HALO 2 Stolen

[Morfiend]

http://news.com.com/Stolen+Halo+2+hits+pirate+sites/2100-1043_3-5409959.html?tag=nefd.top

Microsoft representatives confirmed that a pirated copy of "Halo 2"--in the French language and the PAL video format used by European television sets--began circulating on the Internet late Wednesday via newsgroups and "warez" sites for swapping pirated software.

Think we will actually see any legal action taken? Some how I doubt it.

[schild]

Pal and French language. No, probably not. No English speaking person will be prevented from buying the game when the cracked version is in French. That and if you can't play online with Live MP action, it's just useless. That's the only reason I'm getting Halo.

"It's a legitimate strategy!"

[Mesozoic]

Its probably just HL2 jealousy.

[Liquidator]

Didn't Halo 2 just go gold?

[Otis]

Yes, however there is still nearly a month left before it is slated to hit the stores. (One can assume marketing and localization reasons for the lag time)

[Liquidator]

I don't see why this is making headlines - once a game goes gold it usually hits the net within a few days

[Moroni]

True, Liquidator. But whenever I see stuff like this, I'm always reminded of Family Business. Such an enchanting film about corporate crime.

And could you imagine Sean Connery on a Warthog?

[Sky]

Fear not - France has their best man on the case!

[Fabricated]

I kind of wish that the warez kiddies would've just waited for the regular 0 day release instead of leaking it. Now we'll get to hear all of the anti-piracy anti-"theft" bullshit again in the media.

This is also on the heels of Ashcroft "declaring war" on IP "theft" and piracy.

[Krakrok]

Yeah but the other thread was operating under the guise/speculation that Bungie might have done it on purpose. 311 articles about it now according to Google News.

[Venkman]

Talking about Marketing ploys... Interesting concept. Take Majestic and use it as a front end Geo Caching vehicle to sell a game.

The obvious question is, what could they have done to actually make the game itself matter. I'm really interested in knowing just how many give a rip about Halo 2.

[Righ]

Geo Caching vehicle

That's slightly larger than a Geo Metro, isn't it?

If there is an evil conspiracy behind the leak of the game, it is unlikely to be a publicity stunt to help sell more copies. It would be a better ploy to help promote the publisher's stance on tough IP protection laws. That, ultimately is worth a good deal more than a few thousand lost sales from our Francophonic friends.