October 22, 2007
Who leaked Manhunt 2, a game so violent that it is banned in Britain, to the Internet?After following up on available clues GamePolitics has learned that the leak came from PlayStation Europe.
Last week GP reported on a panicky Sky News piece which saw impending doom in the leak of the early PS2 build of the controversial game.
The leak itself wasn't news to the video game community, having been widely reported in September. However, its backstory was. Beyond the original cracking claim by the mysterious Team Slonik, no one was saying much about how the controversial game found its way onto the Net.
That's what made the otherwise sensationalist Sky News report interesting. It doled out a previously unheard-of morsel of information concerning the leak:
[Rockstar] accepts the game was leaked onto the web by an employee of a different company who had access to the preview copy. That person has been sacked.
Yet Sky News didn't say which Rockstar partner was involved. From New Zealand's TV3 we've located a video version of the report, which offers a few more clues. These come near the end of the segment. The Sky News reporter interviews an unnamed gentleman who says:
[The leak] was an illegal criminal activity on the part of an employee of a company that happened to have access to the code. That person, without naming names, has been sacked and proceedings are taking place.
GamePolitics has now learned that the leak came directly from PlayStation Europe. Here's a statement from Manhunt 2 publisher Take-Two Interactive:
Take-Two Interactive has confirmed that a former employee of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) has acknowledged his responsibility for the unauthorized online distribution of an unrated play-test version of Manhunt 2 submitted for the European PAL PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system.
...and that's all we could squeeze out of T2. Still unknown is the employee's name, how he managed to rip off the Manhunt 2 code, and what sort of legal action may be pending against him.
Comments
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I don't think we're really saying that it was a bad thing for it to be leaked, I'm just saying Mooses are dangerous. A moose bit my sister once, she was carving her initials into it...
Thefremen was sacked
- No standard hard drive (wtf)
- Forced use of proprietary memory cards to save games and downloaded content (PS3 and Wii can use SD cards, for the most part)
- No HDMI (even if it is a steaming pile of piss, the quality rocks)
- Still uses a DVD drive
- Massive manufacturing faults trying to "rush" the console out as fast as possible (sounds like the first XBox to me)
- Very short lifespan... PS2s are still being made, XBox 1 is not. Same thing happened with the PS1, it was made for a while after the PS2 came out.
Then there's the part where XBMC is way better than MCE and the MCE extender for XBox. Really says something. :)
I think we'll see the price argument be void once the "MCE XBox 360" is released that has closer hardware specifications to the PS3.
Piracy and homebrew made the XBox 1 and PS2 great. Microsoft should have INVITED the XBMC guys to port it to the 360.
Actually, that's rather good. Permission to copy it and use in arguements? Thank you.
Still one argument missing: Sony sucks at documentation and API's. PS3 is a bitch to code for. And generally SCEE sucks entirely for the way they handle their studios and games.
The real killer for the 360 is a Jobs apple-white design applied to a Gamecube, called a wii.
- He stole something and distributed it to the masses. How can you applaud immoral actions? He took an item/game/code that DID NOT BELONG TO HIM. He's not Indiana Jones recovering an ancient piece of art to place in a museum. He took a game that a group of coders slaved over for months and released it in an unfinished state.
- The industry has come under heavy fire from politicians, watchdog groups, lawyers, and soccer moms. This isn't new, of course, but the past few years have shown increased legislation, fear mongering, and decreased knowledge of gaming. The ex-employee's actions could have ramifications or be used by "the other side."
As I've said in the past, I'd rather fight my own fight alone than have an idiot fight with me. I'd rather be the last game developer on Earth, with the entire world against me, than associate myself with a thief.
"This isn’t the first time Sony have leaked something, usually it comes from their TRC testers.
Isn’t it about time Dave Bennett got the boot? It would happen to any other QA manager if it was leaked from their own company dammit! "
Ahhh.... a fellow employee.....?
Yeah, I think Dave bennett should go. Actually, they could loose most of the management and supervisors from the QA dept. It's ridiculously over(yet somehow under) managed.
Hate to say it, This world and all of its ppl are already knee deep into the foul cauldron of hell. As Americans ppl like Adam The Great, is ignorant toward ppl, opposing his ideals. He wanted this game to come out full AO rating and all.
Personally, I really dont care for ManHunt, after the 1st one, I got really bored. Its all the same thing over and over again, You kill someone and you keep moving on, and you kill someone else and move on, Untill everyone is either dead or your dead. Manhunt was a exciting game for the 1st few weeks playing it, then it just seemed liked the same thing over and over.
This reminds me of the Thrill Kill Fiasco, many years ago. Someone leaked it, it sucked real bad. Then again it was released for the PsO.
Leaked or not, I still think Manhunt 2 will suck eventually and become old news yet again.
I'm still laughing at the "saw through the top of the head" kill.