Slashdot Mirror
Bungie Speaks On Halo 2 Leak
BlueMoon writes "A moderator on the official Halo 2 forums posted some speculations and warnings about the Halo 2 leak. To the question where the leak originated he answered "is almost positively the work of some jerk in the manufacturing plant who pocketed the game". They also send out a warning that posting any kind of information about leak will result in "having your XBox Live account's ability to play Halo 2 crippled as we can and we will ban your gamertags from access to vital parts of Halo 2's online experience"." TalkXbox has a repost of an official statement asking community members to assist in the capture of the folks who leaked the game.
...How are they going to find out my gamertag?
Nothing for you to see here, Please move along.
Rule number one: Don't talk about Halo:2 leaks Rule number two: See rule number one
Microsoft employs ninjas? Who knew?!
... to the first Slashdotter to post a link to the Halo 2 torrent whilst screaming "lol ban me you M$ l0s3rz -- i am s0 3l33t!"
... 2 ... 1 ...
3
(Score:-1, Wrong)
Ha! Detailed language analysis shows that slashdot editorials are written by the Bush election campaign!
I hear in the French version Master Chief surrenders to the Covenant within the first 10 minutes of the game anyway. Problem solved.
*Fortitudo, aequitas, fidelitas.*
Also, Zonk, your account will be suspended for posting links on the front of /. to the bungie.net website. Thanks for the crash!
When will companies realize that piracy is just an unfortunate part of doing business. Did they honestly think it wasn't going to be posted up on the internet? I've talked to a variety of friends and strangers. Those that are familar with Halo and Halo 2 all said that they knew of the leak, but they were still going to buy it when it comes out in a few weeks. Those that steal it now...probably wouldn't have bought it anyways.
and about that.. if I'd write anonymously somewhere about the leak, or the game, how would they know it's me?(to be able to fuck my xbox live ability, which I don't have, hell, I don't even have a xbox).
so.. they're resorting to fud to keep the lid down on this... which is kinda stupid because the leak is already mentioned on PRINTED papers as well..
here's an idea though, next time you're making a game: don't fucking sit on it for a month once it's ready, especially when you know that THESE THINGS HAPPEN in the industry.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Now I loved Halo and can't wait for the sequel, but have we really reached the point where we'll turn in our neighbors not just to the gubmint but to the corporations we love as well? Can I get some Monopoly game pieces from McDonalds for killing the guy who made Super Size Me?
This is exactly the kind of thing peer to peer networks didn't need right now with all the litigation going around. Microsoft is sure to blame evil Kazaa, EDonkey, et al for what is obviously an internal matter.
Microsoft and other corporations need to look on the inside at their own employees before they blame P2P...P2P can't make it magically appear.
nice troll - now fuck off and die
l
you know no one who watched spiderman 2 three days before it was in theaters - the first "release" was a POS cam version on June 30th - the day the movie came out:
http://www.vcdquality.com/image.php/i-38602.htm
Peddle your bullshit elsewhere
I've just signed legislation that'll outlaw Russia forever. We'll begin bombing in five minutes.
TalkXbox has a repost of an official statement asking community members to assist in the capture of the folks who leaked the game.
To anyone who downloaded or leaked this game, look out, they'll be knocking down your door in the next week.
Didn't the owner of of Bungie, Microsoft, get hacked a while ago and someone actually stole some of Windows code? Arrogant jerks.
Nabbing a CD off an assembly line is no better than downloading the game off the internet, it's stealing plain and simple.
and your sig says...
Software piracy is victimless theft
If you feel there is no difference between stealing a cd off an assembly line and downloading the game it contains from the internet... are you saying that stealing a cd off the assembly line is victimless theft?
At least with downloading a copy there is no actual physical loss, but between the combination of your statement and sig, you seem to be condoning stealing cd's... possibly from anywhere as it is 'victimless theft'.
You sir make me sick. Please get your ethics and logic in order.
Help Brendan pay off his student loans
I don't think making copies available is theft, but Microsoft does:
Actually the "jerk" who lifted the original copy is guilty of theft, not the pirates. Slashdot posters have convinced me of that time and time again. Microsoft still has all the copies except the one lifted from the plant. Piracy is piracy, theft is theft. (Or is it? he he)
Think this has anything to do with this announcement?
Get your Unix fortune now!
The more people that know its actually been leaked, the more that will go out on the net seeking it. However, I don't feel that this leak will have a big impact on the games sales. It would be interesting to find out how many people actually have modded xboxes, and then on top of that... how many people would be happy with a 'french' version of the game. And of those people, how many will not care about gaming online.... i dunno, i think Halo 2's big selling feature was the Xbox live support. Lets wait and see.
Wouldn't surprise me if they leaked it intentionally to 1) Get free press and 2) get some of the major pirates. I wouldn't be too surprised to see tracking codes of some type embedded in this.
Hey, if the MPAA knows I'm down'ing a torrent.. then it doesn't surprise me re MS. And as for how they can ban your XBL account? They're MS.
