Every year, Torrentfreak makes a list of the most pirated PC games of the year and this year is no different.
Topping the list is Spore, the blockbuster game that made headlines for its unique gameplay and for the backlash it received due to EA’s choice to include brutal SecuROM DRM.
In second place was Sims 2, another game from Spore creator Will Wright. In third was Assassin’s Creed, which is probably on the list because a pirated version was leaked to torrent and P2P sites weeks before the retail date.
Some of the other titles on the list are more surprising given their release date but they remain popular.
The full list is as follows:
Number on list; Name; Amount of downloads; Date of release
1 Spore
(1,700,000) (Sept. 2008)
2 The Sims 2
(1,150,000) (Sept. 2004)
3 Assassins Creed
(1,070,000) (Nov. 2007)
[More]>>
Result for: backlash
The BBC has reported that its English-language Website seems to be available to Internet users in China after years of it being blocked in the country.
For the time being, the BBC says stories that would normally be blocked can be accessed and that even sensitive subjects such as the protests in Tibet are available. The Chinese-language site however, remains blocked.
The move, which comes amidst growing backlash against the Chinese government for its actions in Tibet and its censoring of news about the country, had to have been government approved or is just a temporary glitch.
Recently, China blocked access to the gigantic video sharing site YouTube after videos of the Tibetan protests surfaced and the government also announced it will be punishing other video sharing sites for similar reasons.
Result for: backlash
Comcast, the United States’ largest cable operator, and Pando Networks, have jointly announced they will be issuing a call for a “P2P bill of rights and responsibilities”. Comcast also said they would begin using Pando’s file sharing technology software.
The two companies hope to “convene a group of industry experts” to talk about what options and controls are necessary for consumers using P2P applications. More importantly, the companies want to “address what processes and practices ISPs should use to manage file-sharing running on their networks.” One of the questions they hope to solve is “whether P2P users should have the right to control their computers’ resources when using P2P applications.”
For the tests, both companies will “examine how file-sharing programs run on other ISP networks, including cable, DSL, fiber and wireless and measure things like performance, speed, distance and geography and bandwidth consumption.”
It can be said that Comcast was forced into all its recent interest with P2P companies after the company saw intense backlash for its attempts to throttle and slow down file sharing activities of its users. For its part Comcast said the moves were done to reduce stress on its bandwidth costs.
More information as it becomes available.
