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The Sims 3 Racks Up Over 180,000 Downloads Prior To Release
Bloomberg reports that pirated versions of EA's The Sims 3 were downloaded over 180,000 times between May 18 and May 21. The game will not be officially released until June 2nd, and it does not make use of SecuROM for DRM. Quoting:
"That outpaces the 400,000 downloads over three weeks for Electronic Arts' Spore, the most-pirated game of 2008. ... Copies of the game available on file-sharing Web sites aren't the full version, Electronic Arts said. 'The pirated version is a buggy, pre-final build of the game,' Holly Rockwood, a company spokeswoman, said in an e-mailed statement. 'It's not the full game. Half the world — an entire city — is missing from the pirated copy.'"
Ill just wait and pirate the full copy when it comes out then. Thanks for the heads up EA i wouldnt wanna pirate a substandard version.
So guys, you kept saying everyone pirates because of DRM. Well, this doesnt have one now. What excuse should we use now?
... pretending you have a life.
839*929
Ok. Let me try this excuse:
"I pirated it because I couldn't buy it anywhere."
There. Done. I'm sure a number of people who pirated will end up buying a real copy once it's released so they can get the online content. But right now if you're itching to play the sims 3 or just see what it's like, you have no other options but to wait or pirate. Most people are quite impatient to say the least.
In Soviet Russia, the television watches YOU!
I'm downloading it so that EA feel compelled to put the DRM back in for the expansion packs. I will then start a campaign to boycott DRM laden games which will be so popular that no one will buy any of the $ims 3 expansion packs thereby killing the franchise once and for all.
"I pirated it because I couldn't buy it anywhere."
Boohoo, god forbid that anybody have to wait a few days for something any more. Seriously, unless you are terminally ill and will likely to die before the official street date, why can't you wait. Don't you have anything better to do?
The game's target audience (twelve-year-old girls) probably wouldn't even know how to pirate it, they'll just ask their daddies to get it from the mall. Those who have now downloaded it are probably the bunch who download anything new on TPB as soon as it appears and never pay for anything anyway.
To put it succintly, no.
Sadly, the only thing that will ever kill the Sims is somebody making a better Sims-type game. That or putting them in a swimming pool and removing the ladders.
Actually, the original release (referred to in TFS, which was beta code) was propered earlier this week - the "current" pirated release is the RTM code.
Wait, so you mean version 4 has higher system requirements than version 2? Oh the horror!
There were memory leak issues early on with Civ4, but they got fixed up pretty well with patches.
Speak for yourself.
My steam account has about $1,000 worth of games and yet most are not online games that I could have pirated.
Thing is, it's easier for me to get them on steam than it is to pirate them. I don't want to deal with cracks, patches, recracks, etc. Paying the $30-40 for a game on steam is worth it just for the fact that I can download it again in a few months or years when I get the itch to play it again.
The problem with your logic and that of most publishes is that you are trying to prevent a pirated copy from working. This is silly. What they should be trying to do is give incentives to buy a legitimate copy. A few free downloadable content packs that would require online registration is all that's needed to make a number of customers out of pirates. It works for Stardock.
In Soviet Russia, the television watches YOU!
Pirated copy is version 0.5 - it has half of the world. So the full version will be 1.0 - it has the whole world. When EA provides version 1.1 will I get 10% of world extra for free?
The article says it does not use SecureROM for DRM, not that it doesn't use DRM. Anyone know what it does use for DRM?
Game! - Where the stick is mightier than the sword!
A few free downloadable content packs that would require online registration is all that's needed to make a number of customers out of pirates. It works for Stardock.
Actually, EA is doing exactly this with The Sims 3. When you register your game as legitly bought you get 1000 free points to download more stuff from their item store. So you get the free downloadable content there aswell.
The post has disappeared from EA's site, but
The game will have disc-based copy protection - there is a Serial Code just like The Sims 2. To play the game there will not be any online authentication needed.
Google's cache
I just found and bought a new copy of the original "Diablo" (originally from 1996). The fact that the game is really easy to pirate and doesn't even need a cd key hasn't stopped me.
What shocked me is that it is a Windows 9x/NT game that works perfectly on modern 64-bit Windows. I don't even need to set 9x compat mode.
Don't you have anything better to do?
You do realize that we are talking about The Sims players here.
The Long Now Foundation
I read in a review they can now get out of swimming pools without ladders. You'll need a room with no windows or doors.
Sorry if you misread what I wrote, or if it came out wrong. I am not saying people don't buy games, I am saying that people will pirate games no matter what.
There are those who pirate / steal, and those who don't. Some of those who pirate / steal act like they would typically buy things but then have some excuse on why they didn't this time etc..