Haha! He can't remember which way he's trolling!
They also send out a warning that posting any kind of information about leak will result in "having your XBox Live account's ability to play Halo 2 crippled as we can and we will ban your gamertags from access to vital parts of Halo 2's online experience"."
Could someone please explain how they could do this to someone who talked about the leak? I guess I don't understand the connection between an XBox Live account, what gamertags are, and if they mean talking about it on Bungie Forums only.
no need to seek the leak if you want a peek
FWIW I am a temp at MS. I have played Halo 2 multiplayer. It's a good game, but I am more of a PC guy and I prefer UT2004.
His logic sounds pretty solid to me. He considers any illegal copying or physical theft of Intellectual/Copywritted material wrong. Downloading a binary has no "victim". Either way. Microsoft/Bungies stance appears to be toward talking about the leak. Things like "I got a copy and this game Rulez!!!" or "You can go snag a copy HERE WWW.XXX.com!!!!" Either way it will not reflect the public. The players who want to OWN the software will buy it. The people who want Warez will download the english version after release anyway.
as long as it's from microsoft.
or is it ok as long as it's from any corporation?
how about your local computer dealer, you know, the one who hasn't been driven out of business by walmart yet? (because we all know stealing from walmart would be okay.)
So is the authour of the parent of this post - "Anonymous Coward" is very definatly a known troll...
Not everything that can be measured matters; Not everything that matters can be measured.
Is it true? Is Halo 2 really leaked?
It seems to be that way, yes. It would seem that the french PAL version of the game has surfaced on the internet.
Did Bungie get hacked or something?
Of course not. This is almost positively the work of some jerk in the manufacturing plant who pocketed the game is it is being printed in mass for world release on the 9th of November.
What can I do about it?
For starters:
STOP POSTING LINKS TO LEAKED INFORMATION WHERE THE PUBLIC HAS EASY ACCESS TO IT.
The rules have not changed from what we said about leaked magazine shots. Clearly, this leak is highly illegal. By posting links to where it can be downloaded, or even by posting links to screens of the leaked game, you're contributing to the problem by spreading the leaked information. Further, you may spoil the game for people who have worked hard to keep their first experience of Halo 2 pure.
As such, expect harsh reprimand for the posting of leaked information. A link or offer to give out a link via private media on the forums will get you banned permanently. The same goes for any kind of leak-related spoiler information. Further, you risk having your XBox Live account's ability to play Halo 2 crippled as we can and will ban gamertags from access to vital parts of Halo 2's online experience. We are NOT kidding around here. There will be no warning, no appeal, you'll just be gone.
If you come across a link to the leaked game, do not reply to it, do not post about it in other forums, do not in any way spread the problem. Message me, SketchFactor, Frankie, or Achronos immediately upon discovering the leak, and then leave it alone. Even telling your friends can result in the spread of the leak, which does us as a company harm.
What is Microsoft going to do about this?
There's no doubt in my mind that Microsoft has people tracking down whoever was responsible for this. I hope whoever it was thought that leaking the game was worth his job, I hear the Microsoft legal team employ some very effective ninja.
What do I do to avoid spoilers now?
I'm not sure what to tell you. This post makes it quite clear that spoilers from the leaked game will get people seriously banned, but we all know that won't stop some idiot from running in here with a screen of some huge spoiler. My suggestion? Avoid Halo 2 forums if you want to make 100% sure that you don't see any major spoilers. If you must visit forums, make sure you're very choosy about which threads you read. Avoiding spoilers is up to you, now.
That covers it. From here on out, any threads related to the piracy of the game will be deleted on sight.
They also send out a warning that posting any kind of information about leak will result in "having your XBox Live account's ability to play Halo 2 crippled as we can and we will ban your gamertags from access to vital parts of Halo 2's online experience"
Slashdot also sent out a warning that posting any kind of information about the leak will result in "having your ISP account's ability to post to Slashdot crippled as we can and we will ban your account from access to vital parts of Slashdot's online experience"
Remember the days when Republicans were the party of fiscal responsibility?
Those are some outlandish claims. Where to start...
First of all you can't play these copies of the game on xboxlive. You can't play any backups on xboxlive because your modchip has to be on and nobody, I mean nobody has a way of playing backups on xboxlive.
Second of all how does it help you to stop spreading information about the leak by posting stop spreading information about this leak on your message board? I mean really. "Lets all just pretend this didn't happen okay guys?" That is a silly attitude.
Third, this is a part of life in the 21st century okay? Bungie should be flattered that someone probably wanted that game out so bad they basically just cost themselves their lively hood and maybe huge financial and/or criminal penalties to play the game early. I am sure that many more people are going to be missing work on the day Halo2 comes out in retail then those who are missing work today as a result of this leak. Lets look at this in a realistic light, anything digital is free for grabs period. Bungie has over a million pre-orders on this title, how many of those were cancelled as a result of this becomming freely available on the internet? None?
