More than 135,000 seizures were made in connection with the illegal download of online video games in the Middle East in 2010, the Arabian Anti-Piracy Alliance has said.
A total of 165 gaming-related raids were conducted across the region, resulting in 135,531 seizures, it said as it urged Middle East gaming enthusiasts to “fully understand the adverse consequences of illegally downloading video games”.
A recent report by AM Mindpower Solutions showed that at least 73 percent of actual global revenue from video gaming is lost every year due to piracy.
“The gaming industry is really big, both globally and in the Middle East, which is fuelled by a young, tech savvy demographic. However, piracy severely threatens the growth of this industry,” said Scott Butler, CEO, Arabian Anti-Piracy Alliance.
“In a bid to save some money, gaming enthusiasts often illegally download pirated versions of popular video games, without realising the damage it is causing, both to their PCs and gaming consoles, but at a broader level, to the gaming industry and the economy as well.”
He said the Arabian Anti-Piracy Alliance was closely cooperating with governments across the region to tackle all forms of piracy.
“In the UAE in particular, law enforcement actions are being conducted against subjects across the country deploying pirated PS3 software, in addition to raids on shops and outlets that possess PS3 Modships,” he added.
According to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the global gaming market is expected to be worth $86.8bn in 2014.
The Middle East’s video games industry is also expected to witness similar growth buoyed by factors such as the rising penetration of broadband combined with consoles with online capabilities, wireless phones capable of downloading games, and technologically advanced consoles.
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