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XBox (Games) Entertainment Games

Halo 2 Available on the Net 391

Posted by michael from the negative-26-day-warez dept.
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.
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Halo 2 Available on the Net More

Halo 2 Available on the Net

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  • Bittorrent... (Score:3, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:44AM (#10522736)
    Yep, I've seen a bittorrent for the PAL version of Halo 2 already. I don't think that'll ever work for people of the USA, but it might be a cause to move Europe's release dates up.

    As for me, I'm buying it anyway- I want the limited edition copy with the metal case and behind the scenes DVD.

    • Re:Bittorrent... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by alatesystems ( 51331 ) <.chris. .at. .chrisbenard.net.> on Thursday October 14, 2004 @09:12AM (#10522979) Homepage Journal
      PAL works just fine on a modded NTSC xbox. So does any other signal format. It's just digital video being rendered at a certain resolution and being pumped out in a certain way, depends on which av pack you have.

      Chris
    • There's no reason why it wont work in the USA. I play USA games on my modded PAL XBOX.

      I shall not be buying it nor downloading it. Not my cup of tea.

    • Re:Bittorrent... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by SilentChris ( 452960 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @09:32AM (#10523175) Homepage
      My question, though: who'd honestly want a pirate release they can play only on a modded Xbox, when the big draw of Halo 2 is Xbox Live compatibility (which automatically bans anyone who mods their Xbox)? I'll pony up the $50. It's worth it.

      • Re:Bittorrent... (Score:4, Insightful)

        by llevity ( 776014 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @09:56AM (#10523504)
        I'll pony up too, but I'll also be playing it a month early.

        The big draw isn't Xbox Live. The big draw is it's a new Halo, and any Xbox Live support is just icing on the cake.

        Halo 1 did fine without it. You can still play with your friends locally, or even use XBConnect to use it to play over the Internet.

        • Re:Bittorrent... (Score:5, Interesting)

          by SilentChris ( 452960 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @10:22AM (#10523808) Homepage
          "Halo 1 did fine without it."

          From my understanding, they plan to support LAN parties by allowing connected Xboxes to go on Live together as one "team". All they've been testing is multiplayer the last few months (see various GameSpot articles). There's also clan support and it'll be the introduction of "Xbox Live 3.0". I think they view it as pretty important.

    • Re:Bittorrent... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by ifitzgerald ( 680941 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @10:50AM (#10524132)
      I was going to mod this article, but I decided to post instead.

      I hear a lot of people posting comments saying that most people with modded XBOXs are just going to download the game and put up with the French audio and UK subtitles rather than ponying up the $50. Having a modded XBOX, I take offense to that. I've played Halo for years now, and it is the best game I have ever played. I have spent so long waiting for Halo 2 to come out that another few weeks won't make a difference to me. The true diehard fans of Halo will not download the game. Rather, they will buy legit copies of Halo 2, and pay the developers the respect, and money, that they deserve for producing such an awesome game. People who steal from Bungie are not true Halo fans.

  • Push the release back? (Score:4, Funny)

    by bigdady92 ( 635263 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:44AM (#10522741) Homepage
    Ever try to stand in front of a typhoon with an umbrella?

  • So? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by FinestLittleSpace ( 719663 ) * on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:44AM (#10522744)
    Exactly why would this delay it? It's not the source, it's the compiled game... that's all. It happens with nearly every high-profile game (journalists are always so trustworthy...)...

    • Re:So? (Score:5, Funny)

      by The-Bus ( 138060 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:47AM (#10522772)
      "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:So? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Indras ( 515472 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:55AM (#10522852)
      Nobody expects them to delay their release, the question was: "Any chance this bombshell move could force MS/Bungie to push up the release date?"

      Knowing that it is available now on the internet, they would be wise to release it sooner to the public in order to turn would-be downloaders into sales. Halo 2 has such a high demand that the hardcore fans will download it if they can get it sooner, and once they have it, why bother paying for it?

      However, the percentage of customers who have modded xboxes, a fast connection to download a DVD image in a reasonable amount of time, the means to get it running, and who also won't buy the game when it comes out on shelves (and can stand playing the PAL version with French dialogue) are probably too small to matter to MS/Bungie, and not enough of a threat to their profits.
      • Bear in mind that you would need a modded xbox to run it on.