Another thing... you guys aren't Britney Spears with a new single who are in risk of being raped of profit. You are Bungie. Your company is a living legend about to release its masterpeice. Your game has a million preorders and the only way to play online is to own a legitimate copy, STOP FRETTING ABOUT IT! IT'S IN FRENCH FOR GODS SAKES! Even I won't download it.
As is predictable with slashdot, the kneejerkers are out in full force, so I'm going to clear a few things up here:
1.) Banning your xbox live account. Can the stupid bullshit about BWAHAHAHA how are they going to know my xbox live name when i post on slashdot. They are talking about banning you if you post on the bungie forums. That's it. Remember this isn't a press release, it's a FORUM POST.
2.) Banning your xbox live account - part 2. They aren't banning accounts for talking about it - they are banning for people who link to info on how to get it, whats in it, spoilers obtained from the leak, etcetera. Basically they're trying to keep the bungie forums a safe place to enjoy discussing the game, for those who want to retain the surprise at the storyline when the game is legally released, and of course cut down on at least a few people finding out where to get the game.
3.) "Microsoft piracy hotline is so ridiculous, this is just a game" nonsense. While it's true that the microsoft approach to software piracy in general is sometimes pretty outlandish, it's nothing new. The piracy website has been around a long time. Microsoft has been asking people to squeal on their buddies for a long time. Hell, I've seen advertisements telling you to turn in people who pirate M$ software. This is nothing new, and pretty much standard Microsoft fare, so don't act like it's so ridiculous that they are doing it for a game - It is the de facto corporate response to any piracy.
That's really crazy that folks just walk around so easily. Bungie/MS people keep just whining staring at their leaked game. The warez scene, AFAIK, can be infiltrated, and if they really want to catch their pirates, they should invest themselves in studying the underground movement, instead of crying : ho please get me these mean guys! they're bad bad bad. I will ban you otherwise !
A link or offer to give out a link via private media on the forums will get you banned permanently. The same goes for any kind of leak-related spoiler information. Further, you risk having your XBox Live account's ability to play Halo 2 crippled as we can and will ban gamertags from access to vital parts of Halo 2's online experience.
That's really hypocrite, closing you eyes won't help you.
Here's what those folks have to say. And yes MS is 0wn3d.
http://www.nforce.nl/index.php?m=nfo&id=77364 (Some dumb lameness filter won't let me post the NFO...)
News stories use words like "shock" when they talk about the release of HALO 2. It was bound to happen. It doesn't matter whether someone worked on a product 3 days or 3 years. If there is interest, it will be pirated, especially before the release date. They should have expected it. Every company that releases a product should have contingencies to this kind of activity. They should not be shocked.
Does Microsoft has ninjas? For those who do not know, ninjas were assassins. When I read that, the movie Antitrust came into mind, where open source programmers were butchered for code by the big evil CEO of the big evil empire.
Ninjas? Was this written by an 8 year old?
Parent is correct, the notion that MS employe ninjas is silly. Everybody here at MS knows that Ronin are far more effective in terms of bang for the buck. Ninjas are very expensive, and non-tax deducatble.
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
Yeah....that's what he was saying.
Do pay attention.
There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
Probably shouldn't call it piracy either. But this stuff doesn't bother me much anymore. Look how we keep saying "humans versus animals". Some people just don't want to use language correctly.
With the cyberthalamus, the singularity will happen.
mistakes ... very ignorant way of seeing things.
I would think that the point is downloading one copy for your own private use isn't as bad as taking a copy with the intent of spreading it to millions of other people; which seems to make sense to me at least...
I mod down anyone who says "I will be modded down for this", regardless of the rest of their comment
Well, technically, grabbing a CD off the assembly line is worse, because there is physical theft involved. But according to the wonderful US system, if you get it from a P2P network, you are contributing to others infringement, and should thus pay for every crime they have committed as well. Expect the death penalty.
I for one, welcome our early-release-toting, dodge-the-death-penalty Halo 2 overlords.
-- Having a Creationist Museum is like having an Atheist place of worship
...if Bungie were still independent. There was a time when the gaming community loved and respected them. Then they became one with the Borg
The CB App. What's your 20?
Why aren't they implementing high security levels in these plants, not unlike diamond/gold mines? I mean, if it's that easy to steal something worth many millions dollars, someone WILL do it (even if won't make a cent out of it, obviously). Prestige of being the first to release highly awaited titles is crucial on the warez scene I heard.
Eureka Science News - automatically updated
I can't believe people modded this as flamebate.
People are pretty ignorant when it comes to piracy and theft... if you find a copy of Halo 2 on the street and start making copies and selling them... that is piracy. If you work in Burger King and take a pickle and eat it from their tray- that is theft.
If you find leaked beta software on the net that is neither piracy nor is it theft- it is sloppy security within the company making it.
ARTHUR
Please go and tell your master that we have been charged by God with a sacred quest, and if he will give us food and shelter for this night he can join us in our quest for the Halo 2 Grail.
FRENCH HACKER
Well, I'll ask him, but I don't think he'll be very keen. He's already got one, you see?
