Piracy is, and always has been a threat to creative industry, and the gaming industry is no exception. However, a survey conducted by TIGA, a regional trade body, suggests that while the majority developers in the UK see piracy as a problem, only a small percentage believe it to be a huge problem.
60 percent of developers surveyed viewed software piracy as a “constant and growing” concern, but out of those respondents, only 10 percent felt that the threat piracy posed by piracy to their survival was “high.” 20 percent pegged the threat level as “medium,” and 10 percent opted for “low.” (The last 10 percent had no opinion). Regarding DRM, half of developers thought it to be “an irrelevance,” and twenty percent considering it “part of the problem.”
Opinions were split, however, on an issue that’s been popping up relatively recently, namely the government-mandated punishment of users’ broadband supplies as a method for combating pirates.
That last point is particularly important, considering that secret talks are underway for the global Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, one designed to address a number of IP and copyright issues. Some have been calling portions of ACTA “a Patriot Act for the Internet,” as it seems to introduce a variety of changes that make the infamous DMCA look tame by comparison.
