EA's Spore has been illegally downloaded more times in 2008 than Crysis and Fallout 3 combined, according to estimates provided by TorrentFreak.
By sourcing download data via the popular peer-to-peer file sharing protocol, BitTorrent, the site has compiled a top-ten list of the most-pirated PC games of 2008. Will Wright's ambitious evolve 'em up rests at the summit of that list, having been illegally downloaded over 1,700,000 times.
By comparison, the most recently published calculation of legitimate Spore sales (made in late October during EA's second-quarter financial posting) shows the game had sold around 2 million copies. Worse still for Spore developer Maxis is that the studio's other distinguished piece, The Sims 2, comes second in the list with 1,150,000 copies downloaded.
Adding salt into EA's manifestly spacious wound, the editors at TorentFreak claim that the vast number of illegit Spore downloads were "inflated due to the DRM that was put into the game."
Meanwhile, following the announcement from Crytek president Cevat Yerli that the studio will no longer make PC-exclusive games due to "huge" levels of piracy, it comes as no surprise that the company's flagship FPS Crysis makes it fourth onto the list, having been subjected to 940,000 illegal downloads.
Though perhaps more telling about such a list is what continues to be absent from it. Blizzard's recent announcement that WoW had hit over 11 million subscribers, along with much theory that the MMO's latest expansion Wrath of the Lich King will draw in another one million users, may just be enough evidence that a secure future for PC gaming will be an Orwellian one, with consistently-monitored online worlds and ongoing security verification.
Full list of estimates follow:
Spore (1,700,000) The Sims 2 (1,150,000) Assassins Creed (1,070,000) Crysis (940,000) Command & Conquer 3 (860,000) Call of Duty 4 (830,000) GTA San Andreas (740,000) Fallout 3 (645,000) Far Cry 2 (585,000) Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (470,000)
Note that Sins of a Solar Empire, a game that rewarded its players for purchasing a proper version rather than punishing them with DRM, isn't included on that list.
One day these game companies along with music and film companies will wake up and see that drm drives casual piracy rather than stopping it. That day is a long way off though as there are too many thick idiots in charge.
Remember that 90% of those people who downloaded a game would never have bought it at full RRP anyway.
And remember that some people might have bought a game they never would've given a second look if it wasn't for a quick blast on a pirated copy. There's not many of these people, mind you.
Surely some of those must be people who bought the game, I know if I wanted to play Spore I'd buy it so its legal and then torrent it so I don't have to use one of my three installs/don't have to put up with other DRM.
Remember that 90% of those people who downloaded a game would never have bought it at full RRP anyway.
Excellent point. The mistake that many companies make is in saying they've 'lost' Łxx because of piracy when in fact they haven't 'lost' anything because these jokers wouldn't pay even if they couldn't download for free.
believe it or not, EA has seen this list and they deny it. wtf? i mean, christ its like dealing with a toddler in a tantrum. face it EA, the PC community will not stand for your bullsh1t. i hope everyone pirates all the cash-packs they bring out for it. god damn it EA, if you dont listen to your customers, we wont listen to you..
Wonder how many people had to torrent spore as their official copy ran out of activations after them being a bit silly. Im already on my third (and final) mass effect install. You think im going to buy it again when that runs out? think again EA
Alas these figures cannot show how many of the people that downloaded/obtained a "pirate" copy actually do own the retail game but get a "pirate" copy to avoid securom safedisk etc for legitimate reasons i.e. securom drivers bugger up a lot of systems etc.
Take that DRM! the worst thing to happen to the games industry ever. Also its nice to see sims 2 at 2nd on that list, at least some people have the sense not to by that crap
Note that Sins of a Solar Empire, a game that rewarded its players for purchasing a proper version rather than punishing them with DRM, isn't included on that list.
*****
You weasel-brained pillock. It doesn't serve anyone right. Piracy is theft.
You're clearly a tit, how about I come around to your house while you're at work and nick your DVD player.
I loathe morons who think piracy is in any way funny or deserved.
Note that Sins of a Solar Empire, a game that rewarded its players for purchasing a proper version rather than punishing them with DRM, isn't included on that list.
*****
You weasel-brained pillock. It doesn't serve anyone right. Piracy is theft.
You're clearly a tit, how about I come around to your house while you're at work and nick your DVD player.
I loathe morons who think piracy is in any way funny or deserved.
I think someone misread my post.
I wasn't condoning piracy, and you're right in saying its theft. But DRM is quite clearly not the way to solve the problem, for all it does is irritate and inconvenience the genuine consumer. Honest people shouldn't be punished for the crimes of dishonest people. Its also hurting the industry, the fact that games have been pirated more since the advent of DRM shows this.
Because of this, it does serve EA right for stubbornly continuing an invasive and annoying anti-piracy policy that is quite clearly not working.
I hope this appeases you, and I think you should apologise for your needless insults.
