Modern Warfare 2 Most Pirated Title of 2009

December 28, 2009 - According to TorrentFreak, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has been downloaded illegally nearly 4,100,000 times for PC in 2009, topping the list after only releasing just two months ago.

Provided these numbers are indeed accurate, Activision has potentially lost more than $245 million in sales on the PC version alone.

The Sims 3, Prototype, Need for Speed Shift, and Street Fighter IV help round off the top five for the year, all of which appeared on the PC platform.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii was the highest downloaded Wii title with 1,150,000 downloads.

The report notes the total download figures for this year double that of last year's numbers, and that PC remains to be the target for torrent downloads, with more than three times that of the Wii and Xbox 360.

http://pc.ign.com/articles/105/1057593p1.html

 

Lol, PC gamers again shooting themselves in the foot. No wonder everything is being developed on consoles now, nobody wants to on PC because that's where most of the money is lost.

Like I said, it's just PC gamers shooting themselves in the foot. Then they all complain about it.

 

You know that never would have been torrented as much if they had not been dumb and kept with punkbuster.
IW shot themselves in the foot by pushing aside PC gamers as second class citizens and ignoring their roots. It would appear that based on the fact that they have lost million to PC gamers and the VGA game of the year award. That PC gamers have a bigger voice than they ignorantly thought.

 

well once i cool over my parents, since i spend 300USD on software alone in nov/dec + spent 400USD on a ps3, i will go out and buy MW2 PC. good game, worth buying...srsly...i dont see how it is such a bad game? the restriction w/ 6v6 is actually good. i joined a COD4 game recently that was 14v14. it was not fun at all. too many players = bad. nade spam, spawn killing and near instant death translate to being not fun. my avr. KD in 6v6 is 1.93 in COD4 (this is with usually no more than 8 per team). if i play big matches (10v10 or more) then i get prolly 0.33 K/D in each match.

sure, it is a downgrade to not even have the ability for more players, but i mean...c'mon, it's still fun online.

 

No offence, but Punkbuster sucks . Seriously. I have a legitimate copy of COD4, and it doesn't even let me online, with it's crap. If we can get rid of Punkbuster, then I'm willing to have non dedicated servers.

Daamn, looks like I'm losing in the poll.

 

what?! punkbuster has better cheating security and larger consequences if you are caught cheating, steam's VAC is a joke, just look at CS, 5 minutes in CS and you would wish VAC was as strong as PB

 

Am I the only one that thinks that $ amount lost is suspiciously similar to the amount they spent on the advertising campaign?
All forms of anti cheat are pathetic right now, to much of the game is run on the users computer. Its ridiculously easy for people to hack their accounts for call of duty games.

 

not when the clan you play with is a clan with its own dedicated server and only plays tactical realism mods.

 

I'm not saying that Punkbuster isn't strict enough. I'm saying that it doesn't even let me play online, when I have a boxed copy of COD4, activated properly, and I have never used a mod at all.

 

mods aren't bad for your PB standing, why wont it let you play online with a legitimate copy.

 

While I agree with what you said, consoles lose a large chunk to piracy. Heard of the PSP and it's piracy where developers basically threatened Sony to seriously address the issue or they were pulling the plug on the PSP? In that article which could be the same one I read this morning on another gaming site the 360, PS2, Wii have been hammered hard with piracy. Microsoft recently banned close to a million for piracy and modding their consoles.

So my point is while you're obviously a PC gamer first, consoles also have a big problem wrt piracy as well.

 

Some genuine games I bought (BF2) was ridden with hacks after a while spoiling the gaming experience.
IMO if they want proper payment they better deliver proper products.
Otherwise I might behave like the hackers in game towards me except they will be me.

 

Pirating out of principle...Priceless.

And what's with this "PC gamers shooting themselves in the foot thing?" No. Those are pirates, not your everyday PC gamer. Sorry to play this card, but you take the package they give you, or forgo it.

 

To the 9 of you who have voted for the first option, and to all those who intend to vote for it as well: screw you. People like you are the reason I am ashamed to be a PC gamer. You give all of us a bad name, and you are the reason developers would rather make console ports rather than "real" PC games.

 

I disagree with the two selectable options of opinion.

No individual or company deserves to be shorted for their collective accomplishments, specifically when addressing the falsely entitled masses and their indefensible excuses of imaginary entitlement regarding video games.

