Most Pirated Games of 2009

[forster]

I may be getting a little off subject here but....

Since most games now focus on multi-player as their selling point and include a shorter, single-player mode (which only upsets those that like 'em and feel ripped off), why not come up with something like this:

A massive single-player campaign which takes place on-line, in a multi-user environment. Meaning, you play your mission, while seeing others play theirs but they cannot kill you. You each have separate goals yet your actions could effect each others (i.e., the other player might take out an enemy tank which I am tasked to destroy, but another tank appears after a limited time).

Both, multi and single player campaigns are online. Then, give everyone a limited time offer to demo it by restricted user accounts. If you pirate the game, you're only pirating the interface to the server, there'd be nothing to play.

... just an idea.

... but people with no internet connection (or a crappy connection) would be stuck.

Ive an OK connection, but hate playing games with immature plebs, whether or not they had an affect on my gaming would be a moot point if I could still see them ghosting around when Im trying to get stuff done.

[ozgeek]

Just because people downloaded COD:MW2 didn't mean they downloaded it to play without paying.

I bought a russian key of the game and Steam automatically downloaded the russian version of the game so I had to download the english version via torrent and install it into Steam. Completely legit in the eye of steam but chumbersome (having to download english version and install english patches but really worth the money ($37 AU). Playing it right now on Veteran using the key I purchased.

So torrents DO have legit uses.

[Draconian Guppy]

The Wii piracy surprised me though. I didn't realize there was any significant amount of piracy on that platform.

Homebrew :)

Also, these figures are only for torrent, can you imagine if they included P2Ps ( most people STILL use them) Like ares, shareaza and the likes, not to mention usenet

[Spookie]

Also, these figures are only for torrent, can you imagine if they included P2Ps ( most people STILL use them) Like ares, shareaza and the likes, not to mention usenet

If they included Usenet and Rapidshare we'd see the 360 piracy numbers go skyward.

I'm sure Infinity Ward thought PC gamers would be fine without Dedicated Servers, they knew that latency issues wouldn't be a major problem which was the only reason for having dedicated servers in the past, however they probably perfected the means of P2P networking and made it similar to consoles.

Yuh huh which is why they went from: "Everything will be the same as before" in August then a month later they tell us it'll be a C&P of live? Christ they didn't even rename the exe from CoD4!

It's a rush job.

[Eric Veteran]

And now Activision has the justification they need in order to neglect PC development even further. Perhaps I'm just paranoid, but I can't shake the feeling that Activision and IW neutered the PC version of MW2 on purpose, in order to stir the people into a frenzy and get them to pirate the game out of anger. Now for all future Activision titles, whenever they're asked why there's no PC version, they can just point to MW2 and and the fact that it was pirated to hell.

The Wii piracy surprised me though. I didn't realize there was any significant amount of piracy on that platform.

But MW2 was the most pirated for the 360, too. They'd have to stop developing for consoles as well.

[Digital Tonic]

If they included Usenet and Rapidshare we'd see the 360 piracy numbers go skyward.

Yuh huh which is why they went from: "Everything will be the same as before" in August then a month later they tell us it'll be a C&P of live? Christ they didn't even rename the exe from CoD4!

It's a rush job.

And so would the PC numbers too, what's your point?

Personally I've never touched the PC version of MW2, but it seems like Infinity Ward saw the piracy coming and acted accordingly.

I would've done the same thing.

Why build a perfect product for it to be stolen by 4 million people.

[Sethos]

But MW2 was the most pirated for the 360, too. They'd have to stop developing for consoles as well.

However, the 360 reached the highest number of MW2 sales of all platforms and there in lies the major difference.

[Digital Tonic]

However, the 360 reached the highest number of MW2 sales of all platforms and there in lies the major difference.

"According to the NPD Group, Modern Warfare 2 sold approximately 4.2 million units for the Xbox 360 and 1.87 million units for the PlayStation 3 in the U.S. during the month of November 2009." - Wikipedia

Enough said really, I'm not surprised the PC sales weren't mentioned.

[Spookie]

And so would the PC numbers too, what's your point?

I'm sure the numbers we'd see would be much closer since pirates can go on live with a copy if they are careful. My 360 is modded and is yet to be banned. :)

Personally I've never touched the PC version of MW2, but it seems like Infinity Ward saw the piracy coming and acted accordingly.

See problem with that idea is this: Without a valid CD key for CoD4 you're locking your self out of most of the official servers. Severely limiting your experience with the multiplayer and forcing your self to play with cheats. But with MW2 people got around the P2P system in a matter of days and EVERYONE could play it. :)

I've seen a lot of this too.

However, the 360 reached the highest number of MW2 sales of all platforms and there in lies the major difference.

But if they left in dedicated servers who knows, maybe they could have netted another 500k+? That's another ?17mil. :/

Still it appears it was a choice between getting it out for Christmas or including dedicated servers & play testing the MP. The Christmas sales did em some good it appears.

Edited December 30, 2009 by Spookie

[protocol7]

See problem with that idea is this: Without a valid CD key for CoD4 you're locking your self out of most of the official servers. Severely limiting your experience with the multiplayer and forcing your self to play with cheats. But with MW2 people got around the P2P system in a matter of days and EVERYONE could play it. :)

This is why I don't think that IWNet was a response to piracy. It's more likely a way to start pushing paid DLC. In any case it was one of the greatest cases of epic fail in recent gaming memory. Bad decisions cost in any sector and it's cost IW/Activision in PC sales. I know they lost me as a customer. I'd been counting down the months and weeks to the release date until they dropped the bombshell.