I wouldn't shed one tear if EA went bankrupt overnight. I don't care what the fallout from such an occurrence would be. Oh, and any other developers and publishers using DRM to the same extent can go that way too. If I did shed a tear it would be a tear of joy at finally being rid of that completely useless and loathsome DRM. Check that: DRM may actually be useful...in destroying the second hand games market. I have a right to sell anything I legally own to another person (presuming they are of a legal age, etc,) and I'll be a monkey's uncle if I'm going to let some greedy, obtuse, belligerent scum steal away my rights while claiming to do so in the name of stopping another form of theft, namely piracy. Your despicable measures DO NOT WORK! Find another way or go die in a ditch. Quick or slow I don't much care though I suppose if you're going to be a continued pest it might as well be quick.
One day these game companies along with music and film companies will wake up and see that drm drives casual piracy rather than stopping it. That day is a long way off though as there are too many thick idiots in charge.
not a prob with the kl guys at bethesda (and their games still sell)
Whilst I can see the motivation for people downloading these cracked copies, (DRM issues such as Spore, etc, and lack of proper PC optimisation - GTA IV, etc), I think its counter-productive.
It gives software companies the perfect justification to 'not specialise' in PC only titles, and they end up jumping ship to develop for consoles instead. My particular form of expressing my opinion, (not purchasing a game) can be viewed the same way. Since I heard that GTA IV has serious performance issues and that Spore had been lumbered with the much-maligned Securom system, I made a conscious decision to vote with my wallet. The problem is that the AAA PC titles are getting fewer and further between these days and when they do appear, there is some sort of an issue with them in that they need patching to high heaven before they'll run, they'll 'infect' my machine with some sort of 'legally acceptable' malware, or will limit me to the number of times I can install the game!?! (Who has ever bought music that you can play three times before you have to either buy it again or phone someone for permission to play it again - No-one!).
I'm beginning to suspect that this whole sorry situation is actually part of a long term business plan by the all-consuming behemoth that is EA to kill the PC games industry. By dissuading customers from purchasing titles on the PC, OK, they lose some short term custom. However, they know that sooner or later, gamers are quite likely to 'defect' to another system in order to play games - most likely the PS3 or 360, where games can be sold for Ł10+ more per 'unit'.
I despair and the real problem is - I don't know how this situation can be resolved.
Sorry about the dissertation there. I'm an infrequent poster, but when I get typing, it all comes tumbling out...
I agree with steve33333 with regards to getting the feeling this is all a plan to kill pc gaming as we know it. I also am voting with my wallet and will never buy (or pirate) another game that limits installs (DAMN you to hell mass effect, you are the last)
I would also like to add most of the games in that list never had a demo. PC games arent like consoles and all kinds of issues can led to bad gaming experiences so maybe alot of people where just "demoing" the games...maybe...
I concur that at times it does conspicuously seem like there is a concerted effort to bring the PC gaming scene to its knees. Whether there is any truth to that or not I do not know at present. That said I think it is naive for any PC gamer to think that publishers and developers would focus solely on the PC market if piracy was less than it is today. Irrespective of piracy, voting-with-the-wallet, etc. these companies are businesses and thus at the end of the day operate to make a profit. Selling X amount of games for the PC is good. Selling X + Y amount of games for the PC and the consoles is even better. This is particularly true of games where with some tweaking some of the same original work used on one system can be re-used at what is likely a lower production cost for another platform while earning extra profit. From a business perspective this seems like a sound business plan. That some of these cross-overs are short of well-executed on the title's non-native platform is a reality that may not register, and if it is, it may not garner much appreciation as the allure of extra profit with less effort holds appeal.
Oh, and should EA and others succeed in actually killing the PC market and should I end up buying a console - which I may or may not do - I still won't buy their gaming products. Should they be the only ones that remain? Well, then I'm sure I can find plenty of other things to turn my hand to when I'm not working, socialising, etc. Besides, given that there is certainly a niche in the PC market that is interested in DRM free games it may be possible for much smaller companies to find traction and support by continuing to release DRM free games in the face of EA's, Ubisoft's, Sony's, et al onslaught of over-the-top DRM.
The argument that games developers/publishers don't lose money when people play illegitimate versions of games that they wouldn't pay for anyway is untenable. By simply playing the game you are infringing copyright unless you have a license to play it. The copyright owner has the legal right to charge anyone for such a license, so, by playing an illegal copy, you are depriving the copyright owner of the opportunity to impose this charge, therefore putting them out of pocket. The fact that you wouldn't pay for the game anyway is irrelevant if you actually play it.
It is no more and no less than an act of theft, an act which always (in legal terms) has the result of depriving someone of their property.
