Today in Joystiq: April 25, 2008

by Ross Miller { Apr 25th 2008 at 11:59PM }

Joystiq reader Sam sends us this picture from Grand Theft Auto IV. We've slightly highlighted the key part where it says pirate, with games written right below it. In light of recent events, we can't help but notice some irony. Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Assault Heroes 2 blows up XBLA on May 14
The definitive Mario Kart Wii controller showdown
DS Fanboy Lite: Apr. 19 - Apr. 25
First impressions: Mario Kart Wii
Joystiq Podcast 047 - JQ vs DC edition
Keep on Kartin': A Mario Kart Retrospective

News
The Xbox 360 turns a profit ... again
GameStop's GTA IV midnight launch mega-list
Spore Creature Creator and demo coming June 17
See the first character model from Splatterhouse
Lost Odyssey and Army of Two DLC arrives
Jason Priestley is helping to promote Mario Kart
Codemasters takes over Sega Racing Studio
Metal Gear Online beta patched again (we're so close)
No Nintendo Wii or DS price cuts this year
Metal Gear Online beta now live for all territories
Marvel Comics hires former Sony exec as digital media VP
Blockbuster putting GTA IV on the 'new release' wall
Rock Band Weekly: The Mother Hips and Smashing Pumpkins
SingStar PS3 screams into North America May 20, playable at Coachella festival
Lara Croft parent SCi gets £60m from Warner Bros.
ESRB reminds parents GTA IV isn't for children
PS3's third-gen heatsink reduces size, complexity, boosts efficiency
MCV: Midway could become part of Viacom
Ion Storm, Wolfpack vets lift lid off KingsIsle Entertainment
SOCOM over here and watch this 'Confrontation' footage

Rumors & Speculation
Analysts expect PS3 to benefit most from GTA IV
Rumor: Bungie making third-person Halo prequel
Rumorang: BioShock PS3 port in September

Tags: gtaiv, pirates

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

mike @ Apr 26th 2008 12:44AM

lol. Irony

On another GTA note, check out www.thepiratebay.com . They changed their Front logo to liberty Bay, a spoof of GTA4. :)

Alexander @ Apr 26th 2008 1:21AM

lmao it leads to gta iv rip for 360

BananaBoat @ Apr 26th 2008 2:08AM

Knowing Rockstar, this could be an anti-gamestop joke, and not a joke about illicit downloading of games.

That said, they don't need to worry as almost noone has a modified Xbox 360 anyway (or a PS3 for that matter) so those rips of the game are essentially useless to 99.999999% of their market. It's funny that having a modded Xbox 360 has finally payed off for those people that do (not me, I'm not risking the pwning of my XBL account to play a game 5 days early).

The second you walk into that store (if you can) I hope a gamestop employee style guy screams "WOULD YOU LIKE TO PRE-ORDER *INSERT GAME HERE*?" and if you say no, he pulls out a cutlass, and tries to stab you with it. That would be the most epic thing ever

Tiptup300 @ Apr 26th 2008 2:11AM

That redirect is such flamebait for ps3 fanboys!

Waffle Slayer @ Apr 26th 2008 12:47AM

Even though my copy of GTA IV collecting dust in my local Gamestop, I think I'm going to go ahead and download GTA now that I know Rockstar North approves.

vectorelement @ Apr 26th 2008 12:52AM

Does Weblogs Inc./AOL log IP addresses?
You can't Control/Command + Z your way out of that one.

Waffle Slayer @ Apr 26th 2008 1:10AM

It's called sarcasm, friend.

TheHuntIsOn @ Apr 26th 2008 5:58AM

Is why I love my dynamic IP. Reboot my router and I have a new IP, fresh to reek havoc anywhere I want. Bans? Pah! Reports? No use!

When you're tooled up with PeerGuardian, JAP and other IP hiding things you're free to download anything you want.

But I'm not actually a pirate. I just know about everything. Infact I piss on pirates.

