ESA Visits Mexican Market, Returns with 91,000 Bootleg Games
ESA Visits Mexican Market, Returns with 91,000 Bootleg Games
November 10, 2008
The Entertainment Software Association, the trade group which represents U.S. video game publishers, has issued a press release detailing a raid on a notorious marketplace in Guadalajara, Mexico.
According to the release, Mexican law enforcement officials acting in concert with the ESA raided the San Juan de Dios Market where they seized:
- 91,200 illegal copies of video games
- 130,000 video game cover inserts
- 3,200 empty video game boxes
In June, as GamePolitics reported, the ESA staged a similar operation in Mexico City's Tepito marketplace.
Of the latest raid, ESA boss Michael Gallagher commented:
Piracy in markets such as San Juan de Dios hurts businesses engaging in the legitimate distribution and retailing of computer and video games. We commend Mexican law enforcement officials for their actions in this raid and are committed to fully supporting authorities around the world who conduct these kinds of enforcement actions.
GP: At left is a video glimpse (not from the raid) of the San Juan de Dios Market.
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JDKJ: You sure it wasn't an early airing Republican campaign ad?
Posted 03/21/10 at 05:29pm
Andrew Eisen: I saw a movie last night where a guy killed his just born daughter. Knifed her right in the crib. Slowly.
Andrew Eisen: I saw a movie last night where a guy killed his just born daughter. Knifed her right in the crib. Slowly.
Posted 03/21/10 at 05:28pm
JDKJ: They're using federal funds to kill babies!! Damn their eternal souls to Hell!!
JDKJ: They're using federal funds to kill babies!! Damn their eternal souls to Hell!!
Posted 03/21/10 at 04:39pm
ZippyDSMlee: hayabusa75:Lurking is nice but taking out the big stick of reason on these younguns is not bad either :X
ZippyDSMlee: hayabusa75:Lurking is nice but taking out the big stick of reason on these younguns is not bad either :X
Posted 03/21/10 at 04:27pm
hayabusa75: *sidesteps, parries* Good, Zip. Still been around, but I spectate more than post these days.
hayabusa75: *sidesteps, parries* Good, Zip. Still been around, but I spectate more than post these days.
Posted 03/21/10 at 04:20pm
ZippyDSMlee: hayabusa75:*relazation* Holy crap! have not seen you in awhile man, how are you? *pounce*
ZippyDSMlee: hayabusa75:*relazation* Holy crap! have not seen you in awhile man, how are you? *pounce*
Posted 03/21/10 at 03:56pm
hayabusa75: Actually, 1 in 3 by 45 sounds right to me. You basically have 30 years to screw up. Seems plausible.
hayabusa75: Actually, 1 in 3 by 45 sounds right to me. You basically have 30 years to screw up. Seems plausible.
Posted 03/21/10 at 03:50pm
Andrew Eisen: Huh. Both Women's Med Center and Planned Parenthood sport a "1 in 3 by age 45" statistic. I wouldn't have pegged it at even 10%.
Andrew Eisen: Huh. Both Women's Med Center and Planned Parenthood sport a "1 in 3 by age 45" statistic. I wouldn't have pegged it at even 10%.
Posted 03/21/10 at 03:45pm
Valdearg: Not entirely sure. Honestly, the EO is disappointing, but not incredibly offensive, so I didn't actually read the author's final opinion. What is important is that I believe Stupak has now announced his intention to vote yes.
Valdearg: Not entirely sure. Honestly, the EO is disappointing, but not incredibly offensive, so I didn't actually read the author's final opinion. What is important is that I believe Stupak has now announced his intention to vote yes.
Posted 03/21/10 at 03:43pm
Andrew Eisen: "As many as 1 in 3 women will have to have an abortion in her lifetime..." That statistic came from where?
Andrew Eisen: "As many as 1 in 3 women will have to have an abortion in her lifetime..." That statistic came from where?
Posted 03/21/10 at 03:36pm
DarkSaber: Aye, what fool bastards are these, that sail blackest pirate seas?
DarkSaber: Aye, what fool bastards are these, that sail blackest pirate seas?
Posted 03/21/10 at 03:34pm
Valdearg: Hopefully this will be enough to convince the "stupaK block" to jump off the fence and vote for the bill.
Valdearg: Hopefully this will be enough to convince the "stupaK block" to jump off the fence and vote for the bill.
Posted 03/21/10 at 03:33pm
Valdearg: Making sure that Abortions don't recieve federal funding.
