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Happy Halloween! You're banned from Xbox Live.

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 31st 2009 at 6:00PM }

We hope your recent forays into piracy merely involve you donning a hook and eyepatch for a debaucherous costume party, or else you likely received a message from Microsoft like the headline of this post. The company recently dispatched a wave of bans to owners of modded Xbox 360s who've been playing pirated copies of games. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to IGN that "we have taken action against a small percentage of consoles that have been modified to play pirated game discs."

The spokesperson went on to explain that this batch of console bans wasn't conducted on any particular time frame, and that the company was merely following up on its standing policy against piracy. In other words, Microsoft isn't trying to ruin your Halloween weekend -- it just, you know, worked out that way.

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Sony and Nintendo increasing effort in fight against piracy

by Griffin McElroy { Aug 31st 2009 at 7:59PM }

Though Nintendo already has a pretty solid system in place for combating piracy -- the persistent threat that Reggie Fils-Aime will crush any software buccaneers between his mighty jaws -- the company recently increased its piracy-preventing ranks. Neil Boyd was recently appointed European anti-piracy counsel for the company. Boyd, along with a pair of Nintendo's legal advisors, will "take action against criminals who are making money out of the infringement of games developers' copyright," according to Nintendo anti-piracy director Jodi Daugherty.

Sony's also increasing its piracy prevention efforts, albeit through more technological means. The PSP Go will contain a non-removable internal battery, which keeps would-be hackers from implementing the popular, homebrew-enabled Pandora battery. Also, we hear the PSP Go's boot-up screen displays a pouty, doe-eyed Jack Tretton that's said to strike crippling pangs of guilt into anyone who tries to conduct dubious dealings on the handheld. Consider PSPiracy beaten, friends.

Fat Princess ninjas won't be lonesome anymore

by Andrew Yoon { Aug 19th 2009 at 2:30PM }

Yesterday, Titan Studios teased ninjas for Fat Princess. But what's a ninja to do without the help of their mortal enemies? Looks like PSN's online cake-fest will continue the ages-long saga of the epic battle between ninjas ... and pirates. Predictable? Yes, but far from unwelcome.

Who else thinks Titan should go one step further and announce Pirates versus Ninjas ... versus Zombies for Fat Princess?

[Thanks, HeavyToka!]

LucasArts games also going Direct2Drive starting with Monkey Island SE

by Randy Nelson { Jul 16th 2009 at 1:00AM }

If, for some reason, you should find yourself in need of an alternative to Steam but don't want to miss out on LucasArts's recent reissuing of back catalog titles, you're in luck. IGN has sealed a deal to distribute the publisher's titles via its Direct2Drive service, beginning today with The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition for $9.95.

Unfortunately, the announcement makes no mention of what other LucasArts games will be offered, saying only that there will be others. At some point. We've contacted IGN to find out if its lineup will mirror Steam's, or if there'll be any notable additions (or omissions).

Titmouse brings a pirate band to its pirate paaaaarty

by Richard Mitchell { Jun 3rd 2009 at 5:00PM }

So, we were at an E3 shindig for Seven Haunted Seas at Titmouse Studios last night. Seven Haunted Seas is a pirate game, you see, and so Titmouse desired to hire a pirate band to play the party. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you the Pirates Charles. The game wasn't actually there, incidentally. That's not important, though. Know why?

Because there's a pirate band.

Avast! Disney milking Pirates of the Caribbean again

by Jason Dobson { May 27th 2009 at 8:35AM }

Disney Interactive has announced Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned, a new open-world action RPG in development at Turok dev, Propaganda Games. According to Disney, the game will take place before the events in the films, with "moral and character choices" promised that shape both the player's character and the game's world.

Beyond this, not much is known, though Armada of the Damned isn't scheduled to set sail until fall 2010 on both the PC and "next-generation" consoles. Still, after posting a considerable $45 million loss earlier this year, who can blame the company for diving back into its treasure chest for the few remaining doubloons left at the bottom.

Gallery: Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned

Report: Brazil is a 'haven' for video game piracy

by Griffin McElroy { May 13th 2009 at 7:30PM }

The Escapist's Pedro Franco recently wrote up an interesting article about Brazil's recent transformation into a "pirated goods heaven," particularly for illicitly acquired video games. According to Franco, Brazil was once a thriving market for games, until the mid-1990s brought about outrageously high taxes on gaming software (45 percent of the price of PC titles consisted of taxes), diminished per capita income and the transition from cartridge to disc-based games. Now, it's estimated that 94 percent of Brazil's gaming market is composed of pirated merchandise.

Check out Franco's full article to find out the social and industrial implications of a nation that finds gaming piracy permissible. (Spoiler alert: It leads to bad things.)

[Via GamePolitics]

PC game developers foretell the death of DRM

by Griffin McElroy { May 11th 2009 at 5:30PM }

If you were one of the many recruits in last year's war on restrictive, invasive DRM, you may want to check out a recent article on Gamasutra that features opinions on PC gaming piracy protection (that's a mouthful) from a number of gaming industry movers and shakers.

The general sentiment of these interviewees is that DRM is extremely ineffective when it comes to preventing piracy, and that developers should either come up with alternate ways of ensuring the retail product is more valuable than the pirated product, or determine a different way to make money altogether (such as micro-transactions). For interesting insight from fine folks like 2D Boy's Ron Carmel and Stardock's Brad Wardell, we highly suggest checking out the full article.

