If you've been an active participant in the gaming space for any length of time, it's no doubt you know how easy it is to obtain pirated games. PC games have long been copied and distributed, back in the day via private bulletin boards, and now through popular file-sharing programs. In 2003, however, it's just as easy to download console games -- a rampant practice, one that most people have no trouble engaging in, because, after all, "free" is always the best price.

However, that price is not without its costs, for both you and gaming developers. In our three-part series we'll explore those costs, take a look at what's being done to circumvent piracy, and speak with Interactive Digital Software Association President Douglas Lowenstein about the matter.

"The mod chip penetration rate does not scale here the way it does in other countries," says Stevan Mitchell, Interactive Digital Software Association vice president of intellectual property policy. "We have seen new accounts that suggest in Hong Kong, for example, between 80 and 90 percent of the Xboxes that are made available in storefronts have been pre-modded for sale in those markets."

The Interactive Digital Software Association aggressively searches the Internet for postings in which mod chips are offered. When these sites are found, legal notice is sent to the ISP hosting the sites. In the industry, the practice is called "notice and takedown." According to IDSA president Douglas Lowenstein, the IDSA has notified and taken down 30,000 to 40,000 sites over the last couple of years. This may sound like pulling the weeds and leaving the roots; but with distribution channels disappearing, pirates are looking toward other venues.

"Notice and takedown is a logical approach," says Lowenstein. "Filing 40,000 lawsuits is simply not practical."