Q-Games, developer of the popular PixelJunk series has said that they will no longer be porting games to the Sony PSP due to the rampant piracy on the handheld.
PixelJunk is an exclusive PSN series for the PS3, and one version, PixelJunk Monsters was ported to the PSP this year.
Founder and CEO Dylan Cuthbert says that anti-piracy measures on the PSP handhelds will not stop the unauthorized distribution of his game. Cuthbert was also “shocked” to read comments by users in chat rooms who openly admitted to playing pirated versions of the game.
“I don’t think we’ll port anything else to the PSP, we have to see how [PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe] does as there’s a lot of piracy,” Cuthbert said. “Because Monsters is such a good fit it is being pirated I think, maybe the pirates will buy the full version out of guilt?”
Adds Cuthbert in response to question of whether the company would add serial numbers: “Unfortunately the pirates could just hack those kinds of things out,” and that “a PSP demo is in the works but I don’t think it makes any difference to piracy.”
“It was a shock to login to a [PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe] chat room and hear them talking about how they were all playing ripped versions.”
Result for: serial number
According to a Dell press release, users can now purchase and download authorized Microsoft software through the company’s Download Store, marking the first time a non-Microsoft site has offered legal downloads of the popular products, which include most notably, Microsoft Office and all its components.
Dell claims to have cheaper prices as well, saying “For example, Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007– one of the top-selling software titles in the is priced at $129.99 compared with the suggested retail price of $149.99.”
If you get a new computer or have a HDD crash, users keep a “digital locker” with Dell, that allows you to download any purchased software again at no extra charge as well as find your serial number if you forget it.
“With everyday savings plus on-demand access, the Dell Download Store addresses our customers’ two main concerns: price and immediacy. In addition, downloading is a more environmentally friendly way to purchase and distribute software because there’s no need for packaging material,” adds Geoff Surkamer, general manager, Dell Global Digital Distribution.
Result for: serial number
Prosecutors in Michigan have filed fraud charges against an iPod repairman who allegedly received over 9000 replacement iPod Shuffle devices by entering serial numbers into Apple’s online web site. He then flipped the devices for full profit.
The man, Nicholas Woodhams, age 23, sold mostly all of the stolen iPods for $49 USD each, making over $400,000 USD profit.
“We’ve been cooperating with the government and are in the process of negotiating a resolution,” said Woodhams’ lawyer, Randall Levine. “He is one of those guys who is computer-savvy. This is a very bright man who did not fully appreciate the seriousness of the situation.”
The government is currently looking to seize all of Woodhams’ assets, including two cars, a motorcycle, seven Mac computers and an undisclosed amount of cash, supposedly in the hundreds of thousands.
Being an independent iPod repairman, Woodhams had full knowledge that he could get free replacements if Shuffle devices were having problems.
“Through trial and error, the defendant determined that he could guess valid, warrantied serial numbers and enter them into Apple’s Web site for ‘replacement’ units without ever in fact purchasing or possessing the ‘original’ units,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler added.