ARTHUR
What?
GALAHAD
He says they've already got one!
ARTHUR
Are you sure he's got one?
FRENCH HACKER
Oh yes. It's very nice
CUT TO BATTLEMENTS. THE TAUNTER (FRENCH HACKER) turns to some others.
FRENCH HACKER
I told him we already got one.
They all giggle.
1 & 2.
.net passport without identity check so how the hell do they know who they're banning? what if I make one and associate some random guys 'tags' with it and then post a link to a torrent? their specific words: "There will be no warning, no appeal, you'll just be gone.".
and? they're talking about banning your xbox live account from playing halo2 if you post any link or a link that could lead to the leaked iso. and you can create a
so, on basis of a forum posting some poor jerks ability to play halo2 online will be off, he will not get notified of it by any means nor does he have any recourse.
the whole thing didn't really sound too official though, more like "MEGABAN IF YOU TALK" post by some mod who's gotten very annoyed at deleting posts that point to some torrent.
hell, basically you wouldn't be even able to say 'halo 2' and 'torrent' on the same sentence..
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Last I checked, a love of Linux and OSS is not required to read at and post to /.
/. reader base seem intimidating because of their size.
Granted, I am in the minority here, a minority so small that it makes the married
Help Brendan pay off his student loans
no you are wrong.
nabbing a CD off the assembly line is actual real theft.
downloading it is copyright violation.
there is a BIG difference.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Yeah, that'll work, because we all know security through obscurity is the best solution.
The fact is, anyone who was going to pirate knows where to find it.
and why?
you wouldn't need to be good at programming, just change some random bytes. or fill it up with goatse.
and lets face it, anyone knowing how to google can find the right torrent quite quickly anyways.
but the 'why' question still remains, are you seriously suggesting that microsoft and bungee are going to HURT because of this leak by any great amount that would matter? or that they will get out of games biz because they've lost all faith in humanity? that were going to lose another game thanks to them? (hell, thanks to them we pc gamers already 'lost' the original halo.. buggy as hell, late as hell, missing coop..).
so don't worry jackass, the GAME IS GOING TO TURN PROFIT regardless of this.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
The people that pirate the game apparently already have a modded Xbox. Since they modded their Xbox I would guess that they would not be purchasing the game anyway. So really what kind of loss would Bungie be looking at in the first place?
piracy@microsoft.com or calling 1-800-RULEGIT
as RULE GIT, rather than aRe yoU LEGITimate?
Call me old fashioned, but I like a dump to be as memorable as it is devastating - Bender
Theft - The act or an instance of stealing;
Steal - To take or appropriate without right or leave and with intent to keep or make use of wrongfully
http://www.m-w.com/
Anyway, arguing semantics is boring and makes you look like an fool without a real case. Suggestion: Drop it.
Who the fuck are you to tell me what I can talk about and what I cannot talk about?
It's thier forum. If you don't like the rules, go talk elsewhere.. they are only banning people who talk about it on BUNGIE forums.
k...you must not play very many online games, as most, if not all, withold the right to pull the plug on you on whatever whim they wish.
I don't really understand what you're getting so pissy about, many games now actively monitor the activity of the players for suspicious behavior, although this is usually to find cheaters, not pirates.
Take Counter Strike for example, which is probably the game most associated with anti-cheating. They'll happily ban you from playing multiplayer if they catch you cheating.
Many other games, especially MMORPGs, have some sort of Code of Ethics that will get you banned if you break. Getting caught exploiting some type of nasty bug, especially one that acts as a DoS, will get you banned/shit listed. Most companies are up front about this and it's widely accepted in the MMORPG world as SOP.
So...why exactly are you so pissed? I'd call piracy a worse offense than cheating, and certainly more deserving of a ban, than giving yourself ub3r l33t h4ckz.
Wait...that didn't work either. Steam!
With the cyberthalamus, the singularity will happen.
Torrents have no encryption, obfuscation or plausible deniability. Microsoft and Bungie can go straight to the tracker and demand a list of all IP addresses downloading Halo 2.
Then they'll sue you.
Think they won't? Just try your luck, punks.
What are you talking about? To your fisrt point: They arn't pretending the leak doesn't exist! They are saying they dont want links to pirated software on THEIR forums! I have an idea. why don't you invest millions of dollars, work hard for three years, create a gaming masterpice, and then link on your personal forum ways for people to take it from you without payment. Idiot. Second, their "attitude" you are so pissed about is an attitude that benefits the long term Halo fans, like me. True fans want to beat a game without wanting to know what happens at the end before they play it. How would you like it if before you saw Star Wars, someone told you who Luke's father was? There are PLENTY of other forums you can go to for story spoilers, Bungie doesn't own the internet.
*Bungie, what happened to you?*
what happened to them? they got bought, some people left, some stayed, got integrated into MS.
btw, from some warez forum:
**The graphics are not nearly as good as the touched up screen shots
they have released, but they are still very good. I couldn't play the
multi player, but I was able to go to online match options, and there
was no option for online co-op.**
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
you wouldn't need to be good at programming, just change some random bytes. or fill it up with goatse.
