There is, perhaps, nothing more frowned upon than cheating. Do it, and you risk getting caught; get caught, and you carry the stigma of cheating for the rest of your life. Especially in the gaming world, there is no greater crime. Even today, you can find yourself on the wrong end of a knife or a gun depending on who you burn and just how savagely you do it. When it comes to cheating on Xbox LIVE!, however, just exactly how is punishment dealt to an anonymous cheater living a thousand miles away, or more? With the right tools and a level of persistence reserved for the disturbingly obsessed, no one is truly anonymous; but for those of us in possession of more rational faculties, justice may never really be served. Therefore, we rely on a higher power: Microsoft.

On March 25, 2008, Microsoft decided to deal with the problem of Gamerscore cheating through a number of punishments ranging from having your Gamerscore reset to zero and being labeled a cheater to outright banning from the service. The moves made by Microsoft were quite well received; nearly no one felt any sympathy for the cheaters. However, many felt that more could be done.

AceAttorney is one of a number of individuals who have taken it upon themselves to build a site called Xbox Cheater Watch, a site that documents and lists confirmed and suspected cheaters. “A lawyer by day, and avid gamer by night,” AceAttorney describes himself as “more of a PC game enthusiast before the original Xbox was launched,” but has since become a huge fan of the platform. In an interview, I asked him about his background and such trivialities as his favorite games; turns out, like many other gamers, he doesn’t favor any one particular genre but is currently enjoying Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 and TiQal. What, then, led him to create Xbox Cheater Watch?

“The innovative Gamerscore system has really done a lot for gaming, in providing persistent rewards and incentives for playing any game on the Xbox 360. Unfortunately, cheaters have done a disservice to the gaming Community by diluting the value of the Gamerscore system. So when I read over at MajorNelson.com that cheaters were going to be dealt with in a drastic way, it really piqued my interest. I was glad in seeing a shakedown of these cheaters being implemented by Microsoft, and I wanted to know exactly who was being punished. After realizing that no one really had a list of the cheaters, I figured, ‘Why not compile one myself?’”

Indeed, why not? In the comments section of each update to the site, praises are being sung about the man and his efforts to bring about some form of vigilante justice. Response has been remarkable.

“The site offers unique content, which is nearly entirely user-driven – and we’ve had a lot of content submitted from readers within the last few days since we’ve launched. The site has also made the top 100 Blogs of the Day over at Wordpress.com almost every day. The interest in what we’re doing is incredibly high right now.”

But what about the opposition? Surely, a site of such high visibility and controversial elements must be generating a bit of criticism from the cheaters, if no one else.

“As far as backlash,” AceAttorney responds, “there have been a handful of immature reactions to the site. These criticisms (and I use that term lightly) which tend to be simple rants against the crackdown of illicit gaming behavior, are far outnumbered by positive responses and reactions from the Community. I’ve been reading what people are saying about the site in various forums, and more gamers seem to be in favor of seeing who Microsoft has actually taken action against.”
Gamers are, by nature, social creatures. After all, the primary purpose of a game is to create a space for competitive interaction among peers. It should really come as no surprise that such a large number of gamers have found unity in their opinion on cheating – an activity that is as socially unacceptable as an activity can possibly get. Ostracism is inherent; no one wants to play with a cheater. AceAttorney, however, is an extreme case. Although not alone in his endeavor, it does take a certain kind of person to put himself out there in such a way. What is it about cheating that pushed him this far?

In his own words, “What troubles me about cheating is that it makes what many gamers work so hard for worthless. In other words, when a gamer places time, energy, and dedication to accomplishing certain goals, attaining these goals come with an certain level of bragging rights, and even a sense of pride. When a cheater bypasses the efforts that are required by the Achievements, he essentially robs the honest gamer of these things. The resulting devaluing of the entire system by the cheating is what bothers me most.”

