ESA Praises Sting of Game Software Pirates

Next Generation reports on the arrest of 19 software pirates in Chicago. The ESA sent along their congratulations to federal law enforcement officers, who took down the warez dealers as part of a task force titled 'Opereration Site Down'. From the article: "The international piracy warez group known as 'RISCISO' reportedly pirated $6.5 million worth of games, software and movies since it began operations in 1998. The group maintained several servers that contained 23,000 CD ROMs worth of pirated material, according to the ESA."

Comments

The more you tighten your grip...

[voice_of_all_reason]

The more pirates will slip through your fingers...

Re:The more you tighten your grip...

[ucahg]

I hope not. I hope those who spend time, research, and money into creating new software get paid for their product. You know, kinda like everyone else.

Re:The more you tighten your grip...

[BorgDrone]

I hope those who spend time, research, and money into creating new software get paid for their product. You know, kinda like everyone else.

But getting money from selling copyrighted data is not like everyone else.

I get paid by the hour, like most people. Basically, I'm selling some of my time to my employer. If you sell software or music/movies, your salary is not a function the amount work you've done but for the number of people willing to buy the result of that work.

Re:The more you tighten your grip...

[dunkelfalke]

arrrrrrrr!

Re:The more you tighten your grip...

[CastrTroy]

But look at any other industry. The cost of figuring out how to build the car is much of the cost you pay for one. You only have to figure out how to build the first one. Same goes for a lot of other things that require knowledge to build. If you only consider the costs of the production of the product, and not the work that goes into figuring out how to produce it, then everything ends up looking like it should cost much less than it does.

Re:The more you tighten your grip...

[HardCase]

Amen to that, brother. My employer will spend $1.5 billion on research and development this year. That's all for new product development and it's typical of the other companies in the same business (a semiconductor manufacturer). So, if we sold one chip, it would be pretty expensive. Since we sell millions, the price drops. But it doesn't drop to next to nothing because, besides the manufacturing costs, the capital costs also have to be recovered. In my industry, R&D is the number one expense.

-h-

Now the headline makes sense

[Mercano]

Oh, Sting, not String. Now the headline makes more sense. I thought the ESA was praising a series of virtual swashbuckling misadventures.

I don't get it

[BorgDrone]

I don't get it, why should the ESA care about software piracy, last time I checked they were building rockets, not selling software.

Or are we, by chance, talking about some other, obscure, ESA?

Re:I don't get it

[TopShelf]

If you RTFA, (I know, I know) you'll see it's the Entertainment Software Association praising the bust.

The bigger question, though, is a how a post like that got modded "Informative"?

Re:I don't get it

[BorgDrone]

I did read TFA before posting.

My comment was meant to point out that I (and I suspect most people) haven't heard of this 'other' ESA and that maybe the post should have mentioned this article is not about the European Space Agency.

Flying Spaghetti Monster will NOT be pleased

[LiquidCoooled]

In 2000, there were only 17 pirates left.
Now we are in negative figures just watch as global average temperature become uncontrollable.

Repent your sins.
The end of the world is nigh.

http://www.venganza.org/

Re:Flying Spaghetti Monster will NOT be pleased

[sepelester]

To enlighten those who don't understand parents post: The Flying Spaghetti Monster

"Global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct consequence of the decline in numbers of pirates since the 19th Century."

Re:Flying Spaghetti Monster will NOT be pleased

[SpacePunk]

It may be heresy to say, but global warming isn't related to the falling number of real pirates, but the growing number of false pirates that blow a lot of hot air.

Cannot compute

[A beautiful mind]

Sorry, I can't imagine 23'000 CD-ROM's worth of information, how much is it in the standard Library of Congress format?

Re:Cannot compute

[vasqzr]

Assuming each of the 23,000 CD's were full at 650MB each, that's 14,950,000MB

14.9TB of data

Re:Cannot compute

[PFI_Optix]

You can't imagine 15 TB?

Re:Cannot compute

[Anonymous Coward]

Joke...head..*whooooosh*.

Re:Cannot compute

[InsaneGeek]

Standard rule is printed collection of the Library of Congress is ~10TB
700mb * 23000 = 16.1TB
so it's approximately 1.61 times the Library of Congress

Re:Cannot compute

[Woy]

Well considering a CD-ROM is about 1mm thick, its obviously 23 meters of data. If you divide the 23m of data by the length of the LoC you will have your answer.

Re:Cannot compute

[karnal]

650MB CDs? Those are so 1990's....