Bucket @ Apr 26th 2008 12:50AM

You heard it here first, folks. Rockstar condones BANGING TRASH CAN LIDS FOR AN HOUR!

Shmil @ Apr 26th 2008 3:04AM

Banging on a trash can.
strumming on a street light.

rivaldi22 @ Apr 26th 2008 10:37AM

I fucking miss Doug. And not the ABC horseshit. Only the Nickelodeon era for me, kthx.

playwhutyalike @ Apr 26th 2008 11:26AM

I hear that Rivaldi.

I was sucked into that show out of pure boredom. Turns out it was the best discovery for me, personally. I would tape that bitch back in the day.

Billy Dee Williams @ Apr 26th 2008 10:29PM

That's a great sign!

PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Apr 26th 2008 12:59AM

just a couple days left. i can taste it. i still havent had a chance to go around and search for GTAIV yet though. i might go to Sears or K-Mart or something and see if i can catch an unsuspecting associate off guard, one that doesnt like to read bright date labels, and get the game early.

Ninjakamster @ Apr 26th 2008 1:06AM

And that story on Kotaku of the guy who had a pirated copy of GTA4 on his 360 and it RRODing during a live feed on Justin.TV.

Some say it was fake but its still funny. Poetic justice. :D

Alexander @ Apr 26th 2008 1:41AM

man i cant wait for gta iv for my ps3 and im renting the 360 version gonna save up for a modded xbox 360 to run games like gta iv before release date lol

Bucfann @ Apr 26th 2008 1:51AM

Seriously, if you have a 360 that will play the pirated version, might as well get it and play it. I know I would. I would buy the retail version regardless unless the game is crap which we all know its not.
Is Rockstar going to come after those who use the pirated copies? Doubt it. Too much money involved in that and they know millions are going to buy the game. That and that would be pretty hypocritical. Releasing a game in which the player is suppose to break all the rules/laws and do what's best for the individual.

I can see it now. Rockstar guns down pirate downloaders - Down loaders counter suite saying the best selling series pushed them into breaking the "laws" and downloading the pirated copies.

Bucfann @ Apr 26th 2008 1:54AM

Is it easy to mod a 360 to play downloaded games? Im not asking you how to do it, but is it somewhat easy? I am all for free shit. Ive spent plenty so far in my life for crap. Plenty just some some ass clown can put another queer Bentley in the driveway. I dont feel bad about downloading a game, movie, or song.

Ninjakamster @ Apr 26th 2008 1:56AM

Well, you would be banned from Live and so unable to play online nor download the DLC for example, so its not really worth it.

aschaefer @ Apr 26th 2008 2:01AM

wrong, i doubt anyone playing the bootleg gta4 will get banned. MS will have no way of knowing how the person got the copy of the game, to them it looks like a legitimate copy of GTA4. it's not like the leaked halo alphas and betas that was pretty obvious that it was pirated

Tiptup300 @ Apr 26th 2008 2:19AM

Oh, Microsoft has their ways. Believe me! Microsoft HAS THEIR WAYS. Don't pirate games, unless its like some old ps1 game that you can't get in stores anymore, do not pirate games. It just hurts the industry as a whole.

mccomber @ Apr 26th 2008 2:37AM

I'd think MS could just look at the users online playing GTA IV, and then do whatever they did before to figure out who was using modded 360s.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/microsoft-bans-modded-360s-from-xbox-live

They found people before, and playing GTA IV right now would be like sending up a flare.

Bucket @ Apr 26th 2008 3:20AM

How about you go back to your shit job (if you're even old enough to have one) and tell your boss that you don't think people should be paid for their hard work?

I'm sure he'll appreciate having one less paycheck to fill out.

Geist @ Apr 26th 2008 6:24AM

Jesus. You people make it sound like if he doesn't download the game, he's going to purchase it, and therefore the developer is losing money when he does pirate. This isn't always the case.

rockintom @ Apr 26th 2008 11:31AM

@Geist

Yeah, but just because he was never going to buy it doesn't mean he *deserves* to play it.