        And can you all guess what wont connect to XBLive?

        modded xboxes
      • The copy is only good to play single player, if only because that's what was leaked, and bearing in mind that you would need an modded xbox to play the game, and can you guess what wont work on XBLive??

        correct answer a modded Xbox (at least not in modded mode)

        And bugger me if I don`t want to be kicking real peoples ass with the plasma sword.

        CJC
        • You still should beable to play system link and split screen multiplayer. My roommates and I still play halo 1 all the time and have been waiting for halo 2.

          One of my roommates is going to go ahead and buy it for xbox live. But I'll bet he will be downloading it before the end of the day.
      • Knowing that it is available now on the internet, they would be wise to release it sooner to the public in order to turn would-be downloaders into sales. Halo 2 has such a high demand that the hardcore fans will download it if they can get it sooner, and once they have it, why bother paying for it?

        This doesn't follow. The people that pirate games will pirate it. The people that buy games will buy it. The fact that it's available for download now isn't going to make buyers suddenly run out and mod their XB
    • .. the writeup doesn't suggest it being _delayed_, it suggests that they should make it come earlier.

      1 month in advance is quite a bit.. enough for real fans of the first game to get this warez release.. and then if the game can't live up to it's own generated hype they might even be disappointed(and not buy it when it comes out).

  • Any chance this bombshell... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by hussar ( 87373 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:44AM (#10522747) Homepage
    ...could be a way of increasing the pre-release hype?
  • no, the'll take valves approach and delay it indefinatley

  • No Chance... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Ionizer7 ( 814098 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:45AM (#10522754)
    Pirates will be pirates, law abiding citizens will be law abiding citizens. There is probably alot more to this release date, there is most likely alot of TV ads and magazine ads that are set to launch at the same time.

  • Damn those Frogs! (Score:4, Funny)

    by CodeWanker ( 534624 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:45AM (#10522755) Journal
    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.

  • Amazing. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by ninjeratu ( 794457 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:45AM (#10522757)
    It's not like ALL games end up on FTPs, torrents, DC, whatnot. :P

  • Why am I not surprised. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SHiVa0 ( 608471 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:45AM (#10522761)
    This has been like this for years. For as long as the "scene" exists. Nothing to see here, move along. But frankly, the more intermediate poeple getting their hands on the Gold master before it's heading out to press, the easier it is to leak.

  • Up the release? Nah. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Yolegoman ( 762615 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:46AM (#10522767) Homepage
    They've hyped November 9th too much. I just can't see Bungie changing their release date, no matter how many reasons there may be.

    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? I'm merely curious.

    CD burner? DVD burner? Xbox equipped with modchip or no?

    - Yolego

    • Re:Up the release? Nah. (Score:5, Funny)

      by EvilCabbage ( 589836 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:52AM (#10522827) Homepage
      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.

    • Re:Up the release? Nah. (Score:3, Informative)

      by truz24 ( 800762 )
      dvd burner, modded xbox, its a dvd9 release of the game meaning it won't fit on a regular dvd5 dvd. So if you don't have a DVD9 burner(which most people don't at this point) you have to either copy it onto your XBox or find someone that has a DVD9 burner.

      • Re:Up the release? Nah. (Score:4, Informative)

        by bo0ork ( 698470 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @09:01AM (#10522895)
        Halo.2.DVD5.Kit.READNFO.XBOX-iND

        This little kit automatically will Make The Halo 2 DVD9 into a DVD5. all you do is extract all the files to where you have diff-hl2.iso and then click halo2dvd5.bat - it will unpack the ISO, Remove 1 movie [attractions] and Repack it to make it a DVD5..it also removes dashupdate.xbe.

        then simply burn Halo2_DVD5.iso!

        the next question, why? Because im sure some credit whoring group would come along, and release a Rip of it calling it a DVD5..

        so why let some credit whores release another 4.3gb, when ive done whats needed in 30kb? =)

        on another note.

        Hey GGS, is this Rip 'Xbox-Live Compatible' too? ;)

        make sure you have a bit of free drive space, it needs a temp dir [which it removes afterwards] to do its work.

    • Re:Up the release? Nah. (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      It gonna need a modded or softmodded Xbox. (The Xbox now can be "modded" through software exploits.)

      Then either a DVD burner and softwate or FTP connection to the Xbox with XISO extraction software (available free).

      It's unbelievable how easy it is to run homebrew software (and, unfortunately, pirated software) on the Xbox, considering the lengths MS went to to secure it.

