Mass Effect 3 hits the torrents!! Special mention to Xbox pirates.

[Still Life]

http://nerdreactor.com/2012/03/04/mass-effect-3-for-xbox-360-gets-leaked-online/

Just less than a few days from the launch of what could possibly be a contender for the 2012′s Game of the Year, Mass Effect 3 has been leaked online. The torrent for the Xbox 360 version of the game began to appear on torrent sites as early as yesterday. The PC version of Mass Effect 3 has been available for almost a week now but is not playable because a crack has yet to be developed. The size of the torrent is 15 GB meaning the game will be 2 Disc for 360 players.

In typically 360 fashion, I?m sure there will be a update just shortly after the launch, and naturally, user?s Xboxs will be banned.

For the rest of us that actually pay for our games, BioWare announced yesterday some of the big midnight launch events. BioWare will be attending the events in Los Angeles, Edmonton, Chicago and Boston.

http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Mass-Effect-3-Leaked-Onto-Torrents-Xbox-360-40108.html

The full version of Mass Effect 3 has currently been leaked onto torrent sites and the game is cracked and ready to play on a modded Xbox 360. The interesting part about the news is that it's currently unplayable on PC.

TBreak picked up the news yesterday, reporting on the full game being leaked onto torrent sites and fully available for the Xbox 360 as a 16 gigabyte file that requires being burned onto two discs (or copied to the Xbox 360's hard drive).

The site also reports that the PC version of the game has been leaked onto torrents for more than a week, but what's interesting is that the game cannot be played on PC due to the requirement of Origin and no crack is available for the PC version of the game.

Some readers may remember that back when Battlefield 3 leaked onto torrent sites the same thing happened, with gamers unable to access parts of the game due to an encoded, timed activation that prevented gamers from making full use of the 15 gigabyte download.

Another interesting note is that despite the ease of pirating games on PC -- as of the writing of this article -- there are currently fewer seeders/leeches for the PC rendition of Mass Effect 3 than there are the Xbox 360 version, which begs the question, what will publishers start doing when console piracy starts eating into sales? On-disc DRM perhaps? In-game DRM maybe? I guess we'll soon find out.

For those of you willing to buy the game legally, you can pick it up this Tuesday on March 6th for $59.99 for PC, Xbox 360 or PS3. For more information on the game feel free to visit the Official Website.

Did anyone not see this coming?

I'm actually interested in the pirating of Xbox copies and the potential effects it may have on future consoles, such as DRM measures, firmware, etc.

Any thoughts? Will these kind of leaks lead to tighter control over software distribution in the future generation? New digital distribution models? Super-special encryption and release date checks?

 

[ripdajacker]

Well I don't think the publishers will begin to add the same DRM measures for Xbox/PS3, and that's for one main reason: Very few (percentage wise) console owners can execute pirated games.

Leaks sometimes occur before production, and are therefore unsigned binaries. On PC that isn't a problem, but take the Xbox as an example you have to jump through quite a few hoops to run unsigned code.

A phone-home feature could be used as DRM, but again if pirates want to break it, they will. Just take a look at the Xbox firmware arms race. Every time a new dashboard comes out, a new hack is released a few weeks later tops.

As long as the skills required to use these hacks are so specialized, the publishers won't have a reason to invest millions in new DRM, when they lose fewer money doing nothing.

 

[Dandark]

Well I don't think the publishers will begin to add the same DRM measures for Xbox/PS3, and that's for one main reason: Very few (percentage wise) console owners can execute pirated games.

Leaks sometimes occur before production, and are therefore unsigned binaries. On PC that isn't a problem, but take the Xbox as an example you have to jump through quite a few hoops to run unsigned code.

A phone-home feature could be used as DRM, but again if pirates want to break it, they will. Just take a look at the Xbox firmware arms race. Every time a new dashboard comes out, a new hack is released a few weeks later tops.

As long as the skills required to use these hacks are so specialized, the publishers won't have a reason to invest millions in new DRM, when they lose fewer money doing nothing.

The problem with that line of logic is that you assume publishers actully think about this. They have a lot of annoying and useless DRM on the PC that does nothing so I would actully expect them to put it on the consoles too, even though it probably won't do anything to the pirates and will probably only affect paying customers again, they will still do it.

 

[votemarvel]

I know more people who pirates games on their console and handheld than do so on the PC.

Now for some of them this is because they don't have a PC that is capable of running games. They don't have a powerful PC because they don't need one, they want it for browsing the internet or office work.

Now the number of people who have a PC like that is increasing because gaming is spreading out into masses of other platforms.

So to be honest I could see then extending the online pass system that consoles are using to cover the entire game, essentially becoming a one time activation key for the game.

 

[AwkwardTurtle]

Honestly all I can do is facepalm at this article.

All I can do is hope against hope that this doesn't set some kind of precedent where consoles will now require some convoluted DRM system that fails keep pirates out, because 99% of people who pirate games were going to pirate the game regardless, and simultaneously frustrate and annoy the people who legally bought the game.

I really hope this isn't destined to be the moment that will soon be cited by future pro-console DRM people.

Snip

Snip

If only everyone was as logical as you, ripdajacker, if only. My fear is the same as Dandark's. Publishers never seem to follow the same logical path of thinking.

 

[Screamarie]

What I get out of this is how fucking SAD this is! I just don't understand this...stupidity of taking something that you're not entitled to in ANY way shape or form. You didn't pay for it, it's not your birthright, and you didn't make the damn thing! I just...it PISSES ME OFF!

I'm so sick of those assholes who make it suck more for the rest of us.

