More than a week before Activision and Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2 is scheduled to be released, a leaked copy of the Xbox 360 version has found its way online. Currently, a number of popular peer-to-peer file sharing web sites, including Mininova, are hosting torrents where users can download disc images of the upcoming military shooter. After the disc image, or ISO, is downloaded, it can be burned onto a dual-layer DVD and used on any modded Xbox 360 console.
Torrent trackers show thousands of users both downloading and seeding the files, and already videos of gamers playing Modern Warfare 2 have popped up on the Internet. On the popular video streaming web site, Justin.tv, a number of users are broadcasting clips of them playing through Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer, and previewing a previously unrevealed features. The entire list of kill streak bonuses has been posted on the Internet, but few of the videos show anything new from the single player campaign.
Activision has yet to respond to College News’ inquiries about how copies of the game could have been leaked a week before its release on November 10th. Games being ripped and redistributed on the Internet is nothing new, but its rare for a highly anticipated title like Modern Warfare 2 to be pirated before its official launch date.
Microsoft has taken a firm stance against users who mod their Xbox 360’s to play pirates games. On October 30th, 2009, Microsoft banned a number of Xbox Live accounts that belonged to users who had modded their consoles.
Earlier this week, footage from a leaked copy Modern Warfare 2 was posted on Youtube that showed a level where gamers mow down innocent civilians in a crowded airport. The controversial video caused an unrest in Australia where critics lambasted the game’s depiction of terrorist activity.
“The consequences of terrorism are just abhorrent in our community and yet here we are with a product that’s meant to be passed off as a leisure time activity, actually promoting what most world leaders speak out publicly against,” Australian Council on Children and the Media president Jane Roberts said, according to MTV Multiplayer.
Activision in response assured gamers that the scene in question can be skipped.
“Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2 features a deep and gripping storyline in which players face off against a terrorist threat dedicated to bringing the world to the brink of collapse. The game includes a plot involving a mission carried out by a Russian villain who wants to trigger a global war. In order to defeat him, the player infiltrates his inner circle. The scene is designed to evoke the atrocities of terrorism,” Activision told Kotaku.
“At the beginning of the game, players encounter a mandatory “checkpoint” in which they are warned that an upcoming segment may contain disturbing elements and they can choose not to engage in the gameplay that involves this scene. Consistent with its content, the game has been given an “M” for Mature by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. The rating is prominently displayed on the front and back of the packaging, as well as in all advertising.”
Our Take
It’s understandable that gamers want to play Modern Warfare 2, but pirating it is still pretty bogus. However, pirating it is also pretty pointless since most gamers will be buying Modern Warfare 2 for its multiplayer. Seeing as how Microsoft has a habit of banning anyone who goes on Xbox Live that is using a modded Xbox 360, it’s pretty inevitable that even the cheapest of gamers will have splurge and pick up a copy sooner or later.
