UAE authorities have confiscated over 29,000 pirated copies of Xbox 360 games in a series of 21 coordinated raids on reseller stores in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.

In Abu Dhabi, the Ministry of Economy (MoE) liaised with the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development to gain additional officers for assistance; enabling them to target a number of stores, and to conduct the raids simultaneously, said a top MoE official.

“The ramifications of piracy and the distribution of pirated goods will always negatively impact any economy and hinder growth,” said Mohammed Ahmed Bin Abdul Aziz, managing director, UAE Ministry of Economy.

“It does no justice to the businesses that are operating legitimately and complying with all regulatory and UAE laws.”

“The Ministry, in collaboration with private rights holders such as Microsoft, will take all necessary actions to clamp down on piracy and the distribution of counterfeit products in the UAE,” he added.

In Sharjah, the store raids conducted by government authorities lead to the confiscation of pirated products and the arrest of three people who are currently facing criminal charges. When one store which is known as a major supplier of pirated games in the market was raided, approximately 25,000 pirated DVDs were seized.

The pirated games were purportedly found on specially built and hidden shelves, which held neatly arranged bundles of 50 pirated DVDs.

“Not only do pirated games seriously affect our consumers, but they also threaten our partners and resellers that do business legitimately,” said Jawad Al Redha, anti-piracy manager, Microsoft Gulf.

“Microsoft will continue to make every effort to reduce piracy in the UAE. We will continue working closely with all the relevant local Ministries and Authorities to pursue all offenders taking an unfair advantage of our legitimate partners and consumers.”

“Most pirated games don’t deliver the high quality gaming experience that Microsoft Xbox 360 offers for the consumer, depriving them of the blockbuster entertainment experience they expect from Xbox 360. And crucially, to play pirated games the console needs to be modified or ‘chipped’. This then results in the loss of the warranty for the gaming console,” he added.

Rami El Hussein, managing director, Pluto, a leading video game distributor, said: “With a clamp on pirated Xbox 360 games being distributed in the country, it creates a level playing field for the legitimate stores to conduct business and maintain a high quality product offering for our valued customers.” – TradeArabia News Service