      Thankfully, all the pirates *wont* be able to play on Xbox Live (as it requires an unmodified kernel and is checked at logon). There
      • "FTP connection to the Xbox with XISO extraction software (available free)."

        QUIX is an easier solution. It has some extra features too; like renaming the game title in the default.xbe file. It saves getting the hex editor out.

        "Thankfully, all the pirates *wont* be able to play on Xbox Live (as it requires an unmodified kernel and is checked at logon). There is some justice..."

        Who needs XBOX live? There is a tunneling application you use so that the XBOX believes it is on a LAN (but is actually on the int
    • 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"
    • Indeed. Release dates are incredibly hard to move, as any software developer could attest. The marketing and distribution machines are kicked into gear months in advance of shipping so it just isn't even remotely feasible to make the release earlier. They hold press conferences, make press releases, and have all the pressing and artwork issues to deal with. Nothing to see here folks, expect the release on the expected release date.
    • It will all be very tasteful double-page adverts saying "9/11" in big numerals, like Microsoft did when they released a new version of flight simulator on 9/11/2001.

  • Heh. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Devar ( 312672 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:47AM (#10522771) Homepage Journal
    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:Heh. (Score:2, Interesting)

      by syberanarchy ( 683968 )
      I submitted this something like five minutes before that IP story showed up. Then, I had that same thought.

      Weird how stuff like that works.

      Honestly, I had thought this would have been on /. within like ten minutes of being put on GS.

  • Hmmm. (Score:2)

    by Sevn ( 12012 )
    "Any chance this bombshell move could force MS/Bungie to push up the release date?"

    Yes.

  • It's up (Score:3, Interesting)

    by jlefeld ( 814985 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:47AM (#10522775)
    I saw the torrent available. Not that I really care much about it since I have no xbox, and I prefer Halo on PC over the xbox. I just like the controls on PC since I was so used to those.

  • Information wants to be free? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Trolling4Columbine ( 679367 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:52AM (#10522823)
    Or is it that people want information to be free (beer)?

    I suppose people would be downloading this as a backup to the product they already legally own, right? Oh wait, the game hasn't been released yet...

    • Information wants to be anthropomorphised.
    • The oft-misread quote, "information wants to be free," is interpreted as meaning that information has some kind of sense of its own needs. It's strange (or perhaps, in my pessimistic moments, not) that the foolishness of this notion prompts so many to ridicule it instead of thinking further and realizing that there is a second interpretation.

      Information "wants" to be free in the same sense that liquids "want" to seek a neutral level in a resevior-and-tube construct. Information "wants" to obey its natural
    • Eh. I've already got a copy preordered. As a result, if I decide to download this, I won't be losing much sleep over the moral ramifications.

      I don't mean to downplay the damaging effects of piracy, but keep in mind that pirated xbox games can't be played on XBox Live. For a game like this, I think an early start to piracy won't do much to effect its blockbuster status.

      Unfortunately, I now feel compelled to download it and wrestle with the french menus, if only so that I won't get massacred online on it

  • Arrr arrr me hearties (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:53AM (#10522835)
    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

  • BBC article also (Score:4, Informative)

    by hereschenes ( 813329 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:54AM (#10522839)
    Here. [bbc.co.uk]

  • shhhh (Score:3, Funny)

    by fafaforza ( 248976 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:56AM (#10522861)
    "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".

  • I don't approve of this, of course... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Pantero Blanco ( 792776 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:56AM (#10522864)
    ...but it's insanely amusing that it happened right before the "US Declared War on Intellectual Property Theft".

    IP Theft pre-emptively attacked!

  • Gone Gold (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Dracolytch ( 714699 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @08:59AM (#10522883) Homepage
    If I remember correctly, Halo 2 has already gone gold. It'll be difficult to increase the speed of a release at this point. There are a lot of logistical factors that they'll have to overcome to increase production for an immediate release.

    If they DO release sooner, and there aren't enough copies, that will also cause a case where people will go to the 'net for the game.

    ~D
    • What's "lot of logistical factors" when all you need it Torrent file? .-)
    • Logistical obstacles that can be overcome by releasing it on the Internet via a paid download.

      They could release the game now if they did this and save customers a fair amount as there would be less need for box design, posters, shipping, CD pressing etc..

