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Halo 2 Available on the Net

Posted by michael on from the negative-26-day-warez dept.

syberanarchy writes "Gamespot reports that Halo 2 has already been leaked to the internet via French newsgroups and P2P networks, almost a month before release! Any chance this bombshell move could force MS/Bungie to push up the release date?" See also gamesindustry.biz and The Register.

52 of 391 comments (clear)

  1. Bittorrent... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Yep, I've seen a bittorrent for the PAL version of Halo 2 already. I don't think that'll ever work for people of the USA, but it might be a cause to move Europe's release dates up.

    As for me, I'm buying it anyway- I want the limited edition copy with the metal case and behind the scenes DVD.

    1. Re:Bittorrent... by alatesystems · · Score: 4, Insightful

      PAL works just fine on a modded NTSC xbox. So does any other signal format. It's just digital video being rendered at a certain resolution and being pumped out in a certain way, depends on which av pack you have.

      Chris

    2. Re:Bittorrent... by SilentChris · · Score: 4, Insightful

      My question, though: who'd honestly want a pirate release they can play only on a modded Xbox, when the big draw of Halo 2 is Xbox Live compatibility (which automatically bans anyone who mods their Xbox)? I'll pony up the $50. It's worth it.

    3. Re:Bittorrent... by llevity · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'll pony up too, but I'll also be playing it a month early.

      The big draw isn't Xbox Live. The big draw is it's a new Halo, and any Xbox Live support is just icing on the cake.

      Halo 1 did fine without it. You can still play with your friends locally, or even use XBConnect to use it to play over the Internet.

    4. Re:Bittorrent... by SilentChris · · Score: 4, Interesting

      "Halo 1 did fine without it."

      From my understanding, they plan to support LAN parties by allowing connected Xboxes to go on Live together as one "team". All they've been testing is multiplayer the last few months (see various GameSpot articles). There's also clan support and it'll be the introduction of "Xbox Live 3.0". I think they view it as pretty important.

    5. Re:Bittorrent... by ifitzgerald · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I was going to mod this article, but I decided to post instead.

      I hear a lot of people posting comments saying that most people with modded XBOXs are just going to download the game and put up with the French audio and UK subtitles rather than ponying up the $50. Having a modded XBOX, I take offense to that. I've played Halo for years now, and it is the best game I have ever played. I have spent so long waiting for Halo 2 to come out that another few weeks won't make a difference to me. The true diehard fans of Halo will not download the game. Rather, they will buy legit copies of Halo 2, and pay the developers the respect, and money, that they deserve for producing such an awesome game. People who steal from Bungie are not true Halo fans.

    6. Re:Bittorrent... by alset_tech · · Score: 4, Informative
      Rather, they will buy legit copies of Halo 2, and pay the developers the respect, and money, that they deserve for producing such an awesome game. People who steal from Bungie are not true Halo fans.

      Not intended as a troll, and though offtopic, I believe this to be an important and defining trait among many in the /. community, deserving attention.

      Music can't be stolen, but software can. Why?

      --
      Standing on the shoulders of giants.
    7. Re:Bittorrent... by WormholeFiend · · Score: 5, Funny

      A true Halo fan wouldn't want to play the damn thing in French for the first time

      CTF is sure going to be interesting with two white flags.

  2. Push the release back? by bigdady92 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Ever try to stand in front of a typhoon with an umbrella?

    --
    Wheel of Time: Book by Book and Sumview (summary review) Bigdady92 style: http://bigdady92.blogspot.com/
    1. Re:Push the release back? by Fred+Or+Alive · · Score: 3, Funny

      This thread is turning into a cload of bad jokes...

      --
      10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";
      20 GOTO 10
  3. So? by FinestLittleSpace · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Exactly why would this delay it? It's not the source, it's the compiled game... that's all. It happens with nearly every high-profile game (journalists are always so trustworthy...)...

    1. Re:So? by The-Bus · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Push up" means "make it sooner" -- that is, make it available in stores on October 16th. Sooner. So then you spend $ on Halo 2 instead of getting a friend to burn you a copy that is the French audio rip with UK subtitles.

      --

      Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

    2. Re:So? by Indras · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Nobody expects them to delay their release, the question was: "Any chance this bombshell move could force MS/Bungie to push up the release date?"

      Knowing that it is available now on the internet, they would be wise to release it sooner to the public in order to turn would-be downloaders into sales. Halo 2 has such a high demand that the hardcore fans will download it if they can get it sooner, and once they have it, why bother paying for it?

