Top 10 pirated games of 2008

Discussion of piracy-related topics go in here. Please read the rules of this section first.
Forum rules
Please read the piracy section rules before posting in here. By posting in this section, you acknowledge to have read and understood them, and agree to abide by them at all times.

Of course, the global forum rules apply here too.
OnlyOneKenobi
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 19641
Joined: 07 Mar 2003, 02:00
Location: A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Re: Top 10 pirated games of 2008

Post by OnlyOneKenobi »

Here is a quote from the article that Rayne posted and it is exactly like I said before, DRM doesn't cause piracy, piracy happens whether DRM is implemented or not.
The argument that removing DRM will result in a net increase in sales has no basis in fact based on the evidence at hand. Not only does gaming history show that unprotected games simply lead to more piracy, recent history also demonstrates clearly that simply removing DRM is not the answer to piracy. As we saw in the Scale of Piracy section, many popular games which have no intrusive DRM, such as Assassin's Creed, Crysis, Call of Duty 4 and World of Goo, also have some of the highest piracy rates in 2008. Indeed as I write this, the new Prince of Persia game was released yesterday for PC (December 10, 2008) with absolutely no DRM protection, and a quick look at torrents shows that the cracked version is available, and on two popular torrent links alone there are over 23,000 people downloading the game within the first 24 hours. The evidence is overwhelmingly clear: DRM does not cause piracy, piracy results in DRM.
Image

Intel Core i7-950 | MSI X58 Pro-E, STK1366 | Geforce GTX470 1280 | 8GB DDR3 1333Mhz RAM | Samsung 226BW Monitor | Windows 7 Home Premium
RuadRauFlessa
Registered User
Posts: 20576
Joined: 19 Sep 2003, 02:00
Location: Bloodbank

Re: Top 10 pirated games of 2008

Post by RuadRauFlessa »

OnlyOneKenobi wrote:Here is a quote from the article that Rayne posted and it is exactly like I said before, DRM doesn't cause piracy, piracy happens whether DRM is implemented or not.
The argument that removing DRM will result in a net increase in sales has no basis in fact based on the evidence at hand. Not only does gaming history show that unprotected games simply lead to more piracy, recent history also demonstrates clearly that simply removing DRM is not the answer to piracy. As we saw in the Scale of Piracy section, many popular games which have no intrusive DRM, such as Assassin's Creed, Crysis, Call of Duty 4 and World of Goo, also have some of the highest piracy rates in 2008. Indeed as I write this, the new Prince of Persia game was released yesterday for PC (December 10, 2008) with absolutely no DRM protection, and a quick look at torrents shows that the cracked version is available, and on two popular torrent links alone there are over 23,000 people downloading the game within the first 24 hours. The evidence is overwhelmingly clear: DRM does not cause piracy, piracy results in DRM.
Sothen why employ DRM. DRM does not cause piracy, piracy results in DRM, DRM results in irritated and agitated buyers who would rather buy something else than a DRM enforced product.
:rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock:
Spoiler (show)
Intel Core i7-2600k @ 3.4GHz
Corsair Vengence 2x4GB DDR3 2000MHz
Thermaltake Toughpower 850W
ASUS nVidia GTX560 1GB
CoolerMaster HAF 932
OnlyOneKenobi
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 19641
Joined: 07 Mar 2003, 02:00
Location: A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Re: Top 10 pirated games of 2008

Post by OnlyOneKenobi »

If you read the full article it will make sense. They implement copy protection like DRM to delay the pirates from getting the cracked version out first. The longer it takes the pirate to crack the game, the more money the developer makes from sales.

They also say that if the pirated game is released before the retail game is out the trend is that the game will be pirated a lot more than if it was the other way around.
Image

Intel Core i7-950 | MSI X58 Pro-E, STK1366 | Geforce GTX470 1280 | 8GB DDR3 1333Mhz RAM | Samsung 226BW Monitor | Windows 7 Home Premium
D3PART3D
Starbound's Dear
Posts: 16295
Joined: 01 Dec 2004, 02:00
Contact:

Re: Top 10 pirated games of 2008

Post by D3PART3D »

OnlyOneKenobi, then why limit activations? How does that help? :?
Ceterum autem censeo Samsung Mobile esse delendam.

When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.
- Elon Musk
Anakha56
Forum Administrator
Posts: 22136
Joined: 14 Jun 2004, 02:00
Processor: Ryzen 1700K
Motherboard: Asus X370
Graphics card: Asus 1060 Strix
Memory: 16GB RAM
Location: Where Google says

Re: Top 10 pirated games of 2008

Post by Anakha56 »

Just a thought but if developers released a demo before the full product is launched wont that help increase sales? I mean lets take the latest NFS it gets released Person A buys it, plays it, hates it, tell's all his friends to stay away from it. Which then leads to them pirating the game because they feel it is not worth their money. Also Person A now feels hard done by because the developer who made the game has pocketed R300+ from him and he gets nothing in return, so now he will be more likely to pirate a game from now because he does not want to loose R300+. Agree, Disagree?
JUSTICE, n A commodity which is a more or less adulterated condition the State sells to the citizen as a reward for his allegiance, taxes and personal service.
OnlyOneKenobi
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 19641
Joined: 07 Mar 2003, 02:00
Location: A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Re: Top 10 pirated games of 2008

