If you’re a British game pirate, take note — the industry is out on the prowl, and its prey is your hairy, quivering arse. Several videogame companies in the UK are mounting an offensive against people obtaining their games illegally via the Internet with an eye to netting some nice, fat, out-of-court payments.
[British developers] will serve notice on 25,000 people across the UK, requiring each one to pay £300 immediately to settle out of court. Those who refuse risk being taken to court. The companies will target their initial legal actions on 500 people who ignore the letters.
The companies behind this assault are Atari, Codemasters, Topware Interactive, Techland and Reality Pump. Just yesterday, we posted a story about Topware and its lawyers netting over £16,000 from one woman who was illegally sharing a pinball game. If all these companies can continue reaping such rewards, then videogame piracy may be the best thing to happen to the UK games industry in years. How ironic.
