Cyber P.I. Tracks Down Pirates Selling Modern Warfare 2

[John Funk]

And to think IW is screwing over it's loyal PC fans for consolization because they THOUGHT it was less vulnerable to Piracy than PC:

...I can all but guarantee you that the percentage of pirated console MW2s will come nowhere near the percentage that CoD4 was pirated on PC.

It is less vulnerable. You need a modded console to pirate; all you need is the right software and an internet to pirate on PC. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen, it just means it happens much less.

On topic - good. Piracy is never justifiable, and I'm glad the bastards got what was coming to them.

 

[Retodon8]

Yay a win for the good guys

Well, at least two guys trying an illegal shortcut, earning money without actually earning it, got rewarded for trying to cheat.
Also, like-minded individuals who find out about it might get scared and cease their own activities.

how fucking stupid do you have to be to try to sell a game 10 days before it came out?! why not hang a neon sign off your neck saying "ARREST ME!!!"

Being more realistic, that is probably a lot closer to what those like-minded would think.
Those guys are so stupid, I'm going to pirate smart and I'm never getting caught!
It might actually make them harder to catch, or they might be just as clever as the other guys.

 

[Treblaine]

And to think IW is screwing over it's loyal PC fans for consolization because they THOUGHT it was less vulnerable to Piracy than PC:

...I can all but guarantee you that the percentage of pirated console MW2s will come nowhere near the percentage that CoD4 was pirated on PC.

It is less vulnerable. You need a modded console to pirate; all you need is the right software and an internet to pirate on PC. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen, it just means it happens much less.

On topic - good. Piracy is never justifiable, and I'm glad the bastards got what was coming to them.

Actually let me break it down what is needed for piracy on PC:

-A PC,
-the right software and
-the technical know how

while on 360 it is completely different as you need:

-An Xbox 360,
-the right software and
-the technical know how

Chipping is not always necessary and isn't even that hard, no harder that most PC maintenance.

Need it be said again that it is the xbox 360 version of Modern Warfare 2 that is flooding the torrent sites while the PC version is nowhere to be seen.

This absolutely SHATTERS the MYTH that consoles are somehow superior platform for developers for anti-piracy measures.

I hate piracy, especially of games, but even more I hate are asshat publishers and ass-kisser developers like Activision and IW that screw over their loyal fans in FAIL attempts to stop piracy. But with those cocky "I-just-pirate-all-my-PC-games" cu*ts causing this just completes the circle of fail.

These craigslist counterfeiters deserve their punishment but I guarantee, this only caught the idiots, idiots too stupid to realise how foolish selling a pirated game before it's release. If these idiots can start up an operation like this... this is only the tip of the iceberg.

I see this console-shift and other features like no dedicated servers as just another anti-piracy or effectively DRM measures, well DRM ONLY HURTS THE LEGITIMATE CONSUMER!!!

And it really pisses me off that some Activision asshat talks about COD4 - which has been the best selling game in years - and complains about "lost sales" to piracy, so as to justify putting what is by all definitions MALWARE on our computers and negatively affecting the gameplay experience of legitimate gamers.

How about you do an article on how the Publishers are over-reacting?

How about some smart anti-piracy measures like with Arkham Asylum with the online copies peppered with "gimped" versions, that is where it hurts the Pirates, not the loyal paying customers!

 

[Yog Sothoth]

See kids, crime doesn't pay...

The private detective got paid... you just got to be on the right side of crime.

How do you know he didn't do it out of the kindness of his heart...?

 

[scotth266]

Good work. Less piracy is a win both for the industry, and for the consumer.

 

[Amnestic]

See kids, crime doesn't pay...

The private detective got paid... you just got to be on the right side of crime.

How do you know he didn't do it out of the kindness of his heart...?

Because kindness of his heart doesn't put food on his table and a roof over his head.

 

[Chaos Marine]

So yeah, no piracy on the 360 then. Ho hum.

 

[Internet Kraken]

Since this ended up in Miami I'll say this now: "Don't you know? video games," *puts on shades* "are dangerous." YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Quick and dirty. Not the best one I ever did, but it's all I can come up with at half past midnight

Um, why is he holding shades in his hands if he is already wearing a pair of shades?

On topic: Good, I always like it when pirates get what they deserve. It's a win for everyone but the pirates.