A Real Link and an unanswered Question

[MBraynard]

Here is a real link.

Wonder - the article seems to suggests these were not terrorists but it isn't clearly addressed.

Never heard of the group

[garylian]

I guess the RISCISO group was website based. I hadn't heard of them. I've seen the ones that use Usenet to distribute to anyone who wants the software.

Even those Usenet groups are dying down. The last time there was a sting, the volume of posting dropped from about 25 titles a day to about 10 titles a day. About 2 months ago, it dropped again, to about 2-3 titles a day it seems. This is probably why.

Even without those types of pirates, I think you will be seeing a lot of software stop being pirated. The more titles require on-line play with servers to connect to, the easier for the software companies to make sure there is a digital handshake that would be hard to get around.

Besides, you see a lot of the software companies releasing games that have major bugs in them, requiring a patch that has to be downloaded. I am suspecting that this is one of their methods to defeat the ISO type pirates. Sure, someone can download their game. However, it is basically a free demo that will crap out on you about 5 hours into gameplay due to a major bug. In order to fix said bug, you have to download the patch, which re-installs whatever copy protection the ISO type pirates removed. A simple process, but effective.

Secure-ROM 7 apparently also seeks out such programs as Daemon Tools and refuses to let the application run if it is installed. Even people using stuff like Blind Write and other tools that try to hide applications like Daemon Tools are failing to mask their usage.

Personally, I am kind of tired of the pirated software stuff. The software companies are going to harder and harder methods of protection, and it can and does catch paying customers in their path.

I own a copy of Atari's "Dungeons & Dragnons: The Temple of Elemental Evil". I had played it when it first came out, and not really played it again. I had used Daemon Tools to hold an image of the original CD 1, so I didn't have to swap so much. (I'm an admitted game junkie, and I'm tired of swappings CDs when I want to play Half-Life 2, as opposed to Sacred, as opposed to NWN, etc.) A HD crash more than a year later wiped the CD image out. When I went to re-install, there was a new patch to put in, so I installed it when I loaded the game again. The problem is, they added new protection in the latest patch, and said protection told me that my original game CD was not valid. Calls to Atari were a joke. They refused to fix it because when they asked for a diagnostic to be run, it identified that Daemon Tools was found in the registry. Even uninstalling it, they refused to help. I offered to mail them the original game box first, and they could return me a new box with new CDs. No dice.

Many game companies are offering free demos of products available to download from places like fileplanet. So, there is no need to pull a full cd image from some place that is going to require a patch that will re-enforce the pirate's efforts, anyways. But, people that buy the games can suffer, and find their software is ruined years later by a patch the are supposed to need.

Personally, I think half of the patches for Blizzard's Diablo II: Lord of Destruction that have been done over the years is to reinforce copy protection.

Re:Never heard of the group

[erroneus]

I remember seeing that name tied to things I had downloaded in the past. I can't recall what they were as I generally don't use anything but OSS any more. I don't use OSS because it's 'free.' I used to get all my software for free anyway. I use it because I trust it, and asside from a few VERY time-wasting games (I bought an XBOX for that purpose) there's nothing I can't do well enough under GNU/Linux and the host of free software out there. In short, I stopped using that stuff because I no longer need it.

If there were some awesome commercial app for use under Linux, I might consider getting it for free... maybe... But there isn't just yet... not any that interests me anyway.

Re:Never heard of the group

[strider44]

I doubt that piracy will stop at all, it's just moving onto different areas. I seriously think that these anti-piracy measures actually reduce sales by putting all sorts of crap in your way just to play a game that you bought! When it's not only easier to download a game off bit-torrent or whatever but you actually get a better product when doing so, something's seriously fucked up.

Re:Never heard of the group

[FriedTurkey]

when I want to play Half-Life 2

For Half-Life 2 if you registered your CD with a steam account you don't need the CD check. Just uninstall the game. Redownload using Steam. I bought all my Valve games with the CD but I never have to whip out the CDs anymore. Totally love Steam. I hope more companies do something similar.

Re:Never heard of the group

[AKAImBatman]

I own a copy of Atari's "Dungeons & Dragnons: The Temple of Elemental Evil". When I went to re-install, there was a new patch to put in, so I installed it when I loaded the game again. The problem is, they added new protection in the latest patch, and said protection told me that my original game CD was not valid.

If you think that's bad, you should have seen Homeworld: Cataclysm. It came with a "Copy Protection" scheme that did the following: If there's a CD-Writer installed on the system, don't run the game. Do not print a useful error message.

