Ace of Spades HQ

April 29, 2013

Game Developers Prank Pirates With Pirated Version of Game
— Ace

A pair of game developers created a "Video Game Development" simulation, a tycoon-style game, but set in the world of videogaming. Players had to bring a "game" to market by acquiring talent, testing it, keeping under budget, and so forth.

But they also themselves released a cracked version of the game to BitTorrent. In this cracked version of the game, the game development studio would actually go bankrupt, inevitably... because all of their games were pirated and they made no money.

Those playing the free game then posted on forums, asking how they could beat the pirates to keep the game company alive.

The developers counted-- about 95% of their players were actually themselves pirating the game.

The experiment's more of a prank than any kind of study because this does seem to be the sort of game that few would buy, thus holding down the number of bona-fide owners.

But it is sort of funny that people who'd stolen the game posted on forums asking how to stop people from stealing their games.

Posted by: Ace at 03:27 PM | Comments (134)
Post contains 192 words, total size 1 kb.

1 They should have put in a "company goes nbankrupt because your employees spend all their time downloading pr0n" break.

Posted by: wooga at April 29, 2013 03:29 PM (2wsy0)

2
stealing is such a strong word

Posted by: soothsayer at April 29, 2013 03:30 PM (BUcLz)

3 Unclear on that whole cause and effect thing

Posted by: blaster at April 29, 2013 03:30 PM (5dzVo)

4 "Misappropriating" is more accurate than "stealing." As in, "I apologize for my misappropriation of your mouth."

Posted by: wooga at April 29, 2013 03:31 PM (2wsy0)

5 stealing is such a strong word You prefer maybe, "unauthorized procurement"?

Posted by: Sean Bannion at April 29, 2013 03:32 PM (3PlMc)

But it is sort of funny that people who'd stolen the game posted on forums asking how to stop people from stealing their games.

----------------------------------

You actually used to see this sort of thing a lot. A game would trigger a copy protection check, appear to ignore the fact that you failed the copy protection check, and then throw something at you later on. The old classic Starflight, for instance, would have your starship literally get pulled over by police (in their own immensely powerful starship).

And then the idiots with a cracked version of the game would then go to the forums asking how to get past some ridiculously hard part of the game... that just happened to only turn up if you had failed to get past the copy protection.

Posted by: junior at April 29, 2013 03:32 PM (UWFpX)

7 The key to making a successful game is to make it about playing with Jessica Nigri's boobs.

Posted by: EC at April 29, 2013 03:32 PM (doBIb)

8 Schadefreud ja?

One of the earliest viruses IIRC was put out by Paki or Indian bootleggers of Wordstar. They figured if their customers were willing to break the law then they deserve an infection.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 29, 2013 03:32 PM (CAHhA)

Shame we can't do something like this to the damn leftist media.

Posted by: wheatie at April 29, 2013 03:33 PM (3B3wv)

10 Information should be, like, free, man.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit at April 29, 2013 03:33 PM (+z4pE)

11 Sean for being a Loggy Dog, 'creative acquisition' is more descriptive.

So EC you going to have Jessica Nigri waiting there at the airport?

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 29, 2013 03:33 PM (CAHhA)

12 Bohemia did something similar with Operation Flaspoint. The cracked version of the game slowly degraded over time, making it impossible to aim your weapon or see clearly.

Posted by: EC at April 29, 2013 03:34 PM (doBIb)

13 Bioware did that with Mass Effect 3, but there was a terrible bug and *everyone* got the screwed-up version of the game. /unsmiling sarcasm

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 29, 2013 03:36 PM (qyfb5)

14 Anna, if I could do something nice for my stepson, I would pay for him to spend a day with the crew from Duck Dynasty.

Posted by: EC at April 29, 2013 03:37 PM (doBIb)

15 The universe runs on irony ...

Posted by: Adriane ... at April 29, 2013 03:39 PM (TvO05)

16 I thought Mass Effect 3 was a bug...

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 29, 2013 03:40 PM (CAHhA)

17 >>>1 They should have put in a "company goes nbankrupt because your employees spend all their time downloading pr0n" break.

Say what now?

Posted by: the SEC at April 29, 2013 03:41 PM (zdOO0)

18 I wonder if the game development simulator allows you to choose the intrusiveness of the DRM (zero, disk-check, Steam, Starforce, always-connected).

