LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The U.S. video game industry lost at least $1.9 billion to global piracy last year, half of which came from Korea and China, an industry trade group said on Thursday.
The Washington, D.C.-based Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) said its estimate was included in a report the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) will file with the United States Trade Representative on Friday
The group is asking for U.S. trade officials to take action against 50 countries that the IIPA alleges do not do enough to stop software piracy, including the unauthorized copying of video and PC games, a fast growing market.
According to IDSA figures, total U.S. sales of video games in 2001 were $6.35 billion.
"(There) are at least 100 other countries around the globe where there is virtually no legitimate market for our products due to rampant piracy," Doug Lowenstein, the president of the association, said in a statement.
The trade group represents all of the top U.S. publishers, including Electronic Arts Inc. and Activision Inc.
News source: Yahoo
The Washington, D.C.-based Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) said its estimate was included in a report the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) will file with the United States Trade Representative on Friday
The group is asking for U.S. trade officials to take action against 50 countries that the IIPA alleges do not do enough to stop software piracy, including the unauthorized copying of video and PC games, a fast growing market.
According to IDSA figures, total U.S. sales of video games in 2001 were $6.35 billion.
"(There) are at least 100 other countries around the globe where there is virtually no legitimate market for our products due to rampant piracy," Doug Lowenstein, the president of the association, said in a statement.
The trade group represents all of the top U.S. publishers, including Electronic Arts Inc. and Activision Inc.
News source: Yahoo
Microsoft has a Windows Media Player version on its Pocket PC 2002, which supports playback of downloaded audio and video content, and RealNetworks paired up with AT&T Wireless and other mobile operators last December to extend its RealPlayer to mobile devices on 2.5G data networks. However, a challenge remains in finding the right applications to drive use of wireless multimedia players and delivering them at a price that makes them attractive and accessible to users, says Jupiter Media Metrix analyst Joe Laszlo. Being able to transmit wireless video of an accident scene could save time and money for insurance agents filing a claim, Laszlo says, but "if carriers have to charge users per byte or per minute for streaming audio or video content, charges will mount up quickly," which is a potential hurdle to the adoption of wireless streaming media.
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