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NWR Interactive => TalkBack => Topic started by: Patchkid15 on January 03, 2012, 11:19:17 PM

Title: Most Pirated Wii Games of 2011 Revealed
Post by: Patchkid15 on January 03, 2012, 11:19:17 PM

Xenoblade Chronicles and other Nintendo titles make the list.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/28848

A report on TorrentFreak has revealed the most pirated Wii games of 2011. The blog created the list based on estimated downloads over BitTorrent.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 was the most pirated Wii title for the second year in a row. Despite releasing in 2010, Mario managed to land the most illegal downloads, accumulating an estimated 1.28 million downloads. Mario Sports Mix came in a close second at 1.09 million downloads. Right behind, Xenoblade Chronicles came in third, attracting 950,000 downloads, a number likely boosted due to the fact that it originally wasn't slated for a North American release.

Coming in as the fourth most-pirated Wii game was Lego Pirates of the Caribbean at 870,000 downloads. FIFA 12 rounded out the list as the the fifth most-pirated Wii game with 860,000 copies downloaded.

Title: Re: Most-Pirated Wii Games of 2011 Revealed
Post by: broodwars on January 03, 2012, 11:31:54 PM

Well, it's nice to see that Xenoblade got enough attention to warrant people playing it in such numbers, regardless of the means they went through to do it.  And while I am very critical of VG pirates especially, these pirating numbers for Xenoblade could have been minimized if NoA hadn't spent most of the last year toying with NA gamers who wanted the game.  And, ultimately, it's on NoA if these pirating numbers don't translate into an equivalent number of NA sales for the localized version.  They had their chance to seize the moment and the goodwill of the fans, and they waited too long.  I went the route of importing a legit EU copy, but I don't blame the folks who went another way.  Not this time.

Title: Re: Most-Pirated Wii Games of 2011 Revealed
Post by: TJ Spyke on January 03, 2012, 11:35:18 PM

Whether a game is available or not, pirates will pirate it. Hell, you had people pirating a FREE PC game (the developers gave it out for free and people still pirated it).

Title: Re: Most-Pirated Wii Games of 2011 Revealed
Post by: broodwars on January 03, 2012, 11:37:51 PM

Quote from: TJ Spyke on January 03, 2012, 11:35:18 PM

Whether a game is available or not, pirates will pirate it. Hell, you had people pirating a FREE PC game (the developers gave it out for free and people still pirated it).

True, as evident by the two Wii games above Xenoblade on the list.  However, I said the pirating could have been minimized by NoA actually releasing the game this past year, not completely prevented.  The pirating would still occur, but it would probably be significantly less if NA gamers had a way to play the game outside importing the game and modding their Wii, especially in the case of a niche title like Xenoblade.  NoA waited too long to announce their official import of the EU version, and this is the result.

Title: Re: Most-Pirated Wii Games of 2011 Revealed
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on January 03, 2012, 11:40:04 PM

IGN already has an article up begging the pirates to please go buy the N.A. version of Xenoblade when it is released.


and i agree with Brood when he says that NoA only has themselves to blame should sales numbers not match up with expectations when it does finally release (and why all the way out in April? the game has been ready for months. release it now.)

Title: Re: Most-Pirated Wii Games of 2011 Revealed
Post by: Mop it up on January 04, 2012, 12:10:33 AM

Is there a source of where the numbers actually came from? I mean, the fact that there is a FIFA game on the list leads me to believe that most of these people are not US residents, which is further driven by the lack of Madden NFL. Unless there's some way to know these people live in North America, I'm not going to assume it.

I also find a tinge of irony that a game about pirates is one of the most pirated.

Title: Re: Most-Pirated Wii Games of 2011 Revealed
Post by: Darkurai the Oracle Pony on January 04, 2012, 12:12:29 AM

I'm sad that Xenoblade had to be the victim in this scenario, but Nintendo kind of deserved getting hit so hard in piracy because of their terrible campaign for the game.

Title: Re: Most-Pirated Wii Games of 2011 Revealed
Post by: MegaByte on January 04, 2012, 12:15:48 AM

Quote from: Mop it up on January 04, 2012, 12:10:33 AM

Is there a source of where the numbers actually came from?

TorrentFreak didn't release the methodology, but it's safe to say the numbers are from worldwide torrenters.

Title: Re: Most-Pirated Wii Games of 2011 Revealed
Post by: StrawHousePig on January 04, 2012, 01:37:26 AM

I wonder if Tokyo 2 is high fiving each other, telling the rest of EAD to suck it?

Title: Re: Most-Pirated Wii Games of 2011 Revealed
Post by: Chocobo_Rider on January 04, 2012, 02:01:15 AM

Some people pirate stuff.  Some people buy stuff legit. This is the digital world we live in.  As has been said, all but one of those games was available for legit retail - they still got downloaded like crazy.

