And you thought the drama in your guild was bad? In Russia a man was beaten to death by members of a rival MMO clan.
In China, a 41 year old man stalked and stabbed a 21 year old boy to death when the boy sold a borrowed sword for real life money.
Is there something special about MMOs that drives people to these violent acts? Or is it simple human nature?
The writer posits that while sensationalistic and interesting, the stories provide no direct casual link between the MMO gameplay and the act of violence. As MMOs get more popular, it is simple mathematics that a certain percentage of players will be unstable long before they make their first character.
But perhaps there are things MMO developers can do to at least minimize the danger of MMO drama spilling over into RL violence.
