Hunt for Grand Theft Auto pirates
The makers of the best-selling Grand Theft Auto games are "aggressively pursuing" the pirates who leaked a copy of the latest version of the game.
Copies of Rockstar's GTA: San Andreas for the PlayStation 2 have appeared on file-sharing systems on the internet.

It is the latest big title to fall victim to piracy, coming a week after the Xbox game, Halo 2, was leaked.

The Grand Theft Auto games are largely responsible for kick-starting the driving-and-shooting genre of gaming.

Chasing leads

More than 30 million units of the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) franchise have been shipped to date, including 11.5 million copies of GTA: Vice City and 10.5 million units of GTA 3.

The latest in the franchise, San Andreas, is due to go on sale at the end of the month.


But its release has been overshadowed by internet piracy, with a copy of the American version of the game appearing online.
In a statement, Edinburgh-based Rockstar Games said a pirated version of the game had been posted to various internet sites.

"The proper authorities are investigating the theft and are continuing to investigate all possible leads to ensure there is no further dissemination of our creative content," said the company.

"Downloading, possession and distribution of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, including making the game available on the internet, is theft.

"We take the theft of our intellectual property very seriously and we are and will continue to diligently and aggressively pursue this matter."

However Rockstar said the release of the game would go ahead as planned, with San Andreas hitting the shops in the US on 26 October and three days later in Europe.

'Serious problem'

The leak seems unlikely to make a big dent in sales, as only people with a modified PlayStation2 will be able to play the pirated copy.

"The phenomenon where games like GTA: San Andreas appear online before their official release is sadly becoming more common and is a very serious problem," said Stephen Pierce, editor-in-chief of Official PlayStation 2 magazine.

"We should also keep in mind that San Andreas contains mature adult content and will be sold in the UK with a BBFC 18-rating. This means the game has gone through recognised legal channels before being sold responsibly to adults."

San Andreas is not the first high profile games to have fallen victim to internet piracy.

A week ago, a copy of the eagerly awaited Halo 2 for the Xbox appeared on the internet.

In August, a copy of Doom 3 was leaked online ahead of its release and downloaded by thousands of people.

Despite this, the title still went on to sell in large numbers, debuting at the top of the UK games charts.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/technology/3762350.stm

now why would they want to do that? couldnt they just wait?

it only comes out in 5 days. that's not even a week. and more importantly, they got it before me!

Its also a money issue

A BIG money issue.

Rockstar and other companies poor MILLIONS into making these games, only to have kids download them illegally of the net without paying a dime. That is selfish and rotten. It drives me insane that people do this. I say they should be at least fined up to 1000 bucks. I hope they're caught.

I will go to college and persue a bachelor of science for game development, and the internet scares me in the way that so many games are leaked.

I resent that

but in all seriousness, it is wrong....
thats why i've stopped
companys lose a lot of money because of that


i always wonder how games leak out like that

Insides?

You always said you see nothing wrong with this, infact you said on many occasions you do it all the time because its not a big deal in Canada. Im sure I read that you downloaded other games , Why the sudden change ?

Nothing pointless to say ?

that means you are selfish and rotten

Scar, i have never, EVER downloaded a videogame. EVER. Especially one that is not even out on the market.
I've always said i see lots wrong with this, always.

However, i have said on one occasion that downloaded some music. Music that i already own, i'll add to that, and some that you are unable to buy such as videogame tracks.

Please don't try and seek out reasons to attack me. I've noticed it's been a comon trend with you. Offended by how much I post?

I have pirate games...but I do buy them also...I have copies so I can play on two machines over system link mainly...

I dont download them as such.....

It is unfair to the company that creates and develop these games, they do pour millions of dollars into it and so much hard work, they deserve the profit that comes in from the selling of teh game. It shouldn`t be lessened by pirated copies getting out to the public, its really wrong!

I don't seek out reasons to attack anyone, if you set yourself up to be questioned its not my fault

Just for your information you said and i quote from this Thread
Link


Talking about sims 2 or sims i believe. If you say something then lie Im gonna dig you or anyone else up about it. don't take it personally, you just happen to do it allot

I've got a very good memory, and remember allot of peoples posts

I've not got any problems with your posts, I have a life outside UM and when I want to chat I use the "chat" room.


A plagiarising liar , Why would i not like you?

Have A nice Weekend

i dont download games, mainly because it's not the full version - ie. has video clips and all that. I just get them from my overseas realatives or borrow them from the video store and copy them

although i downloaded an arcade emulator ages ago and i got those fighting games - X-men vs Streetfighter, Marvel vs Capcom etc.
That saved me alot of money since on the arcades you have to pay $1 to play one game