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Comment by jmcdiesel | Hacker News Reader

I see no moral delimma.

This is nothing more than a cheat code... They are, in effect, rewarding you for having a correct NFC code, thats all. If you obtain that, you have it.

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As an implementation detail that's true out of necessity, but the simple English explanation of the mechanic would be "they are rewarding you for having an amiibo", not for having an NFC code. You wouldn't say "the passwords on Apple's databases are there to reward intruders who possess the correct password", right?

I guess I just feel like there's a lot less harm done in hacking Apple's database than there is in giving your video game character an extra outfit to wear or horse to ride.

It's more than cosmetic in these games -- there are entire realms accessible only if you have the right Amiibos or combinations thereof.

So really more like the Pro vs. Home metaphor with the code for both being on the disc you bought.

This doesn't help answer the debate directly, but is relevant to understanding the question.

That's fair, but my point was more than the consequences of hacking a database with information valuable in the real world are much more worrisome than cheating in a game (no matter how much it affects the artificial world). In the latter, it's debatable about whether it causes real-world harm; in the former, it's unquestionable.

The question is, are those realms being sold as part of the game or part of the Amiibo? Where the code and assets are stored is, after all, an implementation detail.

That matters more for the Skylanders games... outfits and special equipment in Breath of the Wild are mostly cosmetic.

The key difference here being the lack of victim, that makes your argument void.

This is nothing more than a cheat code...

In the real world we'd call this doping.

In the real world, doping affects others around you. In a video game, there is no victim.

It's like cheating on a game of solitaire. Nobody cares.

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