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Videogame Pirate Gets Long Jail Sentence
Thanks to the San Jose Business Journal for its article discussing the sentencing of a notable videogame pirate to 50 months in prison after being found guilty on charges of "copyright infringement and... mail fraud." According to the piece: "[Sean Michael] Breen... admitted that he was a leader in the Internet-based piracy group known as Razor1911. Since the early 1990s, Razor1911 had sought to achieve a reputation in the underground Internet piracy community... as the leading distributor of cracked computer and console game software." A report at GameSpot has further details, noting Razor1911 "...acquired advance copies of [videogame] titles by posing as reviewers for fictitious game magazines and having them shipped to a derelict storefront address in Oakland."
I think I had some of their warez back in the day (considering posting anon now... fuck it). Still, I can see how the whole "posing as reviewers" thing could be crossing the line.
Sucks to be 'em. Still, seems kinda harsh - what's Ken Lay getting again?
I know I'm running a flame risk here, but I for one applaud this arrest. It's people like this that enable companies to rationalize(in lawyers terms anyway) DRM rights systems, which annoy the living crap out of people who actually pay for these things and like to support developers/artists/whatever
Now the fact that he got caught showed just how dumb he was. Trying to steal hardware like that always leaves too many traces around, and if the company has the money, it will influence law enforcement to do the investigation. I dunno if this will start a "scared straight" program with warezers, or maybe they'll just keep to their little gated communities now. Hopefully a high-profile case of a really prolific pirates will ensure that game companies don't need to go the way of the RIAA, at least not anymore than they have.
If he were a Linux user, that list would consist of Tuxracer and... err... yeah.
I can understand using a ROM for old games; stuff you can no longer find. I haven't done it myself (...honest) but I know plenty of people who have especially for games more than five years old, and it doesn't bother me. Lying, just to get a game a few days early in order to get a jump start on cracking it is pushing things very far.
Depends how you define better I guess. The US has the highest incarceration rate in the world from what I hear. There certainly seems to be more effective systems out there.
Second, this is really nothing to applaud or rejoice over. The arrest of one or two dozen pirates does not even scratch the tip of the iceberg. The authorities know it but they still bust a group or two every couple of years for PR purposes. It does not affect the so-called "warez scene" at all. All game were pirated before this happened and all have continued to be pirated afterwards.
Third. I am very surprised to read that Razor1911 sold copies. To the extent of my knowledge, they are (Because they are still alive and kicking)a veteran and respected group in the warez scene and the one big No-No is the selling of pirated materials. In fact, Razor1911's nfo file (an
And of course, stealing is wrong, I don't condone piracy, don't have sex unprotected, yadda yadda...
I find it hard to justify jailtime for offences relating to videogames. Hefty fines, sure. Community service, why not. But jail should be reserved for people that are a physical threat to the community. How much more is this person going to cost society during those 50 months?
Well, if they don't like the program and it's costs, DON'T USE IT! Use (and contribute to) OSS instead. It's like people complaining that Adobe prices photoshop too high so they are forced to pirate it. Well, the Gimp is out there for free, and if you want a feature implemented, the Gimp is open source, you are free to add whatever features you want. Simple as that. You know, I don't want to plunk down $35k for an SUV because I don't think they are worth that much, but does that give me the right to go out and steal one? Of course not. We are lucky to have such a dedicated OSS community. On some projects, the quality might not be as high as you like, but YOU have the power to change that.
I hate how people seem to have this sense of entitlement to software. The software company doesn't exist for your benefit, as it shouldn't. Most of it's not essential to live and succeed, and the stuff that is(OS, internet browser, and Office program) all have both closed and open source versions. If you feel that the closed source version is what you want, then go out and buy a copy. If you don't want to pay that much for it, or you just don't plain want it, go with open source. Or create your own. Maybe if you were the one who created content you might be much less supportive of the pirate community.
His major screw up was the mail fraud. Don't scew with the mail system, the goverment doesn't fuck around when it comes to that.
Razor distrubuted far more games than apps. The two realms are totally different. I can't believe that OSS could ever possibly be a solution for commercial games.
I'd like to agree with the rest of the things you said, though. Except I can't. Because it would make me a terrible hypocrite.
I know Guybrush Threepwood always went around claiming to be a mighty pirate, but he really was pretty harmless. Oh well, guess the wait for the next Monkey Island game is going to be pretty long.
What's that you say? A different kind of videogame pirate was jailed, not Guybrush? Oh, my bad, I just read the headline and assumed the worst.
My sig will be released in 2015 third quarter. Rating pending.
Please people how many times must you be told that the jail was for stealing 600k worth of cisco hardware. Steal that much and you deserve jail time.
Karma's over rated. Speak your mind.
First of all, your comparison to SUVs is like apples to Oranges. an SUV is a tangible physical good, software is entirely intellectual property. As well, I know this is probably the billionth time it's been said. Piracy is not theft, it is copyright infringement, there is a world of difference.
