Is Video Game Piracy Dead?

[renhoek93]

Is video game piracy dead now?? i don't see many new cracks coming out or any torrent files of new games in general much anymore and in more recent years the sales of video games pc included have gone up what do you guys think is it now an era long gone?.

[anon]

Denuvo made things much tougher, but CPY has cracked several games protected by it, and the time gap between releases is every time shorter.

[renhoek93]

Denuvo made things much tougher, but CPY has cracked several games protected by it, and the time gap between releases is every time shorter.


Very true.

[Tokeman]

Games still get cracked but they are getting sales from the online only content like multiplayer that the cracked copies don't have access to.
As games go more the online direction I think you'll see this trend gain momentum. That and the games are getting so big it makes it hard for the average joe with a bandwidth cap, or crappy bandwidth.

[anon]

That and the games are getting so big it makes it hard for the average joe with a bandwidth cap, or crappy bandwidth.

There's a lady by the name of FitGirl who does some awesome, losslessly compressed repacks that are much smaller than "regular" releases. All you need then is a supercomputer to decompress them within a reasonable timeframe, but that synergizes with the supercomputer required for playing most new games anyway.

[hellmeat]

I've been waiting for a copy of Watchdogs 2 to show up, and I really wish the Vive games would get released, too =(

[Colorgraphicz]

I think that too and mostly for games with multiplayer online gameplay.

[lance554331]

If the game has online play than yes it is.

[compactdisc]

well fc primal and bf 1 still not cracked yet

[kickinitdeep]

its not dead but it is dying , the teams are all getting older , they have families , they have responsibilities they didnt have when they all started , at some point you have to , and believe me they will , say "this isnt worth the pain its going to bring " , the only way its going to survive is for a new generation to take over , i mean hell i`m in my mid forties now , when i started in the scene i was in my mid 20`s , i can remember downloading tombraider , the first one , on dial up , hehe , seems a million years ago in terms of tech , my point i guess is that unless someone young and gifted picks up the batten so to speak , this will end , all we see at the min is shitty steam crap popping up here , over and over and over , total junk , but unless someone is willing to take it upon them selves to crack these games , then thats all we got,

[svirk33]

the scene is dying

[k3rs]

Fitgirl is keeping it alive ;-)

[compactdisc]

fitgirl is repacking scene releases, not keeping anything alive. btw, major props to CPY

[Gribley]

Fitgirl is keeping it alive ;-)Not sure about your dial-up modem link but my 14.4HST is rocking and doesn`t really matter how much extra compression can get ;)Really unless 'Fitgirl' cracks fractal compression then, at best, keeping alive for those with a shite connection :) Shame on those, move to somewhere with a better signal.

[Caballero]

Fitgirl is keeping it alive ;-)Not sure about your dial-up modem link but my 14.4HST is rocking and doesn`t really matter how much extra compression can get ;)Really unless 'Fitgirl' cracks fractal compression then, at best, keeping alive for those with a shite connection :) Shame on those, move to somewhere with a better signal.

Now, you mentioning HST would seem to me that it's a US Robotics modem? Shouldn't that be 16.8 instead of 14.4 then? :)

[Gribley]

No they did that slightly off-standard version but still great for BB dial-ups for my crystal, paranomnia, paradox, skidrow, quartex, angels etc downloads.

[shaina]

No they did that slightly off-standard version but still great for BB dial-ups for my crystal, paranomnia, paradox, skidrow, quartex, angels etc downloads.

Showing your age knowledge are we Gribley:whistling

Seems that some games take a while to crack, but sooner or later they do....
Still waiting for the Xbox One and the PS4 tho:idunno:

[Gribley]

Showing your age knowledge are we Gribley:whistling

You want age, it was easier when we did a tape to tape copy and then just recorded "a bit of noise" mid tape and returned as faulty for a refund :)

[shaina]

Showing your age knowledge are we Gribley:whistling
You want age, it was easier when we did a tape to tape copy and then just recorded "a bit of noise" mid tape and returned as faulty for a refund :)

You mean "Reel To Reel" Gribley:lol:
Boy those suckers gave amazing surround sound in a room LOL!!!

173080
This would be a good one to have for a valuable collectable today:D
173081

I can only remember 8 Track days sorry:cry:
173082
173083


Edit:
Or are you speaking of this??
173084

I had to look this up seems to be before my time:whistling

[Gribley]

No not that old (this is my pirate limit as Vic20 was more radar rat race and lunar lander and nothing else)
173086

[shaina]

Sorry Gribley... Only remember this one:D

173089

And was it even able to pirate games then??
Main gaming console hacked for me was the original Xbox, which came out with emulators that could play most of the old console or mock pc games, I still have a ton of original old consoles (original boxes and working), but now i can play vintage games right on the xbox , and i still play some arcade games on it:D (Donkey Kong, Krazy Kong, Crystal Castles, ), funny when you try to play sports games from the atari 2600 LOL!!. Plus there is a disk for the Wii as well to play most of the original games in the Nintendo line as well..As you know i am not fond of playing PC games (my 2 boys do), I prefer to play on consoles...

