Warezer gets sent to prison

I have 200+ GB of MP3s (well mostly FLAC now), all of which are legit (90% are ripped by myself, the other 10% I've downloaded).
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Nothing wrong with that in my book--the RIIA probably wants your ass in prison though. ;)
 
Originally posted by eggrock
Nothing wrong with that in my book--the RIIA probably wants your ass in prison though. ;)
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Why, 100% of my music is legit?

I own all of it, the RIAA couldn't sue me if they tried. ;) (I live in Canada)

Cheers,

Mr. Pain
 
This guy was stupid enough to mass market this software. If he wasn't doing this on a large scale, he would have probably never gotten caught. By no means am I condoning this sort of activity, but I'm sure there are sales of pirated software on a small scale that never gets noticed by law enforcement. When you get greedy, you screw yourself.
 
if its minimum security which is what it probably is . its not really that bad. sit around in almost like dorms and play cards all day
 
INMATE- "So what are you in for?"
RAZZOR1911 DUDE- "Selling illegal video games."
INMATE- "HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA!"
 
Did any of you actually read the article posted? If not, go read it, it's funny.

Here are the games that they quoted as being pirated by Razor:
According to court documents, Breen and other Razor1911 members acquired, cracked, and sold advance copies of Quake, Command & Conquer Red Alert, Terminal Velocity, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, and many other games.
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I mean COME ON!
Quake? C+C:RA? welcome to the 1990s. I played friggin Terminal Velocity on my old P133!
Way to impress us with modern games. Go Gamespot!
:rolleyes:

Yeah, I know Razor has pirated many newer games, but I just find it amusing how Gamespot decided to cite these antiques.
And then we have Warcraft 3:RoC...:D
 
Maybe the games they actually sold were limited to those. As far as cracking and distributing advanced copies of games, I am sure there are probably 100 of them.
 
Whats funny about this is 8 months later and were still getting Razor Rls's ;)
 
eggrock said:
It's amusing to see anyone try to rationalize away software piracy or those who don't consider it theft.

Not even considering the dollar loss of companies who have pirated software--I figure at least SOME of the pirates would buy a legit copy from that company or a competitor (excellent point Torgo). That's bad enough. What really burns me is the lengths companies have to go to to prevent idiots from stealing their software and how it affects honest consumers from fully enjoying the software. I'd love to install a game from CD and then be able to stick the CD back in the box and forget about it--but NO, I either have to dig around for a no-CD hack or wait for it, or else swap CDs out constantly and scratch them all to hell eventually. I don't care if it's a burned copy and the original is pristine, it still costs me quite a bit, a little money and way too much damn time.
.
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learn how to use a computer. create an image and use virtual daemon.

and don't be a hypocrite...

attacking others for pirating and then admitting that you downloaded songs is just stupid

1 song or 100000 .... its still pirating
 
Ya know what's sad. One of the guys in my gamers club at college talked to an FBI agent about the games being shared on the campus network. FBI agent said we could do it all we want, they don't give a damn about a $50 game being shared. He did say that if we were distributing something like AutoCAD or Maya, ya know the $2000 stuff, then there'd be a problem, but as long as we keep it to games we can share all we want. It was funny b/c the Pres. of the club got up and said "so everyone, the FBI says Piracy is okay! Who wants Doom 3?"
 
Thieves eventually go to prison. Remember, it's these theives that made it so you have to put a cd in to play some games. It's because of them the game industry has an excuse to charge you $54 for a game and that copyright laws are growing out of control.
 
This guy got busted because he sold games, committed mail fraud, and stole $700,000 from cisco systems, therefore he deserved what he got.

As for other warez release groups i applaud them for their work. When i buy games i always download the pirated version of the games so that they are free from copy-protection and you can copy they games freely on any burner without special software. Also they usually are the same people who put out no-cd cracks.

Nothing pisses me off more then buying a game and having my cd-drive unable to install the game because of copy-protection on the disk. Or having to deal with extremely intrusive copy-protection schemes that won't even install if you have disc emulation software on your system. Its sad that game publishers treat their customers like criminals, and I'm will to bet that copy-protection is going to get a lot worse. Its pathetic that after i buy the game i just throw the originals in the closet and use the discs i got off the net because they are less of a hassle.
 
