Spore tops list of top ten most pirated games

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Will Wright's evolution based game, Spore, is the most pirated game of 2008, according to a list of the top ten most pirated games, posted on the TorrentFreak blog last Thursday.

TorrentFreak used data collected from torrents in order to create the list, which also estimated The Sims 2 to be the second most downloaded game, followed by Assasins Creed.

According to the statistics published by TorrentFreak, Spore has been downloaded over 1.7 millions times since it's release in September, making it not only the most pirated game in 2008, but also the most pirated game ever. Undoubtedly, one of the biggest contributors towards Spore's high piracy rate is the inclusion of restrictive DRM, which limits legitimate customers to just three activations. EA admitted in September that Spore had been badly effected by the inclusion of the controversial DRM.

Paul Pressley, a freelance games journalist, told the BBC that piracy is inevitable and the best game publishers can do is to stem it without effecting legitimate customers. "The best [games publishers] can do is come up with measures that stem piracy as much as they can, without impeding legitimate customers."

Pressley also alluded to the impact piracy is having on single player games. "The PC market is getting smaller in terms of single-player games and publishers do overstate the problem. The majority of their sales are console-based, which makes piracy much harder and while pirates will take a small percentage of their sales, the majority of people will buy a legitimate copy of the game."

The "Top 10 Most Pirated Games of 2008" is as follows:

Spore (1,700,000)
The Sims 2 (1,150,000)
Assasins Creed (1,070,000)
Crysis (940,000)
Command & Conquer 3 (860,000)
Call of Duty 4 (830,000)
GTA San Andreas (740,000)
Fallout 3 (645,000)
Far Cry 2 (585,000)
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (470,000)

(1 reply) #1 +chevyordeath on 10 Dec 2008 - 23:06

I own 8 of those 10 games. I do agree that publishers tend to make piracy out to be a bigger deal then it really is. If pirating the game was impossible (hypotheticaly of course) how many of those people that pirated it would actually go out and buy it? I would guess not that many. I do agree piracy is a problem, and something should be done. I do not agree with some of the methods used by the publishers and developers to 'secure' their game anyway. Take Spore's 3 activation limit for example, how does that stop a would be pirater (who won't activate the game anyway) or cracker from still obtaining the copy. All that will do is **** people like me (who actually own the game) off when their system won't allow them to activate the game. I am constantly formatting my hard drive or building a new pc, so of course I will be installing my games again... I really think something should be done, they are taking this issue in the wrong direction.

#1.1 kravex on 15 Dec 2008 - 09:46

You're confusing an anti second hand sale protection with piracy protection.

(2 replies) #2 +Xerxes on 10 Dec 2008 - 23:36

The most funny part about this (in the case of Spore at least) is that copy protection was the main reason Spore is number one, if EA didn't employ those draconian DRM measures perhaps the game wouldn't of been pirated as much. I don't feel sorry for EA one bit, they did it to themselves. This is the price they paid for treating their loyal customers as criminals.

#2.1 Nodiaque on 11 Dec 2008 - 01:33

I agree with you, if it wasn't for all the **** protection software, drm and installation limitation, I would of bought the game. Hey, I own the game, why bother me with all those crap? So I prefer pirated one without all those crap on my computer instead of one with all goofy protection. Specially for those installation limitation, who tell me I must call every 3 installations to be able to install a game I payed for. That's why EA is not getting any money from me (mainly).

#2.2 Shadrack on 11 Dec 2008 - 02:03

Yeah, I agree. Publishers need to get it through their thick skulls that DRM measures don't prevent piracy at all. All that it does is inconvenience the paying customers.

(3 replies) #3 darkpuma on 10 Dec 2008 - 23:56

I would also like to point out that this game had huge potential, but was a massive flop. Im glad i didnt buy that crap... It was like a demo of the engine.. not a game.

#3.1 Shadrack on 11 Dec 2008 - 02:04

darkpuma said,

I was sound asleep in my chair after the first hour of playing this game. It really was quite a steaming pile. Some people say "Oh, you just have to give it some time to really get into it..." why do I have to not enjoy a game before I can start enjoying it? Thats ridiculous. Spore=fail.

#3.2 LTD on 11 Dec 2008 - 02:09

Shadrack said,

Spore had so much potential . . . and it turned out to be a proof-of-concept that was submitted to the market for testing. It felt more like an experiment.

#3.3 Fourjays on 11 Dec 2008 - 13:21

I still play Spore in bursts... not much though.

Most of it's problem is that it was dumbed down too much by EA - Maxis (and the gamers) wanted an evolution simulator. In comparison to Spore, you'd need a degree to play The Sims 2, which still has a huge audience.

