Two weeks ago we reported that the game The Sims 3 by EA had been leaked two weeks early to P2P, and according to new data figures compiled by research firm BigChampagne, the pirated version had been downloaded over 180,000 times in just four days.
2008’s most pirated game, EA’s blockbuster Spore, saw 500,000 downloads in its first 10 days, so Sims 3 is on pace to beat that.
EA is saying however that the pirated version is not the final release.
“The pirated version is a buggy, pre-final build of the game,” EA’s Holly Rockwood said. “It’s not the full game. Half the world - an entire city - is missing from the pirated copy.”
Result for: spore
Following recent blockbuster leaks such as that of Resident Evil 5, Electronic Arts’ Sims 3 game has been leaked to P2P, a full 15 days before its official release date.
The ISO file is 4.94 GB large and the game has had its Securom DRM cracked. The Sims 3 was set to be EA’s flagship game for 2009 but may have some sales hindered by piracy. This is not always true however as despite being leaked, Resident Evil 5 still set sales record for the series.
The game has been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times already and is being called the “real deal” with little to no bugs or crashes.
EA has had a bad year so far in terms of piracy and leaks, especially with the debacle that came with the release of the hit game Spore which eventually led to a class action suit against the developer.
Result for: spore
Electronic Arts has decided to drop DRM for its upcoming The Sims 3 game, a stark about-face from previous titles which have had DRM that has been, at worst, called “draconian.”
In September, the Will Wright blockbuster Spore was criticized unmercifully for its use of SecuROM DRM that only allowed the game to be installed three times total. SecuROM also stays installed in your system whether you want it there or not.
EA CEO John Riccitiello, said, at the time: “We’re going to see an evolution of these things. I wish we didn’t live in a world where we had to do these types of things. I want it to be seamless and easy - but I also don’t want to have a bonfire of money.”
Rod Humble, Sims 3 executive producer, has explained that DRM should be a thing of the past, at least for high profile releases like The Sims.
“To play the game there will not be any online authentication needed,” he notes. “We feel like this is a good, time-proven solution that makes it easy for you to play the game without DRM methods that feel overly invasive or leave you concerned about authorization server access in the distant future.”
The Sims 3 has an early June release date.
