Home Gaming Skullgirl pirate hilariously caught red handed

Skullgirl pirate hilariously caught red handed

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Media pirates are one of my massive pet hates. Those morons who try to justify their need for entertainment at no cost simply because they feel the people who made the movie, game or music are rich enough just drive me mad.

If you think it isn’t worth the money then don’t have it, basic common decency people.Anyway let’s not rant.

Yesterday a gamer by the name of Dan Hibiki tweeted out this weird picture to the official Skullgirls account asking what on earth it means.

Apparently he had completed the story mode with both Para and Cere and then suddenly this pops up and asks him

“What is the square root of a fish? Now I’m sad.”

Say what? Dan thought the same so he hopped onto twitter and asked the Skullgirls developer what this means? Their reply was epic

Epic. This isn’t the first time a developer has put in some secret code to track piracy but by putting some utter random rubbish in they have managed to get a pirate to out themselves in public.Dan quickly realised what he’d done and tried to defend himself.

Ah the old try before you buy excuse. I guess that’s why he completed story mode using two characters before buying. Just to make sure that he really is enjoying it… obviously.

The developer then hits it perfectly again

So all good, they aren’t going to do anything stupid but they are also letting him know he’s doing the wrong thing. And that should be the end of an epic story but Dan is obviously missing a few screws as he then decides to ask the company he has stolen from to add in some free content to the game.

Holy hell Dan, you have a severe entitlement issue going on here. Kudos to the developers who responded way more professionally than I ever would.

So Dan has now promised to go buy the game but in all honesty I highly doubt he will. The only thing that will change here is that he won’t go tweeting developers about strange messages again anytime soon.You got any other stories of people being caught in public for pirating?

Last Updated: July 10, 2014

186 Comments

  1. Rince&pop

    July 10, 2014 at 13:35

    This has made my day. I only wish I was sitting here with a pint in my hand while reading it. Dammit! Just trying before you buy, RIGHT buddy, right…

    Reply

    • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

      July 10, 2014 at 13:42

      But then you may have spat said pint all over screen

      Reply

      • Rince&pop

        July 10, 2014 at 13:46

        true!

        Reply

      • CAE9872

        July 10, 2014 at 13:58

        That is exactly what I thought. Odd man 🙂

        Reply

        • Rince&pop

          July 10, 2014 at 14:19

          Oi!

          Reply

          • CAE9872

            July 10, 2014 at 14:23

            *BIG SMILEY FACE*

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 14:25

            *BIG SMILEY BRUISED FACE!*

          • CAE9872

            July 10, 2014 at 15:05

            *staggers back*

            Put the hammer down now Rince; I am sure we can work something out; violence is not the answer!

            *turns and hi-tails it*

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 15:07

            You cannot run fast enough!

          • CAE9872

            July 10, 2014 at 14:24

            At least I didn’t call you old

  2. Umar Reborn XIV

    July 10, 2014 at 13:37

    It will only be Dan that is so dumb

    http://lvls.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/dan.jpg

    Reply

  3. Alien Emperor Trevor

    July 10, 2014 at 13:37

    I think this is the absolute best way for devs to go about anti-piracy efforts. Copy protection, online, all that stuff is so easily cracked – but this is so much harder to bypass, and HILARIOUS.

    Reply

    • Rince&pop

      July 10, 2014 at 13:38

      If only developers would find some way to check your game is legit each and every time you put it on, that would sort this out too! 0_O

      Reply

      • Spaffy

        July 10, 2014 at 13:45

        What? DRM?

        Reply

        • Rince&pop

          July 10, 2014 at 13:50

          HAHA indeed 🙂

          Reply

      • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

        July 10, 2014 at 13:46

        Urm.., Yes because always online went so well for Diablo3….

        Reply

        • Rince&pop

          July 10, 2014 at 13:50

          SARCASM HAMMER ACHIEVED

          Reply

          • Charlie Chaplin Jaros?aw

            July 12, 2014 at 01:29

            please excuse this test comment.

          • Charlie Chaplin Jaros?aw

            July 12, 2014 at 01:30

            another test.

          • Charlie Chaplin Jaros?aw

            July 12, 2014 at 01:30

            test

  4. Ottokie

    July 10, 2014 at 13:38

    Thanks to steam sales and Humble Bundle, I cant even make a scratch in my backlog of games. Actually go’s to show how redundant piracy really is.

    Reply

  5. Weanerdog

    July 10, 2014 at 13:40

    Fuck Pirates

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      July 10, 2014 at 13:40

      Euw, they’re scurvy dogs.