Posted by: Sandra Fluke's solid gold diaphragm at April 29, 2013 03:41 PM (7xeJQ)

19 I thought Mass Effect 3 was a bug Only the ending.

Posted by: EC at April 29, 2013 03:41 PM (doBIb)

20 16 I thought Mass Effect 3 was a bug... Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 29, 2013 07:40 PM (CAHhA) One of my friends did the "THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS" thing over that game. Responded to a question about it that there were only two games in the series. Then double down with "THERE! ARE! TWO! GAMES!"

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 29, 2013 03:42 PM (qyfb5)

21 Adriane, on the next episode of IP Thieves the developers suffer a leak in their firewall and the next version of Dog Show Divas - the RPG for the Wii U gets pirated by a snotty nosed kid named Flynn.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 29, 2013 03:42 PM (CAHhA)

Mass Effect 3 a bug? NONSENSE!!1!

It's artistic! Indoctrination ending!

*vomit*

Sorry... I'm not sure what came over me. I'm not quite sure what could have possessed me to write those first two lines.

Posted by: junior at April 29, 2013 03:43 PM (UWFpX)

23 My bootleg version of Minesweeper has nothing but mines in the entire grid. Does anyone know how to get past Beginner level?

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at April 29, 2013 03:43 PM (RLbiM)

24 Only the ending. Posted by: EC at April 29, 2013 07:41 PM (doBIb) While it had good parts, I had major issues from the beginning. I would not likely have *hated* it so much if it hadn't been for the ending, but there's an awfully long list. Kind of OT already, though...

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 29, 2013 03:44 PM (qyfb5)

25 awesome...good to know develpment time is being used to troll assholes who undermine the work I pay for.....

"winning"

Posted by: sven10077@sven10077 at April 29, 2013 03:44 PM (LRFds)

@18 I wonder if the game development simulator allows you to choose the intrusiveness of the DRM (zero, disk-check, Steam, Starforce, always-connected).

------------------

Or Stardock-style - i.e. play the pirated copy for free... unless you want to patch it, in which case it needs to be registered with us.

Posted by: junior at April 29, 2013 03:44 PM (UWFpX)

Posted by: Vic at April 29, 2013 03:45 PM (53z96)

28 The game while a nice prank is sort of like an elaborate "eff you"....

anyway touchy subject I don't pirate non abandoned ware I believe in a pay as you go world, but the companies should keep trying to make good games and win back the moochers IMHO...

I was mourning the loss of "Gamma World" for the PC last year.

Posted by: sven10077@sven10077 at April 29, 2013 03:46 PM (LRFds)

29 Piracy is not going to stop being an issue because games *have* to get more expensive. I know there have been a couple of decent low-budget games lately, but on average even efficient development just costs more because money is worth less. And games cost pretty much now what they cost in the 90s. Monkey Island or Starcraft 1 were $60, just like new games. That means your new game costs like $30-40 adjusted. New games should be running closer to $100 (thus the day-one DLCs and the push for microtransactions and PVP-only, which is cheaper to develop). I just see a lot of possible secondary casualties from these problems and it gives me a headache.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 29, 2013 03:48 PM (qyfb5)

30 Mass Effect 3? *Don't forget Ultima*

Posted by: Then EA happened! (Betrayal!) at April 29, 2013 03:49 PM (JqnAE)

31 How to win? Claim you're a "green energy" company and watch the government money roll in

Posted by: TheQuietMan at April 29, 2013 03:49 PM (eeNUA)

32 Heh. I remember in high school when we'd trade cracked games... for the Apple II. Ultima 4, Bard's Tale, Spy Hunter... on floppy disks.

Posted by: BLOAD BRUN at April 29, 2013 03:50 PM (uZCxK)

33 Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 29, 2013 07:42 PM (CAHhA) RPGs are psychosupressive tools of the hegemonic patriarchy ... aimed at keeping the Flynnive masses down!!!

Posted by: Adriane ... at April 29, 2013 03:50 PM (TvO05)

34 Merovign, so in other words the only smart move is not to play?

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 29, 2013 03:50 PM (CAHhA)

@30 *Don't forget Ultima*

---------------------------

Huh? The Black Gate was pretty good. Serpent Isle wasn't half-bad either. I thought that series ended on a reasonably high note after 7 and 7.5.

