Yeah those lists seem about right to me. I personally have been known to pirate - now I'm not trying to justify my acts but the only games I pirate are ones that I'm not sure if I'm going to enjoy, but if it turns out I do enjoy them I will purchase a legit copy. The latest one which was in 2011 being Alice: Madness Returns, which I actually ended up enjoying so I did pick up a real copy.
TorrentFreak Reveals Top Pirated Games of 2011
- Thread starter Mike Kayatta
- Start date
I was wondering about that too. An epic single player only game isn't the most pirated, but multiplayer dedicated games with medicore single player campaigns are?thespyisdead said:
That just proves that there is more to this than the "every download is a loss" mentality companies seem to have.
How is it hypocritical to say "yes, piracy is a problem. Hey, here are some thing you could do to alleviate that problem!"Kwil said:
People pirate for many reasons. It's no more fair to lump them all together than it is to lump all reasonable people together.
But, as you insist on doing both, I'm done with you. Fester in ignorance.
At this point I would like to argue that on the PC platform for those pirated only two of those games I would consider of any actual worth.
Like Crysis 2 is an alright game but more one for spectacle and for testing your system more then anything.
Call of Duty 8: <-- Look at that number many people will probably download this game just to see if there is anything that is different and of note from the other series. Many people wouldn't have considered it worthy to buy for £40-50 just for the single player because thats what the majority of these people would have been dling it for since you can't get reliable multiplayer on a cracked copy.
Battlefield 3: After the deviation and travesty that was the bad company series of the original battlefields the same arguements apply as to the above series. I've had a look and just thought that doesn't look like the battlefield game that I know and love (2142,2,1942 etc)
Fifa 12: Again the same series gets rereleased every year. Notice the word rereleased since its essentially a £40 roster update with some changes/improvements and only really worth buying every few years unless theres a problem with one of the series like how glaringly easy it was to chip the keeper in 2010.
Portal 2: arguably the only incredibly good game up there and the only reason why it would have generally been pirated is because of how different the game is from the mainstream genre that people wouldn't have wanted to buy it for full price although it was something reasonable like £20-30 I think instead of the stupid prices that most games are released at these days. Also because of how popular the game was and how much advertising got pumped into this game.
Actually correspond this list to the top 10 best sold games for pc this year and Portal 2 comes in 2nd with Skyrim coming in 1st which probably means that the only reason why Skyrim hasn't featured on this list is because it simply hasn't been out for as long. The only other game from this list to end up in that list is BF3 and thats in 4th and that was mainly because the BF fans from the 2142 and 2 days were awaiting a game that was decent and so many preordered it.
My overall view on piracy is that only game studios with a reputation for mediocrity have to worry for it and most of the games on this list are just that and the one that isn't was so insanely popular that it was bound end up in the list and even then it only edged in at 5th.
Like Crysis 2 is an alright game but more one for spectacle and for testing your system more then anything.
Call of Duty 8: <-- Look at that number many people will probably download this game just to see if there is anything that is different and of note from the other series. Many people wouldn't have considered it worthy to buy for £40-50 just for the single player because thats what the majority of these people would have been dling it for since you can't get reliable multiplayer on a cracked copy.
Battlefield 3: After the deviation and travesty that was the bad company series of the original battlefields the same arguements apply as to the above series. I've had a look and just thought that doesn't look like the battlefield game that I know and love (2142,2,1942 etc)
Fifa 12: Again the same series gets rereleased every year. Notice the word rereleased since its essentially a £40 roster update with some changes/improvements and only really worth buying every few years unless theres a problem with one of the series like how glaringly easy it was to chip the keeper in 2010.
Portal 2: arguably the only incredibly good game up there and the only reason why it would have generally been pirated is because of how different the game is from the mainstream genre that people wouldn't have wanted to buy it for full price although it was something reasonable like £20-30 I think instead of the stupid prices that most games are released at these days. Also because of how popular the game was and how much advertising got pumped into this game.
Actually correspond this list to the top 10 best sold games for pc this year and Portal 2 comes in 2nd with Skyrim coming in 1st which probably means that the only reason why Skyrim hasn't featured on this list is because it simply hasn't been out for as long. The only other game from this list to end up in that list is BF3 and thats in 4th and that was mainly because the BF fans from the 2142 and 2 days were awaiting a game that was decent and so many preordered it.
