Source: http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/tech/Cal-State-Student-Faces-10-Year-Prison-Term-for-Playing-with-Video-Games-52386872.html

Lloyd Crippen, recently admitted to Cal State Fullerton, appeared in federal court Monday after his home was raided by the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The agency had been acting on a tip provided by the Electronics Software Association, the video game equivalent of the RIAA, as well as the organizers of E3. Police found "more than a dozen Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony video game consoles", all of them modded to play pirated games. According to ICE deputy special agent Kevin Kozak, Crippen had been advertising the service online and accepting payments for console modding.

When contacted by the OC Register, Crippen only commented: “Somebody tipped them off and they came."

Crippen now faces up to 10 years of jail time from two counts of violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. His arraignment is scheduled for August 10th.



Apparently, bringing litigation against small-time violators worked so well for the music industry, the games lobby decided to give it a shot. Perhaps the most disconcerting thing about this frightening case is that there's no charge of actually pirating games, it's the modding itself that's being punished. While it's doubtful that the feds will come for everyone with a modchip or a Homebrew Channel, the result of this trial may set a frightening precedent for what people are allowed to do with the things they buy.

Are we actually paying for ownership of game consoles, or just the right to use them? We're about to find out.