraft" (Score:2)
Or, maybe Minecraft imitated life to begin with. It's not like the concept of sappers and tunneling was invented by Minecraft.
Now, that doesn't mean that tunneling into a video game store isn't just plain bizarre.
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At the current state of copyright law, it's probably better to be caught tunneling into a game shop and stealing physical copies than downloading the same amount of copies on bittorrent.
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At the current state of copyright law, it's probably better to be caught tunneling into a game shop and stealing physical copies than downloading the same amount of copies on bittorrent.
Sadly, you are probably correct.
Stealing... (Score:4, Insightful)
Pay attention people: This is what actual theft looks like.
You mean... (Score:2)
This doesn't make him a hacker?
Found link... (Score:5, Informative)
NOT a Tunnel! (Score:5, Informative)
Place is local to me (Score:3)
Just last week in that vacant store front there used to be a chapter of the "Red Headed League". They organized events for the fiery headed, like myself. Shame that it has come to this.
I think you just toasted the Minecraft site (Score:2)
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You do realize that Minecraft was the most popular indie game of 2010, with well over a milion copies sold? A few slashdotters probaly aren't the problem. "Dorf fortress with graphics" might even be a new genre, much like "MUD with pictures" was.
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According to TFA: (Score:5, Informative)
YRO?? WTF? (Score:2)
I can't see any reason why this was posted under YRO instead of, say Idle...whose online rights were threatened / supported / affected here? The thief? The store owner? The potential purchasers of the physical game copies?
Tunnelling (Score:2)
Of course, the penalty for copyright infringement on the Encyclopedia would be orders of magnitude worse than simply stealing, so perhaps that isn't such a great cover anymore.
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Even from the free summary of the above article it doesn't look like he "tunneled" at all. He broke through a wall from an adjacent and empty shop. The press just chose the word "tunnel."
Much less impressive.
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When I saw the headline, I was sure it was an IPv4/IPv6 hack. And I'm not sure it still isn't...
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The detective said the Walmart video showed Archer in an "unusual vehicle," a GMC "Jimmy" SUV painted "passion purple,"
And here I thought Purple Jimmy was a euphemism. I didn't know someone actually made them.
No way game over (Score:5, Insightful)
If he had been caught "pirating" those games, then it would be game over. He would be in debt forever with the multimillion dollar fine. But after this little burglary he will soon be out of jail and all out of debt, ready to enjoy life again.
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Once you eliminate any physical damage, and the price that retailer bought the physical box, all that's left is a single lost sale. With piracy, the number lost sales are limited only by the "100% of demand" mark. Piracy is, potentially, considerably more financially damaging than physical theft.
That doesn't, however, mean that I think the penalties for piracy aren't ludicrous these days.
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The penalty for any crime is likely to be orders of magnitude worse than the cost of the crime.
But that's the point.
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And that is why nobody makes games or music anymore.
Oh wait... they do.... And the piracy loss claims are simply made up to scam insurance and make it look scary.
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That's a false dichotomy. If I have to explain why, then you're probably not worth my time.
Also, piracy has far from reached its potential. People still currently feel some semblance of a moral obligation to pay for what they use, so enough people are currently paying enough of the time only to make piracy a little painful Big Media, and a lot painful for smaller indie players.
But, as we've seen many times before, we also currently ha
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"Did you know that the original name for Pac-Man was Puck-Man?"
Better than phuck man I suppose
Seriously it was the other way round. Puck-Man was used when the arcade games were first imported into the UK, out of fear that it would offend the Pakis [urbandictionary.com]. Later common sense prevailed and when games for home computers were imported the original name was used.
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Nope, it was a Japanese game and was named after a hockey puck. The Americans were worried about kids making the P an F, so changed the name on import. The UK cabinets marked "Puck-man" didn't come via America.
It's a downright disgrace that they still call hockey pucks "pucks" because someone might call them "fucks". They don't, but they might. And that's disgraceful.
HAL.