My overall view on piracy is that only game studios with a reputation for mediocrity have to worry for it and most of the games on this list are just that and the one that isn't was so insanely popular that it was bound end up in the list and even then it only edged in at 5th.
Wolfram01 said:
If you can't afford the luxury, stick to a cheaper hobby. And is that a watercooled full tower in your avatar? Possibly one of the last people here that can talk about tight finances.
According to your site if its opened they won't take it back:Kwil said:
We do not accept returns of:
Any product(s) returned more than 30 days from the date on the packing slip.
Any product(s) that has been opened (taken out of its plastic wrap).
Any product(s) not in its original condition.
Any product(s) that is damaged, played, or is missing parts.
Any product(s) that were sold as part of a bundle, unless the bundle is returned complete.
Please do not send us product(s) that do not meet the return criteria listed above, as we do not issue refunds for non-qualifying items and cannot return the items to you.
I wasn't trying to make excuses for piracy, but rather point out that there is a pretty big difference when thinking about getting a PC game. Might help explain why the numbers are 3x greater for PC downloads.ResonanceSD said:
My favorite piracy excuse is the "no demo" one, to be honest
I almost fell out of my chair when I read this. Normally I just want to go on a huge rant about how ignorant this statement is, but instead ill just provide everyone with some interesting links on the general subject of piracy.Mike Kayatta said:
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/07/05/report-game-industry-worth-74-billion-in-2011/
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/118/1184550p1.html
http://games.slashdot.org/story/11/02/17/0526200/valve-beats-google-apple-for-profits-per-employee
http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-pirated-movies-of-all-time-111012/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCkX0KcNwrI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCk9Cheiqqg
http://thenextweb.com/2008/12/09/author-paulo-coelho-supports-piracy-share-to-get-revenue/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJIuYgIvKsc&feature=g-all-f&context=G29b77d1FAAAAAAAABAA
Bathesda Net income 450 million
Vivendi (ActivisionBlizzard) Profit ?2.198 billion (2010)
EA Net income US$-677 million (FY 2010)
Ubisoft Net income ?89.8 million (2010) <- Worst DRM offenders and biggest piracy complainers have noticeably lower number.
I'm sick and tired of the unending ignorance on the subject of piracy. It takes very little research to properly understand the subject. Please stop spreading misinformation like the OP.
The problems with articles like this are:
We have no idea if the numbers cited are even remotely accurate. Thee whole point of pirated downloads is the difficulty in tracking them. If anyone could reliably identify unauthorized downloads, they would simply bill the downloaders and eliminate the problem. It's all guesswork. Just like the 4.5 million Witcher 2 downloads not listed here because that was someone else's guess.
The impossible to correlate effect of pirate downloads vs. lost sales. many people download games they wouldn't pay for because it's free. Some download cracked version of games they've paid for to bypass DRM systems. And some people are just crooks. But adding to the guesswork of my first point is trying to guess the motives of any downloads you think you can accurately estimate.
Finally, in PC gamers' defense, I'm not sure that it's valid to assume that piracy is worse among PC users. You can read several comments from people in this thread who didn't know that console piracy existed. It's not as simple as just downloading a game to a console. That leads to something you almost never see on PCs -- sales of bootleg games. Why pay for pirated PC game when you can just download it yourself? On a console, you need to know how to burn a copy onto a playable disc. This creates a market for ready-made pirated physical copies of console games. That results in 1 download equaling numerous copies, and since the end-user is, in fact, paying for the pirated copy, it's much more likely a lost sale.
All in all, not a very useful article.
We have no idea if the numbers cited are even remotely accurate. Thee whole point of pirated downloads is the difficulty in tracking them. If anyone could reliably identify unauthorized downloads, they would simply bill the downloaders and eliminate the problem. It's all guesswork. Just like the 4.5 million Witcher 2 downloads not listed here because that was someone else's guess.