There’s no doubt that gamers’ feelings about Gamerscore can run deep. Pride, honor, value; a range of passionate emotions towards something that is, essentially, a meaningless collection of arbitrary accomplishments. They are, simply, a list of tasks you don’t even have to do! Even within the context of the game being played, they are meaningless. But is this gaming, itself? On some level, when stripped to its core and deconstructed, all gaming is essentially meaningless. Looking beyond the emotions involved in gaming reveals a set of repetitive tasks that have no context in any other situation. This applies to all games, not just video games. The Super Bowl is just as empty as a high school football game when removed from its context. In the end, it’s about having fun; something that is taken away from the concept of Gamerscore when cheating is applied. However, the idea remains that Gamerscore represents a pointless pursuit and that there is a number of gamers who ignore it more than anything. In such cases, Gamerscore cheating seems to be a victimless crime. Who then, if anyone, is really being hurt by the cheating?

As AceAttorney sees it, “I definitely appreciate everyone’s sentiments in the matter. Sure, some people couldn’t care less about their Gamerscore, but from my discussions with gamers and from the research I’ve done, most people find some value in that little pop-up, audio recognition, and Gamerscore point increase for accomplishing a certain goal in a game. When most people really think about the value of the Gamerscore system, and the threat that cheating poses to that value, I think they realize that everyone is a victim of the type of cheating we’re talking about. So I would probably have to disagree that there is a large dichotomy of thought with regards to the value of the Gamerscore system.”

If Gamerscore is truly devalued by cheating, than the hope is that the punitive actions Microsoft has taken against cheaters is enough to dissuade them from cheating in the future. Unfortunately, however, it seems to have done little.

According to a self-confessed cheater who identified himself as SilentSpartan in an interview via email, “A few months ago I had stopped going for Gamerscore completely. I just began playing for fun and no achievements. But slowly but surely realized why I had been going for achievements in the first place. Its like an addiction. It gives you a point to actually play the game. Now most people are probably thinking ‘Ha, you said play the game when your just going to cheat for the achievements anyway.’ Even when cheating I still play the game and have fun doing it. So to answer the question as of now, Yes I am going to continue cheating.”

This answer doesn’t surprise AceAttorney, however, who explains that, “It’s a sad statistic that most criminals end up committing crime again even after being caught and punished. It’s the ‘repeat offender’ phenomena, if you will. I can’t say that I’m surprised that cheaters who were busted by Microsoft don’t immediately become honest gamers. After all, they still have the tools, knowhow, and are likely still involved the same network of cheaters. But what this entire shakedown accomplishes is that honest gamers are deterred from becoming even first-time offenders. Microsoft laid it down pretty hard, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to help keep the number of cheaters down. If it were up to me, I don’t think I would change anything in how Microsoft has dealt with the cheaters – it makes a lot of sense on every level.”

Criminals? Really? I just have to wonder if this is a fair comparison when considering what’s going on. Is cheating your Gamerscore actually serious enough to consider it a crime? According to this post on MajorNelson.com cheating is, absolutely, a violation of the Xbox LIVE! Terms of Use. It seems like some pretty harsh language, but Microsoft is well within their rights to do whatever they want with those who break their rules; something to think about the next time you use The Konami Code on Contra.

There is, however, a negative side to AceAttorney’s actions, and it has everything to do with harsh language.

Player harassment has long been documented in Xbox LIVE!. In fact, I feel that the true blight of Xbox LIVE! is the overwhelming number of rude, crude, racist, and homophobic remarks, and general stupidity that abounds on the service. It is a huge discredit to the service to allow such behavior to go on, yet the generally agreed upon method is to simply ignore it! The argument that Gamerscore cheating in any way devalues the gaming experience is completely flaccid when compared to something as annoyingly aggravating as the discourse that goes on in voice chat in a typical game. There’s been more said in a typical day about the language that is heard in voice chat than I can ever recall being said about the Gamerscore cheating “problem”. As such, do sites like Xbox Cheater Watch encourage player dissonance?

A confirmed cheater who identified himself as ColdRaccoon in an email interview explains, “After my score had been reset I got many messages saying ‘HAHAHAH UR BACK TO ZERO CHEATER!!!’ Many harassing messages and others concerned at what happened to gamer score.”

SilentSpartan echoes this same reaction from players, “Fact of the matter is people get harassed online all the time whether it be Gamerscore related or hearing someone is going to ‘rape your mother after the game’ before a match starts. The Gamerscore thing never comes into discussion much. Most of the time the only people who really get angry about the fact that I cheat are people that actually go for achievements and do not cheat. But also some people are intrigued and want more information on how they themselves can. Unfortunately I would say more of the time its ‘You gay you stupid f**king cheater!’ then the ‘How do you gamesave?’”