Unless you're talking about Underworld 2?

*looks confused*

Posted by: junior at April 29, 2013 03:51 PM (UWFpX)

36 So... It's nerds all the way down.

Posted by: CAC at April 29, 2013 03:51 PM (qc8++)

37 Not to mention trying to win at Solitaire when there is no 10 of diamonds in the deck.

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at April 29, 2013 03:52 PM (WzST6)

38 363 CAC,

look around you CAC here in the 3d dimension all this was built by nerds

Posted by: sven10077@sven10077 at April 29, 2013 03:52 PM (LRFds)

39 34 Merovign, so in other words the only smart move is not to play? Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 29, 2013 07:50 PM (CAHhA) A strange game.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 29, 2013 03:53 PM (qyfb5)

40 It's nerds all the way down. Posted by: CAC at April 29, 2013 07:51 PM (qc8++) *** Except me!! I'm a dweeb.

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at April 29, 2013 03:53 PM (WzST6)

41 *Don't forget Ultima* Posted by: Then EA happened! (Betrayal!) at April 29, 2013 07:49 PM (JqnAE) You mean how Origin *was* a game company but now it's only DRM?

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 29, 2013 03:54 PM (qyfb5)

42 Are ALL of the posts today going to be about pirates?

Posted by: garrett at April 29, 2013 03:54 PM (fbD4J)

43 Human nature. It's only wrong when someone else does it.

Posted by: Tilikum The Killer Assault Whale at April 29, 2013 03:55 PM (uhftQ)

44 So... It's nerds all the way down. No, not all the way. Only through the first five dimensions.

Posted by: Sean Bannion at April 29, 2013 03:55 PM (3PlMc)

45 Human nature. It's only wrong when someone else does it. The guiding principle of the American left.

Posted by: Sean Bannion at April 29, 2013 03:56 PM (3PlMc)

46 > 1 They should have put in a "company goes nbankrupt because your employees spend all their time downloading pr0n" break. Welcome to The SEC Simulator.

Posted by: Lemme kaizen, Freelance Warlord at April 29, 2013 03:57 PM (K1JW0)

47 The guiding principle of the American left.

Posted by: Sean Bannion

***

Supposedly a lot of the programmers etc. are lefties, sooooooo...

Posted by: Tilikum The Killer Assault Whale at April 29, 2013 03:57 PM (uhftQ)

48 Only through the first five dimensions. Posted by: Sean Bannion at April 29, 2013 07:55 PM (3PlMc) Laugh it up. I'm in great company in my multidimensional universe belief. Kaku. Susskind. Hawking. That eight-foot tall talking emu that craps bacon from dimension seven that seems to eat all my pot pies and Jack in the Box tacos.

Posted by: CAC at April 29, 2013 03:58 PM (qc8++)

49 Kaku. Susskind. Hawking. *** If you say that out loud it sounds like you have bronchitis.

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at April 29, 2013 04:00 PM (twF8m)

50 *gives CAC an Orange+ and VisiCalc on floppy*

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 29, 2013 04:00 PM (CAHhA)

51 Posted by: junior at April 29, 2013 07:51 PM (UWFpX) *ahem* Ultima 9: Ascension *games with "Ascension" in the title are getting to be teh suck*

Posted by: Then EA happened! (Betrayal!) at April 29, 2013 04:00 PM (JqnAE)

52 30 Mass Effect 3?

*Don't forget Ultima*

Posted by: Then EA happened! (Betrayal!) at April 29, 2013 07:49 PM (JqnAE)

Garriott has one chance to redeem himself...

http://preview.tinyurl.com/c7any6c

Posted by: Sandra Fluke's solid gold diaphragm at April 29, 2013 04:00 PM (7xeJQ)

they found female DNA on the remains of one of the Boston bombs

seems like they had help

Posted by: thunderb at April 29, 2013 04:01 PM (nH8jP)

54 That eight-foot tall talking emu that craps bacon from dimension seven that seems to eat all my pot pies and Jack in the Box tacos.

You've seen him, too??

