November 11, 2011
Illegal downloads of game software has increased in the United Kingdom, according to new data released by research firm Envisional. The firm claims that "illicit game downloads" in the UK climbed 20 percent over the last five years and that the five top games of 2010 were illegally accessed online almost one million times. The firm did not name the five games it claimed were downloaded millions of times.
Illegal music album downloads decreased in the same period, though TV show and film downloads have climbed by 30 percent since 2006. The firm did not provide a lot of details on why music piracy declined, nor did it provide any definitive data on game downloads, or which games were downloaded the most.
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Re: Illegal Game Downloads in UK Up 20 Percent over Last ...
Something tells me that this will provide little constructive result, if at all. Here's why:
Game developers (especially those who focus on PC titles) will point to this data as reason to use more restrictive DRM. More PC games will require a constant connection to the internet.
Pirate groups will see the increased restrictions as a call to arms for infringing on civil liberties. As a result, software piracy increases, and more "hacktivist" groups engage in vigilante attacks on developer websites. Once the next round of news reports talks about record piracy, the cycle repeats.
I may be exaggerating a bit, but this isn't much of a stretch...
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