 

you seem to have a misconception of how the gaming industry works. lets start with the very beginning. Human beings are lazy and stupid, because of this they refuse to think for themselves and instead would rather have someone build them a cheap (low performance) gaming rig AKA (xbox, ps3, etc). And because there are more console gamers than pc gamers, why build a game for the few instead of the many, same principle goes with macs and viruses, if your a virus maker are you going to spend your time to infect 10% of the pop. or the many more who are windows users. Now back to the lazy part, when a console game is made, which is not as powerful as a pc, ie. they can use less efficient code and not as good textures why would they feel the need to re-make a game for one system (PC).

In conclusion, it is the laziness and idiocracy of the game developers who are killing PC gaming.

@-Amadeus Excello-
What would you suggest as another option to add?

 

This is not shooting themselves in the foot ...I was born and raise in China and back then I can only afford privated games which cost me 5 yuan ( like 51 cents) per game. I can only imagine my parents face if I ask them to buy a game cost 80 yuan ($10 USD @ that time) when they only making 1000-2000 yuan(125 to 250 per month) . And I think most of the downloads are from 3rd world countries where PC games are way outside of normal gamers price range. I also remember that one of the game maker did said that" The privating games is not hurting the developers but instead helping them by making them to be known, then maybe one day some of those gamers will buy the games when they can afford it." Does that sounds like advertisement (but instead of giving money to TV station/cable companies ).

 

Thank you! Someone who sees it the same way I do.

I don't know, it just doesn't let me on for some reason.

True, but the majority of pirating these days is done on PC, or so I perceive.

As Mastershroom said though, this is exactly why we are getting more and more console ports.

 

well...whatever, i like the game. im going to buy it. you cant argue with sales figures...just look at its standing during steam's holiday event. IT ISN'T EVEN ON SALE...yet it's still in top 3 since the deals started and it's probably safe to assume it was like this when it released and wont die down for a little while longer.

 

no offense and I dont mean to be rude but that is a very arrogant way to look at it.

 

Just goes to show that even though so many people are complaining about the game like little five year olds, they still want to play it. Why? Because it's a good game.

 

Wooo All Hail The Return Of Demonoid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

what's a torrent?

 

I think Insanity Ward deserves to lose that money. If the game was as solid as CoD4 not as many people would've pirated it. Plus, everyone looks at pirating in a very black and white way. There's more to it. You think these people would have bought it if they didn't pirate it? NO. So they didn't really lose much anyway.

 

The emphasized passage is the morally bankrupt, absurd rationale employed by the falsely entitled I implied in my original response.

If you believe Infinity Ward deserves to lose money, then boycott IW products, affiliates, and pressure their solicited advertisement outlets.

 

now wait a minute if you pay for limewire pro is it still pirating? Now about these genrated games keys ever heard of guild wars, i have yet to find one key that works. Yes i own a copy of guildwars. but now if the keys were strickter it would solve the problem.

 

People wanted MW2 for the multiplayer, and since it's (supposedly) a lagfest on the PC, I guess people just got it for the single player. Not much replay value either. I for one didn't even bother with the game. I haven't even played it yet lol

 

Dumb stats, doesnt mean anything. It was also one of the highest selling PC titles.

Chances are half the people that downloaded it then turned around and bought it, thus bringing a ton of customers they would not have had otherwise.

Its already been proven that "pirates" are also one of the largest consumers. If your in a business and you have VIP's that you know are your big spenders you often give them VIP treatment to keep there business, this usually includes free stuff like upgrades or amenities. In other words give some to get more.

Its like reverse VIP treatment, they get the game for free to trial it, decide they like it and then go buy it. VIP treatment does not always work, you may fiind you give something and still dont get the business of your potential customers, but overall in average you still make more than you lost and thats why you do it. Pirating seems to work the same way.

If we could magically stop all pirating tomorrow, you would see game sales drop not go up.

So pirating may be legally and morally wrong, no doubt about it, but no more crying about money lost because thats simply not true.

 

No, it is not a lagfest. It is a mediocre multiplayer-freatured game. The game should not be torrented because that is basically stealing. The game deserves what they got in sales numbers but it sucks to see people basically just stealing the game away.

And for people wondering about the "sense of entitlement" Dude, you are paying games with your hard earned cash. We are entitled to what we like too, it goes both ways not just "the developers intentions". If the developer wants to make a game for their own liking, they are perfectly able to do so. Just don't expect everyone to go buy it if it hardly has enough value for the consumers money.

Infinity Ward was wrong in basically shafting several PC gamers and acting like they didn't care at all. Gamers are wrong in pirating the game instead of just boycotting.

I didn't buy the game simply because it lacks many features and the gameplay simply lost its appeal to me. If it had at least mods, we could depend on some skillful people to make the game better, but even that was shut down.

