THE COST OF PIRACY!

[soloist]

<
>According to the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and IDC Global Software, rampant software piracy cost the industry $29 billion, most of which is overseas. <
><
>In 2003, over $80 billion in software was installed worldwide, with $51 billion of that being licensed software. That equates to a $29 billion loss in software, 36 percent of all software installed. <
><
>The United States is the most minor offender with 22 percent of its software pirated. However, the U.S. has one of the most software installed of any nation, and equates into a $6.5 billion dollar loss. By contrast, China and Vietnam has a shocking 92 percent software piracy rate, which translates into a $3.8 billion loss. For other regions, Eastern Europe has 71 percent, Western Europe has 36 percent, and Latin America has 63 percent. <
><
>The impact on the economy is significant according to the BSA and IDC-- if software piracy was lowered by 10 percent globally over four years, it would add one million new jobs and $400 billion in economic growth. The rise of piracy is attributed to increased demand for software in developing economies, Internet connectivity, higher internet connection speeds, and the availability of peer-to-peer (P2P) networks.<
><
>-GP- <i></i>

[KenseidenXL]

I know. It's why I stopped designing new games. In the end, there can be only ONE!For true Dragonball fans, click the banner.(\__/)(=';'=)(")_(")Pat the Bunny!Only the
ave enter The PortalVisit Planet ZiCome to the Fuzzy Pink Board...if you dare!For J-Pop and Anime talk, come HERE<i></i>

[CORVETTE GIRL]

I didn't know you were into game design. Did you work for a major gaming company? <i></i>

[KenseidenXL]

After Atari got sold to the Japs in '84, I went freelance. In the end, there can be only ONE!For true Dragonball fans, click the banner.(\__/)(=';'=)(")_(")Pat the Bunny!Only the
ave enter The PortalVisit Planet ZiCome to the Fuzzy Pink Board...if you dare!For J-Pop and Anime talk, come HERE<i></i>

[bdunn420]

Lowering prices may help curve piracy, although that would be difficult to do. Sega is starting to do that, they just released ESPN NFL 2K5 for $19.95 . <i></i>

[KenseidenXL]

I thought the ESPN games were put out by EA. In the end, there can be only ONE!For true Dragonball fans, click the banner.(\__/)(=';'=)(")_(")Pat the Bunny!Only the
ave enter The PortalVisit Planet ZiCome to the Fuzzy Pink Board...if you dare!For J-Pop and Anime talk, come HERE<i></i>

[soloist]

Sega sports acquired the ESPN license, so<
>now their games which used to be tit-<
>led, "Sega Sports" have adopted t-<
>he name, "ESPN." Yes, I have h-<
>eard of the price reduction,<
>and from my understan-<
>ding it is due to the<
>new games bein-<
>g merely an u-<
>pdate of th-<
>e previo-<
>us ga-<
>me-<
>s! <i></i>

[KenseidenXL]

Aren't roughly 75% of the games coming out these days for PS2 and XB just updates? In the end, there can be only ONE!For true Dragonball fans, click the banner.(\__/)(=';'=)(")_(")Pat the Bunny!Only the
ave enter The PortalVisit Planet ZiCome to the Fuzzy Pink Board...if you dare!For J-Pop and Anime talk, come HERE<i></i>

[soloist]

Not certain of the actual percentage, but a huge num-<
>ber of titles to appear on both the PS2 and X-Box<
>are updates or sequels. However, the sequel-<
>s appearing this year are worthy ones (in <
>my opinion) Ratchet and Clank: Up Y-<
>our Arsonal will feature online pla-<
>y and a great 4 way split-scree-<
>n multiplayer mode, Gran T-<
>urismo 4 has incredible v-<
>isuals and new gamep-<
>lay elements and th-<
>e next Mortal Ko-<
>mbat title wil-<
>l feature v-<
>arious g-<
>ames<
>inc-<
>luded<
>in the ga-<
>me such as C-<
>hess and a MK th-<
>emed puzzle game! F-<
>or X-Box, Halo 2 speaks <
>for itself with online play a-<
>nd a heck-of-a multiplayer mo-<
>de via split-screen (with vehicles),<
>and then there is Outrun 2 which is s-<
>upposed to sport lengthy locations and w-<
>onderful music to get the blood pumping! As<
>far as multiplatform games, well here is a listing:<
><
>(not a complete listing of both sequels and non-sequels that are worthy of a look, but all I can remember at the moment)<
><
>-Sudeki (x-box)<
>-NBA Live 2005 (multi)<
>-Tony Hawks Undergroud 2 (multi)<
>-Midway Treasures 2 (multi)<
>-Dead or Alive: Ultimate (x-box)<
>-Astro Boy (ps2?)<
>-Star Wars: Battlefront (x-box?)<
>-Fable (x-box)<
>-Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (ps2)<
>-Burnout 3 (multi)<
>-Silent Hill 4: The Room (multi?)<
>-Ghosthunter (ps2?)<
>-Terminator 3: Redemption (multi)<
>-NCAA March Madness 2005 (multi)<
>-Sly 2: Band of Thieves (ps2)<
>-Cowboy Bebop (ps2)<
>-Madden 2005 (multi)<
>-TMNT 2 (multi)<
>-Shadow of Rome (ps2)<
>-Prince of Persia 2 (multi)<
>-Guilty Gear Isuka (ps2)<
>-Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater (ps2)<
>-WWE Smackdow vs Raw (ps2)<
>-Godzilla: Save the Earth (x-box)<
>-Ace Combat 5 (ps2)<
>-Street Fighter Anniversary Collection (multi)<
>-Def Jam: Fight for NY (multi)<
>-Doom 3 (x-box)<
>-Goldeneye Rogue Agent (multi)<
>-Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3 (ps2)<
>-Robotech: Invation (multi)<
>-Lord of the Rings: Third Age (multi)<
> <i></i>