      People are impatient, some pirate the game simply as they want it now, it's finished and they don't see why they have to wait a month or so before it is released. Often by the time the game has been officially released they're bored of it and aren't goin
      • That won't work well for an unmodded xbox though. You'd have to make it a paid download, and then show people how to get around xbox security for a burned dvd to work, or how to run a copied game from off of the xbox HD. They're trapped in their own copy protrection.

        ~D

  • This is simply untrue (Score:5, Informative)

    by Killjoy_NL ( 719667 ) <slashdot AT remco DOT palli DOT nl> on Thursday October 14, 2004 @09:07AM (#10522951)
    "It should be noted that players who download the game illegally could face a maximum penalty of $100,000 per infringement for copyright violations."

    In the Netherlands at least it's legal to download, but illegal to upload stuff like this.

    I'd like to see them try to extradite an infringer. :P

  • Go figure.. (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    When I actually have something insightful to say about this topic. I forget my password, and hotmail isn't working.

    Anyways: Back in the day, my friends used to work for a CD duplication plant. After a couple of the CDs have been duplicated, they give me some of the CDs (with no labels on them btw) and thats how I got most of my prerelease stuff 8)

  • Hmmm.. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Gentlewhisper ( 759800 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @09:11AM (#10522969)
    Any chance this bombshell move could force MS/Bungie to push up the release date?

    Not to be a throll, but I think it will only push up the release date for more draconian laws

    Come on! Why do they want to release things so early?! There is a difference between pissing people off, and really really pissing people off!

    • Re:Hmmm.. (Score:3, Insightful)

      by The-Bus ( 138060 )

      Come on! Why do they want to release things so early?! There is a difference between pissing people off, and really really pissing people off!

      Erm, not quite. They set a date for November 9th based on a conversation much like this in June.

      "Well, we can't get it to retailers any later than the second week of November. It may sell-out, there might be shortages, and we want the retailers to be able to sell it at full price for a few weeks before needing to bundle it with a calendar or a CD for Black Friday.

      • Re:Hmmm.. (Score:4, Insightful)

        by YU Nicks NE Way ( 129084 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @10:08AM (#10523632)
        Actually, filling the channel takes about six weeks. The boxes will have been readied for the final CDs starting about two weeks ago, and the actual manufacture of the disks will have begun the morning the product went gold. The big delay lies in shipping the product to major distributors who must they reship to individual stores, which must then put up the displays, etc. Each individual step takes no more than a week, but there's not much parallelism in the distribution process.

  • This is Sad (Score:5, Insightful)

    by shplorb ( 24647 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @09:15AM (#10523000) Homepage Journal
    Whether you like Microsoft or not, this is bad. Many people have poured their hearts and souls into making that game not just because they like making cool stuff, but because they like to bring happyness to people. The person who leaked this clearly has no respect for the creators of the game.

    As a game developer, I urge you to show some respect for the creators of the game by not downloading or distributing it. My first game came out a couple of weeks ago on PS2 and XBox and it's both frustrating and disappointing to see it readily available on P2P networks. How would you like to see something you've worked on for 50+ hours a week for months on end being freely copied around?

    If you're intent on doing it, at least wait until the game has been released and if you like it, please buy it to support the developers. $50 isn't much to pay considering the number of hours of entertainment you get from the tens of thousands of man-hours and millions of dollars that would have gone into producing it - infinitely better value than a movie.
    • I appreciate your respect for developers, but disagree on one issue. You said wait until the game is released to download, and then buy it if you like it. Microsoft/Bungie has provided many people opportunities to play halo2 early, and I see nothing wrong with illegally downloading the game before it is available in the stores. When the game goes to stores, having an illegal copy isn't cool anyway, so you might as well get the tin box version.
    • In your opinion, is it wrong for someone to download it and start playing the single player missions, and then purchase it at retail for online play?

    • Re:This is Sad (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Diabolus777 ( 663144 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @10:15AM (#10523717)
      I'm a game developper for a really small company and let me tell you this:

      Once the game's gone gold, it's in the publisher's hands. They bought the title and now hold the rights to it. So, if they decided to send promo copies to journalists (where 99% of leaks come from), then only the publisher is to blame.

      It's the business dynamic to send promos in order to get maximum exposure, make people drool by reading the reviews that are largely biased most of the time.

      If I see my game leaked and available before it's time, I wash my hands of it. I got paid for my work, and we sold the title. I'm not saying it's ok for people to distribute, but it's beign made so easy and tempting for them that nothing I'll say will make a difference. . .

