I guess you don't know that no one is making cracks for console games, there is no need.

Piracy != crack

crack=whack

Why are people shitting on PC in comment section when article primarily deals with LEAKED X360 VERSION!

So shit on 360, PC version isn't even playable (no crack yet).

Commenting on something that you haven't even read is pathetic.

FYI, 360 games get pirated at insane rates and yet "PC gaming is doomed cause of piracy".

Idiotic reasoning...

The PC version likely can't be cracked until release date because Origin sends out an authorization key to unlock the game's .exe. The only reason a torrent exists right now is because Origin allowing people to pre-load the game now. So it's basically useless right now. The 360 pirates are actually able to play the game, and that's what this article is dealing with.

neoandrew actually thinks that piracy doesn't exist on consoles... bwahaha

i wouldnt say pc lost dev support, devs now support more platforms because they have to.

"i love my pc but piracy is one of the biggest reason why pc gaming has lost a lot of dev support. i cant wait for the ps4"

translation into what is really meant.

I love my PS3 but hate that PC games look better, maybe if I bring up piracy people will stop playing games on pc and look to the PS3. I can't wait for the PS4 (it will finally be on par with pc)

@neoandrew
I can explain how console piracy (or at least 360 piracy) works, if you'd like. By, "if you'd like", I mean, "I'm doing it now, so deal with it."

1. Blank 8.5 GB DVDs have to be bought.
2. Go online to some site that has a lot of 360 images or whatever.
3. Download image.
4. Burn image.

Now, it isn't that simple, though, as a mod chip needs to be installed as well. That's the tricky part as, if your chip doesn't clip where it's supposed to be, you have to weld the bastard on there. Only then can you pirate, but this really isn't that hard anyway.

Well, that's what I could remember of it, anyway. I ditched piracy and that damn 360 (friggin' thing stopped working for me one day.) a long while ago. There's probably stuff I missed out on, but the point remains: It's easy as shit pirate on 360.

mate, if you pre-ordered it from amazon, you got $10 bucks back... the game is definitely worth $50.

Or you can just rent a copy first...

@GTRrocker

Why should we have to pay a rent fee to try a game when most of that money won't even go to EA let alone Bioware?

Do you expect to pay a fee to try on clothes to see if they fit?

To be honest, they HAVE to make a big return on used games. They only make a very small markup on the initial sale.

If publishers took less the industry would be more stable, but the publishers have very little to lose if retailers go bust because either digital distribution will fill the void (where there is potentially more profit for publishers) or a new game retailer will appear to fill the gap in the market.

@jtlian

***There was a time when slaves were legal so that means nothing in and of itself!!***

If you ask a person on the street, I highly doubt they would agree to "make it illegal to sell used products". However, the vast majority even back when slavery was legal, could see it was wrong when you see other's suffering.

***Yea and the government is wasting money so why should people give them more? Only good think is it makes jobs.***

Unfortunately, the wasting of "tax payers money" do fuel the economy. That said, GameStop probably employs more people than EA does. GS serves a function and a need in our society, regardless of you liking it or not.

I would hate to see the abolishment of "second hand" products simply because a group of people have been brainwashed to believe that these people somehow deserve special protection NOT enjoyed by anyone else.

***The games industry has gone from 21 billion in 2008 to 18 billion in 2011. I wonder if project 10 dollar was the reason. I know I dont spend as much as I did back then**

Now, seeing as how you didn't exactly say what those numbers are, I'm going to assume revenue.

It's called market saturation and console cycle. Also the average cost of console has significantly gone down, so a decrease in $100 on 10 million console is a staggering billion. Going blindly by numbers can easily fool a f...

@gamingdroid

You say GS creates jobs, but guess what happens to studios when their games don't perform as expected?

Not to mention, it's hardly fair to compare the used game market to any other used markets. A game doesn't suffer the same problems that other used products do like wear and tear, not nearly to the same extent. Things like online passes are effectively artificial wear and tear - putting aside whether you think it's "right" or not - one could argue that now it is comparable to other used products.

Aside from software, other media works the same way - except for a few key differences. The first being price, music and movies are far cheaper and therefore a smaller risk to consumers. The second being distribution, music has pretty moved on to digital distribution, movies/tv shows are currently moving in that direction. Digital distribution, in most cases, doesn't allow for a used market. The third being monetization, musicians make a lot of their money from shows. Movies make money through theatrical releases.