I had to call up support (I *hate* calling support) to find out what the problem was. The only way to play the game is to replace your CDRW drive with a CDROM (!) or download an unofficial crack to "fix" the issue.

I don't know what Sierra/Barking Dog Studios was thinking, but it couldn't have been a very complex thought. Nearly every system released on the market has a CD Burner installed! The return rates on the game must have been incredible!

Corporate stupidity. Bah, humbug.

Re:Never heard of the group

[iainl]

Conversely, the current Doom 3 patch removes the CD checks, rather than adding new ones. Which is a complete Godsend, as I seem to have lost my Disc 1 (probably by sticking it somewhere random when I had to eject it in order to put something else in the DVD drive). I've still got my discs 2 and 3, but of course that doesn't help very much.

Re:Never heard of the group

[Schemat1c]

I doubt that piracy will stop at all, it's just moving onto different areas. I seriously think that these anti-piracy measures actually reduce sales by putting all sorts of crap in your way just to play a game that you bought! When it's not only easier to download a game off bit-torrent or whatever but you actually get a better product when doing so, something's seriously fucked up.

I totally agree. When I tried to run Doom 3 for the first time it had the nerve to tell me it wouldn't run due to my cd emulation software. Well I use that emulator to run old games so I don't have to go digging out old cd's everytime I want to play, not to pirate. I promptly uninstalled Doom and ID lost a customer who's been buying their stuff since the days of Wolfenstein.

Re:Never heard of the group

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm not really sure where you got the idea that RiSCISO was web based, but thats quite untrue. RiSC (without iso) is a very old warez group that dates back to the bbs days. As their title suggests, they were primarily a courier group. Which means they were the guys that'd call the LD boards to grab new releases and move them to other ld boards. Their great innovation was that in the early 90s instead of calling a LD bbs to download a game, then calling another LD board to upload it, they'd have someone local to the bbs grab a copy, upload it to the internet, where it'd be placed on a site, where the other members could download it and send it to their local bbs's. thereby reducing the expense of moving the 'goods' (at the cost of time required for propogation). I'm sure that there was some form of evolution that took place when they changed their name, and I doubt the players in the group are the same as they were 15 years ago, but reputation wise, they are old school.

I'm sure someone else could elaborate on their more recent history.

I have this feeling 'the man' is basing their raids on some really old nfo files or something, since a lot of these older groups (PWA and DoD for example) they've came down on in the past aren't nearly as active as many other groups. But I guess when it comes to raiding people, its better to go after the group (DoD) whos claim to fame was releasing Windows 98 then the group who has released 100s of 0-day apps in the past 2 months, or the latest MS Office.

Re:Never heard of the group

[Anonymous Coward]

I find that odd, because I played the game, and didn't have any problems.

But then, I always use nocd cracks on games I buy, so that might have been it.

Copy 'protection' is balls

Re:Never heard of the group

[AKAImBatman]

But then, I always use nocd cracks on games I buy, so that might have been it.

That would be exactly why you didn't see it. The NOCD crack was what I was referring to as the "Unofficial crack". If you read the description of the crack, you'll find that it removes the copy protection from the program. (Which is CD based. SecuROM, if I'm not mistaken.)

Re:Never heard of the group

[Audacious]

I own a copy of Atari's "Dungeons & Dragnons: The Temple of Elemental Evil". I had played it when it first came out, and not really played it again.

You do always have the choice of taken them to small claims court for deceptive marketing practices. Since they sell globally and have a 1-800 number they have to come to your city/town/whatever's courthouse to defend themselves. When they don't - you can place a lien on their business. This stops them from getting any new loans from a bank until the lien has been removed. Liens last up to ten years and can be reset to continue on indefinitely. Courts assign interest to liens as well. So over the years your lien will become worth quite a lot. :-)

This is not to mention the fact that you can also file for class action suits (need lots of people though to do this), triple damages, so on and so forth. Read your Federal, state, and local laws for all things. IANAL - just have done a lot of reading on the legal laws of my state because I had to go to court over some things and that is where I've gotten my knowledge from.