And for the record: Matchmaking is not a problem. The problem is p2p connection, and that should be changed. Matchmacking itself is a good move, specially for new comers and people that want a game without mods.

 

i can see the point in torrents for some who are very cautious about spending their hard earned money... they try the game for free and if they like it they buy...

i do think IW did good buy relying on steam cause now if you want to play the MP you have to buy it...

dedicated servers would be good but i can see both sides

 

the lagfest comes from being matched with people not in your region... happens to me all the time... i am stationed on guam and latency is crap to everywhere...

you can leave the game and rejoin with another lobby to get a better connection

 

It may be wrong morally, but it's true. If anything, pirating turns out to get more sales because, like Vicious said, half of them turn around and buy the game because they like it and want to play on non-cracked servers.

 

umm...i was trying to say that it's not making ppl turn away from the game? it still a strong seller, they aren't losing their fanbase "DRAMATICALLY"! ofc...there are ppl who wont buy it. but it's still going to get good sales, cuz at the end of the day, if they make money, they aren't going to care what the haters are saying. if their formula w/ iwnet is selling, that's what they care about.

it's called greediness. microsoft is also like this. valve isn't. guess who the better dev. is...valve or IW?

 

Well I'm pretty sure that iilegal copies (80-90%) are meant to not play online, so they're missing out on the best bit of MW2

 

Did the numbers include the Xbox 360 version too. xD

Choose to NOT but this game since my friend already got it so i played the singleplayer on his PS3, and multiplayer aint worth the cash.
(Need moar players.)
Im saving my money for Army of Two: The 40th Day and M.A.G.

 

If people had more commonsense and less self-righteous-rage, the world would be in full agreement with you on those points. Also, I would like to see one of these critics prove to me just how an individual with no budget will actually purchase Modern Warfare 2 when he/she doesn't literally have the money to pull off the move? Take a loan from the bank? Save up for something that they might not really even be into, because most that are, have already done prior to release. Others rely on the second-hand market. Hell yeah, let's moan about that as well!

Playstation 1 - legacy - name - footing - MONEY!

Oh, and also MOST pirated in its time--when not every average Joe could access and then misinterpret lame misleading statistics--all over Asia, the Middle East and the Far East. You know, general places where a junior university educated government officer's monthly salary would be no more than $350, and the concept of a 50$ video game--import only--was a serious financial decision. Also places where the Playstation brand was the sole-winner of the console wars leaving the competition to eat dirt, and also one of the reasons behind the hype and established legacy of said brand. (Ref. Sony - "Look at how many x-million Playstations we have sold!" Fanboys - "Yay! Let's get the next one - it'll rock!")

And and before this thread really becomes a crusade, let me also add a contrasting statement of fact to the title of this topic: Modern Warefare 2 - EPIC BEST SELLER - STILL GOING STRONG! (FAIL!)

 

I would love to see some stats or something showing that this is true. Until then, I find it hard to believe. Sure, I'm sure some pirates turn around and actually buy the game, but I don't believe that companies benefit from pirates illegally downloading their game. The turn-around where people end up buying it after illegally downloading it is pretty low IMO.

Um, why does everybody seem to think PC games are different than any other consumer product available? If you don't have the money for it, then sorry, start saving. Same thing goes for buying a sweatshirt for crying out loud. Are you going to steal a sweatshirt tomorrow if you don't have the money to buy one right away? No, you'll save up the money and buy it. People seem to think that PC games are some special product that deserves to be pirated because they should be free, or at the very least, cheap. Fact is that they are a product, and companies are trying to make a profit off them. If you don't agree with that business practice, then don't buy the product. Stealing it isn't going to make the games get cheaper or make the developers listen to you. Grow up people.

 

That's not the point though, because you assume that they will buy it, or they have the resources to save and buy when you cannot establish or prove neither of the two factors. Period. End of internal rant.

Why does everyone seem to think that they will buy? How do you know this for frig's sake? I'd like a major in-pass on this trade secret of mind-reading.

Get rid of torrents. Please. Flush 'em all. You will have the same sales, give and take a few here and there; money won't magically expand and multiply allowing all those 'thieves' to switch from 'stealing' to 'buying'. Why? Because you have no figures aside from your 'IMO' or my 'IMO' or his 'IMO' or her 'IMO' on how many of those 'thieves' are actually in the position to afford or of the mindset to save or even the greater variables to save. In my 'IMO', sociology and social psychology dictate hat individuals will always seek the easier way out. If they have money, they will use the money to do it, if they don't have money, they will find other means.

