There are probably be lots of people out there that might, just might, be using a program or two without completely legally purchased serial codes (hey, it could happen). But when software piracy touches those products and people dearest to our hearts, the reaction is different.
And so the understandable hue and cry in the community over Halo 2; apparently a French-language PAL version has been leaked onto the Internet 27 days prior to the game's official release date, according to GameSpot. We won't tell you where, so don't ask. All we do ask is that you reward Bungie for their hard work in the way which is most fitting: if you play the game, pay for it, the way Bungie intended: after the release date, and through a legal channel. 'Nuff said.
UPDATE: BDGamer carries a report of a purportedly official response to the Halo 2 leak from Microsoft. From that statement:
Microsoft has learned that a version of Halo 2 has been posted to various newsgroups and web sites. We consider downloading this code or making it available for others to download as theft. We are currently investigating the source of this leak with the appropriate authorities. Pending the result of our investigation, we do not have further comment. Microsoft takes the integrity of its intellectual property extremely seriously, and we are aggressively pursuing the source of this illegal act.
The launch of Halo 2 worldwide remains unaffected.
We're asking anyone with information on the source of this leak to contact Microsoft at 1-800-RULEGIT or send email to piracy@microsoft.com.
In addition, HBO has now also posted on the leak, and reminded everyone that like any other warez or warez-derived materials, links to the leak, or screens, descriptions or other information gained from the leak, are not welcome in the forums at HBO. That goes the same for Rampancy, including the IRC channels #hbo and #rampancy.
Comments
Anonymous (not verified)
Stupid Sentiment
[quote]There are probably be lots of people out there that might, just might, be using a program or two without completely legally purchased serial codes (hey, it could happen). But when software piracy touches those products and people dearest to our hearts, the reaction is different.[/quote]
How idiotic is that sentiment? Piracy is wrong, period. It's laughable for someone who pirates software to become upset over the piracy of Halo 2.
narcogen
Perhaps laughable but true
In reply to: Stupid SentimentLaughable or not, you can bet that many-- if not most-- of the people who are currently vilifying those who are pirating Halo have other pirated software on their hard drives. I don't think I need to name names or point fingers to support that statement.
For many, though, Bungie is a sacred cow. They're not just a bunch of dopes slapping somthing together in the hopes of making a buck.
Plus, as Frankie points out, a lot of the outrage is over the production of spoiler content, not the theft of the game, as the game would simply have gotten pirated post-release anyway.
Don't misunderstand me-- I'm not condoning piracy in any way. I'm just pointing out there are additional factors at work in the reaction. Certainly illegal things are done every day, and not everybody bothers to take notice.
I'm sure if somebody pirated one of Derek Smart's games, for instance, the reaction might not be quite as universal or as loud.
----
Rampant for over four years.
Anton P Nym
Marines, prepare for boarding action.
It looks like that anti-piracy press release is legitimate. I do know that HBO forumgoers were reporting large numbers of seeds and links to piracy@microsoft.com and that they were seeing many of them pulled down afterwards.
(Note that the HBO forums are now closed... threads may be read, but not replied to or created. See [url=http://carnage.bungie.org/haloforum/halo.forum.pl?read=497737]Louis' post[/url] for details.)
I encourage anybody encountering leaked material to report it to the Microsoft email address AND NOWHERE ELSE. It's the only way to minimize the damage that I can think of.
-- Steve knows that you can't reverse a leak, but you can slow its spread.