It was only earlier today, August 2nd, that the South African Police Service’s Commercial Crime Unit conducted a raid at a residential property in Parktown, Johannesburg, resulting in the confiscation of PlayStation 3 jailbreaking tools, as well as the world’s first PS3 security circumvention arrest in the world.

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Who would have known that the lowly vuvuzela ‘musical instrument’ would have gone from a loathed implement of audio cruelty to an aid in the fight against videogame piracy?

Nay not I!

According to a report on videogame industry site MCV, Ubisoft is using the endless droning noise of 10 thousand vuvuzela horns as an anti-piracy measure in the publisher’s latest Nintendo DS game, Michael Jackson: The Experience.

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“Tut-tut, looks like piracy,” said Capcom, and summarily cancelled the PC version of Super Street Fighter IV.

So, it wasn’t quite as simple as that, but Capcom has confirmed that PC gamers won’t be getting Super Street Fighter IV on their platform of choice. This news comes roughly five months following the release of the game on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and over a year after the title’s predecessor, Street Fighter IV, saw a release on the PC.

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The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has commended the actions of local Mexican law enforcement in an anti-piracy raid that saw the confiscation of 60 000 pirated games, as well as equipment to aid the selling and packaging of those games.

The raid took place in the shopping district of Tepito, Mexico City, which the ESA claim is a “local center of black market activity.” Just weeks ago, a large scale raid took place in the same area, searching 37 apartments, warehouses and software labs, and turned up 38 000 pirated games and 784 disc burners.

ESA president and CEO Michael Gallagher commented; “Piracy hurts artists and entrepreneurs, paralyzes the development of a local game industry, and stymies our industry’s contributions to economies.

“We commend law enforcement officials for their actions in this raid and are fully committed to supporting authorities in Mexico and around the world in their efforts to combat entertainment software piracy.”

During a raid carried out in San Juan de Dios Market in Guadalajara, Mexico, law enforcement officials have seized 91 200 pirated games, which was included in the 20 tons of illegal goods confiscated during the operation. 130 000 game cover inserts and 3 200 empty game boxes were also recovered from the scene.

The Electronic Entertainment Association (ESA) was highly complimentary of the effort and hopes that similar operations may deter piracy in the region, as CEO of the ESA, Michael Gallagher said:

“Piracy in markets such as San Juan de Dios hurts businesses engaging in the legitimate distribution and retailing of computer and video games. We commend Mexican law enforcement officials for their actions in this raid and are committed to fully supporting authorities around the world who conduct these kinds of enforcement actions.”

Previous raids in Mexico, in the Tepito area in Mexico City, have turned up 28,800 copies of pirated games, 900,000 game cover inserts and roughly 290 DVD/CD burners.