How Console Piracy Affects Gaming

Thanks to GameSpy for posting a three-part article discussing the problems of pirated console games, and the steps being taken to combat the problem. The article talks to IDSA boss Doug Lowenstein, and suggests that "..console piracy is a worldwide industry, as multi-national as wireless telephones or McDonalds hamburgers.", also contrasting the piracy problems of the major manufacturers: "Nintendo's piracy problems are more localized than those of Sony and Microsoft. While GameCube piracy has not been a problem, Game Boy piracy, on the other hand, has proliferated."

Comments

Re:is this really a problem?

[dogbowl]

Yes, its a huge problem just not in the better established countries like the US or the EU.

If you ever travel to South America and parts of Asia, its hard to find a *legitimate* copy of a game. Burned copies are being sold on every street corner ... its just the norm in some places. I've been to a large, established store dedicated to video games in Istanbul and was unable to find a single legitimate video game - they were all bootlegs!

Re:Piracy Vs. Success

[scot4875]

Sure, it says that people mostly pirate games for the most popular systems. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. It's not as if rampant piracy somehow contributed to the success of the Gameboy, PS1, or PS2.

And besides, I think you're a bit off on saying that the Gameboy has a high rate of piracy. Yeah, it is in the Asian/South American markets where you can buy bootleg carts. But in the states/Europe/Japan, most people don't buy bootlegs or have flash carts.

--Jeremy