      Reply

    • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

      July 10, 2014 at 13:40

      No thanks. They carry a range of seafaring diseases

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief Fairburne

        July 10, 2014 at 13:41

        I see you and @disqus_DoEH3TsffU:disqus have the same filthy mind

        Reply

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          July 10, 2014 at 13:41

          No, we both have the same high standards of hygiene.

          Reply

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 13:42

            YAR!!!! Ur I mean… Yeah!!!

          • Weanerdog

            July 10, 2014 at 14:10

            And you go visit Rince?

          • Admiral Chief Fairburne

            July 10, 2014 at 14:18

            LOOOOOOOL

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 14:19

            You do 0_O

          • Weanerdog

            July 10, 2014 at 14:28

            I am not the one who has an issue with hygine. Oh yes and I farted on your holy chair.

        • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

          July 10, 2014 at 13:41

          I’m not the one who suggested we !@#$ pirates man

          Reply

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            July 10, 2014 at 13:42

            Oh right, that too

          • Admiral Chief Fairburne

            July 10, 2014 at 13:42

            XDXDXD

      • Weanerdog

        July 10, 2014 at 14:09

        What is a seafaring disease exactly?

        Reply

        • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

          July 10, 2014 at 14:18

          Scurvy and such

          Reply

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 14:20

            Can’t catch scurvy 😛

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 14:22

            Lol

          • Weanerdog

            July 10, 2014 at 14:25

            You get that from vitamin deficiency it really is not sexually transmitted.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 14:26

            I know! Lol. I was just trying to be funny. You peeps ruin all my fun! *throws in the towel*

            😛

          • Weanerdog

            July 10, 2014 at 14:27

            Here have a virtual lime.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 14:32

            DOH

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 14:40

            Funnily enough limes were not very good (comparatively) at stopping scurvy, lemons were much better.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 14:40

            *oranges

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 14:43

            Not what I’ve read. Lemons, much higher in citric acid, at least according to Bill Bryson.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 14:49

            Scurvy is a vitamin C deficiency. Nothing to do with citric acid.

            Anyway, neither here nor there. Lemons have a higher density of Vitamin C when compared to an orange yes, but when taken in to account of per serving it’s always oranges that will win

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 14:50

            Did add in my edit. I was talking about what they used to eat. West Indian limes replaced lemons because they were more easily obtained from Britain’s Caribbean colonies[19]
            and were believed to be more effective because they were more acidic,
            and it was the acid, not the (then-unknown) Vitamin C that was believed
            to cure scurvy. In fact, the West Indian limes were significantly lower
            in Vitamin C than the previous lemons and further were not served fresh
            but rather as lime juice, which had been exposed to light and air and
            piped through copper tubing, all of which significantly reduced the
            Vitamin C. Indeed, a 1918 animal experiment using representative samples
            of the Navy and Merchant Marine’s lime juice showed that it had
            virtually no antiscorbutic power at all.[19]

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 14:52

            Wow…..

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 14:52

            Haha. Sorry. I got a book by Bill Bryson a while ago and read about the scurvy thing literally 3 nights ago 😛

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 14:53

            Doh. Recent knowledge ftw I guess. GG

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 14:54

            It’s a book designed for me. Pointless facts I find interesting. Called Bill Bryson At Home. He did that other one (have yet to read) called The history of nearly everything.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 14:56

            I NEED these books. NEEEEEEEEED!!!!

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 15:01

            Both added to my Amazon wish List!

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 15:04

            Haha! Good man. I really am enjoying the At Home. He has a house in England and goes from room to room explaining terms we take for granted (like hall, pantry etc). I think I’ve learnt more (and more importantly, retained more) in reading his book for 30 mins a night than all the years in history at school!

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 15:07

            I love books like that heh. Now the tough choice. Paper or digital….. Eish I think a book like that would look awesome on a coffee table

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 15:08

            Yeah, it’s a huge book. I like books for reading at home and kindle for train.

          • Spaffy

            July 10, 2014 at 15:15

            So where can I pirated… eh… buy this book?

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 15:16

            Grrrrr…

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            July 10, 2014 at 15:18

            Do what I do – physical copies for non-fiction, digital for entertainment. That way I look super-smart with all my non-fiction only books 😀

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 15:19

            dude. excellent life hack!

          • Weanerdog

            July 10, 2014 at 14:55

            Yes the would have probably been better off eating yellow peppers and guavas, but the biggest problem was that they could not keep any fresh fruit and veg.

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 14:56

            Yeah. I mean they were at sea for a hella long time. Not something I would want, no sir!

          • Spaffy

            July 10, 2014 at 15:01

            Ya, sometimes I get bored too and google random things 😛

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 15:04

            Not google 😛 BOOK! PAPER!

          • HvR - Still dislikes Random.or

            July 10, 2014 at 14:30

            Maybe not transmittable but teeth falling out really puts a damper on my mood.

