The Entertainment Software Association is the video game-industry group that represents the interests of some of the biggest publishers in the world. It just released its report for 2012, which includes its ongoing efforts to fight game piracy around the globe.
Last year, the ESA spearheaded efforts to remove over 5 million infringing files from the Internet. Host sites removed more than half of those in the first 24 hours after notification. The industry group sent nearly 3.4 million alerts to Internet-service providers about peer-to-peer network activity involving protected video games. The ESA additionally lobbied Google to remove nearly 100,000 search-engine results that included links to files that infringe on copyright.
The representative body didn’t stop at online enforcement. It got its hands dirty in some specific cases in the U.S. and Canada involving hardware and counterfeit software. It helped law enforcement track down a seller of pirated games in Illinois, a pair of retail stores in California that were modding consoles, and more.
The ESA detailed similar efforts in Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Korea. The industry group worked with local law enforcement, local governments, and even the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
I’m pretty sure the sight of a dozen giant red Mounties is enough to scare the piracy out of anybody.
In addition to these on-the-ground efforts, ESA’s Piracy Working Group held 32 training sessions to help international law-enforcement officials better identify game piracy in their jurisdictions.