      • Re:This is Sad (Score:5, Insightful)

        by shplorb ( 24647 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @10:41AM (#10524032) Homepage Journal
        But what about royalties? Yes, a lot of studios essentially do 'work for hire' like that now - but what if something goes FUBAR and you run over budget and can't negotiate extra from the publisher, or the publisher decides to shitcan it?

        That's when you need royalties from your games to keep you afloat. Royalties can also provide enough revenue to allow the studio to break-away from doing licenses, invest in improving and developing their technology and not always being beholden to the publisher and getting larger royalties because the studio is then taking the risk by providing their own funding.

        I thought that was the dream of every developer - to have the financial security to do their own thing, but you seem to feel differently.

    • Re:This is Sad (Score:3, Interesting)

      by the_crowbar ( 149535 )

      <rant> Not to knock your game (I have no idea which one it is), but of the 18+ PS2 titles I have I would readily go back in time and stop myself from spending my hard earned $50 on most of them. I have been satisfied with a very few titles. My favorites that I still play were bought for $20 as "Greatest Hits" titles. I did buy a couple of games brand new that I feel as if I got my money's worth from them. So out of the games I bought maybe four or five were worth my hard earned money. Most of the game

    • Re:This is Sad (Score:4, Interesting)

      by syberanarchy ( 683968 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @11:14AM (#10524426) Journal
      No, see... what I will do is this.

      I will probably end up D/Ling it. I will then purchase the game's special edition come release day.

      I do not see what you, as a developer, lose from me plunking down 50 bucks for your game on a pre-order with EBgames.com, then deciding to play it a little earlier if that opportunity becomes avalible to me. This was the exactly the case with Doom 3, and I ended up with TWO legit copies when everything was said and done. Did ID lose money because I did this? Or was it more of an "emotional rape" kind of thing where they felt their collective penis shrink 2 inches because they didn't control the day and the date of my install?

      I can understand if I seed or distribute once my download is done, you might have a case, because not everyone uses my honor system. But if you get paid, and I get the game, what does it matter to you if I play it a few days... or even a month... early?

      If I download a game and buy it after giving it a trial run, how is that any different from renting, aside from cutting Blockbuster's 6 dollar late fees out of the picture?

      Again, I realize most game pirates do it because they can. But I'll be honest with you - if I pirate a game, and I like it, I tend to buy the game retail. Especially when it has multiplayer. I may never actually USE the multiplayer, but knowing that I'm without it makes me feel like I'm missing half the game.

      On the other hand, if I make a copy of a game, and it doesn't really draw me in, then it doesn't get any more play, and it just stays buried in a pile of garbage. These, I call coasters. Because that's all crappy games are good for.

      So I don't mean to sound smug, I really don't. I'm trying to understand what you lose from folks like me doing what we do. If I did, perhaps I wouldn't do it.

      I agree with you on the movie analogy - 50 dollars for a game like Halo 2 or GTA is a much better value than 2 hours for 25 bucks (with concessions factored in.) That's why I'm more likely to pirate a movie than a game - because the game industry hasn't gouged the consumer on a regular basis, just because they can... yet.

      Finally, it needs to be said, and again, I'm not trying to be "omg well I deserve it for free" here - asking eager gamers with the means and the hardware to get Halo 2 early is like asking someone who finds a million bucks on the street to not spend it out of respect for the US Mint.

      It's sweet, it's a cute lesson that ought to be in a citizenship/ethics textbook, but in real world terms, it just doesn't happen.

      I must ask - why is it so frustrating and disappointing to see your game pirated? Did you expect anything else? You had to know this before going into production. The more popular a title is, the more widely avalible it is on p2p networks. If I were you, I'd be more worried if the pirates IGNORED your work.

      I wish more companies would use p2p networks to build a new content distrubution platform. I'm not talking about things like iTunes, where an old business model is dragged kicking and screaming into cyberspace.

      I'm talking about a model that takes advantage of the benefits of the medium, and passes those costs along to the consumer. Of course, that's a dirty no-no: even if there is no packaging cost, we must still charge the consumer for it... because we can.

      I wonder if it has ever occured to anyone that the media could by all rights be free. Imagine the ad revenue from putting a Mountain Dew ad in the loading screen of Halo 2, and being able to get the game for 5 bucks or less. Imagine being able to walk into a theater for free if you get there in time to watch ads. This is where the future is heading, I think.
    • My guess is that a lot of people downloading it just want a shot to pratice early so they can kick butt online the day of release, or to check it out and see if it's worthwhile to buy at all.