Posted by: fluffy at April 29, 2013 04:01 PM (z9HTb)

55 Any game that charges for DLC can go eat a dick.

Posted by: EC at April 29, 2013 04:02 PM (doBIb)

56 I'm sure there are better examples of the 25 year progress in gaming, but I see: Legend of Zelda :: Skyrim Donkey Kong :: Uncharted Oregon Trail :: Red Dead Redemption

Posted by: wooga at April 29, 2013 04:02 PM (2wsy0)

57 they found female DNA on the remains of one of the Boston bombs

No virgins for you!

Posted by: fluffy at April 29, 2013 04:02 PM (z9HTb)

58 Help a non-gamer. What is DLC?

Posted by: fluffy at April 29, 2013 04:03 PM (z9HTb)

59 *ahem* Ultima 9: Ascension Posted by: Then EA happened! (Betrayal!) at April 29, 2013 08:00 PM (JqnAE) It was much better after the patch. But kind of mediocre for an Ultima game. Obviously kooky now. It did try to get *too far* in front of itself as a game technology. Basically trying to be Skyrim in a 16-bit world and tripped all over its feet. However, not a kick in the balls like ME3 or Far Cry 2 or Deus Ex: HR (which really did turn completely insane at the end).

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 29, 2013 04:03 PM (qyfb5)

@51 *ahem* Ultima 9: Ascension

*games with "Ascension" in the title are getting to be teh suck*

-----------------------

There is no Ultima 9. Nor is there an Ultima 8, which would be required in order to have an Ultima 9. My therapist has assured me of this.

Posted by: junior at April 29, 2013 04:04 PM (UWFpX)

61 Thank you for the clear explanation in your writeup, ace. I saw this on Slashdot earlier and couldn't tell what the summary was trying to say. The pirates were getting pirated, how? Now I get it. The linked article got Slashdotted, so I couldn't read that either.

Posted by: bonhomme at April 29, 2013 04:04 PM (7il68)

62 Down Loadable Content.

Or how to jam up your high speed Internet to play as 5GB of updates download because the copy of the game at Wal-Mart is three months old.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 29, 2013 04:04 PM (CAHhA)

63 they found female DNA on the remains of one of the Boston bombs

And they've excluded all the victims' DNA, including the people who didn't go to the hospital?

Posted by: bonhomme at April 29, 2013 04:06 PM (7il68)

64 Game developers prank pirates. *** I love it when someone walks the prank. /Chinese pirate

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at April 29, 2013 04:06 PM (GKVIK)

65 FBI took DNA from speedbump's wifey today. See if she helped them in any way. Seems speedbump met several times with two known Chechen terrorists when he went back to Russia. They are both dead now. Lone wolf. In a pack of sorts. Nothing to see here

Posted by: thunderb at April 29, 2013 04:06 PM (nH8jP)

66 thunderb - zombie lone wolves. New movie on SyFy soon.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 29, 2013 04:07 PM (CAHhA)

67 So... It's nerds all the way down. Let's see what you have to say when Multi-Colored Map Attack: Electoral Showdown gets released next year by Rockstar Games.

Posted by: Hollowpoint at April 29, 2013 04:07 PM (X9Mnx)

68 58 Help a non-gamer. What is DLC? Posted by: fluffy at April 29, 2013 08:03 PM (z9HTb) DownLoadable Content. Basically add-ons. I don't know why everybody freaks so hard about the concept (in general), basically people are undercharging for games and trying to make up for it with added content. You know, like the Secret Missions add-ons for Wing Commander 1. Which they charged for. BUT sometimes companies (EA) make no friends when they do shit like the "Day One DLC" for ME3, which had the content already on the disc you paid for, but you had to pay to unlock it. Terrible publicity. Also some (Fable) offer just oddball crap they expect you to pay for, like costumes. And dog costumes. I guess someone bought it, probably with their parents CC.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 29, 2013 04:08 PM (qyfb5)

69 seems like female was on a part of the bomb mechanism that did not come into contact with victims

Posted by: thunderb at April 29, 2013 04:08 PM (nH8jP)

70 That eight-foot tall talking emu that craps bacon from dimension seven that seems to eat all my pot pies and Jack in the Box tacos. You know, CAC, just because you're paranoid it doesn't mean that they're not out to get you. Jus' sayin'.

Posted by: Sean Bannion at April 29, 2013 04:09 PM (3PlMc)

71 Isn't downloadable all one word?

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at April 29, 2013 04:09 PM (sRRfI)

72 I think this is why all modern music started to suck. Nobody noticed how intentionally bad they made it, so they just kept it up cause they already paid for the autotuner.