Imagine a poor person who downloads 10 CDs a week, 10 games a month, 10 movies a month etc.. and acts as if they would buy all of the above if they were rich. This is typically bullshit. People steal and steal a LOT! They steal at least one thing per day if not 100s.
I've yet to meet a pirate who is moderate or only does it once or twice.
I read in a review they can now get out of swimming pools without ladders.
That should be based on your Sims' BMI.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
so they played a pre-release incomplete version with half the content missing, and bitched that it was no good.
*sigh*...
DRM-free indie games for the PC and Mac: Positech Games
This episode shows that pirates get to the game before your average consumer can touch it, meaning that there's a break in the production pipeline inside EA.
Their problem is their employees, contractors and distributors, not their customers.
Put another way: EA's biggest problem is EA. And all the DRM in the world (or none of it, for that matter) can change that.
And I am sure a greater number of those people will pirate the full copy. The old argument was that people pirated because of DRM. This shows that argument is false. People are just dicks and want stuff for free. So stop trying to morally justify it. I don't care if you do it, just don't try to make it seem like you are some sort of awesome freedom fighter because you are cheap and lack decency.
Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
There are a number of reasons why many will pirate it now. For starters, the game is obviously done and is sitting at stores waiting for June 2nd. Due to differences between The Sims 2 and 3 in terms of gameplay, people will want to start experimenting with it early to see if they even want to pay the money for the game. You have those who paid early for the Feb launch, and have lost those deposits(the pre-order coupon they got with their pre-order expired in April).
The list goes on and on, but the primary reason is you have a rabid fan base who really wants to play the new game, and don't want to be forced to wait until release. Many/most of these will not cancel their pre-order and look forward to their legal copy, so from that perspective, these are people who want what they have paid for or will be paying for in the next week. If you don't care, then of course it is easy to say people should wait, but if you are going to pay for it anyway, why NOT get it a few days early?
For the younger players, what is better to do, homework?
I am not convinced. A high BMI would give you more mass to haul out of the pool, but it would also make most of that mass much more buoyant. It probably evens out in the end.
I was sort of entertained that in Sims2 they even HAD a BMI. Or at least variation. I always wished I could change their height. A sim version of me doesn't look right unless it's short.
And at the low, low price of only $9.99!
Allow me to introduce myself, reformed downloader.
Whilst waiting tables, shameless downloader and watcher of, uh, "free" cable. Now gainfully employed, happy customer of Steam, Rhapsody, Netflix and Cox.
Also I discovered I had been being a hypocritical douchebag, and didn't wanna be a playa no more. People can change, and will, if properly incentivized.
A high BMI would give you more mass to haul out of the pool, but it would also make most of that mass much more buoyant. It probably evens out in the end.
Having experienced a broad range in my life I have to say that no, it doesn't. Having more surface area means that you have more drag, too. It's the muscles that get you out of the pool.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
The old argument was that people pirated because of DRM
Nice straw man, but the real argument is that people who would otherwise have bought legitimate copies pirate because of DRM. Other people would have either pirated or gone without. When making financial decisions, you should ignore these people because nothing you will do will make them pay for your product. Punishing the people who want to buy the legitimate version with DRM does not make people who, as you put it, are just dicks, into customers.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Bullshit. I grabbed the final 3 expansions for sims 2 off torrents, tried them out, and promptly deleted them. I learned my lesson after the final sims 1 expansion...
The final expansion in particular. They took the demo concept of sims 3 (apartments, playing your sims while other families are active), tacked on the half assed magic stuff from sims 1, and called it an expansion.
The sims series is interesting and has a lot of potential, but it's really damn obvious the EA execs treat it as nothing more than a cash bag.
Need more money? Have a modeler modify 6 of the existing models to have some different angles, have a texture artist create a basic texture like duckies on blue background and use it for everything, and sell it for $19.99 as a stuff pack. Bonus if they can get some big name furniture maker to pay them to tag a name into the descriptions of the new models.
Reviews are bullshit. Demos are haven't been worth trying, if you can find one, since the fucking 90s. And game companies will tack a $20 price sticker on every 5 minutes of work they can get away with.
My money is precious to me, it provides a roof, clothes, and food to my little girl. I sure as hell am not going to toss it at EA every time one of their artists takes a day to make new textures. I download when needed to make informed decisions about where my limited budget is going to be spent.
And no, I'm not one of those 180k downloaders. Making the decision based off half a game is pretty damn worthless and a waste of bandwidth. I won't need to anyway, a friend of mine is planning on buying it when it comes out, so I can try it at his place this time around, just like he tried 1 and 2 at my place when they came out.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!