Halo 2 Available on the Net

syberanarchy writes "Gamespot reports that Halo 2 has already been leaked to the internet via French newsgroups and P2P networks, almost a month before release! Any chance this bombshell move could force MS/Bungie to push up the release date?" See also gamesindustry.biz and The Register.

Push the release back?

[bigdady92]

Ever try to stand in front of a typhoon with an umbrella?

sorry....

[DigitalGlass]

no, the'll take valves approach and delay it indefinatley

Damn those Frogs!

[CodeWanker]

Okay, okay. First they invent a language where you DON'T SAY MOST OF THE LETTERS IN A WORD. Then they sell nuclear reactors to Iraq. Then they infiltrate Burger King with criossandwiches. But THIS is going too damned far.

Heh.

[Devar]

I like how on the front page directly under this story is the article U.S. Declares War on Intellectual Property Theft [slashdot.org].

Re:So?

[The-Bus]

"Push up" means "make it sooner" -- that is, make it available in stores on October 16th. Sooner. So then you spend $ on Halo 2 instead of getting a friend to burn you a copy that is the French audio rip with UK subtitles.

Re:Up the release? Nah.

[EvilCabbage]

I don't even have an Xbox, but what is the hardware you would need to burn the Xbox ISO once you downloaded it off P2P?

A modded X-box and a crossover cable. That's all, er.. so I hear.

Arrr arrr me hearties

[Anonymous Coward]

Ahoy!

Aye, talk like a piiiiiiiiiiiraaaate day haz been extended me mateees.

Shiver me timbers, bring me some halo 2 smartly now ye blige rats.

Arr arr

shhhh

[fafaforza]

"Gamespot reports that Halo 2 has already been leaked to the internet via French newsgroups

Sssssshhhhhhhhhhhhuddup... That's the one thing they haven't tried to shut down yet. Let's just agree to lump usenet under the broad umbrella of "p2p filesharing software".

Re:Push the release back?

[LaPistola]

Yeah... it sucks.. I hate it for bngie.. they worked really hard on the game.. but it won't stop them from making money tho.. a million pre orders... but it also won't stop me from A. Buying the game.. and B. playing it when my friend with a modded xbox gets it today!! :)

Re:Up the release? Nah.

[digital.prion]

I don't even have a Ferrari but if I wanted one which wires would I cross?
I am merely curious.

Sincerly,
"practically home-free"

I'm a bit confused

[insomnyuk]

No one has answered:

1) Why the hell would this force Bungie to push forward the release date? I'm sorry, but I didn't spend the time or money to mod my x-box, and I don't want to play the goddamn game in French, since I don't speak French and I'd kind of like to know what the hell is going on when I play the game.

2) Does this mean pre-orders in France are going to be canceled all of the sudden? I doubt it. Even with filesharing, artists can still sell millions of albums.

3) Who is responsible for this, exactly? Pirates? Like the ones from Penzance, or the less musical Barbary Pirates? Someone said French journalists. Uh, RTFM. There's a big difference between "news groups" and journalists.

Re:Damn those Frogs!

[gidds]

First they invent a language where you DON'T SAY MOST OF THE LETTERS IN A WORD.

You've probably never seen Gaelic [wikipedia.org], then... (Even its name has been spelled Gaedhealg, Gaedhilg(e), Gaedhealaing, Gaeilic, Gaelainn, Gaoidhealg, Gaolainn, and Gaeilge!)

Choices, choices...

[toriver]

Hm... risk a $100,000 fine for illegally downloading it, or risk a $1,000 fine for stealing a physical copy when it's released...

Re:Push the release back?

[Domox]

Ever stand in front of a mushroom cload in a bikini?

No

[cassidyc]

it wont affect Bungies release date, but it will be a good excuse to delay HL2 some more

I saw this coming

[Minwee]

If you combine this story with the one just before it [slashdot.org], the connection is obvious.

This "leak" is just a pretext for the USA to declare war on France.

We've all been waiting for an October Surprise, and it looks like this is going to be it. You heard it here first.

Now if you'll excuse me, there are some men wearing sunglasses who would like to have a word with --

Re:So?

[Blob Pet]

I thought "push up" was a kind of bra.

In other news ...

[Samael_666]

Pope is catholic ...

Come on, is this news ???

Re:Push the release back?

[wolrahnaes]

" I'm too fat to wear a bikini, you insensitive cload?"

That doesn't stop a lot of fat people.

Re:Information wants to be free?

[Torne]

Information wants to be anthropomorphised.

Re:In other news ...

[cerebralsugar]

Pope is catholic ...

Come on, is this news ???

It will be if somebody would post a .torent link!

Re:Push the release back?

[los furtive]

" I'm too fat to wear a bikini, you insensitive cload?"

That doesn't stop a lot of fat people.

That's because they are insensitive cloads :-)

Call Me Paranoid

[Greyfox]

But if I were an Evil Game Studio and I had a high profile game about to ship, I might consider making a slightly tweaked version of the game available on the net just prior to the release. Said version would work OK for a while, then on the release date or after some number of times being started, it'd cause your console to boot up to a message with an 800 number and a code. For a 1 time fee of $75, you'd be able to unlock your console, at which time the pirated version of the game would delete itself.

Re:Any chance this bombshell...

[bigman2003]

Dude, how do you use QWTF?

I mean, WASD and ESDF are okay, and they make sense. But QWTF? Do you have extra fingers or something? Is your hand permanently stuck in the Vulcan salute that you spent years perfecting? :-)

Re:Push the release back?

[Fred Or Alive]

This thread is turning into a cload of bad jokes...

Who'd download it anyway

[morgdx]

I've played the French version, the Covenent invade earth and as Master Chief you have just 24 hours to surrender.

I think that if you play it on Elite you also have to try to stop other Master Chiefs from attacking the Covenent to secure lucrative oil export rights.

"Bonjour monsieur little double crossing cube thingay, tu tuyer mon amis, voulez vous some brie."

viva la france

[Troll'N]

The french version is great!!!!! The only draw back i've seen so far is that you don't have any guns.... just a white flag.

Re:So?

[Savatte]

I thought it was a kind of exercise, but I guess thats no the first thing that comes to the mind of slashdotter.

Re:This is Sad

[jafac]

How would you like to see something you've worked on for 50+ hours a week for months on end being freely copied around?

I suppose seeing it available and copied around would make me feel a lot better than seeing it available and NOT copied around. If people wouldn't even download a copy for free, I'd be really worried. . .

Re:Bittorrent...

[WormholeFiend]

A true Halo fan wouldn't want to play the damn thing in French for the first time

CTF is sure going to be interesting with two white flags.