Thirty-year old Akihide Yamamoto has been arrested for allegedly selling cheats for online shooter Alliance of Valiant Arms.
According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s largest paper, Yamamoto was arrested for suspected violation of Japan’s Unfair Competition Prevention Law.
Reports state that Yamamoto, a Himeji City resident, is believed to have apparently sold a hacked character and overpowered weapons to a 40-year-old man in Saitama Prefecture for 20,000 yen or US$168.
This isn’t a first for Yamamoto, who has also been arrested for using cheats in another game.
Below, via game site Kultur, you can what’s apparently Yamamoto’s website:
According to Kultur, the site supposedly sold cheat tools for other games besides Alliance of Valiant Arms, including Special Force, Special Force 2, and Dragon Nest.
Authorities allege that Yamamoto made these cheats himself and has been selling them for the past five years to around 500 people, apparently earning 20 million yen ($168,000). As Kultur explains, it seems as people could register on Yamamoto’s site for 17,000 yen ($143) and then allegedly download the cheats for 3,000 yen ($25).
Last year, Kotaku reported that a group of underage Japanese gamers were hit with criminal charges for allegedly using and distributing cheat tools in the online FPS Sudden Attack.
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