          • Admiral Chief Fairburne

            July 10, 2014 at 14:31

            Passion gap…

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 14:32

            FFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            July 10, 2014 at 14:33

            It’s like Tupperware.

          • Weanerdog

            July 10, 2014 at 14:34

            The point was that it is a truly horrid thing to get but you won’t catch it from diddling pirates.

        • Spaffy

          July 10, 2014 at 14:20

          Crabs?

          Reply

          • Weanerdog

            July 10, 2014 at 14:26

            Hahahaha

        • Gareth L (That eXCheez Guy)

          July 10, 2014 at 21:39

          Crabs.

          Reply

    • Ottokie

      July 10, 2014 at 13:41

      Makes me think of a song… XD
      But not a lot of people will know it probably 😛

      Reply

      • HvR - Still dislikes Random.or

        July 10, 2014 at 13:49

        Can always come up with my own one:
        Go fuck a pirate I’m sure it is free
        Pull on his Jolly Roger and fill him with glee

        Reply

    • Umar Reborn XIV

      July 10, 2014 at 13:42

      What did pirates ever do to you!!??…..Geez, all they want to do is drink beer and sail the seven seas

      Reply

      • Weanerdog

        July 10, 2014 at 14:12

        It’s Rum, grog actually, and that makes them smell bad, or so my wife tells me when I get banished from bed.

        Reply

    • Rince&pop

      July 10, 2014 at 13:43

      So not…

      Reply

      • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

        July 10, 2014 at 13:45

        Your pic isn’t appearing. Not sure if I should be relieved or not…

        Reply

        • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

          July 10, 2014 at 13:48

          Wait. Never mind. There it comes… I laughed

          Reply

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            July 10, 2014 at 13:52

            There it… what? O_o

          • Spaffy

            July 10, 2014 at 13:53

            And then he laughed…

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 13:59

            huehuehue

    • Lardus-Resident Perve

      July 10, 2014 at 13:58

      Especially the ones headlining the Digital Playground movies…

      Reply

      • Weanerdog

        July 10, 2014 at 14:08

        • Lardus-Resident Perve

          July 10, 2014 at 14:11

          HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!

          Reply

  6. Admiral Chief Fairburne

    July 10, 2014 at 13:40

    So much of lolz right here

    Reply

  7. Sir Rants A Lot Llew

    July 10, 2014 at 13:40

    GG to the dev.

    Piracy. Something I used to shrug my shoulders at and go “meh”. Recently though I have realised it’s not all that cool.

    I still understand why some people do it (DRM and no internet access to activate a very expensive game) but I no longer shrug and go “meh”.

    There are some devs who get hit hard by this. Especially indie devs who don’t have DRM in their games.

    Reply

  8. VampyreSquirrel

    July 10, 2014 at 13:43

    You want to see people out themselves about being pirates… check out the Don Bradman 14 forums on planetcricket… they’re everywhere!

    Reply

  9. Hammersteyn

    July 10, 2014 at 13:55

    Reminds me of Arkham Asylum where people ran to the forums because of a “bug” that made it not possible for Batman to glide, busted!

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      July 10, 2014 at 13:58

      Exactly. Makes for a good laugh & the cockroaches scurry away very quickly once the light is shone on them.

      Reply

    • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

      July 10, 2014 at 14:00

      heh. But I do remember that there were also legit customers who had this happen to them due to a bug with the bug that caused an original game to bug out as if it was a pirated version

      Reply

    • Spaffy

      July 10, 2014 at 14:00

      That wasn’t a bug?

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        July 10, 2014 at 14:02

        Nope, the moderators soon replied that people who couldn’t get Batman to glide had an illegal copy of the game. Not sure how many people were caught but there was a lot

        Reply

        • HvR - Still dislikes Random.or

          July 10, 2014 at 14:05

          only crap with that is when legit customers get caught. I was a victim of the Settlers 3 iron to pig copy protection bug. Bastards didn’t want to help despite mailing them pictures of the box, disk and receipt (hard task those days as so few people had scanners and digital cameras). But later they were forced to release a patch because about 10% of legit copies triggered the bug.

          Reply

          • Hammersteyn

            July 10, 2014 at 14:12

            Then it’s poor programming on their side, but if not for pirates then they wouldn’t need to do this

          • HvR - Still dislikes Random.or

            July 10, 2014 at 14:19

            True, but I’ve never been a fan of punishing the legal legitimate people for the criminal few.

            After this there has been a few times where I’ve used piracy methods to get legitimate copies to run or too run well. Must say have been years since I’ve have to resort to such methods.

