Do you know what a chipper is? It’s the name for someone who illegally modifies games consoles, using circumvention devices to let them play pirated copies of games. Last month one of the main chippers in the UK was arrested, following a raid on his house in Stoke-on-Trent, according to Vnunet. The arrest followed months of investigation, both by Staffordshire Trading Standards and the Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association (Elspa), which purchased several chipped consoles from the man. During the raid, 200 chips were found in his house, along with 2 PCs, 20 Xbox 360s and four Wiis. All were seized. After his arrest, the unnamed man was bailed to appear later. Now there’s an investigation to determine how much he might have made from his crimes. Michael Rawlinson, Elspa’s managing director, said, “This raid proves that increasing numbers of games criminals are paying the price for pursuing illegal chipping business activities."