"You can't go up the stairs anymore!"
"Why not?"
"Because Jimmy tried to run down the stairs and busted his head open"
"Well fuck Jimmy's an idiot! I know not to run down the stairs!"
"But you might!"
"But I won't!"
"But you COULD!"
"Well I could choke and die on my dinner does that mean I don't get to eat anymore?!"

It's not a perfect analogy, but that's what I kind of get out of piracy and DRM. Maybe DRM will end up on consoles, maybe it won't, I honestly don't know enough about it all to get an informed comment, but in the end it feels like (and is probably true) that the piracy prevention hurts the consumer more than the pirate.

 

[Shock and Awe]

This is why we get shit like ACTA, entitled assholes who think its okay to do stuff like this. It makes me sick.

 

[Cronq]

What? You mean console players aren't the beacon of honesty and morality that all us dishonest PC gamers were told they were?

 

[oplinger]

What? You mean console players aren't the beacon of honesty and morality that all us dishonest PC gamers were told they were?

I like you. You can be my new favorite person.

OT: ..Oh no. Piracy of a popular game. Shock and awe.

Oh no, more people play it on the 360? ..More shock and awe.

Okay, seriously, not a single bit of surprise is in this. Anywhere. A PC version without a working crack, has less seeders than a working 360 version.
oh shit.
Moving on.

 

[dessertmonkeyjk]

Lauching out free copies of the game into space was such a "good" idea. Nobody would think of "uploading" it to the "internet" which then can be "copied endlessly forever". /crackass sarcasm

 

[isometry]

Haha, EA deserves this and much more. I hope their sales numbers end up being an embarrassment.

If you keep supporting greedy publishers like EA then the future of console DRM, will be required online activation, just like on PC. They can include a cheap 3G chip in the console, like Amazon does with kindles, just to enforce the DRM even when the owner tries not to connect to the internet. Remember, Microsoft was the first company to require online activation on a massive scale with Windows XP.

 

[roguewriter]

Well, I'm sure the pirate problem for ME3 wouldn't have been so bad regardless of these torrents. However, with the reveal of ME3's incredibly depressing and bewildering ending(s) I have no doubt the number of people who will get the game without paying just to spite BioWare/EA is going to double. People who hoped to get the ending they wanted would have gladly forked over 60 bucks to do so, even in this economy. Normally, that's piracy biggest enemy; namely that the game is so fantastic people don't mind paying for it. But, with all the recent leaks and now videos I have no doubt EA is going to take a hit. I don't support piracy, frankly I think it's an abysmal practice. But, in this instance, I'm not surprised by the strong possibility of BioWare/EA loosing millions.

 

[ResonanceSD]

What? You mean console players aren't the beacon of honesty and morality that all us dishonest PC gamers were told they were?

I know right? I keep getting told that I'm a moron for buying my PC games and that consoleists are the true saviours of gaming.

APPARENTLY NOT, CAPTAIN.

 

[Waaghpowa]

Any thoughts? Will these kind of leaks lead to tighter control over software distribution in the future generation? New digital distribution models? Super-special encryption and release date checks?

Honestly, it's only a matter of time. This was the first generation with a significant attachment to the internet. Sure, piracy was possible with every generation before it that used a disc. With all the whining about use games, early leaks and the amount of pirated games on consoles, I wouldn't be surprised if console gaming adopted PC level of DRM with more proprietary bullshit. This is assuming consoles are around much longer, it's already clear that consoles are getting more and more expensive to develop and develop for. It's possible that somewhere in the future that the costs are just too high with very little profit and manufacturers drop consoles all together.

Something to think about really.

 

[ElPatron]

Very few (percentage wise) console owners can execute pirated games.

In before PSP...

As long as the skills required to use these hacks are so specialized, the publishers won't have a reason to invest millions in new DRM, when they lose fewer money doing nothing.

You still believe DRM is supposed to stop piracy? As if pirates can't just run a crack...

If they were waiting for an excuse to run DRM on consoles, this is it.

 

[ThatLankyBastard]

I know i don't plan on Pirating it... I'd rather wait for it and play it on my console to be honest!

Good job to the pirates though! now theres gonna be douches crowding the internet with spoilers!

 

[juraigamer]

I say, piracy on my consoles? Oh noes implement the exact same shitty DRM that PC users have to go through. Do it already. It's about damn time.

DRM can't stop the pirates though. If they REALLY want it, they can get it, for free. What's more annoying is the person who paid for the game having to sit through this DRM nonsense and have it cause trouble for them.

In fact, DRM causes more trouble for the legitimate buyer, and less for the pirate. Makes you wonder why people jump ship.

Very few (percentage wise) console owners can execute pirated games.

I'm sorry, but there are many, many more console owners that pirate games than you can possibly imagine. Getting a cheap, used console and modding it is a practice that is widely used.

 

[Vapus]

Console Piracy has been on the rise for some time now, so has the number of consoles in homes these days, I know several people who have 2 or more , one cracked, one legit, a PS3 and 360 side by side etc etc. the notion that this will hurt sales is just as retarded as it was with PC sales numbers. People who steal games, steal games.. period. Fans of a franchise or average consumers, buy them because thats what they have always done.

As far as Being difficult to run a cracked console game, nothing could be farther from the truth.

There never has been, nor will there ever be a form of DRM that acutally works for longer than a few days. If a thing can be written , it can be Edited. its really that simple. Spending time and money on DRM has always been a waste. Im sure it will continue as there is a massive disconection between CEO's, Typical shareholders, and reality.