Baker said:
Yea but 1 song vrs a whole piece of software is a big difference in face value. 1 song on the net (from apple or what ever) is like 1 buck, but software -games or applications- can cost anywhere from 20-400+ bucks... the Razor group has been around for a while, so I'm sure the amount of games they have ripped is well over a grands worth. But I dont know...
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1 song on the net is $1... but then you leave kazaa on and overnight, that 1 song has been downloaded 20 times... and then again, and again, and again, and again...

The music industry has lost FAR more money from stolen songs than the computer industry has from pirated software (mainly because more people steal songs than pirate software) but regardless.
 
Riftgarde said:
Thieves eventually go to prison. Remember, it's these theives that made it so you have to put a cd in to play some games. It's because of them the game industry has an excuse to charge you $54 for a game and that copyright laws are growing out of control.
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I doubt we pay $54 because of pirating. X-Box/Gamecube/PS2 games all cost the same (if not more... upwards of $60) per disc, and VERY little pirating goes on in that department.
 
RagingGecko said:
Ya know what's sad. One of the guys in my gamers club at college talked to an FBI agent about the games being shared on the campus network. FBI agent said we could do it all we want, they don't give a damn about a $50 game being shared. He did say that if we were distributing something like AutoCAD or Maya, ya know the $2000 stuff, then there'd be a problem, but as long as we keep it to games we can share all we want. It was funny b/c the Pres. of the club got up and said "so everyone, the FBI says Piracy is okay! Who wants Doom 3?"
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I'd hope the FBI have bigger fish to fry.
 
Charles said:
I'd hope the FBI have bigger fish to fry.
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They do, that's why they won't even think about looking at cases below a certain dollar amount (don't know the exact amount). If the FBI troubled themselves with every college student that shared illegal files we'd be seeing a lot higher crime rates.
 
Baker said:
Yea but 1 song vrs a whole piece of software is a big difference in face value. 1 song on the net (from apple or what ever) is like 1 buck, but software -games or applications- can cost anywhere from 20-400+ bucks... the Razor group has been around for a while, so I'm sure the amount of games they have ripped is well over a grands worth. But I dont know...
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I hate it when people use excuses like that... the bottom line... you're still stealing.. so you're helping these dudes out by DLing music..
 
Charles said:
1 song on the net is $1... but then you leave kazaa on and overnight, that 1 song has been downloaded 20 times... and then again, and again, and again, and again...

The music industry has lost FAR more money from stolen songs than the computer industry has from pirated software (mainly because more people steal songs than pirate software) but regardless.
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The music industry lost most of its money from overpriced CDs and lack of a quality product. Also, when you think about it buying music isn't really that great of a deal compared to other forms of entertainment out there. $20 for a CD or $40-$50 for a game. Games have tons of replay value - look at how many hours of gameplay you could have gotten out of HL by buying it when it first came out (and mod updates and new mods are still being released). Or, look at how many people enjoy Halo for the xbox.

Music won't be going away, but I think a lot of people (subconciously if anything) questioned if that music CD was really worth $20 when you can get substantially more for only double the price. With songs at $1 each this will definitely help to alleviate the problem.
 
Well stopping the leader of RAZOR1911 was actually pointless as someone else will lead the group.. Stop one group get more groups just the way of the warez world..
 
kick@ss said:
Music won't be going away, but I think a lot of people (subconciously if anything) questioned if that music CD was really worth $20 when you can get substantially more for only double the price. With songs at $1 each this will definitely help to alleviate the problem.
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Than you're not buying music you actuall like..

i have a crap load of CDs that i bought for $15 roughly.. and i still listen to them.. i think i got my $15 worth off it..
 
Big_H said:
Did any of you actually read the article posted? If not, go read it, it's funny.

Here are the games that they quoted as being pirated by Razor:


I mean COME ON!
Quake? C+C:RA? welcome to the 1990s. I played friggin Terminal Velocity on my old P133!
Way to impress us with modern games. Go Gamespot!
:rolleyes:

Yeah, I know Razor has pirated many newer games, but I just find it amusing how Gamespot decided to cite these antiques.
And then we have Warcraft 3:RoC...:D
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No, its not that they just pirated these games, its how they released the games on the internet prior to them being released.
 
loai said:
Well stopping the leader of RAZOR1911 was actually pointless as someone else will lead the group.. Stop one group get more groups just the way of the warez world..
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Its true, and RAZOR1911 games are continuously being shared on BT sites - there are a whole bunch of R rips available at this moment. After reading this though I'd be hesitant to dl one of those files...
 