Sir Fidlious Wong (Zeon Defense Force) @ Apr 26th 2008 12:38PM

tipcup, piracy is just as bad for the industry as a whole as... buying used games. I wonder where your stance on that subject is. Because you're BUYING it it's no longer harmful for the industry in your own eyes?

And many can try to defend trading in or buying used games but the fact of the matter is, that money will NEVER go to the developer. It's how I buy games from a company I'm boycotting.

Also, in my experience, your average pirate spends more on video games than your average gamer. Biggest pirate I know owns over 2,000 games. Also, you'll find development studios are often dens of pirates. I know people in many studios all over the states and abroad who work hand in hand with excessive software pirates.

And a final not, no one knows how much money is lost to Piracy. It's impossible to tell. The first assumption is that if the pirate didn't download it, he would have bought it. Funny idea this thing is. Second assumption is that someone who downloaded it will never buy it. I personally download PC games and test them on my rig. If I like the game and it runs well, I'll buy it. If not, I'll delete it. And no, demos are NOT accurate bars on which the final product should be judged. And finally, sales lost to piracy comes from a number called "sales estimates." So they say a game should sell so many copies and if it fails to do so, they mark it down as money lost to piracy. Nintendo is famous for this as they claimed over $1.5 billion dollars lost in Gamecube piracy. Think about that for a second. They are claiming lose on a system that is not piratable.

mr mobius @ Apr 26th 2008 12:58PM

Only ROM I've played has been for gameboy and it was a game I'd bought before(pokemon blue), and Mario Bros 3 (it wasn't on VC at the time) but even then the keyboard wasn't as good as a controller would have been.

I'd never pirate a game I could buy in a shop. For more advanced games a keyboard doesn't work the same as a controller would let it.

Tiptup300 @ Apr 26th 2008 2:21AM

Oh yeah, by the way, YOUR AN ASS.

Tiptup300 @ Apr 26th 2008 2:22AM

meant to be another reply to bucfann.

rivaldi22 @ Apr 26th 2008 10:38AM

I'm sorry, but it's "you're."

Flung insults are just so much more effective when they use the right words.

Bucfann @ Apr 26th 2008 12:49PM

Im an ass? LOL

I DO plan on buying the game. IF I had a spare 360 that I could keep off of Live and use for a pirated game of say, GTA IV, I would just to play until the game is released. Then I would purchase it unless I find the game to be complete crap.
And for some people to download music, movies, games everyonce in a while and not regularly, I find no problem with that personally. Especially in an age where the hard working consumer is nickel and dimed and squeezed for as much money as the greedy corporations can get out of them. So no, I dont feel bad about occasionally downloading stuff. These people will still be filthy rich, so I wont feel bad about it. I wont feel as bad as they would, if they by chance ever stopped to think how prices of movies, games, music, etc are all over priced and while they are looking for their next mansion, the regular joe blow public is buying their crap and worrying about getting their kids through college.
And Im sure most of you have downloaded something before. An mp3, a movie, game, etc, instead of paying for it.

Tiptup300 @ Apr 26th 2008 1:28PM

mp3's, movies, old games, that's fine. But just downloading all your new games isn't.

Killswitch On @ Apr 26th 2008 1:43PM

I agree. All I am saying is that if someone has a modded 360 that they dont intend to use on Live, go ahead and get the pirate of GTA, but only to hold you over until release. Im not condoning going out and just downloading a pirated copy of each new game you want, with absolutely no intention of ever buying it. You could even use it as your own review before you buy.
And sure, I sort of gave a big FU to greedy corporations in my first two posts. After constantly being screwed over by these industries, I dont feel that bad for them when people use technology to pirate games, movies, or music. In a society where the rich get richer, usually by taking advantage of costumers, why should you feel bad? Like going to the movie theaters anymore costs an arm and a leg, and then if you happen to want a drink and a snack.... OUCH. Or if you got kids, its worse.