Anyone know how much Lan gaming centers have to pay for.....

[Daxxax]

How much does a Lan gaming center have to pay to the publisher of a game to use it to make money? I heard it's something like $1,000 a year or so depending on the game. Anyone have any idea?

 

[KillerCow]

um... I'd imagine that they would only need to purchase a license for each box that the game runs on. But I dont know, so....

 

[tritium4ever]

Originally posted by: KillerCow
um... I'd imagine that they would only need to purchase a license for each box that the game runs on. But I dont know, so....

Actually, that's incorrect. If you read the license agreement on practically any game (yeah I know, who the heck actually reads the license agreement?!), you'll find that it says the game may not be used in a commercial establishment for the purposes of generating income. To do so, a special license agreement must be negotiated with the publisher. Any LAN gaming centers not doing so are in violation of the law and are subject to stiff penalties. The thing is, it's very easy to determine if a LAN gaming center is legally using the games or not. I'm surprised there hasn't been any major public crackdowns on illegal gaming centers.

And yes, these illegal gaming centers do exist. One I used to go to one that even had the gall of using a single copy of a game on all of the machines, and then using a crack to bypass the CD check. Obviously this place won't be in business for much longer, if it still IS in business...