 

[Amnestic]

Since this ended up in Miami I'll say this now: "Don't you know? video games," *puts on shades* "are dangerous." YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

*imagesnip*

Quick and dirty. Not the best one I ever did, but it's all I can come up with at half past midnight

Um, why is he holding shades in his hands if he is already wearing a pair of shades?

Dat's de joke.

 

[A Weary Exile]

Internet vigilantes, cool. Even though I don't like CoD it's good to see pirates get screwed over.

 

[John Funk]

Actually let me break it down what is needed for piracy on PC:

-A PC,
-the right software and
-the technical know how

while on 360 it is completely different as you need:

-An Xbox 360,
-the right software and
-the technical know how

Chipping is not always necessary and isn't even that hard, no harder that most PC maintenance.


Need it be said again that it is the xbox 360 version of Modern Warfare 2 that is flooding the torrent sites while the PC version is nowhere to be seen.

This absolutely SHATTERS the MYTH that consoles are somehow superior platform for developers for anti-piracy measures.

If I may suggest an alternate hypothesis:

The 360 one is flooding torrent sites because ... the PC one hasn't been leaked yet.

That is unfortunately inevitable, and once it happens, I don't doubt that it'll be as prevalent on piracy sites as the 360 version is. Yes, pirating on PC does require some effort, but pirating on a console requires considerably more. Furthermore, you have to keep in mind that there's a much larger audience for the 360 version (or even the PS3 version) than there was the PC version, even before the reveal of no dedicated servers. This was true with the first Modern Warfare, too.

Let's say that out of fifty Xbox 360 owners playing MW2, ten pirated it. There are only ten people playing MW2 on the PC, though, five of whom pirated it. Even if there are technically MORE pirated 360 copies being played, it says nothing about the system's security (or lack thereof).

And it really pisses me off that some Activision asshat talks about COD4 - which has been the best selling game in years - and complains about "lost sales" to piracy, so as to justify putting what is by all definitions MALWARE on our computers and negatively affecting the gameplay experience of legitimate gamers.

How about you do an article on how the Publishers are over-reacting?

How about some smart anti-piracy measures like with Arkham Asylum with the online copies peppered with "gimped" versions, that is where it hurts the Pirates, not the loyal paying customers!

COD4 didn't sell as well as it did thanks to the PC owners, I can tell you that. Oh sure, a ton of PC owners bought the game, but it sold significantly better on consoles. Just keep that in mind.

Frankly, I don't think publishers are overreacting at all. That's not to say I think they're reacting correctly in most cases - the Eidos Arkham Asylum case being an example of how to do it right - but I think that piracy is a legitimate problem and it's also one of the reasons (though by no means the only one) that the PC market is much less relevant these days as it used to be.

 

[101194]

Since this ended up in Miami I'll say this now: "Don't you know? video games," *puts on shades* "are dangerous." YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

*imagesnip*

Quick and dirty. Not the best one I ever did, but it's all I can come up with at half past midnight

Um, why is he holding shades in his hands if he is already wearing a pair of shades?

*image snip*

Dat's de joke.

God, I fucking lol'd

 

[FROGGEman2]

There are cyber P.I.s?

That is so cool.

 

[Bretty]

Snip

Well since you moved this into a debate about PC decline in the gaming market (Ok well I did it, lol)

I think there is a level of inteligence that goes along with a PC user about understanding technology. I think that a Console user has no idea how his/her console works or what to do to fix it. This is my opinion why PCs will never die and why companies like Valve and CA will focus on. You will always be able to do more on a PC, like write articles for a Emag, so everyone has one in the house. The same is definetly not true for Consoles.

To say that piracy doesnt exist on consoles is obviously wrong, and I know Funk did not say this, but to point the blame directly at the pirate for which ever platform they use is just naive at best.

I would like to see the sales numbers on DA:O for the PC and compare it to the number of copies pirated. I bet the number is far less than for a game like MW2 (which to put bluntly slapped PC gamers in the face). I may be right or wrong, and happy to admit it if the latter is correct but I stand by my theory.

A well produced game that is geared to the community that supports it will never have to worry about pirates, console or PC.

Pirates who make money from Pirating are bad. People downloading a game instead of paing for it because they dont like the way a company is heading is just poor decision making at worst.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Why would you advertise that on Craigslist?

 

[ahiddenfigure]

The first thing that came to my mind was what a bunch of idiots those pirates were. Might as well've had a neon sign above their heads with "Software Pirate" in big, coloured letters and an arrow pointing to their pea brain.