Actually, I believe bittorrent prevents people from doing this very thing. It uses checksums for each segment transferred, so you can't just insert any old data in. You would have to insert data that matched the checksum. Needless to say, this is not generally an easy thing to do.
Don't count your messages before they ACK.
Is there any review on it? Is it fun or not?
It's their right to protect the product they've spent time and money to create. Imagine if you'd spent as much as Bungie had on creating a game that you'd intended to sell - how would you feel if, before it's available for the public to buy, a copy of it is available to be downloaded for free?
Frankly, if you choose not to buy the game, but still try to play it, you may as well Sellotape a sign to your backside informing all around you you enjoy depriving them of income. Bungie are acting perfectly reasonably in my opinion - and to assume that they'd ban you for "dissing their game", et al, is frankly nothing more than pitiful scaremongering.
And tomorrow the stock exchange will be the human race
What did you expect them to say? "You can check out the leak and post about it here, but be sure to put *SPOILER* in your subject line!"
This is a post on their OFFICIAL forums. Of course they're going to seem arrogant! This is a game they've been working hard on for a few years now. They're trying to prevent folks from ruining the experiences of others by posting spoilers, screenshots, etc. of the game on THEIR official boards. Undoubtedly there are lots of Bungie/MS haters who would love nothing more to piss off Halo fans by doing those type of things.
-- jchenx
They aren't banning accounts for talking about it - they are banning for people who link to info on how to get it, whats in it, spoilers obtained from the leak, etcetera. Basically they're trying to keep the bungie forums a safe place to enjoy discussing the game
Sure, they have a right to control their forums, but the statement Bungie made isn't limited to just their forum. Here's a clip of the rather draconian announcement:
It really sounds like Bungie is trying to control the spread of free speech. It's a rather poor statement if all they want to do is provide a leak-talk free forum on the bungie forums. A good way to actually GET people to talk about something is to tell them very loudly to NOT talk about it. Get real Bungie, this is a game not a military secret. Sadly I think this is just a poorly thought out statement from one guy at Bungie, but since it's the only thing that's been said it's taken on large-scale meaning.
Bungie needs to realize that the cat is out of the bag and they can't do anything to put it back in. Anyone that wants to know will know. They should have just been as quite as possible, announce they're looking for the source of the leak, and remove any posts on their forums posting links to the game or spoilers.
AccountKiller
Before MS bought them out. How can a game company produce only 1 game and not sell the game engine to anyone and still stay in business? Id and Valve are different in that they sell the engine to other folks.
Erm...
There are quite a few game companies who have written their own software without licensing it out as a basis for the games of others.
Ignoring the fact that Bungie already has one licensee for the Halo engine, there's probably one little secret, one little flaw in your theory...
The Halo (1) engine actually isn't that great, and has many peculiar limitations. It's difficult to extend it (Halo PC is somewhat limited in modding potential - there's no chance of adding extra code without hacking the main Halo executable). Its design isn't really suited for online play, and isn't client-server like Quake, Half-Life, Unreal etc. (Gearbox did a pretty good job of retrofitting some modern netcode, but it's still not perfect).
There are a bunch of weird physics bugs involving moving objects (lifts, etc) and non-player entities - persuade a vehicle or monster on to a lift, and it'll fall straight through.
It's perfectly tuned for the game it was written for and works extremely well for that, but it's not some cross-platform, ultra-versatile thing like a Quake or Unreal engine. Anyone wanting to add to it will have to dig deep down into its innards.
As for the Halo 2 leak, probably the biggest problem isn't so much the hand-wringing about copyright theft, more the fact that Bungie has kept the full story of the single-player game a complete secret. There are most likely whole races of creatures you're not supposed to know about yet, like in the original Halo. And the pricks pirating the game are likely to be just the sort who will jump into some online forum to describe all the plot twists and characters.
Halo.Bungie.org has already closed its forums to new posting. Bungie.net are threatening people with permanent bans. Vicious, yes, but for a Bungie game, where the sotory is incredibly important, revealing the plot is wrong...
Tedious Bloggy Stuff - hooray?
Bungie's made a few other games actually. Myth, Marathon, and Oni to name a few. Halo's obviously the big money-maker out of all of them.
Bungie is technically one of the studios in the Microsoft Game Studios. So yes, they are all MS employees. However, I can tell you that they're allowed to be very independent-minded, since are one of the few studios to bring profit to the whole MGS group.
-- jchenx
That's the gist of a torrent.
The thing is, the torrent-linker above could have been the initial seed, in which case he very easily could've made a 4GB file of goatse, and just called it "Halo 2 Xbox DVD" or some such.
For example, just because a torrent is called "WinXP ISO" doesn't mean that its really WinXP with complementary spyware included. Or that "Harry Potter 3 DVD" isn't gay-animal-porn.
If you don't own an XBox, in what way are you Bungie's customer?
