Another year has wrapped up, which means another awards season for video games. While the winners for the obvious categories have been chosen, there is one category many often forget — or try to forget. The prestigious Most Pirated Game award. This one is probably the easiest to win since it generally requires poor security (super cheap these days) and the absence of a back-up plan.
So who was this champion of leaks? Envelope please.
According to TorrentFreak, the clear winner was Crysis 2 on the PC. Back in February, a month before it’s official release, the game was leaked on the internet causing Crytek and EA to promptly freak and ask consumers to patiently wait to purchase their full copy.
Unfortunately, the real problem didn’t come until a month later when the full version was released, which resulted in a swell of nearly 4 million illegal downloads. This places Crysis 2 as the most pirated game of 2011, beating out big name contenders Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3, respectively.
Without DRM or other fail-safe, Crysis 2 was ripe for the plucking from this generation of cyber pirates who, frankly, might have been deterred if Crytek had simply invested in giant, invincible scorpions.
For those wondering who grabbed this prize for the other major systems: Gears of War 3 was the most pirated game for the Xbox 360, appropriate since Marcus Fenix already looks like a pirate, and Super Mario Galaxy 2 for the Wii — its second year in a row! Zoinks!
TorrentFreak reports that PC titles are the biggest targets for piracy, averaging around three times more downloads than Xbox 360 or Wii. However, piracy for top titles as a whole has decreased since last year, possibly denoting a decline in piracy or an increase in security measures. They also note that other platforms, including the PS3, don’t garner near as many pirated games, and as such are excluded from the list.
How do you feel about piracy, readers? Something inevitable that should be left alone, or something that should be discouraged and addressed?
–
Follow me on Twitter @8BitBomb
Source: TorrentFreak [via CVG]
GR Giveaway: Win a Superhero-Sized Trip to San Diego This July! [Update: MORE Prizes!] 
Microsoft: Banned Players Lose Access to Purchased Xbox One Games [UPDATED] 
Xbox One Policies ‘Alienated Entire Military’; Entertainment Research Forecasts Trouble 
Xbox One E3 Demos Found Running on Windows 7 PCs 
Loading ...
Pirating is just like shoplifting. It will always be done and there is little that can be done (within reason) to stop it.
I wouldn’t say it’s exactly like shoplifting. I’m not defending piracy, but if the duck is barking, it probably isn’t a duck, I guess would be a good metaphor. Most pirates will buy the game after they get it, as a shoplifter just has the whole product hands down. Persay, someone pirates Starcraft 2, yeah sure, he can play Single Player, but he can’t touch Multiplayer; now, lets say someone steals the box from walmart, he goes home with the CD Key and everything, getting 100% of the product at no cost. This doesn’t justify anything though, but it shows a good point. Another good point, company’s can’t tell how many people steal copy’s from stores, just isn’t happening, but a company can for the most part, tell how many copies were pirated. If they were looking at the reviews and how many people interested instead of the dollar amount, it wouldn’t be as bad. Gabe, from Valve, stated he has no worries about Pirates what-so-ever, he doesn’t view them as a threat. Etc etc etc
That was pretty interesting. I agree with this post.
I feel the same way about shoplifting, but I suppose I don’t know what happens in the mind of the average petty thief.
Very good post.
Good reply.
“After the locust clear out, earth goes to a renaissance era like state, attempting to rebuild. The Cogs become a more naval based unit, sailing to other contents to help rebuild and protect, but anarchist citizens have already maned old boats and made new, who want to keep the cog and government from taking over. The Anarchists now attack any Cog ship on sight. Also they dress like pirates.”
Fund it
And people defend the PC market in the pirating discussion with this “consoles get hacked a lot too”. Lol yea ok buddy, Mansfield, tx has crime and so does LA but… I think you get the point.
Well, that’s not exactly the argument.
Developers most often point the problems from piracy souly on the PC, when it is just as bad on consoles.
I’m not saying it’s not worse on PC, which it can be in a lot of cases, but I just wanna make sure that’s cleared up.