Also, go to small claims court. You don't need a lawyer, just bring all of the documentation you downloaded from the net on this matter. Highlight the passages you wish to use. Write everything down because in that way you can just read your answers off to the judge. And most important - don't be afraid to speak up. Even if the other guy is speaking - if he misquotes a law you have to speak up and say something. Otherwise, the lawyer will walk all over you. You should always start your sentences off with the shortest version of what you want to say and then expand upon your statement. Such as "I believe that is incorrect your honor. The law, which I have here to show you, specifically states...." In reality there are so many laws that it is almost impossible for any judge or lawyer to keep them all straight in their heads (which is why there are so many people who specialize in one aspect of the law).

In your case - you have tried to work with the people at Atari and they have placed what, are to you, unreasonable restrictions on the usage of their software. Your choices will probably be to return the software to the manufacturer or put up with the problems. But! If they are refusing to give you back your money and they won't fix the problems - then you should have a very good case.

I learned about the above the hard way - having to take someone to court and never getting paid by them. But I do have liens against them and I check on these liens every year to make sure they are still in effect. So far - so good.

PS: Don't forget to ask for your court fees as well. No need for you to have to pay good money for what these people are doing.

makes me wonder..

[tont0r]

if they will notice that despite all these piracy busts they do, their profits still remain the same.

Re:makes me wonder..

[Synic]

As soon as they bust one group, another fills its vacancy. It's like busting drug cartels... the only way to get rid of them is to attack the root of the problem, not the symptom. You want less piracy? Make games less costly to purchase, and easier to do so on a whim (impulse buying is what is saving music right now, via iTunes).

Yo, tont0r!

[Anonymous Coward]

The First Rule of Usenet is... You do not talk about Usenet.

The Second Rule of Usenet is... You do not talk about Usenet.

This ESA = Entertainment Software Association

[TorKlingberg]

This ESA is probably Entertainment Software Association.
Strange that the articles doesn't say, as most of us probably think of ESA as European Space Agency

Re:This ESA = Entertainment Software Association

[Anonymous Coward]

yup, never heard of the Entretainment Software Associations

Re:This ESA = Entertainment Software Association

[Midnight Thunder]

Yup, I was wondering what the European Space Agency was doing solving software piracy? I don't really think most people have much need for a pirated rocket flight control system.

Re:This ESA = Entertainment Software Association

[mqduck]

most of us probably think of ESA as European Space Agency

WTF? I thought most Slashdotters were American. I don't even know that acronym.

In case people think this is familiar

[strider44]

This is actually a follow-up to a previous article.

Wow, this guy can do it all!

[sgant]

I though Sting was busy saving rain forests and making adult-contemporary music....who knew he was also a pirate stomping crime-fighter!

The joke is on you.

[JavaLord]

Your tax money pays for this crap.

Re:The joke is on you.

[Anonymous Coward]

Protecting copyrights is a basic function of the government.

Easiest workaround...

[steveo777]

The original Deus Ex had an excelent workaround. Even with the patches, you could play the game without the CD, thus, with a burned copy. One of the game's .sys folders contained a line that looked for the CD in D:. Well, that was the default and you could easily change that to the folder on your HDD that contained all the game files, seeing as it copied the CD onto the drive for its install.

Oh, and no, I didn't pirate the game. I got a copy from my brother whose computer couldn't run it properly (he had mainboard issues). Then got a Game of the Year version when I upgraded my sound card.

Don't feed the trolls please.

[Anonymous Coward]

Simply put, this is a troll and shouldn't be fed, you only encourage them.

Going for mere peanuts

[Zerth]

Only they only pirated $6.5 million since 1998? Pansies... My nieces have probably pirated more than that and they're all under 12.

Re:Going for mere peanuts

[Anonymous Coward]

My nieces have probably pirated more than that and they're all under 12.

Really? They sound hot. Got their email addresses handy?

Wow

[British]

Some company(anything like the BSA?) is praising cops busting people.

This reminds me of(in Clerks) when Randall kicked out some customer out of the video store and Jay goes "YEAH!@#". Ie he contributed absolutely nothing. Rhetorical!

Homeworld Cataclysm

[Akaihiryuu]

That's really odd...all of my computers have CD-RW drives on them and neither Homeworld nor Homeworld Cataclysm ever complained about them. In fact, I never had any issues at all. I have the original disks for both as well (gotten from the bargain bin when they went cheap), not cracks. I never had to crack either.

Re:Homeworld Cataclysm

[garylian]

It is possible that in later creations of the CDs, they fixed that.

Most of the time, when a game has been out long enough to hit the bargain bin, it is no longer version 1.0. It is 1.3 or something. So, there are no patches, and if the patch fixed the problem, viola.

I'm not saying that IS the reason, but it is possible.