  10. Hammersteyn

    July 10, 2014 at 13:56

    • HvR - Still dislikes Random.or

      July 10, 2014 at 14:06

      We will take your boat!
      Set your ass afloat !
      Somalians Pirates weeeeee!!

      Reply

    • Rince&pop

      July 10, 2014 at 14:06

      Such a good movie.

      Reply

  11. CAE9872

    July 10, 2014 at 14:00

    Brilliantly done by developers! As for our gamer fiend…eish!

    Reply

    • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

      July 10, 2014 at 14:01

      But he wants free expansions! He had to check it all out first to be sure he’d want the free add-ons

      Reply

  12. Ryanza

    July 10, 2014 at 14:05

    The pirate scene is not all that bad. You can’t blame pirates for a game not well. The reality is that the pirate scene is only a small percent of the bigger picture.

    The pirate scene actually helps to promote games and the sales of good games. I can’t remember the name of the game and the developers, but this small indie developer released a game and months later when they advertised on the pirate scene and had the game available for pirates to download, did they see a big improvement to sales of the game and awareness of the game and developer.

    The reality is that if you make a shit game no1 is going to buy it. Yes some people will try out the pirated game for free but is not really why the game is going poorly.

    It’s all about awareness. Being aware of good games and developers which will then trigger you to support with money.

    Awareness shouldn’t cost people money.

    When I moved from the console to the PC, I pirated a few games to make myself aware of what’s happening on the PC and to test out my system to see if it was ready to play PC games. From those pirated games I actually bought a lot of the games cause I liked them.

    Before pirating The Witcher 2 I knew nothing about the Witcher. Never heard about it, never seen anything about it. I’ve bought the games since then, I’m busy buying the books, and I can’t wait to buy The Witcher 3 and the next game by the developer, Cyberpunk 2077. And I like to mention The Witcher 3 a lot, so that other people can be made aware of it.

    Awareness goes along way. And the corps wants you to pay for awareness. Because if you pay for awareness, they can sell you shitty games.

    Don’t support DRM

    Reply

    • Eric

      July 10, 2014 at 14:09

      Always someone like this that tries to justify it.

      Like when people comparing it to test driving a car. You don’t keep the car after the test drive either.

      Reply

      • Ryanza

        July 10, 2014 at 14:12

        So you message is that when someone wants to buy a car they shouldn’t test drive a few cars to see which car they would be happy to buy.

        So there should be no test driving and you should end up with a car you don’t like, with a chance you might like it.

        ya…

        Reply

        • Spaffy

          July 10, 2014 at 14:12

          Isn’t that what demo were for.
          Not disagreeing, just saying

          Reply

          • Ryanza

            July 10, 2014 at 14:14

            seeing that not ever game has a demo and that demo’s are coming with a price tag. And not everyone having access to demo’s.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 14:17

            The problem is too many people use the “test drive” excuse yet they have finished the game. That’s not test driving anymore. That’s enjoying the full game.

          • Spaffy

            July 10, 2014 at 14:18

            But lack of demo’s is surely not the main reason pirates pirate.

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 14:16

            Ya. Just said that too. Don’t agree with the ‘pirate to try’ because 99% of the time that ‘try’ turns into finish the game and then go pirate a new one. Rarely does it end in, ohhhh, I loved the first 30 minutes, now I am going to deleted that 9gig download, and go buy it. I mean let’s be serious here…

          • Ryanza

            July 10, 2014 at 14:26

            I’m that person. I pirated The Witcher 2. I couldn’t finish it, I couldn’t play it for long. I needed to buy the game before I could finish it.

            So if I’m like that, there should be a lot of other people like that.

        • Eric

          July 10, 2014 at 14:16

          Ugh. Look man. I’m just going to look for the last thread where this topic came up and paste the link to that. Rehashing all of that here would be such a waste. Like I said. There’s always someone like you trying to justify something by making outrageous comparisons.

          Reply

          • Ryanza

            July 10, 2014 at 14:38

            outrageous lol. your argument to me is that I should buy a car and then sell the car if i don’t like. buy another car and sell it if i don’t like it. buy another car …… then you get DRM. Outrageous.

          • Eric

            July 10, 2014 at 16:21

            No… that wasn’t my argument at all. But good for you if you think it was.

      • Brian Murphy

        July 11, 2014 at 16:50

        It’s really no different than the people who justify reselling games, or object to console based DRM. People bitch, piss and moan about piracy because ‘won’t someone PLEASE think about the developers’, and yet flip the fuck out when any dev tries to curb the ridiculous profits being made on their work by companies like Gamestop.

        Hypocrisy? I think so. But, because you’re paying money ‘somehow’, that just glazes over the fact that good developers are getting fucked.