Did they sell Colecovision on your side of the pond?? I never purchased that one....

[Caballero]

And was it even able to pirate games then??

Oh hell, yeah! :)

I miss Lode Runner. And I always thought that the C64 version of Wolfenstein was the most fun of them all, even today.

[shaina]

Oh hell, yeah! :)
I miss Lode Runner. And I always thought that the C64 version of Wolfenstein was the most fun of them all, even today.

I have to say Wolfenstein is you and Gribley's kind of game:D
But Lode Runner looks interesting (another donkey kong style game for me), and it was available on the NES system, I probably have it on one of my Emulator disks either on Xbox or Wii, going to check that out..
Did you ever play the NES version Caballero?? In comparison to the C64??

Edit: I actually think one of the Big Ass Emulator disk actually had C64 games as well??

[IdolEyes787]

Use to love to play Lode Runner.That and Pitfall and Frogger.:01:

[shaina]

Use to love to play Lode Runner.That and Pitfall and Frogger.:01:

:yup: :artist: :yup:

PS. Funny i just played Frogger the other day LOL!!(Mame of all the arcade game versions on Xbox and Iphone:), brings back the younger days of getting drunk(not legal yet) at the arcade hang out (actually met my wife there :D)..
Spending time on Mario Bros, Crystal Castles, Donkey Kong, Frogger, Pole Position..
Not fond of.. Defender, Asteroids,

I am going to check you Lode Runner...

[Caballero]

I just played Pitfall on an original Atari 2600 four weeks ago at the National Videogame Museum. :)

And no, never spent any time with the NES. More than one stick and one button is too complicated for me...

[shaina]

I just played Pitfall on an original Atari 2600 four weeks ago at the National Videogame Museum. :)
And no, never spent any time with the NES. More than one stick and one button is too complicated for me...

Now that is funny :lol:

Even funnier, i have most of the Atari 2600 games on my Iphone...Tried to play venture, but you need a magnifying glass to see that little square to move around LOL!!
Xbox has more buttons to play but much easier to see on a 60" screen:)

What amazes me more, is when i did go to the arcades to play these games and now you can put over 3000 original arcade games on a 8gig disk and play them all..
But i have to say it was worth it going to the arcade, and waste my $2 considering it was a good excuse to get plastered i met my wife there :unsure:

173094
173095

[sadesh]

may i think because of the smartphones

[smallfry]

Nope it's alive and well.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTtcq-uwz4RzM4yxolJrBsMq7ytBYru42uK-p4oabLQTIzFBMmyxQ

[anon]

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTtcq-uwz4RzM4yxolJrBsMq7ytBYru42uK-p4oabLQTIzFBMmyxQ


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMhfbLRoGEw

[cupcake6]

humble bundle and steam summer sales sure did their part. why pirate when so much content is available for a penny?

[renhoek93]

humble bundle and steam summer sales sure did their part. why pirate when so much content is available for a penny?


Because steam fucking sucks.

[smallfry]

Safer to actually own your games rather than rely on a subscription service aka Steam

[Zorbak]

I usually get my warez and consider it a shareware. If i really like it, I'm happy to invest in the game and give the developers my dough..it encourages them to make more.

[MacGyverSG1]

I usually get my warez and consider it a shareware. If i really like it, I'm happy to invest in the game and give the developers my dough..it encourages them to make more.

I'm the same way. Back in the 90's many games used to get released as shareware so you could try it out. For some reason that faded away. I will grab a cracked copy of a game and if I like it, I'll go out and buy it. The games out today just don't interest me like the games of the late 80's and 90's did. UT 2004 was the last big game I enjoyed. There does seem to be a resurgence of older games (DOS, Win 3.1, Win95/98, WinXP) being released for Windows (7, 8, 10). I wouldn't mind playing Commander Keen again.

[mojowire]

Piracy leads to multiplayer online authentication which leads to the slow death of single player gaming.

[MacGyverSG1]

Piracy leads to multiplayer online authentication which leads to the slow death of single player gaming.

That has been happening anyway. The shift to multiplayer games really started with the consoles. PCs was almost always single player. Doom, Quake, Duke Nukem 3D, Unreal Tournament started the change for PCs, but it never took off like it did for consoles. Plus, having multiple players on the same system (uncommon for PC games), made the game studios shift that way. Now PC users get crappy ports of console games.

[1000possibleclaws]

I pirated my first game in probably 5 years. Did not want to support Two Point Hospital but still wanted to check it out. I think esports and the high quality of game clients such as Steam have made game piracy a much more fringe thing. Also streaming sites for music and media have taken away the notion to pirate anything from youth.