Posted by: I want my money back at April 29, 2013 04:10 PM (9sjmH)

73 one of the now dead dudes speedbump was visiting was half Paki/half Russian. No links to terrorist groups. Turn away. Stop looking. What does it matter

Posted by: thunderb at April 29, 2013 04:10 PM (nH8jP)

74 You know CAC, your eight-foot tall emu could be the basis for a best selling novel.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 29, 2013 04:10 PM (CAHhA)

75 I''ll buy that they found a pair of X's, but they're going to need to do better than "omgz boobies!" DNA should tell them about ethnicity at least - maybe eye colour. Also as has been mentioned, they need to rule out the bystanders.

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at April 29, 2013 04:11 PM (QTHTd)

76 I'm sure there are better examples of the 25 year progress in gaming, but I see:

Legend of Zelda :: Skyrim
Donkey Kong :: Uncharted
Oregon Trail :: Red Dead Redemption

Posted by: wooga

Zelda is Zork then. And Donkey Kong is Pong.

Fuck it. All video games are updated rock throwing. Your point?

Posted by: weft cut-loop [/i] [/b] at April 29, 2013 04:12 PM (Yr6sH)

77 /Chinese pirate Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at April 29, 2013 08:06 PM (GKVIK) WTF is up with everyone fucking up that ethnic stereotype? Like half the place names in China have L's in them. They don't have a problem saying "plank." Seriously, that's like going on and on about how the English are so arrogant about their gourmet food or how South Africa started as a British penal colony.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 29, 2013 04:12 PM (qyfb5)

78 DLC is acceptable if it is expansion type stuff. But a lot of companies are releasing incomplete "free" games, with DLC required to complete and/or properly play the game. It's a liar's version of a free trial.

Posted by: wooga at April 29, 2013 04:12 PM (2wsy0)

79 they are taking DNA from wife. It will either match or not. And if the DNA was in some glue or epoxy used in bomb manufacture, then it probably wasn't a bystander

Posted by: thunderb at April 29, 2013 04:12 PM (nH8jP)

80 You prefer maybe, "unauthorized procurement"?

Posted by: Sean Bannion at April 29, 2013 07:32 PM (3PlMc)

Undocumented Liscenscee?

Posted by: Romeo13 at April 29, 2013 04:13 PM (lZBBB)

81 a kick in the balls like ME3

Stop whining.

Posted by: "Alien/s" fandom at April 29, 2013 04:14 PM (QTHTd)

82 68
Also some (Fable) offer just oddball crap they expect you to pay for, like costumes. And dog costumes. I guess someone bought it, probably with their parents CC.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at April 29, 2013 08:08 PM (qyfb5)

As you've mentioned, there have been add-on packs (new missions, "speech packs," etc.) for decades. It seems to me that they the negative connotation began about the same time as Oblivion's "Horse Armor DLC" was released--during which time, the game was (in following the tradition of its predecessor) a horrible, bug-ridden mess.

Posted by: Sandra Fluke's solid gold diaphragm at April 29, 2013 04:14 PM (7xeJQ)

83 71 Isn't downloadable all one word? Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at April 29, 2013 08:09 PM (sRRfI) Hey, it wasn't my idea.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 29, 2013 04:14 PM (qyfb5)

84 Ever get the feeling, like on Mondays, that your life is a game of Bezerk???

http://youtu.be/gb4gWvqbsYA

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 29, 2013 04:15 PM (CAHhA)

85 If the DNA was in the glue, it might even end up being horse DNA

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at April 29, 2013 04:15 PM (QTHTd)

86 53 thunderB,

hmmm *golly*

hmmmmm

//Clouseau to central casting

Posted by: sven10077@sven10077 at April 29, 2013 04:15 PM (LRFds)

87 Lone wolf. In a pack of sorts. Nothing to see here

Posted by: thunderb at April 29, 2013 08:06 PM (nH8jP)

Only our current administration could come up with the novel concept... of a Lone Wolf PACK!

/facepalm

Posted by: Romeo13 at April 29, 2013 04:15 PM (lZBBB)

from WSJ

Speaking Monday about the DNA discovery, the U.S. officials cautioned that there could be multiple explanations for why genetic material from someone other than the two bombing suspectsÂ—Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his younger brother, DzhokharÂ—could have been found on remnants of the exploded devices. It could have come, for example, from a store clerk who handled materials used in the bombs or a stray hair that ended up in the bomb.