Do I think Xenoblade's sales won't be affected by piracy? No. I agree that appearing like an NA release was ruled out probably pushed people to download the game and now have no (strong) reason to purchase it.  However, do I think that is any notable difference from the people who were going to download it regardless? Nope.

For me, I'll have to let you all know sometime in April if this game was worth my $$$  ;D

Mop - good point regarding Fifa... would be interesting to find out the sources.
Mop - lol... excellent observation regarding the Pirates game  :P:

Title: Re: Most-Pirated Wii Games of 2011 Revealed
Post by: ejamer on January 04, 2012, 10:08:49 AM

Almost agree with NinSage, but have one question: what do you consider "notable" numbers?


If almost 950,000 copies were pirated, then turning a single percentage point of those illegal downloads into actual sales would translate into 9,500 copies of Xenoblade moving off of store shelves. That adds up pretty quickly for a game that starts out with low sales expectations... even though I doubt that more than a few percentage points (at best) would have considered buying the game anyway, no matter how easily available or at what cost.




One thing that amazed me was how often Mario Sports Mix got pirated. Were people really interested in the game? Was it downloaded for kids who probably don't appreciate their games enough to make it worth buying? (At least that's the excuse that most parents I know who pirate give.) Is it just the Mario name making people grab a copy?

Title: Re: Most-Pirated Wii Games of 2011 Revealed
Post by: motang on January 04, 2012, 10:09:26 AM

What a sad list. I hate seeing stuff like this.

Title: Re: Most-Pirated Wii Games of 2011 Revealed
Post by: broodwars on January 04, 2012, 10:34:08 AM

Quote from: NinSage on January 04, 2012, 02:01:15 AM

For me, I'll have to let you all know sometime in April if this game was worth my $$$  ;D

You don't have to wait until April to find that out, as I can tell you right now: it most certainly is.   :D   If you have any love for the RPG genre, I can't see you walking away from the game unsatisfied.  It's easily the best JRPG I've played this generation.

Title: Re: Most-Pirated Wii Games of 2011 Revealed
Post by: ejamer on January 04, 2012, 10:55:03 AM

Quote from: broodwars on January 04, 2012, 10:34:08 AM

Quote from: NinSage on January 04, 2012, 02:01:15 AM

For me, I'll have to let you all know sometime in April if this game was worth my $$$  ;D

You don't have to wait until April to find that out, as I can tell you right now: it most certainly is.   :D   If you have any love for the RPG genre, I can't see you walking away from the game unsatisfied.  It's easily the best JRPG I've played this generation.

Glad someone said it. I've been gushing about Xenoblade so much that I'm worried about turning people off the game... but it really is worth buying (possibly twice in my case, since the first copy was imported). The only negatives I have found are:
(a)  The first hour is a bit rough since you get a lot of "tutorial" screens and new game concepts to learn. The next 100 hours or so are sweet, delicious gravy though.
(b)  Wii graphics aren't in HD. This only hurts the game in that you know it could look even more beautiful if they were.


It's a shame that NoA hasn't done a better job to support this game and offer a more timely release, but Xenoblade deserves to played.

Title: Re: Most Pirated Wii Games of 2011 Revealed
Post by: Chocobo_Rider on January 04, 2012, 07:56:27 PM

@broodwars

haha cool. I believe you.  I am very much looking forward to experiencing it!!

Title: Re: Most Pirated Wii Games of 2011 Revealed
Post by: Sarail on January 05, 2012, 04:41:30 PM

Better yet, play it on a CRT tv... then it WILL look HD! :)

I moved my Wii from the living room HD tv to my bedroom's CRT, and I can't take the console out of there now... it's incredible just how much better Wii games look on a tv meant for them. That's how I played all the way through Skyward Sword, and it's how I've been chugging along in Xenoblade.

And yes, the game is stunning - gorgeous, even. Can't wait to hear/read your impressions.

Title: Re: Most Pirated Wii Games of 2011 Revealed
Post by: Deguello on January 05, 2012, 05:50:21 PM

I hesitate to to make any assumptions of the number of possible paying customers based on the data of what thieves steal.  That's backwards moon logic.

Those blaming Nintendo for "deserving" to be pirated from obviously forgot the other piracy chestnut in that pirates never had any intention of buying anything they pirate, which is typically used in an argument against DRM.  You can't have it both ways.

Whether or not you agree or disagree with Nintendo's late localization, Nintendo doesn't "deserve" to be stolen from (as nobody does), unless your intention is to teach them never to listen to their hardcore fans pleas again and vindicate Nintendo's initial skittishness at releasing it here.  IF that IS your intention, then please continue cheering on the pirates.  I'm sure Monolith Soft appreciates it.

Quote

One thing that amazed me was how often Mario Sports Mix got pirated. Were people really interested in the game?

What this obviously means is that you can't use this data for any effective conclusion.  Pirates gonna pirate and it doesn't matter what it is.