Samizdata: Japan Bans Game Key Reselling, Editing Save Data

[tinoesroho]

While the official information on the new amendments is currently only available in Japanese, different translations sum up that three acts have now been banned, including:

1. Reselling software product keys online without the creator’s permission
2. Distributing tools and programs for altering save data
3. Offering services that modify save data on the customer’s behalf

Japan has made reselling digital game keys illegal without creator's permission

[Wisconsin_Platt]

Well, there goes my plans for a dating sim service called Get Lucky Your sure fire way to get to home plate.

[DaakSyde]

Great. It’s finally become pretty standard for game developers to make their games moddable by design and now the politicians want to go and outlaw mods.

Distributing tools and programs for altering save data

So that bans all hex editors and debuggers that might be used to edit binary data? If a save file format is plain text, does that also mean that all text editors are banned? Maybe if a game allows you to save screenshots, then all image editors are out as well?

People who don’t even have a grasp of the basics of technology shouldn’t be making laws about it.