I feel little to no sympathy for businesses that lose sales to piracy because:

A: They expect you to buy a game twice because major function of the game is cancelled out due to so-called invalid keys (Hello, Steam)

B: They expect you to buy a game twice because the media they printed on is easy to damage (My collection doesn't have a single scratch, but that's because I am meticulous about taking care of them.)

C: The prices of games remain the same, despite the fact that many of the elements in gameplay design are licensed (Physics engines, graphics engines, etc. etc.)

D: They expect you to buy a game without playing a demo first (Hey there, Doom III).

Piracy is shit, but the way these businesses go about their work isn't making me feel bad for them.
 
RancidWAnnaRIot said:
Than you're not buying music you actuall like..

i have a crap load of CDs that i bought for $15 roughly.. and i still listen to them.. i think i got my $15 worth off it..
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I usually only like a few (maybe even only one) songs on each CD, making it not worth it to buy the entire CD. Plus, I find hunting CDs down to play music cumbersome and slow.
 
kick@ss said:
I usually only like a few (maybe even only one) songs on each CD, making it not worth it to buy the entire CD. Plus, I find hunting CDs down to play music cumbersome and slow.
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that doesn't justify illegally downloading songs... you can sign up for one of those services where you pay to Dl individual songs...
 
WickedAngel said:
I feel little to no sympathy for businesses that lose sales to piracy because:

A: They expect you to buy a game twice because major function of the game is cancelled out due to so-called invalid keys (Hello, Steam)

B: They expect you to buy a game twice because the media they printed on is easy to damage (My collection doesn't have a single scratch, but that's because I am meticulous about taking care of them.)

C: The prices of games remain the same, despite the fact that many of the elements in gameplay design are licensed (Physics engines, graphics engines, etc. etc.)

D: They expect you to buy a game without playing a demo first (Hey there, Doom III).

Piracy is shit, but the way these businesses go about their work isn't making me feel bad for them.
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A) i'm not aware of that .. as i'm not a hardcore gamer.. can you explain that in more detail for me??

B) if you own a damaged copy.. i believe it's legal for you to download a copy.. as long as you own the CD.

C) that's true for almost all products.... so maybe you shouold steal everything?

D) explain this a bit more for me???
 
RancidWAnnaRIot said:
that doesn't justify illegally downloading songs... you can sign up for one of those services where you pay to Dl individual songs...
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There's really no excuse for piracy anymore, but that used to be a legitimate arguement. There wasn't always services to download just one song. Why the hell would I pay $20 for one song and a bunch of stuff I'm never going to use? It's like packaging Windows and Office together, charging for both, and not offering either of them individually. Sure you can argue that Office is a good piece of software, but I don't need nor want it, so I don't want to be forced to pay for something I'm never going to use. There used to be a good reason for pirating music. Now, however, there isn't. If you're too cheap to buy your songs for $1, you shouldn't own a computer. You should sell your computer for food if you're that poor.

Software piracy there is really no excuse for. I will admit that I have pulled games off the campus network. Those games are only used for LAN play, and 90% or better of the time I go buy the game anyway. Just an example, I ripped quake 3 off the network so I could play with the rest of the CGA (computer gamers association). Today I went out and bought a copy of Q3 for $5. That's how I normally go about it. There are some games I will admit that I pulled off the network to play with them that I haven't bought. For those. though, it's no different than sharing a CD for a LAN party IMO. I don't like the game enough (or don't have the money) to buy it, but it's more convenient to use an image than have someone bring the CD over to my dorm room so we can have a LAN game. I don't get the online play as I shouldn't. I didn't buy the game, I dont' deserve the online play or the single player, and I don't want it. So, there's still a gray area as to what is and isn't piracy. IMO if I ripped Max Payne and played the single player, it'd be warez and I'd be in the wrong. But if I take an image of UT2k4 and play a LAN game with my CGA buddies, that's nothing different than sharing a CD at a LAN party, something that is perfectly legal.
 
RancidWAnnaRIot said:
that doesn't justify illegally downloading songs... you can sign up for one of those services where you pay to Dl individual songs...
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Where did I say I downloaded songs illegally?
 
i just dont believe someone should go to jail for 4 years for pirating some software. The thing is, they arent actually stealing the software like a thief would rob a bank, and even if he was selling it, he was selling it to someone that wouldnt buy the original thing anyway. IMO he should have got probation and a fine, I just think prison time is way too harsh.
 
kick@ss said:
Where did I say I downloaded songs illegally?
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I never said you did... but you seemed to imply that it's okay to DL songs.. cause as you said.. it's not worth buying the whole CD..
 
