perfidy

In an article entitled, "Gamers turn cities into a battleground," the New Scientist explores the possibilities now unfolding in the world of urban gaming. Urban gaming makes use of cell phones, GPS and other technological gimcrackery to create virtual games played in actual meatspace. It's a fascinating article, and evidently some serious skull sweat has been expended to develop something that I have no interest in whatsoever. Undoubtedly, thousands will soon thrill to the prospects of playing a spy in a game based in DC, and I will have one more thing to contend with on my commute home. As if the tourons weren't bad enough.

However one aspect of this urban gaming seems rather disturbing and frankly, fraught with peril:

Games console makers are also embracing the trend. Portable console maker Gizmondo is soon to launch Colors, a gangland game where players play a conventional arcade game to earn credits and money. These are then used to buy turf in the real world - Soho in London, say. Walk into a Soho cafe and attempt to play Colors, and the GPS embedded in the console might tell you you're playing on another gang's patch, and you need to beat them in a virtual fight to claim the turf and continue.

How long do you think - in hours - after the launch of this game before someone gets knifed?