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[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

In a statement posted on the company’s official Japanese website, Sega notes that in August 2024, a number of people were arrested and convicted of computer fraud after “defrauding in-game currency from our game apps”.

According to Sega, the people in question were members of a criminal group who were offering in-game currency at a cheaper price than found in the game.

The group “collected customers’ money on a ‘real money trade’ website under the guise of a billing agent service”, Sega says, then “transmitted false information to our servers and defrauded them of the in-game currency of our game apps”.

It adds: “Not only the members of the criminal group who actually committed fraud and defrauded our in-game currency from us, but also users who easily obtained the in-game currency through such fraudulent acts were arrested, indicted, and convicted for their involvement in the fraud.”

Sega says that in order to prevent such situations from occurring, its game apps “prohibit all fraudulent billing and the transfer or lending of accounts to third parties that may lead to fraudulent billing under the terms of use”.

If Sega confirms that a user has broken these terms, it will suspend the account immediately. “In addition, when we confirm a case of suspected fraudulent billing, such as this one, we will promptly consult with the police,” it adds.

“As in this case, the party who requested a proxy billing service and obtained in-game currency may also be charged with a crime,” it says. “We ask that you never use [these] services to avoid becoming involved in or being involved in such crimes. We also ask that you refrain from telling others your game ID or password, and from purchasing in-game currency or in-game items from services that request the transfer of your account.

“With your cooperation and support, we will continue to work hard to create products and services that you can use with confidence, and we sincerely ask for your continued understanding and cooperation.”

Sega warns that Japanese players who bought ‘fraudulent’ in-game currency have been convicted | VGC

The publisher claims that people selling and buying in-game currency outside of its apps could be arrested…

www.videogameschronicle.com

 

[consoul]

"Fuck around and find out"

 

[Impotaku]

A very easy solution to this problem sega. Don’t load up your games with shitty paid currency mechanics then nobody will be going to grab it from 3rd parties.

 

[justiceiro]

Imagine going to jail over a videogame

 

[Metnut]

Stealing is wrong. Solution to in-game currency garbage is to either not buy those games or at least never buy any add-ons. Stealing it just sends a message to the gaming company that the add-ons have value and need to be protected.

 

[RagnarokIV]

Get the best prosecution team right now, someone is out there 'defrauding in-game currency from our game'.

 

[Calverz]

I have fond memories of pso on Dreamcast and gamecube. And about a year I decided to give this game a go just to see and quickly realised it was an mtx hellhole so I gave up after a couple of hours. Gameplay wise it seemed ok but I knew there was a huge grind later on and called it quits. Sega just go back to basics with the game like the original pso and psu to a certain extent.

 

[Rising_Hei]

A very easy solution to this problem sega. Don’t load up your games with shitty paid currency mechanics then nobody will be going to grab it from 3rd parties.

Final Fantasy XI and every MMORPG had this problem when there were no in-store purchases.

 

[NeverYouMind]

That's just wrong from every side. The third party hackers ripping off everybody and the company having microtransactions and jailing individuals for playing that garbage.

 

[BennyBlanco]

I have fond memories of pso on Dreamcast and gamecube. And about a year I decided to give this game a go just to see and quickly realised it was an mtx hellhole so I gave up after a couple of hours. Gameplay wise it seemed ok but I knew there was a huge grind later on and called it quits. Sega just go back to basics with the game like the original pso and psu to a certain extent.

People are still playing PSO to this day on private servers. Every once in a while I will succumb to autism and install it and get it going. There has really been nothing like it since including PSO2 which stinks.

 

[Wonko_C]

I have fond memories of pso on Dreamcast and gamecube. And about a year I decided to give this game a go just to see and quickly realised it was an mtx hellhole so I gave up after a couple of hours. Gameplay wise it seemed ok but I knew there was a huge grind later on and called it quits. Sega just go back to basics with the game like the original pso and psu to a certain extent.

NGS is one of the most relaxed, casual F2P games out there. The MTX in this game are almost purely cosmetic, and the ones that aren't are aimed at min-max tryhards. You can clear all content with free gear easily.
The grind has nothing on the original PSO. I was never able to get annywhere close to LV100, much less 200. Here I have max level in every class without even trying. It's basically a "log in for 15 minutes a day" game.

The real problem is not the mtx or the grind, the real problem is that it's a boring repetitive mess where customizing your character with the premium cosmetics is what keeps it going.
(And I’m part of the problem, I don't spend real money on cosmetics, though, I purchse them with ingame currency)