Sega Says Anti-Piracy Move Forces 185 Web Sites Offline

Moving to crack down on piracy, Sega of America said it shut down 185 Web sites that allegedly were selling or freely distributing bootlegged copies of games for its popular Dreamcast console machine. The sweeping closures, which Sega launched late last week, included auctions on Amazon.com Inc. and EBay Inc.

Officials with Sega, the San Francisco-based arm of Sega Enterprises Ltd. in Japan, said the game maker sent out hundreds of letters to sites in Asia, Europe and the U.S. A total of 60 Web sites and 125 auctions were pulled offline, officials said. They also said Sega has “numerous” other letters to Web sites that have not been answered. If the sites don’t comply with the cease-and-desist letters, Sega will file lawsuits against their owners and Internet service providers, a spokeswoman said.