        Reply

    • Rince&pop

      July 10, 2014 at 14:15

      I agree with some of your points, but not with the pirating. You go on the assumption that there will be more than one game in a series (like Witcher), and that people will buy them if they play and like. No. Most do not. They pirate them, play them, finish them, and move onto the next. I know plenty of people who do that and use the same excuse as ‘test driving them’. Your point of being able to try is very valid though. Developers need to bring back the demo system, offer the first half hour of a game for free dl, then if you like it you will buy. I played the first 30 mins of Sleeping Dogs, and then went out and bought it.

      Reply

      • Eric

        July 10, 2014 at 14:19

        lol. See my post below. Seems like the test drive analogy is everywhere.

        Reply

      • Ryanza

        July 10, 2014 at 14:23

        It’s a catch 22. On the one hand some1 who pirated a game will feel that he or she played the game already and doesn’t feel the need to buy it. But there is a big chance that person will buy the next game or next game from the developer.
        On the other hand you get people like me who wants to buy and own good games / media.

        The pirate numbers of those who only pirate are actually small and doesn’t really make a big difference.

        I believe most people want to buy stuff. It’s about being aware and knowing that you buying something good.

        So when looking at the pirate scene I believe there are more people who will buy in the future from what seen on the pirate scene than just pirating again.

        Reply

        • Spaffy

          July 10, 2014 at 14:30

          “The pirate numbers of those who only pirate are actually small and doesn’t really make a big difference.”

          Have you been on Piratebay recently?

          Reply

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 14:31

            Yeah, just check any of the seed numbers and see how many thousands seed new games close to launch

          • Ryanza

            July 10, 2014 at 14:35

            How much is the gaming industry making this year? Billions. Do you really think the people on Piratebay are making a difference. lol. There was even a study about that. The numbers are small.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 14:38

            The industry as a whole yes. But some companies just aren’t cutting it. How many have closed down over the last 2 years?

            Also, the industry is changing thanks to pirates. They are moving from full complete games to Free-to-play/pay-to-progress/microtransaction crap thanks to the vast amount of piracy. Devs and publishers see piracy and they take measures. First it was DRM. DRM wasn’t working so they are now changing their business model completely.

            Piracy may not be hurting the industry in monetary terms, but it is affecting the gamers in quality of game terms. It’s making gaming all about the money and how to curb piracy instead of how to make great games

          • Ryanza

            July 10, 2014 at 14:43

            The industry is changing because of the cost of making video games not the pirates. The hire lots of people and spend lots of money to produce games in the shortest time possible and then they fire everyone and hope the sales will show high profits.

            old model was a small development team taking a few years to make a game. Now publishes wants the games now.

            The pirates are never to blame. seriously. if you believe it’s the pirates then you believe the lie. The DRM lie.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 14:47

            Wait, you honestly think that it’s just because of the cost of making games? Then you have serious tunnel vision.

            Companies like EA don’t hire and just fire entire teams. They don’t need to. They make too much money and keep the people they have.

            EA don’t need to fire anyone but are jumping on the free to play bandwagon. This after they tried some of the worst DRM know to man. What does this tell you? It tells you that they realised their DRM hurt them too much because people kicked up a storm against it so they move to free-to-play where you can’t pirate because you need to buy your items from the developers.

            I’m sorry. But piracy is hurting the industry and you can’t deny that it isn’t.

            I hate DRM as much as the next guy. But instead of pirating the game I will just leave it be and not play it. That way I reduce the amount of exposure the company gets for their crappy DRM riddle games. By pirating it, I am just making the publishers think they have made a great game and then continue to make crap games with more and more rediculous DRM.

          • Ryanza

            July 10, 2014 at 14:57

            That’s how the industry works. Profit numbers to the shareholders. There some articles on the net from a developers point of view. If you not needed in the process of making a video game they fire you. Maybe rehire in the next project process.

            I’m not saying firing the core people. But EA and the likes, will hire lots more people for a project to get the work done quicker and then fire those people to keep the costs down. That’s the industry.

            The pirates are actually the good guys. Not all pirates but for the most part. EA is not the good guys for the most part.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 15:01

            “The pirates are actually the good guys”

            No. Sorry can not agree. Yes EA are asshats and yes they exploit people. Why do they do it though? Because of piracy. They keep saying as much.

            What about piracy of smaller indie studios? Is that ok too? No it isn’t. They need every cent to make it off the ground but piracy does not increase their profits.

          • Ryanza

            July 10, 2014 at 15:08

            Some small indie developers have used Thepiratebay to promote their games and they found out that more sales, website traffic, facebook likes, twitter, ect, came from Thepiratebay.

