Today the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced that over 91,000 illegal copies of video games and video game accessories were recovered from the San Juan de Dios Market in Guadalajara, Mexico. It took over 40 Mexican law enforcement to seize over 20 tons of materials including “91,200 illegal copies of video games, 130,000 video game cover inserts and 3,200 empty video game boxes” during the raid.
- The ESA is dedicated to serving the business and public affairs of the gaming industry.
“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”, says Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the ESA.
The ESA had been organizing investigations in this area for months before the raid, and hopes that this recent bust will decrease the amount of pirated products in Guadalajara, an area that is notorious for illegal video game sales.
November 10th, 2008 at 11:23 am
I’m sure this isnt even the tip of the iceburg. I lived in Mexico for a few months in 2002, and media piracy was HUGE… I’ve never seen anything like it in the States.
November 10th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Stories like this just make me think how much we would *RESPECT* the RIAA and similar entities if they concentrated on stuff like this and school campuses. It’s when they went after grandmas who let 8 year-old Timmy on their machine that they went over the edge.
And I do consider having a free-share server with thousands upon thousands of albums/movies on it to be on the same basic level as warez people selling stuff on the street in China/Mexico/etcetera… they’re just getting paid per transaction.
November 10th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Holy crap!
November 10th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
Yeah, this is the stuff that the ESA needs to go after first. When you go after people like “Grandma” that really don’t know how much damage they are doing, it does little to get the word out. Sure, stealing is stealing, and I don’t condone it, but go after the bigwigs first, by then hopefuly the little guys will have wisend up a bit.