Monday, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents visited the Rhode Island home of the parents of Katherine Russell, the widow of Tamerlan Tsarnaev. He died after a shootout with police four days after the April 15 bombings.

"The FBI is there as part of our ongoing investigation, but we aren't permitted to discuss specific aspects of the case," said FBI spokesman Jason Pack.

Posted by: thunderb at April 29, 2013 04:16 PM (nH8jP)

89 a horrible, bug-ridden mess. Posted by: Sandra Fluke's solid gold diaphragm at April 29, 2013 08:14 PM (7xeJQ) That's like a synonym for Bethesda, though. Yeah, they like to do DLCs in preference to bugfixes. And companies are releasing core content as DLCs. On the other hand, Telltale Games' business model is basically "everything is a DLC." Selling a series of small games telling one story. Kind of worked.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 29, 2013 04:16 PM (qyfb5)

WTF is up with everyone fucking up that ethnic stereotype?

Like half the place names in China have L's in them. They don't have a problem saying "plank."

A Korean exchange student my family hosted some years back had a funny way of pronouncing "r." I wonder if the "l" as "r" isn't a reversal of actual accents?

Posted by: Grey Fox at April 29, 2013 04:17 PM (D/fQ0)

One official familiar with the case said agents went to the house Monday to collect a DNA sample from Ms. Russell, the culmination of days of negotiations. FBI officials also have been negotiating with Ms. Russell's attorney in recent days to gain fuller access to question her, the officials familiar with the case said. The officials said the DNA request was needed to determine whether it matched the DNA found on the bomb remnants.

Posted by: thunderb at April 29, 2013 04:18 PM (nH8jP)

92 I'd have hated to see what Fallout: New Vegas would've looked like had they put out an intentionally bugged pirated version. I liked the game, but damn. It was like nobody actually tried it out before shipping it.

Posted by: Hollowpoint at April 29, 2013 04:18 PM (X9Mnx)

days of negotiations

to take a DNA sample

rriiiggghhtt

Posted by: thunderb at April 29, 2013 04:19 PM (nH8jP)

94 Skyrim was just a bunch of bugs and glitches pretending to be a game.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 29, 2013 04:20 PM (CAHhA)

95 There just aren't that many good games out there that I'd want to pay for, not to mention go to the trouble to pirate.

Here's a game I played for several years: I purchase game for $50, game sucks ass, real money ~~disappears~~ is pirated from my bank account.

Posted by: Fritz at April 29, 2013 04:21 PM (gyDll)

96 Test

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at April 29, 2013 04:21 PM (Yk8p2)

97 Seamus - A+

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 29, 2013 04:22 PM (CAHhA)

@90 I wonder if the "l" as "r" isn't a reversal of actual accents?

---------------------

At least in Japanese, you don't really have a distinct "L" or "R" sound. Instead, you have something that's roughly halfway between the two. So when you're listening for an "L", you're more likely to hear an "R", and when you're listening for an "R" you're more likely to hear an "L".

Posted by: junior at April 29, 2013 04:22 PM (UWFpX)

99 Ah, for the days when everything was on a cartridge.

Posted by: zsasz at April 29, 2013 04:22 PM (MMC8r)

100 94 Skyrim was just a bunch of bugs and glitches pretending to be a game. Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 29, 2013 08:20 PM (CAHhA) The *user community* has fixed over a thousand bugs in that game. For PC at least, if you were on a console you got boned (depending on how the bugs hit you).

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 29, 2013 04:23 PM (qyfb5)

101

@92 I'd have hated to see what Fallout: New Vegas would've looked like had they put out an intentionally bugged pirated version.

I liked the game, but damn. It was like nobody actually tried it out before shipping it.

----------------------

Just wanted to make the vets feel at home. Fallout, even before Bethesda to it, was notorious for being extremely buggy.

Interplay used to have that problem generally, though, iirc.

Posted by: junior at April 29, 2013 04:23 PM (UWFpX)

102 92 hollowpoint,

Beta testing is just a chance to play the game now amiright or amiright?

