p2pnet - rss feed: 12,000 Earth 2160 charges
p2pnet / p2p News:- Heise online is reporting that thousands of charges against P2P users, who have downloaded and shared the PC game Earth 2160, are being filed in Karlsruhe, Germany. A Swiss anti-piracy company called Logistep has been contracted to track down file sharers.
Logistep describes itself as a “full service provider” and also handles legal prosecution. Zuxxez Entertainment AG is selling the game in Germany and their CEO, Dirk P. Hassinger has confirmed that they are working with Logistep. "We are losing a tremendous amount of revenue from downloads of our software in P2P networks. It’s too much." It is already clear "that this campaign has born fruit: Earth 2160 has basically disappeared from P2P networks, and sales now remain very satisfactory.", said Dirk.
A cracked version of Earth 2160 was released on September 6 and can currently be found on Newsgroups, BitTorrent trackers, eDonkey2k and other P2P networks. Dirk Hassinger’s claim that this game can no longer be found on P2P networks is clearly incorrect and his claim that sales are now satisfactory, since Earth 2160 disappeared from P2P networks, is bizarre.
For starters, his analysis is flawed because the game can still be found on several P2P networks. In addition to that, a cracked version of the game first appeared online yesterday. Two days is hardly enough time to analyze the possible effect illegal downloads have had on sales.
Heise online has also reported that a criminal investigator has disclosed that the information provided by Logistep does not disclose the methods used to collect data and as a result, it’s not always possible to confirm that the timestamp is correct.
So far, 12,000 charges have been filed against file sharers who allegedly uploaded Earth 2160 on the eDonkey2k network. Zuxxez will attempt to extort 50 euros per upload in damages from these file sharers. This is an interesting amount considering that Logistep refuses to disclose their methods of collecting information. There is also no way of accurately collecting information that will disclose how much data of a particular file someone has transferred on the eDonkey2k network.
Similar to the RIAA, Zuxxez is hoping that these file sharers agree to pay them the amount demanded rather than take them to court. None of these cases have gone to court yet and it’s not clear if Logistep’s weak evidence will be considered to be anything more than insignificant data.
In the meantime, Dirk Hassinger will continue to claim sales are back to normal now that the game has disappeared from P2P networks and file sharers will be able to continue downloading the game from various P2P networks. BitTorrent users can also find the game on ThePirateBay.
Drake Zamanov - P2PCore
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September 9th, 2005 at 4:11 pm
Currently, there are 12 torrents listed for it on torrentspy.com.
There is one torrent (10mbit.com) that has 1750 leechers and 650 seeders.
Yes, it’s definitely been eradicated from the P2Psphere……
Instead of trying to shake down the leechers for 50 Euros with threats and nasty letters, why doesn’t Zuxxez get Logistep to set up a tracker and then give the URL and .torrent file (with user unique hash) to whoever is willing to pay, let’s say 29 Euros?
Such heretical ideas that disrupt that status quo of outmoded, yet comfortable, models for digital products as physical property will surely incur the wrath of the IP cartels and their lawyers.
September 9th, 2005 at 7:19 pm
The only way to deal with this crap is to have nothing to do with this game (or any other products these a-holes sell). As long as the cash register keeps ringing this kind of abusive thugs will continue their bad behaviour.
September 10th, 2005 at 4:26 am
Revenue is not lost unless it is first acquired. The non-sales caused by P2P networks are also not researchable enough to determine a figure for what they are discussing. The correct terminology here would be “We believe that we have a significant quantity of unrealized revenue due to P2P-based sharing of copies of our software.” Note “believe” and “unrealized” being used. “Lost” requires that it be in one’s possession. “Unrealized” is unencumbered by this requirement, and simply indicates that which has not come to pass instead of that which was acquired and subsequently taken away.
September 10th, 2005 at 5:18 am
Would you buy a product without first being able to see it working, take a look at it in person or otherwise “test drive” it? If that product couldn’t be returned or refunded even if it didn’t work when you got it home unless the retailer decided to allow it, and you realise that’s just cause they’ll palm it off on someone else as though it’s brand new?
If trying to return it to most retailers got you labelled as some kind of criminal, even if it’s clearly a non-functional POS? If the makers provided you with “info” stating that you are not allowed under any circumstances to sell that product second hand? “Info” that also included restrictions on what you can and cannot do with that product?
What if the makers of some of these products insisted that you contact them and inform them you’ve bought the product before being allowed to use it for the first time?
No?
Why do you buy software?
September 10th, 2005 at 11:30 am
hey tony…
i never buy electronics unless i’ve first tried them out in a shop, and p2p is how i try out other things before i buy them. and i always wait at least at least a year after testing something frpm p2p before i buy it. i won’t pay top prices for things that aren’t worth it. and that also includes the electronics.
and btw, just because the xbox 360 is supposed to be “hack-proof” doesn’t mean it won’t be hacked. where i live it’s totally legal to modify game consoles. mod kits are sold in all major shops and even can be modded by professional technicians. same with region-coded dvd players.
September 11th, 2005 at 4:43 am
G’day ;o)
oh yeah i’m sure it’ll be hacked, in fact i expect to see OSX running on it within a couple of weeks of it being released lol ;o) It makes me wonder what MS was thinking when they made those statements. Were they just trying to con errr “inform” their shareholders or what? Or maybe deliberately provoking the hackers so they can go after them for violating the dmca.
Wow, where do you…. No don’t answer that, don’t want to let the xxAA’s know which govt they have to pressure into “fixing that problem”. I think in Oz it was legal to use modchips in consoles, but only to overcome region locking, ntsc vs pal stuff etc, not to bypass copy protection. Then i think some console maker whined and got it “fixed” or something.
Yeah I always “try before i buy” with software too. Doesn’t mean i don’t ever buy any, just only stuff that i like/want and works. Been burned by too many games that were buggy as all hell, or crap as all hell. Won’t be making those mistakes again.
September 14th, 2005 at 10:22 am
I bought it, i like it and consider it worth it. They have already released a patch and some customisation tools. They will provide support and patches for quite some time to come. If they force some warez monkeys to fork up some money for a quality product, i’m not going to lose any sleep.
When asked about the delay of the release of Earth 2160.
Mr. Mirek Dymek, the project leader of Earth 2160 crossed his arms obstinately and said “The game is done, when it’s done and there is no way that we are going to follow the annoying trend of releasing an unfinished game on our public.”
http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/earth-2160-online/571576p1.html
September 18th, 2005 at 1:04 pm
Yes, it is utterly fruitless to believe that for every pirated copy, an original in not sold.