PlayStation

Why Would A Game With No Online Play Require An Online Connection?

For some, the inclusion of DRM – “digital rights management” which prevents copying – is a provocative act. That makes requiring an online check-in for a game with no online component, like Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2, both perplexing and obnoxious.


January 7, 2011
PC

Appeals Court Sides With File-Hosting Site Over Atari

A German appeals court threw out a judgment Atari had won against RapidShare, the popular file-hosting site where Atari says copies of games from its Alone in the Dark series were being illegally shared.


December 8, 2010
News

One Pirated Software Licence Used 775,000 Times In 200 Countries

Just how big a deal is software piracy? When security company Avast noticed that one of its paid-for licenses was being distributed illicitly online, they decided to track it. A year and a half later, the downloads approached one million.


March 25, 2010
News

Here’s One Way To Make A Pirate Pay – Dearly

It’d be rather embarrassing to be publicly outed as an erotic novel aficionado, especially one that supports a USB attachment that gets you off while playing it. This happened to some Japanese file-sharers who thought they were pirating a game.


February 19, 2010
News

ESA Estimates Nearly 10 Million Games Illegally Downloaded In December

Research focusing on 200 specific titles showed 9.78 million illegal copies of video games were downloaded worldwide in the month of December, according to the Entertainment Software Association.


September 13, 2009
In Real Life

Remembering The Early Days Of Copy Protection

I remember when my copy of Legacy of the Ancients arrived with its codewheel. I fired up my 1200 baud acoustically-coupled modem, hit the BBS and ranted my indignation that I can do as I please with my purchase.


August 25, 2008
News

UK Game-Sharers Being Sued; Peter Moore Says Bad Idea

In the United Kingdom, Atari, Codemasters and three other game companies are going to court to demand GBP300 from 25,000 file-sharers, reports The Times of London. Apparently, file-sharing got really obnoxious recently — 691,000 downloads of Operation Flashpoint by Codemasters in one week alone. So the five have asked the court to demand internet service providers turn over information on all 25,000 accused of breaking the law. Those users will get notices inviting them to pay up or face prosecution, and the first 500 to ignore it get sued.