Posted by: sven10077@sven10077 at April 29, 2013 04:23 PM (LRFds)

103 /Chinese pirate addendum is hereby rescinded. The strained wordplay must stand on its own merits.

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at April 29, 2013 04:24 PM (Yk8p2)

104 1 They should have put in a "company goes nbankrupt because your employees spend all their time downloading pr0n" break.

Posted by: wooga at April 29, 2013 07:29 PM (2wsy0)

Who downloads porn at work? I work for a very hippie company with very liberal rules about Internet usage and even they would fire me for downloading porn at work. It opens up the company for litigation.

Posted by: FART at April 29, 2013 04:24 PM (erQJO)

105 they may have gotten the female DNA from the bomb the brothers tossed out the car at the cops. The lid on that bomb popped off when it hit the pavement but did not explode. There would be lots of good evidence from that bomb. I think they also got some unexploded pipe bombs that were in the car.

Posted by: thunderb at April 29, 2013 04:24 PM (nH8jP)

106 AFAICT "product testing" is just something old retired guys sit on porches and talk about.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith[/i][/b][/s][/u] at April 29, 2013 04:25 PM (qyfb5)

107 Richard Garriot was treated like a used condom by EA. Origin Systems Inc faced the same fate as Westwood and Bullfrog once the leviathan got a hold of them.

Posted by: Blue Falcon in Boston at April 29, 2013 04:25 PM (KCvsd)

108 104 FART,

uh you must not work for the SEC then...

Posted by: sven10077@sven10077 at April 29, 2013 04:25 PM (LRFds)

109 @97 Woo hoo.

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at April 29, 2013 04:26 PM (duS7Q)

110

@104 Who downloads porn at work? I work for a very hippie company with very liberal rules about Internet usage and even they would fire me for downloading porn at work. It opens up the company for litigation.

-------------------------------------

Apparently, quite a few people who work for the government. And I'll just make sure that you note the *present tense* of that word, since they can't be fired just for that.

Posted by: junior at April 29, 2013 04:27 PM (UWFpX)

111 http://youtu.be/Jfp7v3ZtPW8

Paul Anka "do the fucking beta testing" Integrity Kick

Posted by: sven10077@sven10077 at April 29, 2013 04:27 PM (LRFds)

112 So here's a question. Bacon is obv the most perfect of Moron foods. But if the emu is crapping it, do you still eat it? CAC?

Posted by: BCochran1981 - Credible Hulk at April 29, 2013 04:30 PM (GEICT)

113 Yar.

Posted by: HeatherRadish™, Crankypants Extraordinaire at April 29, 2013 04:30 PM (hO8IJ)

114 I'd have hated to see what Fallout: New Vegas would've looked like had they put out an intentionally bugged pirated version. I liked the game,but damn. It was like nobody actually tried it out before shipping it. Posted by: Hollowpoint at April 29, 2013 08:18 PM (X9Mnx Did it lock you out of the Strip, too?

Posted by: Secundus at April 29, 2013 04:30 PM (cUxuA)

115 And that was far too little discussion on Nigri. And I don't believe I saw any linked pics.... The hell people? Where are you on that one, Anna????

Posted by: BCochran1981 - Credible Hulk at April 29, 2013 04:30 PM (GEICT)

116 What a stupid wanker. With Star Raiders you better read the manual and find what the buttons do.
http://youtu.be/4KAyFkRwTik

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 29, 2013 04:31 PM (CAHhA)

117 Couldn't just leave the gaming thread to Sunday could ya?

Posted by: teej at April 29, 2013 04:33 PM (H0qOD)

118 Here BCochran -
http://youtu.be/_JKd_YwDrME

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at April 29, 2013 04:33 PM (CAHhA)

119 Did it lock you out of the Strip, too? I played it long after release, so the worst, game breaking bugs were fixed by then. It was still annoyingly buggy, but a good game otherwise.

Posted by: Hollowpoint at April 29, 2013 04:34 PM (X9Mnx)

120 Anna, I love you. Thank you

Posted by: MINEMINEMINE!! at April 29, 2013 04:36 PM (nqXsF)

121 I was once young, and raped games off of usenet. It was neat getting Mechwar 4, or Max 3* before my buddies did, and then giving it to them, it made me friends. I knew then, and know know that it was wrong, but there was No Way I could afford an extra 40 bucks in my budget at the time, and the wife wanting to hit the swing club every other week. What was a kid with asburgers supposed to do??

