AfterDawn: News

'Sims 3' leaked two weeks early to P2P

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.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 May 2009 13:49

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• 7 comments

• Coyote42

  I was under the impression it was going to ship DRM free. Or did they just forget to remove it 2 weeks prior to release?
  
  http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=22952

  19.5.2009 14:46 #1

• cart0181

  Arrgh. Why am I saddened by this? I've never even played the Sims for any length of time. On the other hand, I have always purchased any game I actually liked. The only one I can think of was Civ4. Hopefully this won't hurt Sims sales.

  19.5.2009 15:07 #2

• Pop_Smith

  Originally posted by Coyote42: I was under the impression it was going to ship DRM free. Or did they just forget to remove it 2 weeks prior to release?
  
  " target="_blank">http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_in...y=22952
  
  While they did say they were going to make it DRM-free I believe they meant "Activation-free" meaning the game will still have (useless) on-disc protection to "prevent" the copying of the game.
  
  However, the very annoying activation DRM that plagued Spore is non-existent on The Sims 3.
  
  I believe that developers just need to eliminate the usage of DRM altogether. As evident by The Sims 3, RE 5 and Spore it doesn't do them any good to have the discs protected and just causes headaches for the legitimate consumer.
  
  Peace

  19.5.2009 15:35 #3

• beanos66

  these people that code drm must be geniuses coz they keep selling a product that dosen't work. Or....
  
  ...the people at EA are really stupid coz they keep buying a product that dosen't work.
  
  
  I can't decide which

  19.5.2009 16:07 #4

• DVDBack23

  Quote:Originally posted by Coyote42: I was under the impression it was going to ship DRM free. Or did they just forget to remove it 2 weeks prior to release?
  
  " target="_blank">http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_in...y=22952
  
  While they did say they were going to make it DRM-free I believe they meant "Activation-free" meaning the game will still have (useless) on-disc protection to "prevent" the copying of the game.
  
  However, the very annoying activation DRM that plagued Spore is non-existent on The Sims 3.
  
  I believe that developers just need to eliminate the usage of DRM altogether. As evident by The Sims 3, RE 5 and Spore it doesn't do them any good to have the discs protected and just causes headaches for the legitimate consumer.
  
  PeaceAbsolutely correct. It is activation/phone home-free but has Securom disc protection.

  19.5.2009 16:13 #5

• Hopium

  Originally posted by beanos66: these people that code drm must be geniuses coz they keep selling a product that dosen't work. Or....
  
  ...the people at EA are really stupid coz they keep buying a product that dosen't work.
  
  
  I can't decide whichlmao its like the company programming the DRM sales pitch "If it didnt have our awesome SecureROM DRM CRAP it would have been on the streets 3 weeks before rls date instead of 2 weeks"

  20.5.2009 18:02 #6

• varnull

  So the sensible people who care about nor ruini8ng their hardware will make a point of downloading the game instead of installing malicious and damaging malware on their computers..
  
  way to go.. how to literally force people to download safe and clean "pirate" versions instead of paying for a ruined computer.
  
  It's such a shame because I like the sims games .. I have even bought 2 for the xbox back when.. yeah.. ME .. buying a game *gasp* .. I will sometimes support developers IF I think what they are offering will give me enjoyment and more than 4 hours of fun.. but not at the cost of broken hardware and some "you shall not do things we don't like" prats telling me what I can and can't do WITH MY PROPERTY!!!
  
  Quote:Sony/Securom destroying your stuff again.
  by hawk318 - 16/02/06 10:00
  
  Well most know now about Sony's fiasco with installing their security/protection software into the rootkit of your PC if you ran any of their CD's with the copy protection on it.... and did it without your knowledge!
  
  Well lo'n'behold Sony strikes again with it's owned "Securom" company. After several versions that screwed up various games in the past, several game companies have still decided to install their "protection" software on their games.http://forums.cnet.com/5208-10151_102-0.html?threadID=157509
  
  now then.. any fanboys want to pick holes in that?
  
  for OzMick *hugs* XD .. see you on irc later ;)
  

  
  
  Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work.
  I would rather you hate me for who I am than love me for what I am not.
  “It is poor civic hygiene to install technologies that could someday facilitate a police state.” - Bruce Schneier

  20.5.2009 18:40 #7