Look, piracy is a pain in the ass for everyone. Do you think I want some jackass to spoil the story for me because they have no respect for the effort Bungie put forth to create the game? Of course not. I would rather see them hanging from a lamppost.
At least the Valve code leak was 1) not playable, and 2) did an (arguable) public service by revealing that the game was nowhere near completion. This leak is just some asshole.
Bungie is Microsoft, but they are as independent as well. Microsoft doesn't really interfere with what they do, and Bungie doesn't really get involved with anything outside of what they do. At least, that was the situation around the release of the first HALO.
Comment of the year
Wow, did you guys even bother to read his post? He says very clearly: "It's their right to be raging assholes, it's my right never to buy their product because of it".
And yet you both felt it necessary to lecture him about the fact that it's their right?
Learn to read.
to me, it sounds like a knee-jerk, petty reaction from bungie " talk about it and we ban you " is daft, you cant stop people talking about it however, if they`d said something like "talk about where to get it on our forums and we'll screw you over" or along those lines, it'd have sounded more sensible to me at least.
Considering that the game isn't actually on sale yet - anywhere - you're absolutely wrong. Someone *had* to steal at least one copy of the game in order to make it available.
As far as damages are concerned, yes, the principal theft isn't even a fraction of a drop in the bucket. What? $49.99 at Best Buy? Compared to the loss of marketability, dilution of brand, interference in the performance of contractual obligations, etc. that can be argued as a source of damages, that $50 pocket discount just doesn't register.
One man's religion is another man's belly-laugh. - LL
Hey, I could use that version of Harry Potter 3. Hermione gets anally violated by a three-headed dog.
Well for starters, they can stay in business because Halo was a pretty damn good game, and last I checked, well made video games were exchanged for money.
Where as the US version is a lot more fun. Apparently there is a new "capture the oil field" mode.
I don't get it either. In fact I was going for more of an "informative" moderation because I was trying to show what Microsoft said in a press release about the whole thing.
Get your Unix fortune now!
1- There is no point in acting as if the world has ended. Games get pirated all the time. In fact, ALL of them get pirated. What made you think yours would be exempt?
2- Repeatedly pointing out that this is "highly" illegal (is there a lowly illegal?) bores me. EVERYBODY knows it's illegal. Next, please point out that the sky is HIGHLY blue...
3- Pirate copies are available before your game was officially released, so what? Again, it happens all the time, especially with high profile games like yours.
4-Is this going to harm you more than if the game had been pirated one or two days before official release? No, to play a copy, one needs to have a modchip installed. People who have a modchip installed and are playing the leaked game were going to pirate it anyways once it was released.
5- Microsoft is investigating this and will prosecute to the full extent of bla bla bla.
Again, you're boring me. Most of these investigations get nowhere. If you do happen to catch the leaker, I hope that makes you happy because no one else will give a shit. The guy who leaked the HL2 source code was arrested. This didn't dissuade the guy who just leaked Halo 2. What makes you think this time will be any different?
To sum it up: It's no surprise that your game was leaked, it's no surprise that it will be pirated, and we all know it will still sell like hot cakes and that you will all make lots of money. Hell, you're already making lots of money, you work for Microsoft right?
So stop your whining. Thank you.
Disclaimer: My xbox isn't modded, I have not downloaded this leaked version and do not plan to.
They have denied that request, since the file in question is not illegal in sweden. The file only contains information on how HALO2 can be obtained - not HALO2 in itself - therefore the file in question is not at all illegal, according to swedish law (and The Piratebays lawyers views on the matter).
Also, according to previous court rulings - the owner / maintainer of The Piratebay cannot be held liable for how its users uses the service offered.
However, in the end, the seeders / downloaders that upload data, can be held liable - if microsoft can track them down AND get the court to force the ISPs to reviel who they are.
To the question where the leak originated he answered "is almost positively the work of some jerk in the manufacturing plant who pocketed the game".
Now I have to ask if it is being manufactured somewhere where piracy runs rampant?
If this is the case, should anyone be surprised that this happened?
DEAD DEAD DEAD DELETE ME
Well that's it. There's no way I'm going to even THINK about Halo 2 if the MS Ninjas are on the case. Everyone knows that ninjas are the real ultimate power. See Ninjas: http://www.realultimatepower.net/index3.htm
A hungry man will tell you anything if you give him a cookie.
appropriate --# To set apart for a specific use.
this person didn't set aside Halo 2 for a specific use, he has a copy of the game.
Now, if it turns out to be that someone picked up a disk and walked out of the plant with it, then that person stole a disc that had a copy of Halo2.
Sometime semantics are critical. SInce we are in a time where coporation are trying to make copyright infringement at any level a criminal offense with jail time.
I'm sorry, but someone who copied a game for there own use does not need to be punished the same way as violent offenders.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
"If you don't own an XBox, in what way are you Bungie's customer?"
No, but I bought the PC version and I wish I could get my money back. I played the xbox version in stores and wish I could get my time back. I also bought Myth and the Marathon games in the past. Before Bungie sold out and became one trick ponies.