A) i'm not aware of that .. as i'm not a hardcore gamer.. can you explain that in more detail for me??
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Online networks, such as Steam, are notorious at declining valid keys because they have supposedly been used already. Without the key, you're not gonna be playing online via Steam. You could go through their customer service, but then again, you only have so much time to wait for a response before your life ends.

C) that's true for almost all products.... so maybe you shouold steal everything?
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Most products remain in good shape as long as you use them correctly (And even if you don't use them correctly, very few products take damage as easily as CD/DVDs do).

D) explain this a bit more for me???
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There isn't a whole lot to explain; many top-tier companies are relying on hype instead of actual substance to sell their titles. Doom III is the most recent example; I bet the game wouldn't have sold nearly as well if a demo had been released, for people would have quickly realized how repetitive, bland, and truly generic it was.
 
RancidWAnnaRIot said:
I never said you did... but you seemed to imply that it's okay to DL songs.. cause as you said.. it's not worth buying the whole CD..
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It's not. Hence why i said "With songs at $1 each this will definitely help to alleviate the problem."
 
finalgt said:
Why are you guys talking about computer geeks like you don't belong to the same demographic?
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I'm a "computer geek", 6'2", weigh over 250, and am not that fatty. I think it's funny the stereotypes that are created. Of course, if I found out today that I was going to fed prison I would spend as much time as I could working out. :)

Glad to see this guy get busted- I used to copy games, but somehow I've changed and now buy what I play. Feels...cleaner.
 
I download mp3s off the net occasionally. I do this so I can listen to a artist I havent heard before. If the song sucks, I delete it. If the song is good, I sample a few more from that artist to see if they arent one-hit-wonders. If I like them all, I buy the CD, delete the downloaded MP3s and rip the songs off the CD I bought into MP3 which go into my MP3 collection. I am NOT going to go buy some 20 - 25 dollar (cdn) CD just for one song, and Im not going to put on dirty headphones in some lame record shop and listen to a playcopy either... I find downloading the MP3, then listening to it on my stereo is a much better solution. So in a way, yes, I download pirated songs from the net, but I delete the crap, and support the good stuff by buying their album. Call me an asshole or thief if you want, I won't listen to you, because I find nothing wrong with the way I handle my music.
 
TheAcorn said:
Glad to hear they got bagged... Now, if more of that happened 10 years ago, software wouldn't be so bloody expensive. I think...

Either way, though, the game publishers need to be supportive of our (legal) uses of their software - I paid $50 for the CD, and I want to be able to copy that for my uses, backup purposes, image files to eliminate disk swapping, etc - It isn't 'fair' that people illegally sell their software, but it isn't 'fair' either that those of us that spend our cold hard cash on it should have such a problem protecting our investment.
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Think about what you said, I been buying games for a long time, and I can remember they have been 40-50 for most top of the line titles for as long as I can remember. Warez has only been a "problem" the last couple years mainly because of the increased bandwidth. But games haven't really risen much in price at all, and then consider how much more it takes to make a game today compared to lets say 1995 I would say we are still getting one hell of a bargain. compare what it cast to make Doom 2 compared to what it cost to make Doom 3 and the price of the game has only risen maybe $20 in the last 10 years!

Do Warez hurt the bottom line of game companies, it sure does, but it isn't as bad as alot of people make it out to be.

And to the person comparing the cost of a song versus the cost of a game, you need to also consider that 100x more people have downloaded multiple songs versus people that have downloaded a single game and your argument goes out the window.

Flat out, it is wrong to download warez, however everyone needs to realise that it hasn't caused any company to go bankrupt!
 
First off. Do some math. If Diablo 2 sold 7 million copies at an average price of 30 dollars, that is how much? 210 million. I doubt that company is going bankrupt. If they do, there is some SEVERE money mismanagment there.

Secondly, does anyone else remember the price of ORIGINAL nintendo games? I remember there were some 59 and 69 dollar titles in there at one point.

It does cost several million to develop a good title, but like a movie, if they develop a GOOD title, then it makes its money back exponentially.
 
When Super Mario Brother 3 came out for Nintendo, I got to the store days after it was on the shelf.. the game was selling like mad, and I know I paid 70$ (cdn) for it.. I haven't seen a single computer game released that has cost that much ever....
 
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