Making and distributing copies of computer and console games without receiving authorization from the owner or the developer of the game is known as game piracy. There are many concerns revolving around game piracy .
So why do people engage in game piracy? The answer is simple – for the profit. By purchasing one legitimate copy of a game that is can be copied and resold to numerous buyers results in a fat profit. Selling pirated games occur in many different ways. The simplest way is off course to copy a game to a CD or a DVD and resell it. However, some game pirates engage in selling hard drives filled with numerous pirated copies of games.
Not all game pirates engage in game piracy for profit. Some do it to save money. Some people might not even realize that by copying a friend’s legitimate copy of a game they are actually engaging in game piracy. Or installing a game on more computers than allowed by its license.
In some countries, game piracy is not legal nor is it fully illegal; however, it does provide much frustration to copyright holders of games because it deprives them of the profits that is rightfully theirs. In order to battle against game piracy, some companies have produced free versions of their games. Some game pirates go so far that they sell the free versions of games. So consumers end up buying a game that they should rightfully receive for free.
More advance ways of fighting against game piracy include using registry keys to validate games before they can be loaded and using certifications which will ensure customers that they are purchasing a genuine product. Some companies also provide automatic updates for their games. If someone is using a pirated copy of a game, the automatic update will detect the pirated version and might possibly disable it.
Games are protected under copyright laws. It is possible for game pirates to be prosecuted under copyright infringement laws for game piracy. They can be fined or even jailed for game piracy. This however depends on the extent of the game piracy and the laws of the country.