* names are changed for legal reasons.

Posted by: MINEMINEMINE!! at April 29, 2013 04:46 PM (nqXsF)

122 Did something very close to this ~30 years ago with a game I helped develop, Sundog: Frozen Legacy. If you tried to take off from your home planet with an unauthorized copy of the game, you got the message "Clearance to lift denied due to pirate activity." The game actually did have pirates in space, so it took people a while to realize what the message really meant. ..fritz..

Posted by: fritzworth at April 29, 2013 04:48 PM (7svyX)

123 The developers made the posts.

Posted by: RokShox at April 29, 2013 04:49 PM (8MMMw)

124 OOOhhh.

Posted by: MINEMINEMINE!! at April 29, 2013 04:51 PM (nqXsF)

125 Pirates aksin how to stop piratin is like Obama aksin how to stop overspending.

Posted by: Big Ben at April 29, 2013 04:58 PM (NgMDS)

126 One of the first games I got 23 years ago was Sim City. It had a security thingy that you had to put a word from one of the pages of the manual in when the game loaded, if you didn't, your city would suffer from a big earthquake or tornado periodically. Once I lost the manual, it freaking sucked to play.

Posted by: Ashley Judd's Puffy Scamper, aka MrCaniac at April 29, 2013 05:00 PM (Zd/NW)

127 117 Couldn't just leave the gaming thread to Sunday could ya? Posted by: teej at April 29, 2013 08:33 PM (H0qOD) You mean the eve update and the dude bitching about game companies but barely mentioning any actual games thread?

Posted by: Buzzion at April 29, 2013 05:04 PM (pvqzp)

128 Apologies if someone already linked the game: http://www.greenheartgames.com/app/game-dev-tycoon/

Posted by: sdavis at April 29, 2013 05:31 PM (njVMI)

129 I gave up on pirated software. All programs I need I already have and no use to update. I caught a nasty malware infection from one that nearly made me do a complete format as it got into the system restore files.

Posted by: Trevor (@tjexcite) at April 29, 2013 06:02 PM (CdeLs)

130 One of the first games I got 23 years ago was Sim City. It had a security thingy that you had to put a word from one of the pages of the manual in when the game loaded They did that with Infocom games 5-6 years earlier. The game came with "feelies" -- physical objects like an Infotater (a cypher wheel). I don't get the whole "piracy" idea. What is being stolen? Is it theft if you stay in a movie theater to see the next showing? Who exactly is being deprived of the exclusive use of an object?

Posted by: Phinn at April 29, 2013 06:30 PM (oFH2D)

131 "I don't get the whole "piracy" idea. What is being stolen? Is it theft if you stay in a movie theater to see the next showing? Who exactly is being deprived of the exclusive use of an object?" You are using a service you didn't pay for, period. It is theft. You can play all the semantic games about who is being deprived of what, but at the end of the day, that's all there is to it. By the way, you can download and try a demo. If you like it, then you can spend the whopping $7.99 to buy the game.

Posted by: sdavis at April 29, 2013 07:14 PM (njVMI)

132 I kind of want to play it now.

Posted by: Kevin at April 29, 2013 07:33 PM (gB7mv)

133 You are using a service you didn't pay for, period. It is theft. You can play all the semantic games about who is being deprived of what, but at the end of the day, that's all there is to it. It's not theft because the thing that is supposedly stolen can be infinitely replicated without interfering with the use of the original (or any other copy). It costs the author an additional zero dollars and zero cents if the "service" (or "property") is used by 10,000 people instead of only 10. Therefore, this "theft" deprives no one of anything, except for money that the author claims he's owed. But he is not owed unless he can first show that he's entitled to be paid. I could claim that you owe me money for use of the word "download," and that every time you use it without paying, that's theft. It's a nonsense claim, though, because I have no legitimate claim for payment for your use of words that you copied from other people.

Posted by: Phinn at April 30, 2013 03:06 AM (oFH2D)

134 The best part about this? This game is a near exact copy of a game called Game Dev Story, made by Kairosoft years ago. The mechanics, the UI, nearly everything is a copy. And these guys are complaining about piracy.

Posted by: Just Lurkin' at April 30, 2013 04:52 AM (EJQEA)

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