      However, the percentage of customers who have modded xboxes, a fast connection to download a DVD image in a reasonable amount of time, the means to get it running, and who also won't buy the game when it comes out on shelves (and can stand playing the PAL version with French dialogue) are probably too small to matter to MS/Bungie, and not enough of a threat to their profits.

      --
      The speed of time is one second per second.
    3. Re:So? by Blob+Pet · · Score: 4, Funny

      I thought "push up" was a kind of bra.

      --
      "...today consumers have been conditioned to think of beer when they see a bullfrog..."
    4. Re:So? by Savatte · · Score: 3, Funny

      I thought it was a kind of exercise, but I guess thats no the first thing that comes to the mind of slashdotter.

  4. Any chance this bombshell... by hussar · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...could be a way of increasing the pre-release hype?

    --

    Bureaucracy loves company.
    1. Re:Any chance this bombshell... by bigman2003 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Dude, how do you use QWTF?

      I mean, WASD and ESDF are okay, and they make sense. But QWTF? Do you have extra fingers or something? Is your hand permanently stuck in the Vulcan salute that you spent years perfecting? :-)

      --
      No reason to lie.
  5. No Chance... by Ionizer7 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Pirates will be pirates, law abiding citizens will be law abiding citizens. There is probably alot more to this release date, there is most likely alot of TV ads and magazine ads that are set to launch at the same time.

  6. Damn those Frogs! by CodeWanker · · Score: 4, Funny

    Okay, okay. First they invent a language where you DON'T SAY MOST OF THE LETTERS IN A WORD. Then they sell nuclear reactors to Iraq. Then they infiltrate Burger King with criossandwiches. But THIS is going too damned far.

    --


    "Wow. Now THAT'S a lot of angry Indians." - Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer
    1. Re:Damn those Frogs! by gidds · · Score: 4, Funny
      First they invent a language where you DON'T SAY MOST OF THE LETTERS IN A WORD.

      You've probably never seen Gaelic, then... (Even its name has been spelled Gaedhealg, Gaedhilg(e), Gaedhealaing, Gaeilic, Gaelainn, Gaoidhealg, Gaolainn, and Gaeilge!)

      --

      Ceterum censeo subscriptionem esse delendam.

  7. Amazing. by ninjeratu · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It's not like ALL games end up on FTPs, torrents, DC, whatnot. :P

    --
    /* Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana */
  8. Why am I not surprised. by SHiVa0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This has been like this for years. For as long as the "scene" exists. Nothing to see here, move along. But frankly, the more intermediate poeple getting their hands on the Gold master before it's heading out to press, the easier it is to leak.

  9. Up the release? Nah. by Yolegoman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They've hyped November 9th too much. I just can't see Bungie changing their release date, no matter how many reasons there may be.

    I don't even have an Xbox, but what is the hardware you would need to burn the Xbox ISO once you downloaded it off P2P? I'm merely curious.

    CD burner? DVD burner? Xbox equipped with modchip or no?

    - Yolego

    1. Re:Up the release? Nah. by EvilCabbage · · Score: 5, Funny

      I don't even have an Xbox, but what is the hardware you would need to burn the Xbox ISO once you downloaded it off P2P?

      A modded X-box and a crossover cable. That's all, er.. so I hear.

    2. Re:Up the release? Nah. by truz24 · · Score: 3, Informative

      dvd burner, modded xbox, its a dvd9 release of the game meaning it won't fit on a regular dvd5 dvd. So if you don't have a DVD9 burner(which most people don't at this point) you have to either copy it onto your XBox or find someone that has a DVD9 burner.

    3. Re:Up the release? Nah. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It gonna need a modded or softmodded Xbox. (The Xbox now can be "modded" through software exploits.)

      Then either a DVD burner and softwate or FTP connection to the Xbox with XISO extraction software (available free).

      It's unbelievable how easy it is to run homebrew software (and, unfortunately, pirated software) on the Xbox, considering the lengths MS went to to secure it.

      Thankfully, all the pirates *wont* be able to play on Xbox Live (as it requires an unmodified kernel and is checked at logon). There is some justice...

    4. Re:Up the release? Nah. by bo0ork · · Score: 3, Informative
      Halo.2.DVD5.Kit.READNFO.XBOX-iND

      This little kit automatically will Make The Halo 2 DVD9 into a DVD5. all you do is extract all the files to where you have diff-hl2.iso and then click halo2dvd5.bat - it will unpack the ISO, Remove 1 movie [attractions] and Repack it to make it a DVD5..it also removes dashupdate.xbe.

      then simply burn Halo2_DVD5.iso!

      the next question, why? Because im sure some credit whoring group would come along, and release a Rip of it calling it a DVD5..

      so why let some credit whores release another 4.3gb, when ive done whats needed in 30kb? =)

      on another note.

