Unfortunately, Chinese knockoffs are the known issue to our gaming community. Not just these knockoffs hurt the revenue of publishers and companies who produce games for us to play, that can also cause independent game developers to experience theft of intellectual property each day. The CCP often has no regard for our intellectual property. Nintendo, PlayStation, XBOX, and other companies who publish games for us to play often experience illegal sales of knockoff consoles and games. Despite sanctions of China… causing them to be banned from our computer chip industry. China often go around this restriction. Well, we’re NOT saying people in China don’t have any experience of coding their own games from scratch! There are plenty of people who code their own games around the world.
Well, being a game developer is usually my dream what I am trying to reach, but I am still experimenting on making games from scratch with easier ways to make a game from scratch… however; having your IP pirated can be a problem for me, and that can be a major issue for me.
If China is completely removed from our computer chip industry, that will take time for China to build their own computer chip, not take our IP from other chip makers who make these computer chips for us to rely on.
However; on the next few minutes, we’re going to use our imagination and take an open-eye journey inside these places where Chinese pirates manufacture with sweat shop labor, and and these places what you’ve never seen before,–revealing how games what we play make a journey from studio to your console, or computer!
Current Issues What We Face As Game Developers
For many years, the CCP and the Chinese IP pirates has been taking our work,–disregarding our IP rights of our work. These developers didn’t know piracy is happening someplace, especially China. Our mistake of allowing China to have computer chips for modernization has resulted us to dozens or more drawbacks, after a war is over, or something. This mistake what computer chip industries has made has resulted to serious consequences, just like this current situation.
Why This Is A Problem Currently?
After sanctions of China has been imposed, China is removed from our computer chip industry. However people in China can create their own board games without needing to rely on computers. Some board games are made by hand,–all without computers, or with existing technology. Well, if China wants to catch up, they must find a way to build their own computer chip, and build their own products from scratch. The CCP has been causing trouble. I remember the Huawei incident, and I won’t forget when I regret buying a knockoff Android TV box that is made in China. Also, finding a seller on Amazon is too tricky.
If you are a game creator, you are most likely to experience piracy from China, and you may need to be extra careful on the internet. That applies to all game developers around the world,–especially arcade cabinet builders who build custom arcade game machines.
Not just piracy is a known problem, Chinese spies who are illegal spies can often spy on your game session as you play downloaded games. Well, I am NOT a fan of downloading games after making a purchase. I prefer games on hard media like cartridges, disks, or CDs. Also, I prefer to check out games via a public library. Unfortunately, there’s no such public library for checking out games to play ever developed. With all of that downloading games online. You as a customer/player and a publisher are at risk of piracy. A license to access this downloaded content doesn’t always mean owning a game what you can hold in your collection! If Nintendo, Sony/PlayStation, XBOX, or any other game vendor distribute their games to public libraries in the first place; that should’ve solved an ongoing problem. Public libraries play a key role to our local community. They serve the poor, and our local towns.
With all of that “easy money” schemes what we got use to as publishers/developers… you don’t earn any more revenue. However; if you ran out of customers, you aren’t able to make more money. With all of that remaking, and expanding to series, and other methods to keep all of that financial momentum going. You as a publisher/developer can still experience revenue difficulties.
Not ALL game publishers sell their games and earn money. Some developers often have communities raise funds to keep support of their games active, and help developers improve games. Super Tux is a known open-source game that is supported by donors who support this game that is inspired by Super Mario Bros. franchise. However; Super Tux is susceptible to IP theft via copyfraud, and there’s no such federal law that makes copyfraud a serious crime, and I mean a federal crime! That’s right!! Copyfraudsters do go to prison.
Games That Are DRM-Enabled Are The Most Targeted
Some publishers use DRM to progtect their IP, but it doesn’t always go to plan. Some developers don’t use DRM for budget reasons. However; DRM should be use with extreme caution. The Free Software Foundation has discouraged us from using DRM, and other proprietary software that is susceptible to defects, or invade our privacy.
