The Electronic Software Association (ESA) has a serious bone to pick with retro handhelds that are packaged with tons of unlicensed pre-installed, calling these devices “superfakes” that should face some sort of suppression by the US government.
According to an October 6 filing with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)–which monitors marketplaces that are accused of engaging in or enabling piracy and counterfeiting–the ESA is urging the government to clamp down on what it calls “illicit plug-and-play consoles and handheld devices.” The ESA wants the USTR to add these emulation devices to the Notorious Markets List, the agency’s annual report identifying which markets are participating in such behavior, thereby barring or slowing their profits.
“In the video game sector, illicit plug-and-play consoles and handheld devices are the functional equivalent
of superfakes,” the ESA told the USTR. “They can look and feel like legitimate, mass-market consumer electronics: molded housings, color displays, polished user interfaces, retail packaging, product reviews, warranty-like representations,
and listings on familiar e-commerce platforms. Yet their commercial appeal rests solely on a concealed
memory card or internal drive loaded with hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of unauthorized
copies of copyright-protected games.”
The ESA puts a specific spotlight on Anbernic, a console manufacturer that sells 3DS- and Game Boy-looking devices packed with thousands of games from systems like the NES and SNES to the PlayStation 1 and Sega Genesis. Though maybe the most prominent example, another one that comes to mind is rapper Soulja Boy’s various console attempts.
The filing also targets digital marketplaces that it says distribute or sell modded accounts and pirated games such as Eldorado, FunPay, G2A, and Voices38. In short, the ESA is seeking some kind of restitution for the harm that “superfake” retro consoles pose to the gaming industry writ large.
“A single device can substitute for lawful purchases across multiple video game publishers and console generations, divert sales from authorized games, compilations, subscriptions, remasters, and licensed retro hardware,” the ESA wrote. “Because the product is often delivered with an immediately usable catalogue of pirated games, it removes the technical friction that once separated mainstream consumers from video game piracy. Sellers commonly use the illicit library as a key selling point, and the commercial price often reflects this.”
To achieve that restitution (or regulation), the ESA is “respectfully requesting” that the USTR implement the following seven steps so that the governments where these “superfakes” operate can hold their businesses accountable:
- Treat preloaded unauthorised game libraries as core evidence of commercial-scale piracy
- Inspect bundled and separately shipped storage media
- Require sellers to substantiate authorisation for included games and protected branding
- Suspend repeat sellers and linked storefronts, not merely individual listings
- Preserve seller, payment, shipment, and advertising records for enforcement
- Improve customs targeting for devices and components associated with preloading operations
- Coordinate action against manufacturers, exporters, importers, fulfilment providers, and online marketplaces that knowingly facilitate these products