      Hey GGS, is this Rip 'Xbox-Live Compatible' too? ;)

      make sure you have a bit of free drive space, it needs a temp dir [which it removes afterwards] to do its work.
      --
      Does everything include nothing?
  10. Heh. by Devar · · Score: 5, Funny

    I like how on the front page directly under this story is the article U.S. Declares War on Intellectual Property Theft.

    --
    It's a Bagel.
  11. It's up by jlefeld · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I saw the torrent available. Not that I really care much about it since I have no xbox, and I prefer Halo on PC over the xbox. I just like the controls on PC since I was so used to those.

  12. Information wants to be free? by Trolling4Columbine · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Or is it that people want information to be free (beer)?

    I suppose people would be downloading this as a backup to the product they already legally own, right? Oh wait, the game hasn't been released yet...

    --
    Socialism: A feeling of discontent and resentment caused by a desire for the possessions or qualities of another.
  13. Arrr arrr me hearties by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ahoy!

    Aye, talk like a piiiiiiiiiiiraaaate day haz been extended me mateees.

    Shiver me timbers, bring me some halo 2 smartly now ye blige rats.

    Arr arr

  14. BBC article also by hereschenes · · Score: 4, Informative

    Here.

    --
    More like... nerdular nerdence!
  15. I don't approve of this, of course... by Pantero+Blanco · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...but it's insanely amusing that it happened right before the "US Declared War on Intellectual Property Theft".

    IP Theft pre-emptively attacked!

  16. Gone Gold by Dracolytch · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If I remember correctly, Halo 2 has already gone gold. It'll be difficult to increase the speed of a release at this point. There are a lot of logistical factors that they'll have to overcome to increase production for an immediate release.

    If they DO release sooner, and there aren't enough copies, that will also cause a case where people will go to the 'net for the game.

    ~D

    --
    This sig has been enciphered with a one-time pad. It could say almost anything.
  17. This is simply untrue by Killjoy_NL · · Score: 4, Informative

    "It should be noted that players who download the game illegally could face a maximum penalty of $100,000 per infringement for copyright violations."

    In the Netherlands at least it's legal to download, but illegal to upload stuff like this.

    I'd like to see them try to extradite an infringer. :P

    --
    This is the sig that says NI (again)
  18. Hmmm.. by Gentlewhisper · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Any chance this bombshell move could force MS/Bungie to push up the release date?

    Not to be a throll, but I think it will only push up the release date for more draconian laws

    Come on! Why do they want to release things so early?! There is a difference between pissing people off, and really really pissing people off!

    --
    Online backup with Mozy, sounds like Ozzie, but more!
    1. Re:Hmmm.. by YU+Nicks+NE+Way · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Actually, filling the channel takes about six weeks. The boxes will have been readied for the final CDs starting about two weeks ago, and the actual manufacture of the disks will have begun the morning the product went gold. The big delay lies in shipping the product to major distributors who must they reship to individual stores, which must then put up the displays, etc. Each individual step takes no more than a week, but there's not much parallelism in the distribution process.

  19. This is Sad by shplorb · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Whether you like Microsoft or not, this is bad. Many people have poured their hearts and souls into making that game not just because they like making cool stuff, but because they like to bring happyness to people. The person who leaked this clearly has no respect for the creators of the game.

    As a game developer, I urge you to show some respect for the creators of the game by not downloading or distributing it. My first game came out a couple of weeks ago on PS2 and XBox and it's both frustrating and disappointing to see it readily available on P2P networks. How would you like to see something you've worked on for 50+ hours a week for months on end being freely copied around?

    If you're intent on doing it, at least wait until the game has been released and if you like it, please buy it to support the developers. $50 isn't much to pay considering the number of hours of entertainment you get from the tens of thousands of man-hours and millions of dollars that would have gone into producing it - infinitely better value than a movie.

    1. Re:This is Sad by Diabolus777 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm a game developper for a really small company and let me tell you this:

      Once the game's gone gold, it's in the publisher's hands. They bought the title and now hold the rights to it. So, if they decided to send promo copies to journalists (where 99% of leaks come from), then only the publisher is to blame.

      It's the business dynamic to send promos in order to get maximum exposure, make people drool by reading the reviews that are largely biased most of the time.

      If I see my game leaked and available before it's time, I wash my hands of it. I got paid for my work, and we sold the title. I'm not saying it's ok for people to distribute, but it's beign made so easy and tempting for them that nothing I'll say will make a difference. . .