Fight the power’
Leave it alone =]
Its not that bad on consoles…. Pc ‘s are the problem… All hackers and goofs who are broke livin in there moms basement wishing the had a gf.., with there hand in a bag of chips and there scale sayin get the f off me… So the ruin games to get back at THE MAN… Here’s a thought stop fn with the games get a job… Pay for your stuff and stop bein pissed at the world for your self induced loser life!!!’
Implying every hacker is fat, jobless, girlfriendless and like chips.
Oh and also implying hacking is only for ‘sad losers’ when you’re defending a hobby which has the same amount of importance than what they do.
Great one sir!
Hit it before you commit it. Nobody likes a poor performance. As long as they pirate as a way of playing a demo, rather than a way to say F you I’m keeping my $50, there shouldn’t be much of a problem.
Unlike video & audio (Movies, TV Shows, albums) when it comes to games the pirate sites are more often populated with those who push the idea that if you download it and like it then buy a copy and support the developers. The pirates see the game developers as fellow brethren and they want to not cheat them out of earning a living. At the same time they firmly believe in not paying $50 for something that turns out to be crap and that’s why they push the games for test & trial suggesting to users to by a copy if after try8ing out the game they find they like it. Not every game is worth its price tag.
As for other content specially movies you can bet its fully pirated because the users of the age of the internet hate the old media content slave drivers who for decades have shafted the public (their customers) via price fixing and also screwed their own talent thru contract manipulations and outright lying.
The record labels and the movie studios (although its more the fault of the record labels) have themselves to blame for their current predicament with piracy. Instead of embracing new technologies to satisfy a new generation of customers they opted to ignore their customers and so that base took matters into their on hands and started ripping and sharing music.
Piracy would have NEVER gotten the foothold it has without the unwitting help of the media content owners themselves who for years blew off anyone trying to tell them that they needed to change their business model and change with the times. The labels were so use to having it all their way and getting excessive profits that they ignored the warning signs and blew their chance to embrace the digital age opting instead to ignore it and pretend it was but a passing fad.
kunauero103 is a cheater on Red Dead Redemption for the Playstation 3. This punk uses a modded PS3 console with an aimbot and a modified controller.
EL_DUBALIN is a cheater on Red Dead Redemption for the Playstation 3. This punk uses a modded PS3 console with an aimbot and a modified controller.
S-h-a-m-z- is a cheater on Red Dead Redemption for the Playstation 3. This punk uses a modded PS3 console with an aimbot and a modified controller.
YSOSERIOUS-_-ECK is a cheater on Red Dead Redemption for the Playstation 3. This punk uses a modded PS3 console with an aimbot and a modified controller. Just like all the other cheaters in the ECK posse he hides behind multiple PSN accounts. If anyone knows any of his other usernames let us know so we can expose them.
Gold3nSp1r1t is a cheater on Red Dead Redemption for the Playstation 3. This punk uses a modded PS3 console with an aimbot, a modified controller and a lag switch. He is also known to cheat on Call Of Duty Black Ops, Uncharted 3 and Modern Warfare 3.
BVB09kev is a cheater on Red Dead Redemption for the Playstation 3. This punk uses a modded PS3 console with an aimbot and a modified controller.
noobkiller11 is a cheater on Red Dead Redemption for the Playstation 3. This punk uses a modded PS3 console with an aimbot and a modified controller. He is also known to cheat on Modern Warfare 2 and Modern Warfare 3.
Michigan_Swag616 is a cheater on Red Dead Redemption for the Playstation 3. This punk uses a modded PS3 console with an aimbot and a modified controller. He is also known to cheat on Modern Warfare 3.
YohannRedemption is a French cheater on Red Dead Redemption for the Playstation 3. This punk uses a modded PS3 console with an aimbot and a modified controller with rapid fire. He is also known to cheat on Modern Warfare 3.
finfin-69 is a German cheater on Red Dead Redemption for the Playstation 3. This punk uses a modded PS3 console with an aimbot and a modified controller with rapid fire. He is also known to cheat on Modern Warfare 3.