Some things are just not gonna work. Like a three-wheeler Lamborghini or a Prius with a Hummer engine. Or a PC FPS with no dedicated servers or moddable content in it's 4th release. They knew their client base, they knew what they had come to expect and they failed to deliver.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

PC and Wii are just too easily broken down with minimal or no reprecussions it's as simple as that. It's like telling a drug dealer he can sell his drugs to as many people as he wants at this specific corner of the street - Yeah one day in a one in a million chance he might go, "oh what I'm doing is illegal", and stop, but 99% chance he'll carry on till he gets to the point it's justified in his head what he's doing is acceptable or excusable.

Hence the breeding of our entitlement generation.

Consoles are the future for the most varied source of gaming, PC gaming will always live on with it's pro's, mainly MMOs, but consoles are starting to hit onto that turf as well.

[yxz]

Consoles are the future for the most varied source of gaming, PC gaming will always live on with it's pro's, mainly MMOs, but consoles are starting to hit onto that turf as well.

lol

[Sethos]

lol

What's "lol" about that.

[Subject Delta]

When I say 'some people', below, Im certainly not on about me :pirate: Just so we clear that up.... :shifty:

Some people are just really too impatient to wait for games to be released, some people will download the latest offering just to play it and see what it's like. Most people that I know who download games, have loads of downloaded games but never play them, coz they dont actually mean anything - I have to say that someone very close to me (but definately not me) will usually pirate a game when it first comes out, if it's great then 'he' will buy it when it's come down in price, but 'he' never buys games when they first come out coz they are just far too expensive. 'He' does buy games when they have come down in price and 'he' always plays bought copies more than pirated copies.

Of course, piracy really cant be justified at all, whether you would buy it or not, or whether you are in a country or position where you think it's too expensive to buy and for some reason you think you deserve to play the games whether the company/store get your money are not, piracy is a crime, if you pirate games you are breaking the law, and if you get busted it's your own fault.

I am pretty sure that the act of piracy in itself is a civil matter and not a criminal one (hence the fact that they can only fine pirates and not imprison them), it only becomes a criminal matter when you start to produce and distribute pirated content, if you just procure it for personal use then you can only be tried in a civil court.

[spy beef]

I'm suprised that Dragon Age: Origins isn't on the list.

[MR_Candyman]

Honestly, I pirate games for the pc. Why? Because I've been screwed too many times buying crappy games. Now I pirate it, if I like it, then I buy it, uninstall the pirated version, and install the proper one. The only reason I don't do this for xbox is because I don't want to be banned. I got screwed when I bought NFS: Shift. I should have just pirated the damn thing for pc, then I would have realised how crummy it was.

[Smigit]

im most worried about the people that know how to pirate and choose to download the Sims...

It doesn't take much technical know how to pirate something. One person can burn the dvd with the game + crack and then pass it around to all their less technically inclined friends.

[Solid Knight]

Someone downloading a game doesn't equal a lost sale if they were NEVER GOING TO BUY IT IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Only if.

I'm willing to bet that if the only means of obtaining the game was to purchase it many of the people who pirated it would pony up the money. These are people who want the game. If they didn't want it they wouldn't have downloaded it. As such, each illegal download is actually a potential sale lost.

[protocol7]

Never mind

Edited December 31, 2009 by protocol7

[Udedenkz]

If one sees nothing wrong with piracy, and knows how to pirate, it is logical to pirate and not buy software as there is no advantage in buying something that you can get for free. Save $20 or spend $20? Save is the logical choice. It doesn't matter if this person makes a lot or a little - only an idiot would spend money on something free.

[redfish]

The figures don't mean much.

Someone downloading a game doesn't equal a lost sale if they were NEVER GOING TO BUY IT IN THE FIRST PLACE.

And actually there's a valid argument that piracy helps a company's sales. Someone might download a pirated version of a game, because at the time he doesn't have money. But by the time sequels of the game come out, he might have the money, and having played the game and liked it he might be willing to go to the store and buy them. People assume those who pirate are completely amoral and they're not, they just don't put a guilt trip on themselves for something they think is stupid. So a lot of people who pirate, when they have the money, and they like a game, they buy it.

In other cases, like with Microsoft, there's incentive to encourage piracy in countries like China because the more Windows is pirated the less people there will turn to operating systems like Linux.

I still think pirating software should be illegal, I just don't make people who do it into villains.

[Solid Knight]

[Misunderstanding resolved]

Edited December 31, 2009 by Solid Knight

[_I am Reptar]

good numbers indeed :pirate:

[protocol7]

...? What? Your analogy has absolutely no relevance to what I was talking about. None. Further, it doesn't even parallel the situation at all. I really suggest you read my post again.

Yep you're right. When I re-read it I realised I'd missed some of the nuances. I thought you were implying that every download was a lost sale, not a potential lost sale. The joys of late night browsing...

[Growled Member]

I never pirate games. I just go to forums and read what people are saying. You can usually get enough information to tell if a game is a good one or not.