      --
      We should have been
      So much more by now
      Too dead inside
      To even know the guilt
    2. Re:This is Sad by shplorb · · Score: 4, Insightful

      But what about royalties? Yes, a lot of studios essentially do 'work for hire' like that now - but what if something goes FUBAR and you run over budget and can't negotiate extra from the publisher, or the publisher decides to shitcan it?

      That's when you need royalties from your games to keep you afloat. Royalties can also provide enough revenue to allow the studio to break-away from doing licenses, invest in improving and developing their technology and not always being beholden to the publisher and getting larger royalties because the studio is then taking the risk by providing their own funding.

      I thought that was the dream of every developer - to have the financial security to do their own thing, but you seem to feel differently.

    3. Re:This is Sad by syberanarchy · · Score: 3, Interesting

      No, see... what I will do is this.

      I will probably end up D/Ling it. I will then purchase the game's special edition come release day.

      I do not see what you, as a developer, lose from me plunking down 50 bucks for your game on a pre-order with EBgames.com, then deciding to play it a little earlier if that opportunity becomes avalible to me. This was the exactly the case with Doom 3, and I ended up with TWO legit copies when everything was said and done. Did ID lose money because I did this? Or was it more of an "emotional rape" kind of thing where they felt their collective penis shrink 2 inches because they didn't control the day and the date of my install?

      I can understand if I seed or distribute once my download is done, you might have a case, because not everyone uses my honor system. But if you get paid, and I get the game, what does it matter to you if I play it a few days... or even a month... early?

      If I download a game and buy it after giving it a trial run, how is that any different from renting, aside from cutting Blockbuster's 6 dollar late fees out of the picture?

      Again, I realize most game pirates do it because they can. But I'll be honest with you - if I pirate a game, and I like it, I tend to buy the game retail. Especially when it has multiplayer. I may never actually USE the multiplayer, but knowing that I'm without it makes me feel like I'm missing half the game.

      On the other hand, if I make a copy of a game, and it doesn't really draw me in, then it doesn't get any more play, and it just stays buried in a pile of garbage. These, I call coasters. Because that's all crappy games are good for.

      So I don't mean to sound smug, I really don't. I'm trying to understand what you lose from folks like me doing what we do. If I did, perhaps I wouldn't do it.

      I agree with you on the movie analogy - 50 dollars for a game like Halo 2 or GTA is a much better value than 2 hours for 25 bucks (with concessions factored in.) That's why I'm more likely to pirate a movie than a game - because the game industry hasn't gouged the consumer on a regular basis, just because they can... yet.

      Finally, it needs to be said, and again, I'm not trying to be "omg well I deserve it for free" here - asking eager gamers with the means and the hardware to get Halo 2 early is like asking someone who finds a million bucks on the street to not spend it out of respect for the US Mint.

      It's sweet, it's a cute lesson that ought to be in a citizenship/ethics textbook, but in real world terms, it just doesn't happen.

      I must ask - why is it so frustrating and disappointing to see your game pirated? Did you expect anything else? You had to know this before going into production. The more popular a title is, the more widely avalible it is on p2p networks. If I were you, I'd be more worried if the pirates IGNORED your work.

      I wish more companies would use p2p networks to build a new content distrubution platform. I'm not talking about things like iTunes, where an old business model is dragged kicking and screaming into cyberspace.

      I'm talking about a model that takes advantage of the benefits of the medium, and passes those costs along to the consumer. Of course, that's a dirty no-no: even if there is no packaging cost, we must still charge the consumer for it... because we can.

      I wonder if it has ever occured to anyone that the media could by all rights be free. Imagine the ad revenue from putting a Mountain Dew ad in the loading screen of Halo 2, and being able to get the game for 5 bucks or less. Imagine being able to walk into a theater for free if you get there in time to watch ads. This is where the future is heading, I think.

  20. I'm a bit confused by insomnyuk · · Score: 5, Funny

    No one has answered:

    1) Why the hell would this force Bungie to push forward the release date? I'm sorry, but I didn't spend the time or money to mod my x-box, and I don't want to play the goddamn game in French, since I don't speak French and I'd kind of like to know what the hell is going on when I play the game.

    2) Does this mean pre-orders in France are going to be canceled all of the sudden? I doubt it. Even with filesharing, artists can still sell millions of albums.

    3) Who is responsible for this, exactly? Pirates? Like the ones from Penzance, or the less musical Barbary Pirates? Someone said French journalists. Uh, RTFM. There's a big difference between "news groups" and journalists.

