llegal copies of the new GTA IV game appear to be available for download from bit torrent file-sharing sites, six days before the game is officially released.

According to the games website Kotaku, the first ripped files were found online at lunchtime today. The files in question are supposedly an illegal copy of the Xbox 360 version of the game, and have been seeded across various torrent sites by a group calling themselves iCON.

At the moment, the rip is only compatible with the PAL television format, which means people in Europe, Australia, Japan and parts of Asia can download and play the file. Game fans in the US and other countries that use the NTSC format are expected to be able to download a ripped version for their region from the internet within the next 48 hours.

Grand Theft Auto IV, which gets its official global release on April 29, is expected to sell around six million copies in its first week on sell, earning the game's publisher, Rockstar Games, about £200 million.

View: Full Article @ Telegraph UK



There are 27 additional comments
Advertisement
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #1 Posted by Wiggz on 25 Apr 2008 - 10:12
...and? How does this differ from any other highly anticipated Game (console & PC)

This happens with MOST games.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #2 Posted by Fubar on 25 Apr 2008 - 10:28
wow talk about missing the boat this is about 2 days old , and both NTSC and Pal are out :s talk about being totally wrong :s
(1 reply) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #3 Posted by ZombieFly on 25 Apr 2008 - 13:00
wow. i've always resisted before but:

WHY IS THIS NEWS?

shall we now list the availability of all pirated software on Neowin's front page?

today the following is available on torrent sites:
TUROK - PC GAME
TOM CLANCYS RAINBOW 6 - PC GAME
etc,etc


Seriously, this needs to either be reworded or removed, it reads like you are trying to educate the masses on downloading pirated warez. What's next, How To's on downloading, unpacking and installing the crack?

Neowin is becoming more confusing by the day, it's turning into the land of double standards and bizarre rules.
Quote this comment #3.1 Posted by neuralshock on 25 Apr 2008 - 22:25
(ZombieFly said @ #3)
wow. i've always resisted before but:

WHY IS THIS NEWS?

shall we now list the availability of all pirated software on Neowin's front page?

today the following is available on torrent sites:
TUROK - PC GAME
TOM CLANCYS RAINBOW 6 - PC GAME
etc,etc


Seriously, this needs to either be reworded or removed, it reads like you are trying to educate the masses on downloading pirated warez. What's next, How To's on downloading, unpacking and installing the crack?

Neowin is becoming more confusing by the day, it's turning into the land of double standards and bizarre rules.


Ditto. It's quite sad to see the news sections going down the drain, since a few months back.
(2 replies) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #4 Posted by _dandy_ on 25 Apr 2008 - 14:20
I play very few games, but personally I think GTA4 is one of those games that, even if I'd see it available through any warez means, I'd still go out and buy it because, y'know, it's [i]worth/i] it.

When's the PC version due out anyway? End of the year? Q1 09?
Quote this comment #4.1 Posted by +abulfares on 25 Apr 2008 - 15:10
(_dandy_ said @ #4)
I play very few games, but personally I think GTA4 is one of those games that, even if I'd see it available through any warez means, I'd still go out and buy it because, y'know, it's [i]worth/i] it.

When's the PC version due out anyway? End of the year? Q1 09?


lets hope there is a PC version in the first place :/
Quote this comment #4.2 Posted by _dandy_ on 25 Apr 2008 - 17:24
(abulfares said @ #4.1)
(_dandy_ said @ #4)
I play very few games, but personally I think GTA4 is one of those games that, even if I'd see it available through any warez means, I'd still go out and buy it because, y'know, it's worth it.

When's the PC version due out anyway? End of the year? Q1 09?


lets hope there is a PC version in the first place :/


I've never seen any indication that it wouldn't be the case.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #5 Posted by EvilEyE on 25 Apr 2008 - 18:44
LOL is this the first game ever to get leaked?
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #6 Posted by +acxz on 25 Apr 2008 - 19:13
Wow guys, news is news. If you don't like reading it, don't...
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #7 Posted by GEIST on 25 Apr 2008 - 20:18
Thanks Neowin, will download right away.
(2 replies) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #8 Posted by on 01 Jan 1970 - 00:00
Quote this comment #8.1 Posted by LUTZIFER on 26 Apr 2008 - 05:02
(shakey said @ #9)
i got a warning about talking about illegal downloadable content, and this make front page???? can i have my warning removed? mine was just about me watching a movie, this is actually saying, hey, its out there , go get it! basically.....