That is accurate fryB0rr, however, that does not give the publishers/developers the legal authority to impose their own malware and consumer rights violating methods that ironically end up harming the paying customers and doing very little to those who pirate the game as is quite clearly demonstrated by the list above. Furthermore, unless publishers/developers are prepared to replace and/or repair each and every single piece of hardware, firmware, etc. damaged or destroyed by their lousy DRM then they are no better than the pirates, and indeed, if certain versions of SecuROM have been optimised to datamine PC systems without the knowledge or consent of the PC owner then they are pirates themselves. I have zero sympathy for any of the publishers/developers using this crap and I hope they get everything they've got coming to them from an irate public.
Each of the top games were pirated around a million times, and this is from one site!
This to me really drives home the scale of the issue
I realise that a million downloads does not represent a million customers, but if the downloads were not available, it does represent a million people who had enought interest in the game to tie uop their internet connection for hours to play them, surely that translates to SOME lost sales?
I see some posters were commenting that DRM means the publishers deserve it in some way. I agree that DRM does not do what it's intended to do, but looking at the scale of the problem, you can't blame publishers for trying to tackle it.
Also, I know a lot of people said they would download it out of protest because of the DRM factor. Maybe we could all learn a lesson. DRM doesn’t work and EA is losing sales because its games are crap (Spore was crap too and a waste of money).
That's pure conjecture. There is absolutely no reason to believe that some companies wouldn't get the idea to try and push some sort of shoddy control system on customers in order to have more direct control of their end products with a view to possibly milking the market for more profit. Piracy is used as a justification yet I think you place much too much faith in the benevolence of certain multi-national corporations. They didn't get to be where they are today by taking it easy or always playing nice.
As for piracy, I agree with you that there are bound to be cases where it does equal a lost sale. There may even be many such cases. Yet it seems all but impossible at present time for the companies to provide a specific and *accurate* number of just how many of those engaging in piracy would actually have bought the game (and vice versa for those who claim it's not a loss). The problem being - as you have astutely pointed out - that DRM clearly does not stop piracy on a scale that's truly appreciable given the numbers cited above. True, one pirate stopped still amounts to something but at what cost I wonder? Personally I have been burnt by EA's DRM SecuROM and the result is that EA has now lost me as a customer for the remainder of my natural life unless they make some massive changes. That amounts to far more cost in the form of lost sales than the gain of maybe stopping one person from downloading one of their games....And I'm not alone. Indeed, there are many who then feel justified in deliberately seeking out the offending EA game and pirating. Once they realise how easy it can be to pirate they may not stop with that one game and so it becomes a vicious cycle.
All of these arguments and counter arguments have been gone over time and time again and no matter what justifications either side comes up with the following points remain valid:
1) Piracy can, and to some extent, does hurt the publishers/developers.
2) DRM in its current known forms is a failure at stopping piracy.
3) DRM in some of it's current forms ends up biting the hand that feeds it (i.e. the customers). This is unacceptable and bad for business in the long run as customer confidence is shaken leading to possible long term losses.
4) DRM does not justify pirating of a game though I make an exception for people who have legally bought the game and got screwed by the bigwigs. It's still illegal to download a game you legally own but f**k 'em. Deliver a working product or get the f**k out.
5) The pirates aren't innocent. The corporations aren't innocent. Each bear their part of the responsibility and burden.
6) The publishers/developers do not have the legal mandate to dictate what, when, where, how and why something becomes illegal. They do not have the legal authority to act as a policing unit either. Those matters fall under the jurisdiction of a legitimate government and not a bunch of corporate suits who have no responsibility to the public but only to stockholders.
The publishers/developers need to find alternate means of tackling piracy. It's that simple. In the end if they don't they will kill one of their own income sources and in the process kill the past time of many gaming enthusiasts.
I hope this stops this DRM crap and it doesn't become standard, as it's simply robbing legitimate customers.
In first place, 3 installs (or 5 or whatever) is NOTHING... I switch computers from every 6 months to 2 years. If a computer lasts 3 years I will have to reinstall the whole system several times (clean install every 6 months to one year). As a result, really good games, games that last a long time and are woth playing, were reinstalled dozens of times, including Diablo 2 and Half-Life (1 and 2) and Oblivion, among others (well, Oblivion is relatively recent so it just had 3 installs yet, but am sure it will have more).
With this "n-installs-only" crap, it's like you are paying 60€ (around $78!!!) for RENTING 5 mini-games... Which is another thing: none of the mini-games are superb (the first one is the best one but lasts 15 minutes) and 60€ is way over the top, specially when other top games usually cost between 35 and 50€.
From that Most-Pirated List I bought Crysis (and regret it!), CoD 4, GTA IV, Fallout 3 and many others that are not on that list (The Witcher, Gothic 3, Oblivion, FEAR, HL + Episodes 1 and 2, Neverwinter Nights 1&2 and others).
The only reason I bought Spore was because I wanted to give a gift and felt it would be lame to offer a cracked copy in Christmas!
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