  21. Choices, choices... by toriver · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hm... risk a $100,000 fine for illegally downloading it, or risk a $1,000 fine for stealing a physical copy when it's released...

  22. No by cassidyc · · Score: 5, Funny

    it wont affect Bungies release date, but it will be a good excuse to delay HL2 some more

  23. But what will the cost be, in Freedoms? by Alzheimers · · Score: 4, Insightful

    As sad as it is, is anyone suprised that it happened? I mean, it's only the most anticipated game of the year (HL2 was the most anticipated game of last year, it's just coming out this year). I've got my preorder in, and I know a lot of other people who won't bother with it either. However, there are people who will always look to cheat the system, and as much as we hate it there's no use crying or screaming or starting flamewars that this will hurt 'the programmers'. But that's not the worst of it.

    My main concern is the response and backlash from the Corps. It's not that I condone the behavior of these thieves, but I'm desperately afraid of the cure will be worse than the disease. Already we have games that can't work in everyone's PC, or disable programs you legitemately install. We have operating systems that require you to phone home every time you change your hardware, just so that the company can make sure you're not stealing .00001% of their yearly profits. What's next, that each copy will be biometrically tied to us, so we need to activate out consoles with a thumbprint identification before we can turn it on?

    And what's going to be the target of the corporation's wrath, you ask? In this case, it's going to be USENET, BITTORRENT, and IRC. Three out-of-the-mainstream networks that corporations will try to convince law makers are nothing but havens for pirates and thieves. You'll hear the words "Terrorists" and "Child Pr0n" before this is over, too.

    It's a tough world we live in. No matter which side you stand for, this much is certain: you're going to get screwed.

  24. I saw this coming by Minwee · · Score: 4, Funny
    If you combine this story with the one just before it, the connection is obvious.

    This "leak" is just a pretext for the USA to declare war on France.

    We've all been waiting for an October Surprise, and it looks like this is going to be it. You heard it here first.

    Now if you'll excuse me, there are some men wearing sunglasses who would like to have a word with --

  25. Are you stupid? Or never actually bought a game? by SmallFurryCreature · · Score: 4, Informative
    The game has gone gold. What this means that the game as it will be sold in the box in the shop is ready for publication.

    This doesn't mean the game is completly finished. For instance localization, translating to different languages. Age verification. Box cover printed. Manual translated and printed. And of course the game image created and cd's pressed.

    Then all the parts got to come together and be shipped all over the place.

    This all takes time and the real potential of delay. Say you discover that the final image your ready to press has a flaw. Have to do it all over again. Then telling the audience that, sorry it gonna be delayed 2 days is impossible. All those ads "on sale on XXXX-XX-XX" will be wrong.

    Just because a game is ready for sale does not mean it is immidiatly in a shop.

    --

    MMO Quests are like orgasms:

    You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.

  26. In other news ... by Samael_666 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Pope is catholic ...

    Come on, is this news ???

  27. Call Me Paranoid by Greyfox · · Score: 3, Funny

    But if I were an Evil Game Studio and I had a high profile game about to ship, I might consider making a slightly tweaked version of the game available on the net just prior to the release. Said version would work OK for a while, then on the release date or after some number of times being started, it'd cause your console to boot up to a message with an 800 number and a code. For a 1 time fee of $75, you'd be able to unlock your console, at which time the pirated version of the game would delete itself.

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

  28. Who'd download it anyway by morgdx · · Score: 3, Funny

    I've played the French version, the Covenent invade earth and as Master Chief you have just 24 hours to surrender.

    I think that if you play it on Elite you also have to try to stop other Master Chiefs from attacking the Covenent to secure lucrative oil export rights.

    "Bonjour monsieur little double crossing cube thingay, tu tuyer mon amis, voulez vous some brie."

    --
    http://jfin.org/jFin pure java open source financial library
  29. viva la france by Troll'N · · Score: 3, Funny

    The french version is great!!!!! The only draw back i've seen so far is that you don't have any guns.... just a white flag.

  30. Xbox ISO... by d3ity · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Hrm, I havent seen the download, but i'm wondering The xbox warez community has been working for a long time on cracking the xbox ISO, so that burned games will work on any xbox. I'm wondering right now if the release of this would in any way aid them. Also note, that I have two copies of halo preordered, so I will be waiting, and I will be found at my local EB at 9 PM EST on november 8th. There has been talk of the ISO crack project for a long time, I'm just sort of worried that if this occours, the release dates of many many future xbox games will be delayed while MS and developers scramble to secure thier hardware/software.