The impossible to correlate effect of pirate downloads vs. lost sales. many people download games they wouldn't pay for because it's free. Some download cracked version of games they've paid for to bypass DRM systems. And some people are just crooks. But adding to the guesswork of my first point is trying to guess the motives of any downloads you think you can accurately estimate.
Finally, in PC gamers' defense, I'm not sure that it's valid to assume that piracy is worse among PC users. You can read several comments from people in this thread who didn't know that console piracy existed. It's not as simple as just downloading a game to a console. That leads to something you almost never see on PCs -- sales of bootleg games. Why pay for pirated PC game when you can just download it yourself? On a console, you need to know how to burn a copy onto a playable disc. This creates a market for ready-made pirated physical copies of console games. That results in 1 download equaling numerous copies, and since the end-user is, in fact, paying for the pirated copy, it's much more likely a lost sale.
All in all, not a very useful article.
Not really, the console tweaks to play pirated games are harder to perform on an Xbox than a Wii and I know more than one person who's effed up their Xbox trying to mod it for pirated games. Not to mention download sizes for xbox games are astronomical compared to Wii games and would take forever to download.theonecookie said:
Wolfram01 said:I wasn't trying to make excuses for piracy, but rather point out that there is a pretty big difference when thinking about getting a PC game. Might help explain why the numbers are 3x greater for PC downloads.ResonanceSD said:
My favorite piracy excuse is the "no demo" one, to be honest
So hypothetically if you wanted a machine for gaming, and don't want to spend a lot of money, you couldn't think of any other option? Really? As the owner of a top-spec PC, I can tell you that's a thinking-fail.
Pirating is stealing. Hence the use of the word "pirating". You keep saying that the notion is "debunked"; Try telling a court of law that; see if it stops them from sentencing internet pirates.saregos said:
To explore your analogy, yes copying something does not take away the original, but it is still theft. Copying my book will not take away my book, but you are still taking the contents of my book for your own personal use, without my permission. You didn't pay me for that privilege, or ask me for it. That is the point behind "intellectual property". No one wants to work hard on an idea, or a story, or a piece of software, only for someone to come along and "borrow" it without their say so. Having actually been payed for writing content, I would hate to discover someone copy-pasting the fruits of my labour onto free sites, thus depriving me of credit and discouraging folks from paying me for my efforts.
Copyright and patenting laws serve to protect me from potential plagarists, and piracy breaks those laws. You should Look up the concept intellectual property before you start declaring that piracy is not theft. Just because it is intangible doesn't mean it lacks value or ownership.
Mike, didn't you read the study? [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114537-File-sharing-Remains-Legal-In-Switzerland] Piracy is not a loss of a sale. People who pirate things don't spend any less money on entertainment. Their entertainment budget stays the same, but they merely supplement that with piracy. Therefore, the industry doesn't lose a damn cent. A pirated copy is not a copy stolen off a shelf. That shelved copy is still there for someone else to buy. And if piracy wasn't around, those millions of pirates would just decide they can live without the game and make a conscious decision to not spend the money they don't have.
Come on, this argument has already been won by my side. Why is this still an issue?
Come on, this argument has already been won by my side. Why is this still an issue?
saregos said:
And then "People like you(tm)" will just find new excuses to do so.
If they lower the game prices to £20, "you'll" start whining that they should cost £15 (assuming "you" don't just continue pirating them anyway because "free" is still cheaper)
Games like the Witcher and Indie Bundle have proved quite nicely that removing DRM does not stop "you" from pirating it.
Oh man, I'm so surprised that it's a bunch of shooter & sports games... oh wait, no I'm not.
self-entitlement ftw, right guys??
self-entitlement ftw, right guys??
I totally agree here. For starters the numbers can be totally off, since they simply can't have access to each and every torrent tracker out there and you have people on multiple trackers. I don't even know where to start complaining about the numbers. At the very best they are rough estimates.Hitchmeister said:
But you must also take the values in context. For example MW3 and BF3 totally rocked the scene, whereas Crysis 2 and Portal 2 sold less than they where downloaded. I think Crysis 2 was pirated most, because most PC games wanted to have a look at the bastard offspring, but not shell out 60 bucks.
I took the time to put the values in context: http://www.rioki.org/2012/01/03/most-pirated-games.html