However; Chinese pirates often disregard the rights of IP owners who published games to our world. Circumvention of DRM is still a thing during these days, and the Chinese pirates has taken it to a whole new level, and even apply their own DRM to their media, after a successful piracy of our works.
Untold, illegal copies of games, and consoles has been flooding parts of our world, including USA has caused revenue losses of our essential cash to spend to pay our employees, support our children, and even our living expenses.
Issues With Purchased Online Games What You Are Playing:
Online games that rely on DRM often face these serious threats like illegal downloads, and even hacking to servers. Sega, Nintendo, PlayStation, XBOX, and even independent servers via independent companies/persons are the among threatened by these pirates.
Sometimes, takedown notices can fail, and pirates often use other schemes to dodge these orders via courts.
Once piracy has caused a company who publish games to go bankrupt, customers lose access to these games what they’ve purchased for a long period of time. If a company has a successful case with supportive evidence of piracy caused by the CCP and Chinese pirates, they can ask for damages as a way to recover loss revenue.
Issues With Games On Optical Media:
Optical media what we know today are revolutionary after ROM cartridges. However; DRM being used within these media types are the most susceptible to piracy. Typically, optical media can be resold like any other physical media. However; intellectual property owned by various owners often struggle with piracy caused by Chines pirates in China. With availability of blank discs to record your own music, or your own content, the Chinese has the opportunity to pirate content. Common sense and education plays a key role of reducing piracy. However; many developers often have their DRM schemes fail overtime.
Once optical media is copied by the pirates, losses of revenue begin to rise.
Pirated discs piling up in stores on the internet, and physical stores is a serious issue.
Although; fair-use of copyrighted content is protected, and that’s what some creators don’t understand. Copyright is designed to encourage someone to be creative with exclusive rights, and once copyright expires, intellectual property falls into our public domain database. However; game developers are still susceptible to piracy each day.
ROM Cartridge Issues:
Although; ROM cartridges are the best ways to have games written inside these kind of media. Typically, they’re difficult to pirate, but they’re still susceptible to pirates, just like other media!
Although; game cartridges are the preferred format for some people who play games, or make games,–as an oppose to optical media, and downloadable content.
However; pirated versions of game cartridges can pop up too! Sometimes, game consoles can suffer from viruses, worms, trojan horses, rootkits, rogues, and even serious damage.
Even game consoles made by pirates can result to more losses than you know it.
Untold, millions of pirated games has flooded our stores, and even public libraries each year. There’s over many publishers who lost millions of dollars each year.
Like other formats, pirated versions of game consoles with built-in games that are illegally sourced has flooded markets around the world. And commons forms of piracy is by pulling programs from cartridges and other media via various hacking techniques what you never heard of.
What You Should Do?
Although; game developers and companies experience issues with their works each day. However; they don’t have to suffer each day. There are alternate ways to distribute games what you develop, and enable others to play your games without needing to pay more.
Distributing your games that are digital, or physical is one solution to help reduce piracy, and tap into poor communities who wanted to check out games without needing to lift a dollar. Speak to your distributor, platform administrator, or vendor about choosing to distribute your games to public libraries around the world to help reduce the burden of piracy. Make a commitment to choose to avoid “easy money” techniques by relying on your public libraries who will enable your community to play your games without needing to pay and pay.
Game developers has the enormous power to claim damages against Chinese pirates who stole their IP and developing knockoffs. If this story frightens you, and your games what you made has been pirated, find a local law firm, and get help immediately. Also, consider public libraries as your next place for your games to be distributed.
My Thoughts
Game developers and publishers… just like individuals who make money with our work still experience piracy each day. Well, I felt bad for Sony, Nintendo, Sega, Microsoft, and other platforms. Well, money doesn’t grow on trees! But choosing public libraries should be a great alternative to mass producing game media discs and cartridges. Together; we can help rethink about how we sell our games what we make from scratch.