Secondly, most applications, such as the ones you mention, have more then enough business customers that every person who needed it for a hobby or curiosity pirated it, they'd barely see a difference in profits.
I also highly doubt OSS will ever fit the need for games anytime in the next 20 to 30 years, especially with the increased demands for higher and higher quality models/textures/other art stuff. You could be the best programmer in the world, have an engine and all the code finished, and not be able to make a good game merely because you lack good artists/modelers/etc willing to contribute to a "free" game.
Once again, nothing is stopping you or any other artist from contributing to OSS, OSS doesn't just entail software developers. A lot of starting artists I'm sure would love to contribute because it would look great in their portfolio. They probably just aren't really aware of the opportunity to do so, so it's up to the supporters of OSS to show them there is a world out there where than can basically do shameless advertising/portfolio stuffing.
That being said, it would be nice if companys would contribute some of their old models/textures to the OSS movement, ie when Quake III(just an example, Id might already do this for all I know) stops selling well, they should contribute some of the models(and code!) to the OSS movement.
There is nothing "stopping" anyone. There are a lot of "free" modifacations for commercial games too, those have lots of artists and art. However the majority (there are exceptions) of those modifacations have art assets that are usually inferrior in comparison to the game their modding for. A lot of the stuff is very fun, but generally not of a quality you'd deem on the same level as the 40/50$ game you are getting it for.
Not to rag on anyone or anyone's work, but frankly I think OSS has a ways to go before the concept of "free" is enticing enough to get free games that can compare with their commercially successful bretheren such as UT2K3 or Quake III. It can go there and may eventually do so, but it's got a big hurdle to overcome in the art area, especially with ever increasing quality standards (meaning more time required per art asset).
The day "free" can compete in terms of quality on all levels with commercial games is a day I'd welcome, however it's going to take a long while to get there.
What do you need Steam for? The older versions of Half-Life and Counter-strike don't require an Internet connection. Why not just use the pre-steam version? Personally I tried going back to Counter-Strike after a 1 year hiatus playing BF1942 and when I found Steam was the only real way you can play these days I gave up. It sucks horribly. I guess that's one way to kill a game.
He might have received a shorter sentence, and we wouldn't want that for such a naughty person!
I'm not claiming he didn't break the law, nor am I suggesting that he shouldn't "do the time". I'm just pointing out inconsistencies in sentencing, and how criminal geeks often get longer terms than murderers. *sigh*
Razor distrubuted far more games than apps. The two realms are totally different. I can't believe that OSS could ever possibly be a solution for commercial games.
What does it matter that Razor distributed games rather than apps? Both require developers to produce. If you do not like the fact that a game is $50+, don't play it until it hits the $20 rack, or $10 rack, or what ever level rack you feel it is worth. But also do not play the game until you have bought it. Otherwise the developers will not get the point that you think they charge too much for their games, they will see you as a pirate taking what they have spent time and effort writing so they can take a paycheck home at the end of the week.
Norris/Palin 2012
Fact: We deserve leaders who can kick your ass and field dress your carcass.
The article claims that Razor "sold" over a half-million dollars of software - don't they mean "copied and gave away?" I've seen tons of Razor releases, but never heard about them making a penny off of it.
I know that the N.E.T. act makes it a federal crime to even _share_ illegal copies, but still, there's a difference, or at least there should be.
Why did you post this AC?
/. drones who talk a good talk but really know nothing.
Oh yeah. The number of
Like it or not, the above poster is right. Piracy IS competition. It's basic economics. One of the forces that keeps prices down and service up is the presence of some black/grey market activity that pepole can go to if they feel it's worth it.
This is especially true for "cultural' goods. (Mostly entertainment. It helps that it's easily copied).
And yes, if there were no theft, prices would be higher and there would be more DRM because they would think they could get away with it. (Why the DRM? They'd try and stomp out the secondary market. Nobody said they had to give you the ability to sell your used media..even if you do have the right).
and if you want a feature implemented, the Gimp is open source, you are free to add whatever features you want. Simple as that.
Oh yes, I think everyone would agree that programming a replacement for Photoshop is simple.
This I think is the most ridiculous argument for OSS that I always hear. Not all of us a programmers, especially the ones who need the advanced features of Photoshop. Just because I can look at the source does not mean I can understand it. Oh maybe you mean I should go out and hire a programmer to implement those changes, I somehow doubt that would cost me less then the $799.00 that it cost me to purchase Photoshop.
(admission of guilt follows)
I used to use an illegal copy of Photoshop while I was learning it. I am sure most slashdotters have. Now that I use it to earn a living I felt it was required that I go out and purchase a valid license.
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
Yes, because just because it can be physically duplicated for little to no cost doesn't mean it's free.
No, but the company who has to pay designers, engineers, assembly line workers, and so on, is. You're getting the fruits of somebody's labour for free, when they're not giving it away for free. That's theft.
Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.