Developer Leaks Own Game to Pirates

Rednog

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Irishhoodlum said:
Or they could post Trojans on torrent sites with the game as a label, and then when people download it, it'll hijack their computer with tons of... Gay Porn... Or something...

Plus even if it is illegal, what are the pirates going to do about it? "Oh, well I was just ermm downloading this thing I thought was a game which is technically "not legal" when I found out it was a virus...".
HG131 said:
I have a better idea. Leak the full "game" on torrents, but make it so it gives the devs acces to your CPU and then destroy all of their CPUs.
oppp7 said:
How about releasing a virus with the leaked game that shuts down most functions in a computer? Then pirates would start relizing the consequences of this kind of thing.
I hope that you guys realize that intentionally destroying people's computers is illegal and the companies could and would be sued by people left and right and the companies would lose the fight. It's like if a burglar breaks into your house, you have a certain right to self defense; but you don't have a right to grab the burglar, tie him up in your basement, and torture him in your basement for a year. Companies have rights to protect their software by anti piracy measures but as soon as they put in harmful material out and as some of you mentioned, ways to directly hijack a person's PC that is hacking which is illegal and beyond what they are entitled to, legally speaking.
Also, they'd maybe only get like a handful of stupid people, and the general pirating community would probably thank the companies because the people who would fall for it are merely the bottom feeders who contribute nothing. [Like other people mentioned files are highly scrutinized and most people wouldn't download it from people they don't trust.] People who have any sense of what is happening in the pirate world are like burglars who break into homes where the owners have gone out of town for vacation, and have done some research on the area around the home. Those who would get infected are like burglars who would break into a redneck cop's house that has a fully loaded gun cabinet when the cop and his buddies are having a poker night.
 

similar.squirrel

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Flood the torrent sites with lots of fake 'copies' of the game. Then pirates will have a frustrating time trying to sift through it all to find a bona-fide file.
 

TsunamiWombat

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Amnestic said:
I have this revolutionary idea. Basically, instead of leaking your full version of the game (minus the online leaderboards) onto torrents, they could instead release a short segment of the game - one or two levels or up until a certain point, and put that up for download for free so people could download it legally off their site and see if they like the introductory product before they buy the full version.

I call this cool new idea a "Demo". What do you guys think?
Crazy, it'll never catch on.
 

Vern

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Sep 19, 2008
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KingTiger said:
I fully support piracy, Pirates understand not all people can afford those expensive games and windows systems, in my country a 100$ game could mean 1/3 or 1/4 of your salary gone. How is that fair? Pirates help the fight against capitalist pigs that want to suck even the pour dry.

I know some of my friends barely afforded a PC, and when they got it they could not afford a 300$ vista or expensive games like COD4 for 90$! So they got pirated and only for 5 $ they get all the things they need with out having to starve or rob a bank!

As long as developers set software at prices like that, pirates will always be there.

I love my country for its weak piracy laws :) I am from Bahrain by the way.
I know this may seem ridiculous, but how about instead of wasting money on games you actually pay your bills? It sounds like Bahrain has enough problems more important than getting your hands on videogames. If the economy and the currency is so weak, you might want to take the time spent on playing pirated videogames and use it to improve your country. Your argument is a completely shitty way to justify piracy. Games are a luxury, not a necessity. There's a huge difference between stealing bread to survive because you can't afford it, and stealing a corvette because you want one and think it would be fun, but you can't afford it.
 

Altorin

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May 16, 2008
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I think everyone wins when Developers don't trip all over themselves trying to combat piracy, but this takes it to a laughable new level.

It's probably the truest /facepalm I've seen in the gaming business. Did he run this by anyone? did THEY think it was a good idea?

Oh well.. it looks like a shitty game anyway.
 

Goodluf

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Apr 14, 2009
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I...I am ashamed that the company that came up and used this kind of idea is one of the few Finnish game companies I'm supposed to be proud of, as a gamer. Really, Redlynx, releasing THE WHOLE GAME yourself to a torrent site? Oh, the leaderboards are missing, of course this will compel the pirates to buy the game!

If they like the game itself, I think they can play it without having the ability to compare your results...

Greg Tito said:
Developer Leaks Own Game to Pirates


And finally, Tero Virtala! Best. Name. Ever.