      Programmers should be more concerned with making sure paying customers are happy than worrying over the ogeyman of "lost sales" due to piracy.

      Do you really think Halo sales will suffer as a result of this? My guess is that it will go on to record breaking sales, and this has like a .001% impact on sales in the end.

    • Re:This is Sad (Score:3, Funny)

      by jafac ( 1449 )
      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. . .

  • I'm a bit confused (Score:5, Funny)

    by insomnyuk ( 467714 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @09:17AM (#10523016) Journal
    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.

  • Choices, choices... (Score:5, Funny)

    by toriver ( 11308 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @09:18AM (#10523026)
    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...

  • No (Score:5, Funny)

    by cassidyc ( 167044 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @09:26AM (#10523088)
    it wont affect Bungies release date, but it will be a good excuse to delay HL2 some more

  • But what will the cost be, in Freedoms? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Alzheimers ( 467217 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @09:34AM (#10523194)
    As sad as it is, is anyone suprised that it happened? I mean, it's only the most anticipated game of the year (HL2 was the most anticipated game of last year, it's just coming out this year). I've got my preorder in, and I know a lot of other people who won't bother with it either. However, there are people who will always look to cheat the system, and as much as we hate it there's no use crying or screaming or starting flamewars that this will hurt 'the programmers'. But that's not the worst of it.

    My main concern is the response and backlash from the Corps. It's not that I condone the behavior of these thieves, but I'm desperately afraid of the cure will be worse than the disease. Already we have games that can't work in everyone's PC, or disable programs you legitemately install. We have operating systems that require you to phone home every time you change your hardware, just so that the company can make sure you're not stealing .00001% of their yearly profits. What's next, that each copy will be biometrically tied to us, so we need to activate out consoles with a thumbprint identification before we can turn it on?

    And what's going to be the target of the corporation's wrath, you ask? In this case, it's going to be USENET, BITTORRENT, and IRC. Three out-of-the-mainstream networks that corporations will try to convince law makers are nothing but havens for pirates and thieves. You'll hear the words "Terrorists" and "Child Pr0n" before this is over, too.

    It's a tough world we live in. No matter which side you stand for, this much is certain: you're going to get screwed.

  • I saw this coming (Score:5, Funny)

    by Minwee ( 522556 ) <dcr@neverwhen.org> on Thursday October 14, 2004 @09:35AM (#10523208) Homepage
    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 --

  • Any chance this bombshell move could force MS/Bungie to push up the release date?

    Man, I hope not. I've already put in for vacation the week of November 8th through the 12th for an all week frag fest. I guess it can still happen, I'll just have to miss those midnight release parties if the release date is pushed up. Alas

  • If anything (Score:2, Insightful)

    by antivoid ( 751399 )
    On the contrary, I believe this occurence should force the release date forward - i.e. get it legally earlier; this would lighten the blow of piracy by making legal release concurrent to the leaked one, causing less copies to be stolen (people have a greater chance of buying games as opposed to copying when the game is actually available in the stores.)
    Anyone disagree?

  • In other news ... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Samael_666 ( 669404 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @09:58AM (#10523517)
    Pope is catholic ...

    Come on, is this news ???

  • Call Me Paranoid (Score:4, Funny)

    by Greyfox ( 87712 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @11:36AM (#10524686) Homepage Journal
    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.

  • Who'd download it anyway (Score:3, Funny)

    by morgdx ( 688154 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @12:53PM (#10525921) Homepage

    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 (Score:3, Funny)

    by Troll'N ( 809458 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @01:02PM (#10526048)
    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.

  • Xbox ISO... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by d3ity ( 800597 ) on Thursday October 14, 2004 @03:54PM (#10528043)
    Hrm, I havent seen the download, but i'm wondering The xbox warez community has been working for a long time on cracking the xbox ISO, so that burned games will work on any xbox. I'm wondering right now if the release of this would in any way aid them. Also note, that I have two copies of halo preordered, so I will be waiting, and I will be found at my local EB at 9 PM EST on november 8th. There has been talk of the ISO crack project for a long time, I'm just sort of worried that if this occours, the release dates of many many future xbox games will be delayed while MS and developers scramble to secure thier hardware/software.

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