Valdearg: Making sure that Abortions don't recieve federal funding.
Posted 03/21/10 at 03:33pm
Valdearg: If you want to read the deal, here it is. Basically it's an executive order that will enforce the Hyde amendment.
Valdearg: If you want to read the deal, here it is. Basically it's an executive order that will enforce the Hyde amendment.
Posted 03/21/10 at 03:29pm
Valdearg: Hrm.. Sounds to me like Dem leaders cut a deal with Bart Stupak, a big blue dog, for his vote on healthcare.
Valdearg: Hrm.. Sounds to me like Dem leaders cut a deal with Bart Stupak, a big blue dog, for his vote on healthcare.
Posted 03/21/10 at 02:13pm
hayabusa75: Who's Keefer?
hayabusa75: Who's Keefer?
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ZippyDSMlee: Wow JD is on a tear he's almost filled the shout box up :P
ZippyDSMlee: Wow JD is on a tear he's almost filled the shout box up :P
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JDKJ: DarkSaber: Keefer says he's sorry he put that merciless ass-whupping on you and hopes you'll return to assume your responsibilities as Resident GamePolitics Troll.
JDKJ: DarkSaber: Keefer says he's sorry he put that merciless ass-whupping on you and hopes you'll return to assume your responsibilities as Resident GamePolitics Troll.
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Comments
The ESA has gotten a LOT of bad press over the past few years, but it's news like this I like to see.
If you make an illegal copy of a game and try to sell it... bye bye.
"Piracy in markets such as San Juan de Dios hurts businesses engaging in the legitimate distribution and retailing of computer and video games."
And yet gamers who follow the law and buy legit copies of the games are the ones who are always, ALWAYS punished.
please dont turn this into a DRM debate. For once can we stay on topic?
Sorry, even though I likely won't be hte only one >.<
SO that is why Mexico is having such a hard time getting their drug cartels out of commission. All available law inforcement is working with the ESA to stop Piracy. Sounds like they have their priorities straight.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
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right, because there's no possible way they have the ability to do BOTH.
Not to mention the USA is having wonderful success with it's own drug problems.
Sorry. I just heard on the radio this morning about the hard time the Mexico is having with drug cartels. It is really bad down there.
I don't really mind that the ESA is stopping this type of piracy. This is the kind that actually hurts the games industry.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
Off Topic: I heard that on the radio this morning, too, on NPR. They've actually had some decent success against the cartels, but new criminal groups just spring up to fill the zoid. The authorities are having a tougher time with the kidnapping rings.
Perhaps they should legalize drugs there, make the cartels legitimate businesses (in Mexico at least) and then use the increase in tax money and the money that would be used against the drugs to go after the kidnapping rings.
Hell it might bring more tourists to Mexico.
----------------------------------------------------
"What for you bury me in the cold cold ground?" - Tasmanian devil
Most of the drug trade in Mexico is about getting it into the US. Billions of dollars worth every year. Part of the issue is appeasing the US government by stopping the influx. Hell, the Mexican government probably wouldn't be taking it as seriously as they are, except that the cartels are turning areas into warzones to fight over turf. The cartels are gaining too much power in the country, so I don't think legalization would change anything at this point.
I hate real software pirates and I hate drug cartels... but man, I love Zoids. The Liger Zero was AWESOME!
Damnit, "void"! I meant void! :)
Dude, the cops might be PART of the drug cartels.
Yes that is part of the problem too. Of course those crooked cops could be the ones sending much needed resourses for the drug cartel fight off to help out the ESA.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
Yup... some rotten cops are part of these drug cartels... a lot of us have stopped trusting cops around here for quite some time now.
We have the Mexican Army acting against the Cartels, if you need to know.
Video game piracy in nations with a horrible economic standard are nothing new. If you don't want it to happen, make the product available to these people at severely reduced price instead of charging them the same as other nations. Which puts the product way out of the price range of gamers, hell almost all consumers, in those countries.
If you think Mexico is bad, you should have seen the amount of boot-leg Blu-Ray movies and video games I was practically tripping over when I went to the Philippines this year. Finding a legitimate copy of something over there was a real challenge.
We're not talking about bread, milk, or clean water and housing. This is the Entertainment Industry.
Nobody has the RIGHT to play affordable games.
Nobody has a right to food, water, and shelter in those nations either, bud.
The idea of 'They are poor, so they don't get rich entertainment' is really rather elitest.
Elitist, havn't heard that one in a while!
