Muhammad Waqas
I would like to talk about the topic I chose video game piracy. Video game piracy is a huge global issue and the creators and software companies that create video games lose all the credits and gain financial losses since people download the original video game file and sell it for their financial gain without the authorization of the video game creator as they sacrificed their time, materials, maps and locations used to create video games.
According to Quan Gao (Feb 1, 2019), “Video game piracy is the unauthorized use of copyrighted audiovisual works, often leading to financial gain for the pirating party and substantial losses for the copyright owner. This issue has become a significant concern since the rise of commercialized video gaming, with major companies reporting substantial financial losses.”
Video game piracy can be defined as the illegal access to video game content to profit from the sale of unauthorized copies, ultimately causing financial loss greater occurs on intellectual property rights not only because the illegal dissemination of information damages the integrity and profitability of the work but also damages the work of individuals and groups with that creative activity their livelihoods are threatened with the major companies reporting substantial financial losses caused by the video game piracy committed by the individuals who are selling it without the authorization of the game creators.
Where did pirated video games begin?
In the light of Damiano Gerli (November 22, 2022) “In the 1980s, governments’ stances on software piracy were quite different; there was no common European approach to the issue. Since the early 1980s, France and the United Kingdom have been vocally opposed all forms of unauthorized copying of floppies and games. However, in countries such as Italy (perhaps the worst example, since a particular legislation was not enacted until 1993), Spain, and Portugal, the same strategy took some time to become a reality.”
In the 80s, the government’s stance on software piracy was very different as there was no common approach to the issue related to software piracy in the European continent. Since the early 1980s, France and the United Kingdom have been vocally opposed to all forms of unauthorized copying of floppies and games as they don’t want the software companies to have financial loss and distrust of the original software companies selling their authentic products to the people.
However, countries such as Italy as it’s the worst examples when it comes to software piracy as the legislation wasn’t enacted until 1993. In Spain and Portugal, the same strategy took some time to become a reality as they didn’t have any knowledge about software piracy.
They had some internal problems in their country that they had to deal with such as the aftermath of the dictatorship, lack of technology, proper legislation on laws and rules regarding software piracy, and recovering their country’s GDP and financial issues. That’s the reason why pirated video games began in the 1980s as the rise of technology and software companies were not aware of their software being pirated and suffered heavy financial loss.
Why do many individuals sell pirated video games?
Based on Mary McMahon (February 28, 2024) “Game piracy can be motivated by profit, saving money, or unawareness. Some individuals purchase legitimate game versions for copying and selling, while others sell hard drives or discs with numerous games. Some copy and distribute games for friends to save money or are unaware, as they may not realize their actions are considered piracy. For instance, if a game allows five copies installed, passing them to four friends would contribute to game piracy by handing out legitimate versions.”
Individuals who commit video game piracy are motivated by making a profit and saving money without being unaware that they violated the law of copyrights.
People who purchase the original version of the video game just copy and sell it for their financial gain. In contrast, other individuals who sell pirated video games have several methods such as selling hard drives, CDs, or USB files with many games inside.
Some copy and distribute games for friends to save money or are unaware that they may not realize their actions are considered piracy since they do not have the authority to sell without the permission of the video game developers.
For example, if a game allows five copies installed, passing them to four friends would contribute to game piracy by handing out legitimate versions since they have no authority of the video game developer to sell the original copies and they have violated the copyrights act.
Consequences of Video Game Piracy
According to Manish Jindal (January 16, 2024) “Reduced Budget for Future Projects:
The financial impact of piracy can result in smaller budgets for future game development. This can lead to shorter, less polished plays, or even cause smaller studios to shut down.
Harm to Industry Employment:
The economic strain caused by piracy can lead to job losses in the gaming industry. Lower revenue means fewer resources for hiring and sustaining a skilled workforce.”
When people commit piracy in video games, it impacts the video game developers financially as they are affected by the video game piracy and it leads them to have financial losses as people shift from purchasing authentic video games to pirated video games. Furthermore, video game piracy results in smaller budgets for future game development as it leads them to be less creative and motivated to create a new video game. This leads to shorter, less polished plays, or even causes smaller studios to shut down caused by video game piracy and people who benefit from selling unauthorized copies of the video games.
Not only does it impact the smaller budgets for future game development and reduce the budget of future projects but also it harms the Gaming industry employment which affects the employers hiring employees a lot. The economic strain caused by piracy can lead to job losses in the gaming industry which means if the company has lower revenue of their company then it will have fewer resources to hire employees and sustain a skilled workforce.
Implementations on video game piracy
There are some measures and implementations regarding video game piracy as this is a big issue globally and to tackle pirated video games.
In the light of Jon Samsel (APRIL 17, 2023) “Copyright notices and warnings: These can be included on products or in digital content to remind users of their legal obligations regarding copyrighted material.
Legal action: Civil and criminal actions against individuals or organizations engaged in piracy, as well as efforts to lobby for stronger anti-piracy laws and regulations.
Technical measures: Region coding on DVDs or software activation codes, which can make it more difficult for pirates to make unauthorized copies.”
When people purchase any video game or any technological software must have copyright notices and warnings which can be included in any video game or any technological software or in digital content to remind users of their legal obligations regarding copyrighted material to remind all people not to pirate the video game or any software.
If people commit piracy by distributing copies of video games without the authorization of the video game developer will face criminal charges for violating anti-piracy laws. Even if any individuals, companies, or organizations engage in or distribute any pirated materials will face criminal charges as they have violated anti-piracy law.
Another aspect to consider is that having the region coding on DVDs or software activation codes makes it more difficult for pirates to make unauthorized copies since people who purchase the DVDs or software that has Region coding will have a difficult time decoding the region code in the DVD’s or Software that they distribute. If they crack the region code, they will face criminal charges on anti-pirated law as it will alert the regional technical authorities which can contact the police and cooperate with the police technological team to arrest the person who cracked the code of region code in DVDs or software.
Conclusion
The implementation of video game piracy should be taken seriously and have strong enforcement. Another thing I would like to agree with is that having regional codes on DVDs or software is an effective method as people who crack the region code will be caught by the police since they have violated the anti-piracy law.
References
- Quan Gao (Feb 1, 2019), Piracy video games and history of it https://medium.com/@gaoquan196/the-decline-of-action-games74bc6abb678#:~:text=The%20history%20of%20the%20video,1990s%20(Depoorter%2C%202014)
2. Damiano Gerli (November 22, 2022) Gaming Piracy In Europe Between The 80s And 90s – A Brief History https://genesistemple.com/the-european-bucaneers-gaming-piracy-in-the-eu-between-the-80s-and-90s
3. Mary McMahon (February 28, 2024) What is Game Piracy? https://www.easytechjunkie.com/what-is-game-piracy.htm
4. Manish Jindal (January 16, 2024) How Do Games Detect Piracy? – Ultimate Guide https://bytescare.com/blog/how-do- games-detect-piracy
5. Jon Samsel (APRIL 17, 2023) Combating Online Piracy: Why Anti-Piracy Measures are Essential https://www.verimatrix.com/anti-piracy/anti-piracy-insights/online-piracy-why-anti-piracy-measures-are-essential/