Games seized in 'chipping' haul
Birmingham authorities have carried out one of the biggest seizures of illegally 'chipped' games consoles in the UK which they say "endanger legitimate jobs and businesses" in the city. The consoles had a street value of more than £500,000.
An operation was launched by Birmingham City Council's trading standards team, West Midlands Police and the UKIE (Association of UK Interactive Entertainment).
In total, 250 Xbox 360 consoles and hard drives, 450 copied Xbox 360 games, five computers and circumvention devices for illegally altering games consoles were confiscated.
Councillor Neil Eustace, chair of the public protection committee, said: "While some may think 'chipping' or 'flashing' is a victimless crime, the truth is that such activity directly supports the black market in counterfeit games, which in turn endangers legitimate jobs and businesses in Birmingham."
The illegal 'chipping' or 'flashing' of consoles enables them to circumnavigate built-in technology which would otherwise prevent them from being able to run counterfeit or copied games.