I'm not going to sit here and shout insults. The fact remains that we're talking about games that run on high end electronics and systems. The idea that "if it was cheaper they wouldnt' steal it" doesn't even apply here.
And your still wrong, everybody in the world has the right to food water and shelter. Wether it's available is another concern.
Something tells me most of the games seized were not for the PS3 or 360.
"And your still wrong, everybody in the world has the right to food water and shelter."
You only have those rights if your government acknowledges that those rights exist. Just because something is beaten into your head that everybody has the "right for this" and "right for that", doesn't mean others have to follow this logic. I don't blame you for saying such things, but try saying 'you have to give me shelter and food' in many other countries and see if they don't laugh at you and let you starve in the elements.
No, they do not have the right to food, water, or shelter. Rights cannot be taken away by circumstances. They may only be purposefully stepped on by organized government. Food can be taken by crop failures, water has to be shared, and shelters get destroyed. But free speech does not go away because God threw a hissy fit.
"I want"s are not "I have a right to"s.
Yet they claim lost profits due to sales of pirated copies to people who can't afford their legal games at retail prices.(Not necessarily in this case, but they tend to do this).
They obviously want that to be a market, then they need to actually price things realistically for that market.
This isn't about a "right" to play games. This is about a stupid business practices more than anything else.
These people are making copies of items they dont own the right to, and selling them.
How the hell did this turn into a discussion of wether or not it should be okay to buy them.
I didn't say it was "right" to buy them. I didn't say the raid was wrong. I applaud the raid.
However I think the raid is pointless.
Because more pirates will fill that void.
You can basically say the same thing about things such as drugs, endangered animals, stolen artifacts, etc...
Have to do something or you're basically saying that it's ok to do it.
Except in those cases something of value was lost.
In these cases, the only thing stolen was 10011101.
1s and 0s that were out of the price range of the bulk of the populace so they would not have been bought anyway.
Normally I find many of these international raids to be silly, since they often target poor areas where there'd be no chance of a game being sold legitimately anyway (thus not effecting the market). But Guadalajara isn't some poor, rundown hole in the wall. It's a major city, and there's no excuse for piracy in this instance.
Kudos, ESA! Keep up the good work of stamping out what is nothing less than thievery.
Guadalaho--
Guadallllaja--
Guadalalalaja--
France!
I'm surprised they're not in Montreal. Afterall, Canada is the #1 bootleg capital of the world right? Wait, we're not?
*shakes fist in air*
GUADALAJARAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
-- If your wiimote goes snicker-snack, check your wrist-strap...
Yeah it's nice to hear that while the drug cartels are basically taking over the country SOMEONE is doing something to help out.
The worst part is that you are right. For now, droug cartels members are killing them each other, and mexican authorities have no clue about what to do. I hope they don´t start to create anti-games laws to distract public from real problems like the cartels.
The cynical side of videogames (spanish only): http://thelostlevel.blogspot.com/ My DeviantArt Page (aka DeviantCensorship): http://www.darkknightstrikes.deviantart.com/
They need to do the same to Panthip Plaza in Bangkok, Thailand. Might seize more than what they got in Mexico actually, and not just games too...
That's what I was thinking; the place is six stories of illegal copies of every software you can think of.
An interesting wrinkle to this: A good percentage of game/movie discs are pressed in Mexico. I wonder how that factors into this? Employees taking game discs/manuals/boxes from work and selling them? Just a thought.
~~All Knowledge is Worth Having~~
And yet companies continue to outsource jobs to these same countries that then turn around and steal the product that the outsourced jobs created...
IT'S OVER 90,000!!!
Don't they realise that by getting all this pirated software they're only hurting the industry? Tsk tsk tsk for shame ESA!
Althou I am not a supporter of software piracy I believe that the ESA is simply bullying the small potatoes. Markets like those are literaly harmless and all they do is try to bring some food to the table. If the ESA wants to REALLY fight piracy why they don't sttack places like Thailand and China where piracy is pretty much a criminal organization?
THATS ALOUT OF COPIES
Shobidoo, the hardcore gamer
This is the kind of shit the copyright police should be worry about and focusing their attention on for all the media industries. Infringement for profit is real piracy.
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"The most difficult pain a man can suffer is to have knowledge of much and power over little" - Herodotus
Somehow, I have more sympathy for the bootleggers than I do for the authorities and legit game vendors.
An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
What they don't tell you... is they originally went down there to buy cheap HGH and an ass-load of weed....
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety" - Benjamin Franklin