A spot of news on GameSpy.com today is sure to set lawyers' hands a-rubbing with glee, as a new product, due within a month came to light from developer 321 Studios. Games X Copy, like its equally controversial fore-father, DVD X copy, allows people to easily make 'back-ups' of CD and DVD games, or copy entire games to their hard disk. Naturally, the games industry, so hot on matters of piracy, are not likely to be too pleased with this new piece of software - though the makers claim it is for legitimate back-up.

"You no longer need to fear losing your expensive game collection to scratches, skipping, or freezing," commented 321 President Robert Moore. "Now you can simply back them up and put the expensive original in a safe place, and the backup will play on your PC just like the original."

The software can also copy console games, though apparently this process is somewhat tougher - and console owners will require 'modded' to play 'back-ups'. Expect to follow shortly.

By Luke Guttridge