Someone without the budget, just won't buy, period. Had you read my post, you would've understood this point - another hallmark of growing up - understanding the full picture.

And once again: Piracy was not exclusive to PC. In fact, a decade ago, it thrived even more on a certain console that is still considered an industry-maker by today's standpoint.

Sure, people should learn to save. A pirate should learn to become a legit consumer. But to assume that a pirate is a legit consumer gone bad, or an individual who can be a prospective legit consumer for a given product, is assuming far too much. Get rid of priacy, and will your sales double? I don't think that will happen. The few of those pirates that could afford or work towards affording in the first place, will buy, regardless of piracy being there or not. The others. Well, tough for them, but you won't get money from them that they literally do not have to spend.

Also: IMO - piracy is a second-rate experience. I actually don't get why people go through the effort and bother to play mostly cheap games. Second-hand markets are a much better avenue.

 

I was apart of the pirating statistic at first but knew I wouldn't be able to play MP. I wanted to make sure it ran fine on my Dell 1640, then ended up buying it via steam, although I beat the single player already on my 360. It's a solid game, I like it a lot..

 

This response always cracks me up when I see it. See, it CAN be looked at this way - or, at the very least, in a legal/illegal kind of way. It's most certainly illegal. I'd love to see someone in a court of law arguing "Well, yeah, I did pirate those games, but you see, it's a moral grey issue, there's more to it that that!!"

 

I bought it, I loved it, well worth the $60.

 

Im glad i didnt buy it

 

I'm glad I did! Tons of fun.

 

*No bashing plz*

I respect all MW2 players. Most (PC) MW2 players are casual FPS gamers, they're not the hardcore Call of Duty fans. The Hardcore COD gamers boycott the game.

It was crystal-clear from the get-go.

No dedicated servers and no possibility to run mods, to install custom maps and stuff is what KILLED IT!

The PC community voiced LOUDLY their concern (when IW mentioned NO DEDICATED SERVERS & P2P game-matching).

PC gamers started to react by cancelling their pre-orders of the game.That game was supposed to be the long-awaited COD4 Multiplayer replacement, for HARDCORE COD players.

PC Gamers got seriously p1ss3d and started the petition which over 250 000 people signed (I know not enough pplz and probably useless petition).

PC gamers also mentioned that they would SYSTEMATICALLY hack MW2, torrent it, hack it, cheat in the game and ruin the experience, so IW realise they were OUT TO LUNCH.

Think about it, major gamer makers are noticing and are taking IW MISTAKES seriously: DICE (the makers of Battlefield: Bad Company 2) said the they would NOT screw the PC gamers over like IW did. Eveybody and their dogs know that IW got greedy (wanting to sell extra maps), by bypassing the modding community.

IW got p1ss3d because COD4 modding community spits-out nice custom maps everyday and eXtreme mod, OpenWarfare mod and others are doing so well, much better MP experience than original MP. IW is p1ss3d that COD4 is still so popular, their STOCKHOLDERS WANT MORE MONEY, WANTING GAMES THAT FADE OUT QUICK, so they can make a COD 10 and sell some more.


I DON'T pirate games myself, I'm not buying MW2.

 

4.1 MILLION PLAYERS NOT PLAYING ONLINE! LOL thats so fail, but i bet they enjoyed SP alot

 

no you can definitely play multiplayer via lan and tunngle, so it is possible with a pirated version.

 

really? so do they get XP and unlock stuff?

 

I think that life is more than expensive enough. On the one hand I feel if a person can save money by ilegaly downloading, why shouldn't he? On the other hand, if everybody does this, we ruin the entire future of pc gaming. I don't understand why activision can't make better license key security. If they lost 250 milion dollars, wouldn't it be logical to spend like 100 milion dolars to get better security than the cia, just so they could still have 150 milion left?
Anyway ilegal downloading games is one of the reasons that pc gamers are confrontated with bad pc ports like gta4, its just not worthwile spending more money in a decent port since everybody downloads it for free anyway.

 

Yea it worked for world at war, I unlocked quite abit actually, essentially you create your own vpn and you can allow players to connect to your network, someone just has to host a dedicated server via Lan. I learned how to set up vpns a while ago when Red Alert 2 was no longer supported for online play. Tunggle just made things allot easier.

 

MW2 would have been illegally downloaded that much whether Infinity Ward had taken away dedicated servers or not. If you look at the list it is a lot more popular then the second to fifth most downloaded games.

And you can't play online if you torrent it anyways, so the people who didn't buy the game because of no dedicated servers would have had no incentive to torrent it.