#4 +dead.cell on 11 Dec 2008 - 04:26

I'm not one to bug about the news but... this has been on the forums for like.. quite a long time now. :/

#5 mel00 on 11 Dec 2008 - 05:36

i download spore on purpose tell EA **** you... the game suck ass...

#6 Sranshaft on 11 Dec 2008 - 09:45

Looking at the list...how many of them are EA games? Half of the list is distributed by EA. Is this because EA makes the most popular games or because the DRM EA enforces on its consumers?

#7 jamesyfx on 11 Dec 2008 - 13:11

Spore is not worth paying for.

It's not just the DRM - the game sucks too.

#8 squiggy on 11 Dec 2008 - 16:13

Spore=bore,played it for maybe an hour and then gave it to my younger brother...he threw it in the waste bin shortly after...lol

(1 reply) #9 C_Guy on 11 Dec 2008 - 16:16

Argh!!! If only there was a way to try games before buying! Why can't they make.. like... demonstration games? That allow you to see and play part of the game to decide if you want to buy it? Then there wouldn't be so many pirates.

Wait a minute......

#9.1 +dead.cell on 11 Dec 2008 - 17:42

I dunno. I've played a few games through the demo, loved it, and got the retail copy only to find out how much it sucked.

I swear there is no bigger letdown after dropping $50...

#10 Buttus on 11 Dec 2008 - 16:17

how do they know how many of the downloads completed? do they count the number of people that start to download the torrent/whatever? what if 50% of them cancelled the download halfway through? do they still count as pirating the game?

#11 Hercules on 11 Dec 2008 - 16:18

What annoys me most about it, is that EA will translate pirated copies to lost sales.

They don't go hand in hand. Some people are pirating Spore for SPECIFICALLY the purpose of screwing EA due to DRM. Others just want to check it out, and others even more -- just download everything they can that's 0 Day torrents.

A pirated copy does NOT equal a sale. As soon as they realize that, it will be a good thing.

#12 Magallanes on 11 Dec 2008 - 20:51

At least in the famous ******(torrent site)*****:
Prince of Persia x360 is at the top
then fallout 3
and Prince of Persia PC.

Spore is in the 11th position.

#13 +chconline on 12 Dec 2008 - 01:08

"Copy Protection" = Never stopped piracy. Maybe a few days at most, if that counts. It only annoys legitimate users and does not affect pirates.

On the other hand, Steam is the way it's supposed to be done.

#14 PF Prophet on 12 Dec 2008 - 10:19

I REFUSE to buy games with this kind of DRM on them, I ALMOST downloaded spore, but after i read how much it sucked and was told how much it sucked by old friends i trust, I didnt even bother.

On the other hand MassEffect I would LOVE to buy, but I REFUSE To pay for a game that I can only install X number of times AND that has alot of problems due to DRM, my buddy couldnt play ME because securom detected WinDVD9 as "emulation software" and refused to load, so he had to choose between having the ability to play ME on his laptop or being able to watch movies(we tested it, removed WinDVD it worked, put it back, stoped working)

So he had to download the game cracks to beable to play his LIGIT GAME, how big a crock of sh@t is that?

EA needs to learn that DRM is NOT AN ANSWER, look at StarDock, Sins of a Soler Empire, games totaly unprotected, yet its got milliions of sold copys, you CANT convence me that at least in part isnt because its DRM free, then you look at the fact that it able to run on most systems today, low end at low settings, high end at high settings with great quility gfx.

http://www.edge-online.com/blogs/the-gamers-bill-rights

read that, its something I wish other publishers and devs would pickup, you CANT and WONT ever stop piracy, BUT you dont really need to, piracy can be a great tool to promote stuff, hell KidRock even endorses P2P Source.

fact is that IF they treated me like a valued customer instead of a thief i would buy more games(after testing them first, since Im unwilling to buy anything sight unseen anymore, we cant return software for refund in the states once its opened.....despite the DRM bs thats ment to prevent piracy.....)

I have no less then 10 full retail games i bought due to hype that turned out to suck.........

#15 smooth_criminal1990 on 16 Dec 2008 - 13:11

something to notice: World of Goo, that game released WITHOUT any copy-protection software is not on the list. Thake the damn hint, EA.

#16 Albert on 02 Jan 2009 - 02:03

how ironic.

but then, ea execs are probably stroking each other's wee wee and telling themselves, "thank god! the numbers are probably higher if not for the anti piracy measures."

i guess the execs does have their privileges to delusion of grandeur ...

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