Sims 3 leaked two weeks before release
Digital dollhouse bootleg
The newest addition to Electronic Arts' mega-franchise The Sims has reportedly been leaked online two weeks before the video game's official release.
It certainly didn't take long for EA's The Sims 3, one of the game publisher's flagship titles for 2009, to be shanghaied by interweb pirates. We've identified a number of trackers (that shall remain nameless) purportedly linking to the game torrent, sized somewhere near 5GB.
We haven't directly verified the file, of course, because 1) it's illegal and 2) publishing a confession of doing so in the news is a terrible idea. Indirectly via torrent comments and online ne'er-do-wells, it appears to be the real deal.
Although perhaps inevitable these days, the leak is still bad news for EA, which announced back in March that Sims 3 wouldn't carry any online authentication. Only a product key is necessary to activate the game, the company stated.
But the game's launcher still appears to want to phone home for some purpose. Torrent instructions usually mention using a firewall to prevent the launcher and game from going online.
EA's slackening of copy protection restrictions for Sims 3 was a response to intense criticism of the company's heavy-handed DRM implementation in Spore. Those restrictions in many ways overshadowed buzz for the game itself. In addition to requiring Spore to be registered online, the game installed SecuROM copy protection (arguably without telling the user) and granted only a limited number of installs. The game was still pirated on a massive scale despite EA's efforts.
But obviously, the reverse psychology bit doesn't work either. Fortunately for EA, if Spore and other headlining leaks like Wolverine can make tons of money despite the rampant piracy, there's a good chance The Sims 3 will be lining their pockets anyway.
EA has yet to comment on the alleged leak. ®
COMMENTS
Let's get one thing straight
The Sims is not a 'girls game', and it's not for 'casual' gamers.
Sims devotees are probably about the most hard-core userbase of gamers you will find.
So many fools.
Quote Anonymous Troll -"Most of those actually buying and complaing DRM annoyance then posting it on the support forums of said company sites that made those games are probably pirates as well."
You've earned a Master's Degree in Applied Stupidity. Pirates don't complain about DRM because THE DRM IS STRIPPED FROM THEIR VERSION OF THE GAME.
SIMS 3...
...my missus will be made up and I will be moving out.
people will still buy it ...
Most people can't follow the directions to install a pirated game.
Most people can't take the necessary precautions to reduce the risk of virus infection.
A lot of the people who have the necessary skills, get paid enough that they would rather just go out and buy the game.
So basically you got a bunch of teenagers and college students with lots of time and no money pirating .... and guess what ... most of them can't afford to buy more than a couple games a year anyway.
Heavy DRM always gets hacked ... upsets paying customers.
Light DRM always gets hacked .. rewards paying customers.
Oh and I refused to watch my neighbors leaked copy of Wolverine because I want to see it in the theater. My neighbor liked it so much he want to see it a second time in the theater. He is a big X-Men fan .. he will probably want it on DVD. He also buys CDs regularly despite having lots of pirated music.
The Sky is not falling!
Making money...
If TS3 turns out to be anything like its predecessors, EA will probably make far more money by releasing a never-ending stream of expansion packs for the game than the game itself...
Besides which, this may even be doing them a favour by getting some advance publicity - (a) for the game itself, and (b) that it doesn't install any nasty DRM stuff...