With regards to software well, that's an entirely different beast. I'd argue that the majority of software requires a non-shareable license that in many cases is tied to your hardware or requires registration of some kind. Selling your license to someone else is probably against their TOS, which most likely would mean that there would be no technical support, no updates, and in some cases might not even work. You might be required to purchase a new license in order to use the software, which renders the used copy pointless.

So games are expensive, difficult to distribute digitally, and rarely have an additional form of monetization. With that in mind, I'd say that used games are more damaging than used CDs or DVDs/Blurays, and that it is understandable that a publisher would try and combat this problem. GS is biting the hand that feeds it and customers are the ones who suffer for it.

numbers can fool yet at the same time as system cost goes down system sales have gone up so there goes that theory.60 million gamers have more buying power than 50!!! And console makers dont make much on the console Total market value of gaming is down.

legal doesnt mean good or bad on a moral stand point which seems to have gone over your head.

GS doesnt bother me at all and who are you protecting? if EA stops second hand sales GS will lose if they dont stop it EA(claims) they will lose.

I dont know about you but I doubt EA will go out of business if project 10 stops.

@wicko

***A game doesn't suffer the same problems that other used products do like wear and tear, not nearly to the same extent. ***

Movies, music and softwar do. Regardless of "wear and tear", it doesn't change the consumers right to reselling a "used" product of value. As I said, there is no other product that I'm aware of that the manufacturer enjoys a cut of the second hand sale or have the ability to prevent second hand sales. Why should the gaming industry be different?

***You say GS creates jobs, but guess what happens to studios when their games don't perform as expected?***

I'm pretty sure the job loss in the studios is far less than the jobs gained due to GameStop. Not to mention the fact that, used games sales is rarely the reason for studios going out of business, but rather POOR quality games.

There is a reason why top reviewed scored games tend to sell well! … and vice versa.

Regardless of the "developer/publisher financial state and business model" is irrelevant to the fundamental consumer right to sell second hand.

***With regards to software well, that's an entirely different beast. I'd argue that the majority of software requires a non-shareable license that in many cases is tied to your hardware or requires registration of some kind***

It isn't! ... nd I have yet to run across one that prevents second hand sale (other than the gaming industry's attempt). The only time I have ever seen it is, in OEM software, that you received a heavy discount on at the time of purchase. However, EVEN THAT RESTRICTION means you have to transfer the license with the original hardware NOT blanket disallow second hand sale.

@jetlian

How about you provide us some numbers with real sources and specify what they are and how they are obtained. Vague statements only muddles the truth.

***And console makers dont make much on the console Total market value of gaming is down.***

That doesn't change the fact that console manufacturers are making hand over fist more money now than 2008-2009. Guess what? Manufacturing cost has gone significantly down and each console is sold at a profit. Just ask Nintendo two years ago and MS now.

I can play that distorted statistics game too, but the fact remains that it is irrelevant what state the health of the gaming industry is. Companies (or customers) don't enjoy "additional benefits" simply because a business model is successful or failing. It goes both ways!

This is a fundamental consumer right to be able to sell on the open market what they purchased.

It doesn't take a genius to see that gaming industry is violating this, while claiming "financial suffering", yet the companies themselves has never been larger. I would say, publishers/developers are doing just fine!

***legal doesnt mean good or bad on a moral stand point which seems to have gone over your head.***

I never said otherwise! It doesn't change the fact that if I ask Joe Blow down the street if he should be allowed to sell second hand, he would agree and would be shocked to find out otherwise.

It's a fundamental consumer right in almost every country in the world and I see no reason why the gaming industry should be an exception to that (especially since they now have far more ways to profit from the consumer than ever before).

Do you work for the gaming industry?

@gamingdroid

I know music movies and software are similar.. that's why I wrote about how they differ other than wear and tear.. and explained why used products in those areas aren't as damaging as in gaming.

As for GS jobs versus developer jobs.. you don't need any kind of special experience or education to work at Gamestop other than maybe management (and even then all the experience you need is to have worked as a regular clerk at GS). If you lost your job, you can move on and find an equally paying job relatively easily. You lose a job at a developer, chances are you're looking for a job in another city, possibly even in another country/state/province/etc.