            Some people have looked into it and it turned out that piracy is actually a very small number.
            EA only cares about profits. Nothing else. So whatever EA does is about making them more profits.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 15:13

            “Some small indie developers have used Thepiratebay to promote their games ”

            One. One indie dev did. It was a gamble that worked but wouldn’t work for all devs. Using one success story to try justify piracy is like using one person who survived a lifetime’s addiction to cocaine without ever stopping to justify using it yourself in the hopes you would be as lucky

          • Ryanza

            July 10, 2014 at 15:30

            The most important points you should know about the piracy scene are, the numbers are small, doesn’t effect the gaming industry, that one developer case can be used as an example (there could be others not reported on), there is a % of sales that can be seen from the pirate scene.

            and don’t spread cocaine use around. Use marijuana as your drug examples. It’s non addictive, and slows down cancer growth.

            Millions of dollars are used to promote games and still not everyone will be aware of those games. indies don’t have millions to spend of promoting their games.
            Gaming websites can’t even make everyone aware of every single game.

            That ever is used to promote games, ads, demos, websites, magazines, the pirate scene, if there is even a small chance that sales can come from those mediums, then it’s a good then.

          • Spaffy

            July 10, 2014 at 14:39

            The bigger companies like Ubi and EA *spits* maybe, but how many companies have closed doors as well? Granted crappy games might also have played a role.
            In a few years we will be stuck with only F2P games.
            Yet again, not completely disagreeing with you.

    • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

      July 10, 2014 at 14:15

      There’s plenty of awareness on the internet thanks to sites like this very one you are on.
      If there isn’t any awareness then the publisher did a crap job of marketing and getting sites, like this one, to do reviews.

      Pirating should never be the answer.

      Yes, I understand your point on DRM and I understand many people pirate the game because they don’t have internet or good enough internet to activate the game/keep it perma online (Like the stuff up with Assassins Creed 2). However, that still doesn’t justify pirating. I used to think like you too and try to say that people who pirate do so for good reasons. I no longer do.

      I can’t afford a Ferrari. That doesn’t mean I should go steal one just because the creators ask too much for it. I also can’t say that our roads and speed limits don’t allow for effective use of the car so I can just go steal one because I’m not properly using it on our roads anyway.

      Reply

      • Rags

        July 10, 2014 at 16:04

        But you can at least test drive a Ferarri.

        Reply

        • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

          July 10, 2014 at 18:42

          Actually I can’t. You need a specific salary bracket and need to pay for a special insurance to test drive one

          Reply

          • Rags

            July 11, 2014 at 10:27

            The argument is not actually that games are unaffordable. The argument is that the risk of buying a crappy game is not worth it without ability to test it first.

            If I was able to afford x y z car I am able to test it first. Even it I was a billionaire I would test drive a ferrari first. If not I would go buy a Lambo or whatever.

    • fred

      July 10, 2014 at 14:16

      Please … don’t be an idiot and try to justify pirating , there is no justifying it. Pay before you play , the developers are not charity organizations.

      Reply

      • Rince&pop

        July 10, 2014 at 14:18

        But he has a good point. I wouldn’t spend R800 on something I cannot try. We should be able to demo a game (like we used to) and then buy if we like or not if we don’t. Developers have turned into real shit bags and would have you spend R1000 on a collector’s edition of Aliens: Colonial Marines because they actively LIE to us about the quality of games. that being said, I don’t agree with pirating, I just understand why people can get to the point where they think it’s okay.

        Reply

        • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

          July 10, 2014 at 14:22

          Yeah, that’s one thing I wish they’d bring back. Demos.

          The problem is demos now would be far too big. Imagine a 40GB game demo size. 1GB+? How do you distribute that other than digitally? Then you sit with the same problem of so many people who pirate do so because they haven’t got proper internet.

          So it’s a bit of a conundrum really.

          Not saying piracy is ok here. Just wondering how one bridges the gap to those who pirate out of desperation to try and enjoy their hobby

          Reply

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 14:23

            Agreed. Though Geoff did point out that a game like Destiny that weighs in at 40 gigs would be compressed down to 9 when on disk and/or digital.

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 14:25

            I guess. But it wouldn’t go very far on a 4GB DVD disc from NAG or PCFormat (R.I.P). It really becomes a hassle for non/low end internet users

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 14:25

            Yeah. I only have a 2mb line, I want gaming mags with games inside, does that make me old?!

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            July 10, 2014 at 14:26

            Shut up grandpa, go back to your home!

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 14:28

            Coming from you that’s hysterical 😛

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            July 10, 2014 at 14:30

            I don’t know what you’re talking about. Did you forget your dementia pills again? I’m not your long dead father grand dad!

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 14:32

            Nah, you look far too grandma like to pull off anything like that!