Permalink
Normally I would be quite pleased that someone finds a Finnish name awesome as they usually sound just weird, I hear...But I'm too annoyed of Redlynx right now!
 

Guitarmasterx7

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Mar 16, 2009
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what about that arkham asylum patch that made batman fall to his death whenever he jumps off a ledge in pirated copies? That seemed to work.
 

Ayrav

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Dec 12, 2008
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Radeonx said:
Amnestic said:
I have this revolutionary idea. Basically, instead of leaking your full version of the game (minus the online leaderboards) onto torrents, they could instead release a short segment of the game - one or two levels or up until a certain point, and put that up for download for free so people could download it legally off their site and see if they like the introductory product before they buy the full version.

I call this cool new idea a "Demo". What do you guys think?
While your paragraph of sarcasm is a good idea, people would still be able to pirate the full game.

And personally, I think it was a stupid idea.
Pirates have no soul.
First off: I have no soul. Second: I sometime "make magic" games to see if I like them, only because there isn't a demo of the game. Case in point: I "magically" made Dragon Age appear on my HDD and realized its not for me, I deleted the "magic file" and will not be buying or playing it legally or illegally because the game is not for me.
 

Ayrav

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Avykins said:
That is actually a brilliant idea.
You can ***** about piracy all you want. Simple fact is you can not stop it. So by putting out a slightly "gimped" version yourself before people can get their hands on other copies ensures most people will get that one and not many will even bother trying to up the full version.
Also, once again. You are bitching that people who pirate never ever buy games.
I pirate. What I like, I buy. I have a extensive collection which I only bought because I tried it and liked it.
Also admitting they did it themselves gives them a certain credibility, much like music artists who do it or give out their music for free and just ask that you donate what it is worth. Unlike say Metallica who fight piracy soo hard that many people pirate their shit just out of spite.
It is neither unscrupulous nor illegal and your "news report" is tainted by your inability to see the virtues of such a tactic and all because you obviously hate piracy.
I'm sure I've said this before but I'll say it again: Avykins its on honor to post under you, and I'm so glad there is someone that shares my perspective.
 

Ryuk2

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Sep 27, 2009
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Why can't they put the full version on torrents, watch who has downloaded and then arrest them and make them pay for the game + piracy?
 

Ayrav

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Ryuk2 said:
Why can't they put the full version on torrents, watch who has downloaded and then arrest them and make them pay for the game + piracy?
You, my silly boy, have NO perception of art...
 

=VTA=Spax

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Aug 20, 2009
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We live in a time when there is no such thing as an 'Impartial Reviewer', games hyped up by publicity and rabid fan-boys and a lot of content released by the developers that is not representative of actual gameplay or cut before the final release.

All of the game purchases I've made in the past three years have been of games that I have 'Previewed' from torrent-sites, liked and therefore bought.
There have been a good many that I have tried, believing the hype around them, which I have played for an hour, found the actual game-playing experience to be far removed from what the hype promised and subsequently consigned to the recycle bin, happy in the knowledge that I have not been duped out of £40 of my hard-earned.

My justification for using a torrent?
I've never bought a car without giving it a thorough inspection and test-drive, those that have not been the 'Mint condition, drives like new' as described in the advert have been left on the driveway with their time-wasting owners.
Why should my approach to a game purchase be any different?
 

Leroy Frederick

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Jan 27, 2009
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As a indie developer I'm seeing online and microtransactions (with the bulk / base game itself free) becoming more and more used as a method to curtail piracy (aka Freemium).

But in general dealing with pirates is a waste of time, just focus that energy on giving your customer's the safest and best experience ever, a community to share with like-minded folk and don't for the love of God stop people from buying stuff (country blocks, bad DRM etc) when they want too, this still happens too often.
 

Onyx Oblivion

Borderlands Addict. Again.
Sep 9, 2008
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ARGH, that'll learn them pirates. No leaderboards for you scurvy dogs!

That's not really the soul of Trials, the physics are. The movement of the bike is instrumental to completing challenges.
 

thebrainiac1

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Jul 11, 2009
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Greg Tito said:
Doing so implies that piracy is tolerable, which it isn't.
WAIT A SECOND!

Posting stuff to a torrent site is completely legal, and completely legal to download, as long as the uploader has copyright over said files.

So this is NOT piracy. He's just made his game legally free.