Post by OnlyOneKenobi »

D3PART3D - limited activations, I suppose, would ensure that the game devs \ distributors could keep tabs on the person who bought the game and make sure that the EULA hasn't been violated.
Image

Intel Core i7-950 | MSI X58 Pro-E, STK1366 | Geforce GTX470 1280 | 8GB DDR3 1333Mhz RAM | Samsung 226BW Monitor | Windows 7 Home Premium
Interfan
Registered User
Posts: 2041
Joined: 30 Mar 2006, 02:00
Location: pretoria
Contact:

Re: Top 10 pirated games of 2008

Post by Interfan »

OnlyOneKenobi wrote:If you read the full article it will make sense. They implement copy protection like DRM to delay the pirates from getting the cracked version out first. The longer it takes the pirate to crack the game, the more money the developer makes from sales.

They also say that if the pirated game is released before the retail game is out the trend is that the game will be pirated a lot more than if it was the other way around.
Except that in very few instances this has happened in most cases the pirates have still been able to crack it on day one and in some instances quite a few days before release.
OnlyOneKenobi wrote:D3PART3D - limited activations, I suppose, would ensure that the game devs \ distributors could keep tabs on the person who bought the game and make sure that the EULA hasn't been violated.
Limited activations is ok if they give the consumer the tools to manage his own activations. They need to put in tools from day one so the consumer can revoke his activations. He should not have to put up with ea's so called customer support line's incompetence in order to get his game playing again.
corsair 750tx,
p8p67 pro,
8gig corsair vengeance ,
570gtx,
cm sniper black,
i5 2500k with thermalright cooler,
onboard sound,
Samsung bx2450,
g15 and g9,
Win 7 home prem x64,
xbox 360 controller,
asus 24x dvd writer
OnlyOneKenobi
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 19641
Joined: 07 Mar 2003, 02:00
Location: A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Re: Top 10 pirated games of 2008

Post by OnlyOneKenobi »

Well, however you look at it, a copy protected game does take longer to pirate than a game which has no copy protection at all. Even if it is 5 minutes longer. Copy protection on Bioshock was considered successful, not because it prevented the game from being pirated, but because it only got cracked 13 days after the retail version was released.

I don't really see why EA chose to go with limited installs, in the end it just doesn't accomplish much. This is pretty much why I would rather buy the console versions since it's straight forward - you put the disc in and you play.
Image

Intel Core i7-950 | MSI X58 Pro-E, STK1366 | Geforce GTX470 1280 | 8GB DDR3 1333Mhz RAM | Samsung 226BW Monitor | Windows 7 Home Premium
Rayne
Registered User
Posts: 7868
Joined: 11 Oct 2004, 02:00

Re: Top 10 pirated games of 2008

Post by Rayne »

Yes like stated, it's not there to prevent it, it's there to delay it.
Interfan
Registered User
Posts: 2041
Joined: 30 Mar 2006, 02:00
Location: pretoria
Contact:

Re: Top 10 pirated games of 2008

Post by Interfan »

OnlyOneKenobi wrote:Well, however you look at it, a copy protected game does take longer to pirate than a game which has no copy protection at all. Even if it is 5 minutes longer. Copy protection on Bioshock was considered successful, not because it prevented the game from being pirated, but because it only got cracked 13 days after the retail version was released.

I don't really see why EA chose to go with limited installs, in the end it just doesn't accomplish much. This is pretty much why I would rather buy the console versions since it's straight forward - you put the disc in and you play.
It did initially work with bioshock and mass effect but take a look at recent releases of games with drm. It doesn't work anymore.

My arguement is still to rather offer value for money approaches that cd projekt and stardock uses.
corsair 750tx,
p8p67 pro,
8gig corsair vengeance ,
570gtx,
cm sniper black,
i5 2500k with thermalright cooler,
onboard sound,
Samsung bx2450,
g15 and g9,
Win 7 home prem x64,
xbox 360 controller,
asus 24x dvd writer
Rayne
Registered User
Posts: 7868
Joined: 11 Oct 2004, 02:00

Re: Top 10 pirated games of 2008

Post by Rayne »

PC will lose it's exclusives, it's the easiest way out. Take a good look at 2008, this is the bottom line. DRM is here to stay, so might as well move along.
Interfan
Registered User
Posts: 2041
Joined: 30 Mar 2006, 02:00
Location: pretoria
Contact:

Re: Top 10 pirated games of 2008

Post by Interfan »

Rayne wrote:PC will lose it's exclusives, it's the easiest way out. Take a good look at 2008, this is the bottom line. DRM is here to stay, so might as well move along.
If DRM is implemented better I am fine with it. I certainly won't move to consoles because of drm.
corsair 750tx,
p8p67 pro,
8gig corsair vengeance ,
570gtx,
cm sniper black,
i5 2500k with thermalright cooler,
onboard sound,
Samsung bx2450,
g15 and g9,
Win 7 home prem x64,
xbox 360 controller,
asus 24x dvd writer
Post Reply