[anon]

Eh, Steam isn't so great when you don't have a credit card or PayPal. But I guess that's my fault :dry:

[Max_Samuel]

There was a time when video game trainers rule the net but now they are very hard to find.

[Gribley]

There was a time when video game trainers rule the net but now they are very hard to find.
Really because most stuff is online. Offline I think most people got bored of hacking it out, you`ll still get many trainers over at gamecopyworld if you that is your bag

[anon]

Trainers are like No-CDs - largely a memory from more innocent times when all it took to start playing was double-clicking a shortcut, the scene often released games before they were commercially available, and which copy protection they used (if any at all) was irrelevant :(

[Gribley]

Trainers are like No-CDs - largely a memory from more innocent times when all it took to start playing was double-clicking a shortcut, the scene often released games before they were commercially available, and which copy protection they used (if any at all) was irrelevant :(

Clearly we come from around the same era. I did get rid of that "installed" check on autoroute using DOS debug and also a universal VESA driver, much simpler times. Easier on the Amiga as it had memory compare built in to Action Replay so was easy to spot changes before/after security and then you could just ask it nice what functions are addressing that byte :D damn seems so simple now

[ash1920]

Government are serious on Issues like piracy and there are anti-piracy laws in place to curb such activities.

[tigerknee]

With digital distribution and online sales (Steam/PSN), game piracy i think is dead.

[anon]

With digital distribution and online sales (Steam/PSN), game piracy i think is dead.

Unless Steam and PSN also give games away for free, I'm not sure I see your point :turned:

[MacGyverSG1]

Hi......!
For as long as video game piracy has existed, gamers and the industry have argued about whether the practice really hurts sales of legitimate games. In 2010, the Business Software Alliance estimated that generalized software piracy costs the world $51 billion annually and half a million jobs.
Thanks.....

The real numbers are probably much lower than those. 98% of the stuff I pirate, I would never buy anyways.

[vn11]

The Switch scene is def not dead!

[SydBarrett]

Piracy will not die until everything is in the cloud and nothing is on anyone's hd but a launcher.

[antoine]

Piracy will not die until everything is in the cloud and nothing is on anyone's hd but a launcher.

like google stadia.. people are more likely to suscribe to service (tv like netflix, disney+..), streaming videogames service is probably the next step. (pay 2k for a gaming pc every 2 years, or rent a close service for 5$ a month?)

[MacGyverSG1]

Piracy will not die until everything is in the cloud and nothing is on anyone's hd but a launcher.

like google stadia.. people are more likely to suscribe to service (tv like netflix, disney+..), streaming videogames service is probably the next step. (pay 2k for a gaming pc every 2 years, or rent a close service for 5$ a month?)

There's no reason to pay 2k for a gaming PC every two years. The GPU has the biggest impact on gaming performance. You might have to upgrade your video card every 2-4 years, depending on what games you play.

I would think you would still need a pretty powerful PC (video card anyways) to play streamed games at a decent performance. Don't know if a server farm could handle it.

[tomas31]

If you play FPS frame rate is key and you def have to update that vid card if you want to contend. If you are a casual gamer, you can buy PC's prebuilt during the boxing day sales for probably 1.5 that let you stretch it to possibly 3. Again this is not being able to paly at high settings for graphics though.

[usmanshahidlatif]

Game piracy will be dead in two years' time... according to pirates. Soon everyone will have to buy their games through legal channels. The war on piracy might soon be over, and it looks like Team Legal Games will be winning this one

[anon]

Game piracy will be dead in two years' time...

This sounds scary... or it would if it hadn't been said in some form or another for the last 15 years.

[IdolEyes787]

Game piracy will be dead in two years' time... according to pirates. I would probably care more if the industry put out more than one good game every four years.
Seriously, I got more entertainment out of this stupid video than Ubisoft ever gave me anyway.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJZ3EvevytE

[Stehle]

YEAH! Now that's entertainment!!!! :shifty::rolleyes::whistling :lol:

(I love me some... "...ass whoopin!") :alien:

Very sad at times though. :(

[MacGyverSG1]

Game piracy will be dead in two years' time... according to pirates. I would probably care more if the industry put out more than one good game every four years.
Seriously, I got more entertainment out of this stupid video than Ubisoft ever gave me anyway.

Probably why I have been playing only old games that have been re-released to work on Windows 7/8/10.

[wedwilson]

No. As long as thousands of older games get lost to the winds of time every year since they’re made for archaic and outdated software, and people still wanna play them (on an emulator or something), video game piracy will always be a thing to be reckoned with. That’s a clear-cut no-brainer!a

[anon]

Game piracy will be dead in two years' time... according to pirates. Soon everyone will have to buy their games through legal channels. The war on piracy might soon be over, and it looks like Team Legal Games will be winning this one

Four years later...