As for AceAttorney’s opinion on the harassment, “There’s no place on Xbox Live for the harassment of gamers, no matter what. While I can absolutely understand a person’s distaste for cheating, abusing cheaters by harassing them is not a good way of expressing that frustration. Down in San Diego, there’s a Wild Animal Park, where people can take tram tours through animal reserves, and view “wild” animals from a distance. That’s sort of what I’m going for with the site. Keep your hands and feet in the tram, and please, don’t interact with the animals.”

As you can see, the general consensus on whether sites like Xbox Cheater Watch are encouraging player harassment would seem to be “no more than usual”. Somehow, that doesn’t seem any better and Microsoft is chiefly responsible. The problem, as I see it, is simple greed. Citing the notion that people can change and that everyone deserves “a second chance”, Microsoft has elected not to outright ban these players. Why? Because banned players don’t pay $50 a year to join a service they can’t use. The majority of them are still some of Microsoft’s best customers – often buying a game at launch, even if only to be the first to unlock the achievements and offer their services to the community at large. Achievement unlockers for hire, many offer to unlock the achievements in a particular game for another player for a small fee. Even going so far as to advertise within their profile on Xbox LIVE! with statements like, “I can do Halo, I can do Gears of War“, etc. They’re hardly discrete about it, but you have to know what to look for; hence the creation of Xbox Cheater Watch.

As for the cheaters’ feelings on Xbox Cheater Watch, SilentSpartan responds, “I feel sad more than anything. I can see how people think that going for Gamerscore or cheating is pointless…..but making a website to point out the cheaters…thats really sad in my opinion. I guess the admin’s of these websites just have nothing better to do. The only real problem I have with the site xboxcheaterwatch, if you read in the comments of my name people accuse me of also being a liar. I have not lied to anyone on xbox about anything. It ticks me off that when being called a ‘cheater’ now other traits are coming with it that shouldn’t be.”

At least ColdRaccoon seems to want to repent, “I think that site is just there to make fun of the cheaters and gives the chance for the lower Gamerscore fools to point and laugh and send rude messages. On that site it said I got caught cheating for rapalas fishing when like 10 other people have a 1000 in it. I guess I was targeted for something. The cheating is over and its time to kick back and enjoy gaming.”

Note, however, his intense pride for Gamerscore. Even after having his score reset, he still believes his accomplishments are greater than those who refused to cheat simply because his score was higher. Is this why cheaters cheat? Is it simply a matter of bragging rights?

SilentSpartan states that, “When I first gamesaved the thought going through my head was not ‘Man, can’t wait to cheat on some games.’ I was really just thinking ‘Cool, a shortcut for achievements.’”

ColdRaccoon’s reason for cheating is similar, “The reason I started cheating was the whole achievements that asked for too much. Let’s say I wanted 1000 in the game and the last achievement is playing the game for 100 hours, why wouldn’t you cheat when you can get that achievement in 2 mins. It was also the whole first place thing. I really wanted to become first place in Canada for Gamerscore and I did.”

As for AceAttorney’s feelings on the matter, “People cheat to raise their Gamerscore for the same reason people increase their Gamerscores without cheating. They appreciate what a high Gamerscore looks like on their Gamercard, and all of the other benefits that come with that. I read a post in a forum by one particular cheater the other day – he said that he just didn’t want to spend all the time required to earn Achievements, and that he didn’t want to have to play though a bad game just to earn the Achievements associated with that game. I don’t claim to know every motive behind cheating, but it’s starting to look like it’s very closely associated with old-fashioned greed.”

But is it worth it? Harassment, distrust, the risk of banishment, even losing the legitimate points you’ve unlocked without cheating; was any of it really worth this much trouble?

ColdRaccoon believes so. “I guess ya, I had a lot of fun doing different games I wouldn’t even play to get achievements. It let me play a variety of different games. I was hoping to gain more Gamerscore.”

As of this writing, ColdRaccoon’s Gamerscore is 290, presumably gained legitimately. SilentSpartan remains “uncaught” with a Gamerscore of 132,601.

Special thanks to bs angel over at HawtyMcBloggy.com for directing me to Xbox Cheater Watch.