ELSPA's helicopters DESCEND on Sunday market

via Computer and Video Games


Midlands Wii Chippers, The Welsh Game Barron - the ELSPA Anti-Piracy Unit has defeated them all. But this week the heroes in black send word of a new type of criminal... one who puts DS games onto discs.

During an 85,000 disc haul at an East Yorkshire Sunday market (the APU don't HAVE weekends), the crack criminal-busting unit found discs containing illegally copied DS games, "the first of their kind", apparently marked 'Volume 9 DS Games'. Where are volumes one to eight, then?

According to ELSPA's "forensic experts", the disc is the first of its kind discovered in the UK.

The approximate value of the games on the disc, says ELSPA, should a member of the public purchase it in a High Street shop, is £6,000.

The group hasn't said anything about convicting the bloke who owned (or now not) the discs, but if it's anything near as harsh as it was on the last poor sod, he's going to get 10 years and at least 50 lashes from the ELSPA whip.

"Piracy costs the games industry dear - just like that of any other entertainment industry," said ELSPA's crime unit chief, John Hillier.

"There are other things which the public should be made aware of about counterfeit games. Some of them will damage hardware, such as PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii consoles. Others will not play in PCs and consoles at all or, if they do, the quality of the graphics or gameplay mechanics may be impaired."

A spokesman for entertainment chain HMV said piracy was costing the industry "hundreds of millions of pounds".