"Do you think I want some jackass to spoil the story for me because they have no respect for the effort Bungie put forth to create the game?"
Why is it the jackasses fault for spoiling the story when you are the one to read the thread about the story in the first place. Did someone FORCE you to read a thread about the halo 2 story? Did they tie you down and pin open your eyelids forcing you to watch what it going on before the game hits the stores?
ACTUALLY... according to THE formost authority on the subject (http://www.realultimatepower.net/index3.htm) the plural for 'Ninja' IS 'Ninjas'
A hungry man will tell you anything if you give him a cookie.
I see a whole lot of Slashdotters getting their rights taken away all because they say something trivial about the game Playing a video game isn't a right.
No, I just have a sense of ethics. Not everybody in this world is motivated by love of money.
Why make such a big deal of the leak, and thretening anyone that mentions it.
What difference would if make if it was posted online at the manufacturing level, as oppoed to when a worker at a game shop rips an ISO of it? Couple of days difference wouldn't matter much as far as their sales go anyway.
I could see your point if you own the forums and pay for their bandwidth ... but since you probably don't ...
Bit-Torrent is just a protocol, like HTTP or FTP. It's just another bad eye for the internet, which amounts to directly buttkiss. I'm glad you're observant enough to realize that software piracy happens on the internet, asstard.
IIRC, he died quite a bit in the original Halo as well. I guess it depends on how much you suck at it.
ROFFLE!!! - Funny Funny!!! HAHA!! :D
IF YOU TALK ABOUT THE LEAK WE WILL KILL YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!
ps.
Could you please help us find the perp?
Tnx a lot, luv u,
<3 <3 Bungie
this sig limit is too small to put anything good h
People are pretty ignorant when it comes to piracy and theft... if you find a copy of Halo 2 on the street and start making copies and selling them... that is piracy. If you work in Burger King and take a pickle and eat it from their tray- that is theft. If you find leaked beta software on the net that is neither piracy nor is it theft- it is sloppy security within the company making it.
If you take a bicycle from the store without paying for it, that is theft.
If you find a bicycle you know someone stole form the store that's the store's sloppy security.
Man, how many times have I tried that one on the cops...
== ~0x0
Get it right.
Phil
I guess today is a passable day to die.
Right- if the guy gives you the bike and you use it- you are not the one that is going to be charged with theft. So you may have bad karma... I am not saying you should steal from people-- but because you use a stolen bike that does not make you a thief.
.0000125% of XBox users have the ability to run a pirated game in the first place, and some subset of them is interested in playing this game at all.
The game was pirated EXACTLY LIKE EVERY OTHER TITLE, be it game, business, utility software, or anything else.
But the company sees fit to go with a slightly humorous, yet hard-edged attack in the press (consistent with the theme of the game), and we're not supposed to believe this is nothing but a publicity stunt?
-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
Hey, it could lead to DANCING!
Look, games like Halo 2 are only 10% useful in single player (especially when it's in FRENCH!) You know and I know that 99% of XBOX owners out there will buy the game, regardless of whether it's modded or not. This is especially true when you realize that you can't play the game online without a legal copy anyway...
"...Well, there's egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and spam; egg bacon and spam; egg bacon sausage and spam..."
...at all DVD production lines.
It's the only way to be sure...
"...Well, there's egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and spam; egg bacon and spam; egg bacon sausage and spam..."
After the leak of Halo 2 the number of pre-order sales went from 1 million to 200,000....
You're missing the point ... wouldn't you be pissed off if you'd spentmonths/years developing a product and on the eve of it being released you find it floating around Kazaar because some toe rag had pinched a copy out of the CD duplicator while your back was turned ?
Piracy is a sucky thing, people don't realise that actual real people, who are passionate about what they do are the ones in the background slaving away to make us these toys to play with! Nearly everyone on here says "Oh it's only a Microsoft product!" "They've got shed loads of money and it's ok for us to steal from them" ... so what about the teams of people who made Halo 2 ? You think those guys are happy that the game they've put their souls into has been ripped off and posted to the internet before they've even had time for their launch party ?
Thank about it ...
They have no way to monitor all P2P traffic, obviously.
What they did was simple. They knew some common search term for child porn, and they searched the FastTrack network for hits. They then downloaded files, and registered the IP addresses of the people they had received kiddie porn from. They may also have checked the user's file list to see if he was sharing anything else.
It's that simple. There is nothing baffling about this. You can do it yourself! Fire up Kazaa (beware of spyware), and search for kiddie porn (use your imagination). Now you can download it and check the IP address of the person you downloaded from.
Actually, they used a customized FastTrack client which made all this easier.
But that kind of begs the question: Can Sharman Networks now sue OKOKRIM for this? They probably used an unauthorized client, after all.
Clever signature text goes here.
If you want to talk about how Halo 2 is "the suck" you want to find someone like me who doesn't even care to _Own_ and X Box and funnel your opinions through him...