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            July 10, 2014 at 14:34

            Your grandma had a beard? That explains so much.

          • Rince&pop

            July 10, 2014 at 14:35

            If one or two hairs is a beard I can see your comparison 😛

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 14:26

            No. It makes you awesome. It proves you hark from the true Golden Age of gaming

          • Viking Of Science

            July 10, 2014 at 14:27

            I miss shareware….

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 14:43

            Shareware games were cool

      • Ryanza

        July 10, 2014 at 14:33

        Let’s use my example from my post. I never heard of The Witcher 2, never seen it, never heard people talking about it. I knew nothing about that game. No demo was going to make me aware of the game. I didn’t even know the name of the game so I would have never searched for it, there was no way that game would have gotten onto my radar.

        So you telling me that is better for the developers if I didn’t buy the game.

        or Is it good for a developer that I pirated their game, loved the game, bought the game, want to buy and support their other games.

        Ya… don’t buy is your message

        Reply

      • MichaelMatusowsky

        July 11, 2014 at 09:03

        Someone has cash to burn.

        Reply

  13. Anon A Mouse

    July 10, 2014 at 14:17

    Didn’t you guys do an article a while back where you ended up loosing your shirt in-game, due to pirates pirating your game, but only if you were playing the pirated game yourself?

    Reply

    • HvR - Still dislikes Random.or

      July 10, 2014 at 14:39

      The best one Lazygamer reported on was indie game where you run a Game Developer and if you pirated the game your company in the game fails at a certain point due to piracy.

      Reply

  14. Consumer of Little Rabbits

    July 10, 2014 at 14:18

    Schmuck.

    Reply

  15. Lardus-Resident Perve

    July 10, 2014 at 14:32

    Confession bear – When demo games first started going the way of the Dodo, I also pirated games. I did not know how the game would be and did not want to waste my hard earned money on them. Last few games I actively “tried before buying” were Dawn of War 1 and Sins of a Solar Empire. I actually did end up buying them and all the follow-ups (except Soulstorm – cannot get my hands on that grrr).

    In any case, with the internet being as it is now, with gameplay videos, trailers and previews/reviews everywhere, I do not find a way for myself to justify pirating games anymore. I even un-modded my Xbox 360! I am very careful what I buy though. Last dud games I got were those crap Rugby and Cricket games, 2012 WWE, StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3 (last two due to online only). Heck, if you wait a few months the games are cheaper or on the pre-played rack and you have enough internet resources to make up your mind and buy the game in a legitimate way. Or not at all.
    In short – game pirating bad!

    Reply

    • Lardus-Resident Perve

      July 10, 2014 at 14:34

      I sometimes wonder how many of the “can’t afford to waste on games” crowd are actually people who CAN afford it but are spoilt little brats that are used to getting their way…

      Reply

      • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

        July 10, 2014 at 14:35

        I can’t afford yet I still don’t pirate. If I can’t buy it or try a demo then I just don’t get it.

        Reply

        • Rince&pop

          July 10, 2014 at 14:38

          That’s the thing, people feel ENTITLED to games when they are just like any other form of entertainment.

          Reply

          • Lardus-Resident Perve

            July 10, 2014 at 14:39

            Entitlement – exactly! And when I was younger you would get teased by the rich-kid entitled pirates if you mention your poor ass paid for a game. Sad days trying to fit in with the rich IT kids

    • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

      July 10, 2014 at 14:34

      ^ This

      The amount of knowledge about a game is vast thanks to the internet and game reviews etc.

      Saying you want to try the game out before buying is silly because all you need to do is wait 2 days from launch and you will have enough reviews and gameplay vids to understand what it is you are considering buying

      Reply

      • Rags

        July 10, 2014 at 16:01

        Oh please,Lazygamer gave Diablo 3 95%. Reviews no longer count as useful information.

        Reply

        • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

          July 10, 2014 at 18:45

          For the console version. I agreed with that score. Diablo iii is now that good. It’s been fixed

          Reply

          • Rags

            July 11, 2014 at 10:10

            For the PC.

    • HvR - Still dislikes Random.or

      July 10, 2014 at 14:35

      But with your beard your allowed 3 pirated copies a year. Law of nature.

      Reply

      • Lardus-Resident Perve

        July 10, 2014 at 14:45

        LoL – I use those on series!
        * Before being made to walk the plank about series note: series I already have on pre-order or actively follow (NCIS, Castle, Arrow, Game of Thrones), series I am waiting for the box set (Supernatural, Dexter, Sons of Anarchy) or will be getting in the close family (Mentalist, Bones). Also, they do show on DSTV which I have.

