Computer & Videogame Piracy:
What methods are people using to acquire pirated games?

• Link Sites: These sites do not provide the games themselves but provide links to servers where the pirated games can be downloaded.
• Professional Pirate Sites: These sites have numerous titles; many provide games the day the game is first officially released or even earlier. However, while some sites advertise games for sale, they may fail to deliver the promised items.
• ROM sites: These sites usually have "ROMS" which are file format making it possible to play console games such as Super Nintendo games on PCs through the use of "Emulators."¹⁰

In addition to downloading pirated games or simply making a copy of a friend's game, or that of a "friend of a friend of a friend", one could--until recently--easily purchase them from online auction sites such as e-Bay, Yahoo!, Amazon, and Excite auctions. One could easily find such software by searching for terms like "backup" or "CD-R." Actual sites containing those and other terms such as "compilation CD," "OEM," "academic," and "not for resale," may be strong indicators of a pirated site that is involved in illegal activities. ¹¹ Obtaining illegal copies of software can often prove easier than bidding on an illegal physical copy; one can download practically anything from sites found on the Internet. To see how rampant piracy is for yourself, simply go to a search engine such as Google and enter one or more of the following terms: for game piracy "warez," or "gamez," for business software piracy "appz," and for music piracy "mp3z." You will likely be amazed by the results.¹²
Click here for a page about such searches.

As regulators shut down such piracy sites, individuals turn to other methods of acquiring pirated software such as peer-to-peer technologies . ¹³ Napster is a good example of a peer-to-peer technology--users can download music files (mp3s) that other users make available. Although Napster was primarily for mp3s, other peer-to-peer programs, such as Gnotella, are available free of charge for acquiring many types of files: text, images, movies, music, and programs such as games.
Time to wrap things up with a...Conclusion.

Introduction page
Why did I choose this topic?
What is Computer & Videogame Piracy?
What are the effects of Piracy?
What measures are being taken to deal with Piracy?
What methods are people using to acquire pirated games?
Conclusion
References