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Kuma War devs jump on the modern-day pirates boat

by Randy Nelson { May 7th 2009 at 5:45PM }

Kuma Games, publisher of the free-to-play military FPS Kuma War -- and no relationship to this guy -- is embracing piracy ... of the modern-day cargo ship hijacking kind. Gamasutra reports that the company has tossed its novelty captain's hat into the burgeoning genre with Somali Showdown: Pirates on the High Seas, a game inspired by the recent headline-making hijacking of the Maersk Alabama.

Likely drawing no inspiration from that other Maersk Alabama game, Kuma is avoiding taking sides in the "Pirates: Still cool or muderous thugs?" debate by allowing players of its game to align themselves with either side -- the pirates or the ship's crew. (Psst! We know how it ends for the pirates.) But, maybe you can change that? Somali Showdown: Pirates on the High Seas will begin plundering moral fibers later today via Kuma's website.

Saving Captain Phillips recreates recent pirate attack

by Griffin McElroy { Apr 21st 2009 at 5:00PM }

We've recently had a betting pool going in the imaginary Joystiq offices in which we wagered how long it would take for a video game adaptation of the recent pirate attack of the Maersk Alabama to be developed. It's got all the necessary elements for a blockbuster action title: Snipers, heroic captains, climactic shootouts and, of course, nautical negotiations. Unfortunately, none of us had the gumption to bet such a game would surface in a mere nine days.

Online gaming portal Games2Win recently uploaded Saving Captain Phillips, a Flash title that places you in the shoes of the three Navy SEAL snipers who did the titular saving. You're tasked with taking out four pirates holding Captain Phillips hostage on a lifeboat -- though in the real-life hostage situation, only three pirates were aboard the lifeboat when the saving took place. Disappointingly, the game is about as good as it is historically accurate. It's a solid effort, but we think we'll wait for Infinity Ward to try their hand at game-ifying the high seas standoff.

Nintendo asks for help against biggest piracy offenders

by Justin McElroy { Feb 25th 2009 at 10:35AM }

How do you know when your corporation might have become just a touch too rich and powerful? Well, calling out entire countries should set off a few warning bells. Nintendo has just sent out a release detailing exactly which countries it's got a bone to pick with and why.

The company's beef is piracy, which it says the U.S. needs to do a better job battling in China, Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Spain and Paraguay. Check out the full list of offenses after the break. As always, we remind Nintendo that the battle against piracy has to begin and end on the High Seas. Cut off their citrus supply and you'll be stuffing them in scurvy crates and shipping them back to Neverland before you can say Davy Jones' Locker.

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Age of Booty receiving PS3 Trophies, Avatar support on Xbox 360

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jan 22nd 2009 at 7:36PM }

Capcom is preparing to enhance the Age of Booty by adding console specific features in an upcoming patch. Speaking with IGN, the publisher states it'll bring Avatar support for Xbox Live and Trophies to PS3. The ~~eye~~ patch will be free and unearthed near the end of February.

Although Age of Booty has received unexceptional reviews, the pirate-themed RTS boardgame certainly deserves the respect of a demo try for those who haven't done so.

Gallery: Age of Booty (PSN/XBLA/PC)

GameTap Thursday: Mahjongg Investigation, Shattered Union, Pirates!

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jan 15th 2009 at 3:00AM }

GameTap adds some potentially interesting titles this week to its gold service, but the real draw is Sid Meier's Pirates! being offered for free. The Caribbean romp to save your family and get both types of booty will be available gratis for one week. Pirates! is definitely worth checking out if it's somehow eluded your capture over the years.

Mahjongg Investigation: Under Suspicion (Windows) - Mahjongg meets adventure game? Could be interesting.
Shattered Union (Windows) - A turn-based strategy game that takes place during the United States' second civil war. Prepare for the future.

The full list of free-to-play titles can be found after the break.

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DS releases for the week of December 29th

by Alisha Karabinus { Dec 29th 2008 at 4:15PM }

If you were hoping for a lot of releases this week, we're sorry to disappoint you, though we hope that the holiday glut has left you satisfied ... because it's likely these games will not. Australia seems to be taking a hiatus from releases this week, and our reliable source for European and Japanese releases is doing the same, so this is all we've got:

Pirates: Duel on the High Seas
8 Ball All Stars
Hurry Up Hedgehog!

Well, there's always next week. Happy post-holidays!

PSP piracy down, but so are major releases

by Randy Nelson { Nov 25th 2008 at 7:15PM }

Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, SCEA hardware marketing boss John Koller admitted that piracy of PSP software is still very much a concern to the company, but that it's been less severe in recent weeks. "It's trending down right now, we've seen the piracy not be as prevalent in the last month to two months," Koller told the site, adding, "But it has been a problem for us."

SCEA president Jack Tretton pointed to piracy as a chief factor in weak PSP software sales during E3. Looking at the past two months' worth of releases for the handheld, though, one would have to imagine that the decline in piracy can be attributed to the fact that there have been no recent, major PSP titles to, well, pirate. In fact, the holiday season will be devoid of a single new, triple-A year-end title for PSP ... something that has to be worrying Sony more than pirates right about now.