Okay, so no such award actually exists, and if it did, I doubt publisher Electronic Arts would be proud to accept it. Spore, the game that has become completely overshadowed by its anti-piracy controversy, had topped a list of the year's most pirated games. It's the kind of irony you could bottle.
Earlier this year, we reported that Spore was well on its way to receiving this dubious accolade, and now the game that garnered well-publicized criticism for its use of SecuROM DRM has lived up to its promise. Here's the top ten stolen titles, according to TorrentFreak:
- Spore (1,700,000)
- The Sims 2 (1,150,000)
- Assassins 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)
All pirated titles were PC games. As if you couldn't guess.
An amusing punchline to one of the year's biggest running jokes. Of course, EA refused to take the hint, and continues to persevere with SecuROM in the face of consumer backlash and huge piracy numbers.
1,700,000 copies illegally downloaded ... and publishers STILL try and pretend that SecuROM is there to prevent piracy. Somehow, I don't think so.
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
5:26 PM on 12.06.2008
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I must be out of the loop. What is SecuROM really for?
Is it for making sure you buy a new disk is yours breaks?
Or forcing you into a customer service mindset instead of a customer product mindset?
Neither did Sims 2.
When you look at what a lot of SecuROM actually does, its most likely use is to stop the game being traded in. Basically, thanks to install limits and the like, the game is essentially completely devalued upon install.
I find it horribly sad when any industry is concerned with used sales. :-(
So, I become one. One to state that I will never, I repeat, NEVER buy one of their games again. Furthermore, I will make my business to instruct everyone I talk to not to buy one either.
Keep downloading guys and girls... They're still too stupid to notice, but give them time... They WILL notice, eventually...
Come get me Sega.
GTA4? Well... They really fucked-it up this time around, and it's not just the DRM... Google it...
SecuROM is only screwing the customers. They're just a bunch of ignorant bastards.
Watch EA put some ridiculous DRM on Sims 3 as well.
It's not hard to discover why publishers use DRM.
DRM has nothing to do with piracy rate in that sense. The reason why World of Goo has a 90% piracy rate is because World of Goo is from an unknown indie developer with little to no history. Most people aren't going to dumb $20 into a game of unknown quality, even when plenty of places are raving about it. Most people are too stupid to get on Steam and play the demo either, unfortunately. Spore DRM was hacked and cracked literally a full week before street date, so I don't think DRM is preventing a single case of piracy.
http://2dboy.com/2008/11/13/90/
"either way, ricochet shipped with DRM, world of goo shipped without it, and there seems to be no difference in the outcomes."
Seriously, the people who claim some causal relationship between DRM and piracy rates are JUST as bad as people who claim causal relationships between violence and video games.
Isn't it also the case that a pirated copy would lack DRM that the legitimate copy has? as well as the fact that the consumer hates DRM.
To be honest. I hope DRM is lessened greatly or just removed from games, as it doesn't stop pirates but rather bends over the legitimate customer (with install limits, constant validation requirements and account limits too.)
From the figures I see here, SecuROM hasn't stopped piracy at all.
Karma too much?
While I agree piracy is a demoted and repulsive action, EA fucking called it by the ridiculous DRM policies.
Besides, there are only two titles on that list that I actually play, so yea - people pirate shit before they buy it. And it's not theft, it's borrowing, get the fuck over it already. I don't hear Bethesda crying over Fallout 3 sales. They murdered the market with that game.
P.S. Fuck Cevat Yerli. Anything Crysis-like isn't worth pirating.
"It's not rape, I just fell into her cunt."
Sorry to hear that, Jim. Try to be more careful next time you walk around girls.
At one time I thought when games went digital it would be a pretty cool thing for pc gaming but now that it's actually come upon us I'm sad, it's taken a knife and stabbed PC gaming in the back and now we are all watching it bleed out all over the floor. It's not because of piracy, it's always been there, it's because of video game creators that sell out for a little extra profit instead of making something actually worthwhile.
Your argument is as retarded as you.
"WE PIRATE CAUSE THE GAME SUCKS"
Why would any company take an effort in making something good when assholes like you will just pirate it anyway.
The other argument is more LOL worthy.
"BIG COMPANIES DESERVE TO HAVE THEIR GAMES PIRATED"
Also, those titles are there because they're popular, that's why they're constantly pirated, it doesn't have to do with when they came out or them connected in anyway, even a moron could figure that out.
But keep at it guys, consoles aren't doing anything to PC games, ITS YOU the PC gamer that's fucking it up.
"Wow wow woW, she was wearing a mini skirt and NO UNDERWEAR! She had it coming!"
Or are you just pointing out the irony in the matter, Mr. Sterling? Just what are your beliefs?
I pirated Spore solely to make a point, I deleted it off my HDD after seeding for a while. Crysis, I can assure you, is mostly made up of a lot of people wondering if they can even play it. Which they can, so they buy it :D
because we love crytek.