        Reply

        • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

          July 10, 2014 at 14:50

          That sounds an awful lot like trying to justify 😉

          *RUNS*

          Reply

          • Lardus-Resident Perve

            July 10, 2014 at 15:07

          • HvR - Still dislikes Random.or

            July 10, 2014 at 15:22

            I’m with you my pirate brother!!!

            Piracy’s a crime and crime doesn’t pay
            And we go home poor at the end of the day
            But I’d rather live my life in rags
            Than be taped to a desk with a wife as a hag
            We live each day like there’s nothing to lose
            But a man has needs and the need is booze
            They say all the best things in life are free
            So give all your beer and your rum to me!

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 15:24

            Don’t touch my rum you scurvy dog!

          • HvR - Still dislikes Random.or

            July 10, 2014 at 15:26

            We are here to drink your beer
            And steal your rum at a point of a gun
            Your alcohol to us will fall
            Cause we are here to drink your beer

          • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

            July 10, 2014 at 15:29

            Stahp! Leave my Rum alone! *cries*

  16. Axon1988

    July 10, 2014 at 14:38

    What about Serious Sam 3 and the one monster that would not die? I thought that was pretty awesome.

    Reply

    • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

      July 10, 2014 at 14:39

      Didn’t Crysis 3 also have this with the final boss?

      Reply

      • Axon1988

        July 10, 2014 at 14:40

        Don’t have it and never played it… so no clue! But I think that is a pretty rad idea.

        Reply

  17. HvR - Still dislikes Random.or

    July 10, 2014 at 14:59

    All this talk of pirate put me in the mood for some Alestorm.

    PIRATE METAL AAAARGH!!!!

    Reply

  18. ToshZA

    July 10, 2014 at 15:01

    YARRRRRR

    Reply

  19. Lardus-Resident Perve

    July 10, 2014 at 15:07

    Article to get most comments of the week! Odds are 7-1 😛

    Reply

    • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

      July 10, 2014 at 15:13

      Hands down

      Reply

    • MichaelMatusowsky

      July 11, 2014 at 09:00

      You mean 1-7 surely ;).

      Reply

  20. Frans J Smit

    July 10, 2014 at 15:32

    Pirates had the same thing with Crysis Warhead. Many random “glitch” reports about the gun shooting chickens…

    Reply

    • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

      July 10, 2014 at 15:34

      I never heard about that one?

      Reply

  21. Rags

    July 10, 2014 at 16:05

    #bringbackdemoskthxbai

    Reply

    • Brady miaau

      July 11, 2014 at 11:12

      Bought Sleeping Dogs after the demo. That is a game in a genre I normally do not play, so extra sale there for them

      Reply

  22. MichaelMatusowsky

    July 11, 2014 at 08:56

    I truly believe in TryBeforeYouBuy. Chastise me all you want. Tell me I could read reviews or watch gameplay videos. Well here’s the counter defense:

    I don’t want a game being spoiled via gameplay videos.
    I don’t give a shit about reviews because a review is based on a person’s own judgement. What may be fun for 10 reviewers may not be fun for me. Out of all the many reviews I’ve read on many sites, there was only one, by Azhar Amien from eGamer, a few years back that got me hooked on Assassin’s Creed 2. One review in a million convinced me to go buy a game before I pirated it to see what the rage is all about.

    If games weren’t so gosh darn expensive these days, I’d happily splash the cash on games that turn out to be total shit. But games that are now crossing the R600 boundary on average, no. I’d rather pirate and see if the game is worth my money first. Back in the day I had a huge collection of playstation 1 and 2 games because they were actually priced so well that you could buy 3-4 AAA games without having to give up an arm and a leg.

    I always delete the game if I don’t enjoy it in the “try” phase. I don’t even play it to completion. I just do my own hour long “demo” playing around in-game and if it catches me, I’ll go buy it and if it doesn’t, the folder soon finds itself shift-deleted. Maybe I’m one in a billion but that’s just me.

    Reply

  23. Brady miaau

    July 11, 2014 at 11:11

    Battle for Middle Earth 2.

    I bought it and STILL got the Anti Piracy thing where a timer runs on the first mission and all the heroes die, so you cannot complete. Some sort of SecureRom (?) error with my drive or something. No amount of of NO CD cracks (from Game Copy World) helped. Problem is whenever you aks on the fourm,s you get accused of lying, you must have pirated. But I sent the game key into the developers (several times) and this is the help I received

    Get it?

    Anyway, random rant, slightly off topic, but this was very big in the news and game forums at the time.

    Reply

  24. osiris

    July 11, 2014 at 16:41

    Why do people pirate? Answer: EA

    Fuck me over I fuck you over

    Reply

  25. Charlie Chaplin Jaros?aw

    July 12, 2014 at 01:26

    Please excuse this test comment.

    Reply

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