The "we'll lock out your gamer tags" bit is _just_ like the "no benchmarks" clause.
Yes, the actual leak is a case of Jackass and Barn Door; but the threatening of your potential audience with putative sanctions is just bad business.
I, personally, were I even a member of the target audience, would have decided on that threat alone to exit said audience.
Who do these people think they are? Only the **AA is allowd to get away with suing or threatening their future customers into submission. They cross-license patents on the business method...
Innocent people shouldn't be forced to pay for inferior software development.
--"Code Complete" Microsoft Press
Obviously they'll make you play as a dead man.
threatening to destroy something of value that belongs to one of their customers
... I never will.
It's Microsoft that gave you the GamerTag under certain terms. You are not allowed to encourage piracy of Microsoft products (posting a URL is encouraging).
What you're arguing is more or less equivalent to claiming that a landlord doesn't have the right to evict people in one building who're handing out fliers about picking the locks on his other buildings.
based on the ethics
You're not affecting their sales that much. From what I hear, Halo 2 is still probably going to break even, at least.
These Ninja that MS will deploy...will they be like The Little Ninja?
http://www.ninjai.com/
"I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years." -- Warren Zevon
How the hell is that draconian. Asking people not to spread information about illegal downloads?? They want to do all they can to stop the thieving bastards that want to download something for nothing. Personally I hope they catch a few of them, might make a few people think twice next time.
It's thier forum. If you don't like the rules, go talk elsewhere.. they are only banning people who talk about it on BUNGIE forums.
That's fine. I have no problem with Bungie banning from their forums people who don't follow Bungie's arbitrary rules.
But I do have problems with Bungie promising to lock out of multiplayer people who discuss the leak or post links to the leaked game.
WTF people. Would you feel happy if Microsoft said: "Anyone critical of Microsoft on MSN forums cannot play games on GameZone (or whatever MS multiplayer service is called)"?
Kaa
Kaa's Law: In any sufficiently large group of people most are idiots.
I'd agree that it is a cost... but not a loss, nor a physical loss.
A persons downloading of shareware app from a web site is little different than a person taking a car for a test drive.
Both are free for the customer to do and that help them decide if spending money on the given product is worth while. In both cases, the cost to the seller is a cost of doing business and a smart company will write off such expenses as 'business expenses', not as a 'loss'.
Help Brendan pay off his student loans
I see a lot of posts claiming that people with modchips will pirate the game. I know a guy who has a modchip, and he has pre-ordered a copy of the game, just to support the company in what they feel will be a great game. They use their modchip to stream video (of recorded tv shows) and purchased music across their network to the TV mainly, what's the problem with this?
I don't have time to make a sig
Well, that means there's approximately two of us... :|
They're asking people not to even talk about it. That's a bit more than not spreading links to illegal downloads.
AccountKiller
The swedish ones are in the same style as the others. The best i think is the one with "Uppsala universitet", is from a university that is very upset over some leaked scientific papers or something, and is going to sue. However, after some discussion (and discussion on their part with their lawyer) they realize that there is nothing anyone can do, and the site "The Piratebay" is fully legal.
However, as I said in my previous post, the endusers can be held viable IF they can make the ISPs give out IP adresses - which they wont here in sweden, afaik. However the ISPs will send out letters to their customers on request (letters with no threats that is, just warnings).
>Not everybody in this world is motivated by love of money.
Ummm, I would have thought that would be applied to the pirates, not the people buying a game to support a CORPORATION that, by law, MUST be motivated by money (or, in more general terms, wealth) ONLY.
I'd suggest it's much more likely that pirates are motivated by a love of many other things, law breaking, general piracy, hoarding, collecting, and some other things I can't think of right now, but the last thing on my list would be a love of money. More appropriately, I don't think it makes it *to* my list...
Besides, I would expect a pirate motivated by money not to be using BitTorrent to give copies of the software to others for free, but to use something like FTP and then sell copies to kids at high school.
If you could be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you could be told what to say or think - BoC
"What the hell is this?"
"Its a Peace symbol sir."
"What does your helmet say?"
"Born to kill sir."
"What the hell is going on?"
"I guess I was just trying to point out the duality of mankind."
You're right.
"You stole our game! We'll ban you from playing it!"
Assholes...
-Mark
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain.
It does, but you need to have a modded xbox to play, and modded xbox's are banned from xbox live. That aside, what are you talking about? They said they would ban the gamertags of the bungie.net forum posters. When you sign up for an account, you can put in your gamertag, and most users do, and lol most even have it in their sig.
understatement n. 2. Restraint or lack of emphasis in expression, as for rhetorical effect.
-The American Heritage Dictionary
> It's not the solution to piracy either, because that "problem" doesn't have a solution. A problem w/o a solution is also known as a fact
Anyone got a good link to a review? Spoilers do not bug me from enjoying the experiance.
According to the law, if you knew the bike was stolen you can be charged.
> No, I just have a sense of ethics. Not everybody in this world is motivated by love of money.
Not everybody has the same sense of ethics.