Also I call bullshit on the quality of games being the reason for poor sales, not to mention it sounds like you're blaming the developer as a whole for their failure. Game development is not a democracy - there are plenty of good developers on shitty projects that don't deserve to be lumped into the failure of the higher-ups.

A game could sell poorly because of it's market penetration, it's niche appeal, its smaller budget, maybe even because of an out of proportion problem with the game. There are many other reasons beside quality, and used sales are a very real threat to whether or not that IP sees the light of day again.

As for software, I'm not talking just about huge software companies like adobe or microsoft - I'm talking about the smaller guys as well like Alcohol Soft (who make Alcohol 120%, a disc imaging program) who don't allow transferable licenses.

In the end, I don't really have a problem with used games. I don't have a problem with piracy either - both of these are equally damaging and I don't expect them to stop any time soon. However, I do have a problem with companies like GS rabidly and unfairly promoting their used copies over new copies. They've basically stooped to shady tactics in order to boost their used sales - used labels look identical to new labels at a glance, used copies are placed in front of new copies instead of separated in sections, used copies receive an exclusive discount if you have a membership, new copies are "discontinued" if there are enough used copies floating around, used copies are pushed onto the customer if they try to buy or ask for a new copy..

These are reasons why I stopped buying from GS/EB and why I'd consider going digital only (which I already have with Steam). The only thing stopping me there is the pricing - selling the game for the same price digitally as physically is pretty unfair, not to mention sales aren't nearly as prevalent in console services as they are on PC services like Steam and D2D.

@wicked

***I know music movies and software are similar..***

Video games are practically identical to movies and music industry. There is no wear and tear, and that shouldn't even matter. If I buy a hammer, I can use it for ages to come. Does it mean the manufacturer should get money if I resell it, because wear and tear is too slow? I betcha those local manufacturers are hurting far more due to outsourcing to China!

Gaming industry is no different and should receive no special treatment period.

***I know music movies and software are similar..***

I don't believe in "special treatment" of an entire industry, because their ability to profit is less than another one. Especially if that industry is doing just fine!

***If you lost your job, you can move on and find an equally paying job relatively easily...***

That job loss would affect the low paying employee far more than a high paying developer. The developer has skills, that can be applied to other areas than just gaming. However, this is really irrelevant.

***Also I call bullshit on the quality of games being the reason for poor sales...***

I would say there is a huge correlation between poor game sales and quality. Are there other factors? Sure, as I never claimed otherwise. However a non-selling product is an inefficient product in some way, and needs to be pruned away from the market i.e. weed out hte cr@p.

If we support poor (and inefficient) products, we never advance as an industry. That is actually hurting the industry and the consumers.

***I'm talking about the smaller guys as well like Alcohol Soft...***

This is not a retail product though. As it stands almost all digital sales prohibit "license transfer", which I think is BS. Software sales should be treated no different than physical products. The laws in place that often time no longer applies to software/games are put there for a reason, and that is to protect both businesses and consumers. These companies are side stepping those laws, abusing their position and hurting consumers.

***In the end, I don't really have a problem with used games. I don't have a problem with piracy either***

Personally, I never buy used for almost anything in my life except for car/houses for obvious reasons. I avoid GS like the plague as I dislike them (but that doesn't take away their rights) and don't pirate either.

***The only thing stopping me there is the pricing - selling the game for the same price digitally as physically is pretty unfair...***

That is because publishers are abusing their position, as there practically is no competition on services like PSN/XBL and in some cases digital platforms like Steam, D2D, Origin and etc.

Why do you think a retailer can discount a product below digital prices, that cost more to manufacture, and yet profit? Heck, the publisher is profiting too!

Bottom line, the industry is far too healthy and they don't need or deserve any special concessions on second hand sales like most other industries.

Now a days, you can loose access to your purchased product, simply because you voiced your disagreement with the publisher (see Origin). Reality is that publishers are actually becoming quite hostile, controlling and abusive. They have more ways than ever to profit from their products, they are bigger than ever, market has grown significantly (ignoring the console cycle), yet we are supposed to give them some concession?

well, half the reason i brought the game is because the multiplayer is awesome...

so yes, a lot of ppl will start playing mass effect for the multiplayer...