I was thinkin the same thing too.
I also got a warning for just saying I was gonna go get warez, not even pointing out warez or anything, and this is main page news?!? Weird, very weird.
And no one gets a warning if they say they are going to download this illegal leaked game?????
Quote this comment #8.2 Posted by williamhook on 26 Apr 2008 - 07:27
(shakey said @ #1)
i got a warning about talking about illegal downloadable content, and this make front page???? can i have my warning removed? mine was just about me watching a movie, this is actually saying, hey, its out there , go get it! basically.....
Same here. -_-
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #9 Posted by shakey on 26 Apr 2008 - 14:56
I have been erased?
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #10 Posted by Osiris on 26 Apr 2008 - 15:30
Not sure if this is new but its always nice to see actual in game footage then nice HD trailers, seemingly the first on no doubt many youtube vids showing such footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLlLxFyGyCM&feature=bz302
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #11 Posted by xinary on 26 Apr 2008 - 17:49
THIS IS A FARCE, I DEMAND THAT ALL WARNINGS BE REMOVED THAT WERE ISSUED FOR DISCUSSING PIRATED SOFTWARE / WAREZ

FARCE

FARCE

FARCE
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #12 Posted by +Dakkaroth on 26 Apr 2008 - 20:28
I'm not one to usually bitch about what gets posted, but I do have to somewhat agree with what's being said here. Many people can't even discuss piracy without some sort of moderation taking place. Many people wouldn't even know that this was available on pirate sites if it wasn't posted or copy/pasted 'round the web, myself included.

Honestly, it's one thing when you post about groups trying to take down pirate websites, but when you post a flyer saying,"Hey everyone! Look what's available through pirate websites!!", you are not setting any kind of example for the rules you wish to be followed.

The following just makes it worse:

At the moment, the rip is only compatible with the PAL television format, which means people in Europe, Australia, Japan and parts of Asia can download and play the file. Game fans in the US and other countries that use the NTSC format are expected to be able to download a ripped version for their region from the internet within the next 48 hours.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #13 Posted by shakey on 26 Apr 2008 - 20:59
Thats what im saying. This is just silly and stupid. We all get warnings ( even my post just a couple replies up got erased, though u can see what i said due to the qouters) if we even said we once downloaded and watched something. We dont even have to say we downloaded it. I got my warning due to talking about the futurama movie, and all i said was ," i saw it, was a great movie, go buy it." i said that before it was out, and i got a 20% warning. I didnt even mention downloading it, it was just assumed. Now this gets posted on front page gaming news, blatanly saying its out and basically where to look, and its not removed or nothing?
Really, if your going to police the forums, give warnings for this sort of thing, then please, FOLLOW UR OWN RULES! we dont need anything like do as i say, not as i do. We all know thats not what keeps things nice.
If piracy talk is basically illegal, then this post needs to be deleted and removed. If not, yall have a ton of warnings you should revoke due to this hipocracy.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #14 Posted by Game on 27 Apr 2008 - 01:40
Yeah, this doesn't make sense. People get warnings for talking about piracy/pirated games, and here we have news regarding that subject... can someone explain?
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #15 Posted by s3n4te on 27 Apr 2008 - 21:11
Why don't the admin and moderators reply?!
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #16 Posted by shakey on 28 Apr 2008 - 00:37
its been on the site long enough. take this down already. if not, are we able to now post and talk about torrents openly????? thats the message im getting from this.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #17 Posted by williamhook on 28 Apr 2008 - 01:17
Agreed, I got banned from IRC a while back for saying one of the sites that I help a friend run has some warez on it. This is basically the same thing, but it's authorized by the Neowin staff.

Like, what?
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #18 Posted by +Lexcyn on 28 Apr 2008 - 13:25
This is ridiculous. Neowin is banning/warning/restricting people after mentioning Warez/Torrents in the Gamers Hangout, but it's OK for staff to post news about Warez/Torrents?
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #19 Posted by johnsonb on 28 Apr 2008 - 15:55
I have to say something... Shame on the uploaders!
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #20 Posted by Magallanes on 28 Apr 2008 - 16:41
I don't known what is worst :

-to say about the availability of some illegal material.

or

-to say it and don't give us a damn link.

:-P
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #21 Posted by s3n4te on 28 Apr 2008 - 23:30
What is torrent?
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #22 Posted by johnsonb on 29 Apr 2008 - 03:17
What is torrent? Oh come on now http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.torrent
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #23 Posted by MonatanFX on 01 May 2008 - 17:13
That piece of news came directly from the Telegraph, plus most people are aware of illegal downloading anyways. Its credible news IMO.

I am shocked at how quickly people are able to pirate this sort of thing.
[1]

Commenting has either been disabled on this article or you are not logged in. Click here to login or register, its free!

Note: Anonymous commenting is disabled in order to keep the quality of responses to a high standard.


Scroll to the Top
....
My Preferences
....
Communicating with server
Loading
Please Wait...
....
Loading
 X 
....