4.5 Million Illegal Downloads for The Witcher 2

Posted 11:11 am on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 by John 'Spartan' Nguyen

Son of a witch! The Witcher 2 has more illegal downloads than it does legal purchases, according to CD Projekt CEO Marcin Iwinski. The game has been pirated 4.5 million times and purchased legally 1 million times. Even though it has received an average score of 88 out of 100 from critics according to Metacritic, it’s sad to see those numbers.

“I was checking regularly the number of concurrent downloads on torrent aggregating sites, and for the first 6-8 weeks there was around 20-30k people downloading it at the same time. Let’s take 20k as the average and let’s take 6 weeks. The game is 14GB, so let’s assume that on an average not-too-fast connection it will be 6 hours of download. 6 weeks is 56 days, which equals to 1344 hours; and with 6h of average download time to get the game it would give us 224 downloads, then let’s multiply it by 20k simultaneous downloaders.”

“The result is roughly 4.5 million illegal downloads. This is only an estimation, and I would say that’s rather on the optimistic side of things; as of today we have sold over 1M legal copies, so having only 4.5-5 illegal copies for each legal one would be not a bad ratio. The reality is probably way worse.”

Iwinski doesn’t sound too mad about this. He even thinks the ratio isn’t that bad. As for his idea of combating piracy? It’s to give a lot of value to the customers, and if they want to illegally download the game, then he’s hoping they’ll buy it when it’s cheaper later.

Source: Videogamer

John “Spartan” Nguyen

John “Spartan” Nguyen is the editor-in-chief at Nerd Reactor and is based in Orange County, CA. He is a graphic designer and illustrator.

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The Witcher 2

http://Website Wolvy

14 GB? it would take two weeks to download it in my country!
- xjsd
  
  Apparently in Poland they have faster internet
http://Website KumaTenshi

Aside from the fact that the CEO of the company that made the game is apparently spending all of his time keeping an eye on how much his game is being PIRATED (yeah, I’m sure) and then the fact he’s basing this off torrent aggregate sites…..combined with the, lets say, “questionable” at ~best~ statistics……

His “not-too-fast” internet connection clocks in at about 630 kb/sec. I have not too fast internet in Canada. It gets me max 250kb/sec, on a good day, assuming the site/server or wherever I’m downloading from is good. And they’re not throttling me like crazy.

630 kb/sec on a single torrent is NOT something that happens very often, unless there is a TON of seeders, and even then, it’s not likely unless you have insanely fast internet.

So, yet again, companies making you think it’s WAY worse than it actually is. (And come on, seriously? The Witcher 2 being the most pirated game? I don’t think so)
- Torrentday all the way
  
  The site i use is a private one and gets mass amount’s of seeders. right now the seeds are only about 250ish but when this was released it had roughly 2200? my downloads cap out at around 840kbps but it’s uncommon for us to get less than 700kbps in New Zealand
http://Website bill

Even if this is not true it would still greatly irritate me if it was “only” a million piraters.
http://Website Unskinnybob

Score of 88 out of 10? AMAZING!!!
http://Website DDD

This is not even worth to pirate. lol
http://Website Max Mouse

First witcher sucked..combat system was shit… not worth pirating or buying or checking out the trailer
me

not everyone is fortunate enough to have the intellect or health even to get a decent enough job to afford these games… my gf is disabled and cannot work.. the benefits she gets are stupid… and she loves games…and now she loves me because i introduced her to piracy…is that so wrong???
- you
  
  I can’t afford a BMW. I like BMWs. I think I’ll just steal one because I’m not smart or healthy. Is that so wrong?
  - someone else
    
    Your argument makes little sense. Piracy is not stealing, it’s illegal copying. If you really like that BMW and build yourself a copy of it, then more power to you.
    - another person
      
      piracy is a lot easier than building a BMW
    - seirously?
      
      This is the most retarded logic I’ve ever heard… Did you seriously just say this? Pirating =/= building a copy of something it is stealing no matter how you want to try and justify your actions. You didn’t build your own game (code and rendering included) on your own when you pirated it… Wow… just… wow.
toothbrusher

First off, why the hell would you ever buy singleplayer games?
- Jane Fonda
  
  Because then we dont’ have to play with retarded mongs like you?
  - Torrentday all the way
    
    I want to shake your hand
Invisible Sam

I firmly believe people pirating games should be sent to prison and fined a large sum, in the amount of minimum $10,000. No ifs, ands or butts. I’m not interested in your excuses or explanations why someone decides to pirate games. This is not debatable whatsoever.
- Korbin Dallas
  
  Since it is a new game, this scenario is probably unlikely, but I torrent games every now and then, of games I actually own.
  
  I keep games I’m not actively playing, stored away in their original box, in a storage box, in the storage loft in my garage. Occasionally I’ll get a hankering to play a particular game, for instance a couple weeks ago I really wanted to play through Giants: Citizen Kabuto again.
  
  I own the game, I’m legally entitled to have it however I see fit, as long as I’m not distributing the title myself (which is why seeding is turned off (you can call me a douche for that one)). However it’s just bounds easier for me to just get a game I already own by these means (plus in most cases, these means provide the game cracked without need of the disk).
  
  I’m probably sure the statistic of people who are legitimately downloading games isn’t incredibly high, but it’s a factor I’ve never seen publishers take into consideration when calculating statistics. Probably because it’s nearly impossible to track.
- Containergunoi
  
  you,my fried,are probably a retarded american.first and foremost,90 % of the people who pirate games,don’t have the money to buy them,if the would they would do so.second,lots of games have no demo,so piracy is a way to test the game without wasting money.take my example:i preordered the game but because of distribution problems i got it 3 weeks later then i should have.i went ahead and dll the game and found out that even if was over minimum requirements,because of the drm the framerate was nasty.when the original game arrived i sold it,but after i upgradede my pc 2 months later,i bought another copy.you’re opinion that people should be going to jail is ridiculous!!!people are sharing info on the internet to help others.everything we have on this planet is here because of sharing.if a friend gives u a rare book and you copy it,how would you like to be send to prison and fined 10000 $??? “I’m not interested in your excuses or explanations” well who’s apologising to you?????
  - Kasto
    
    You, my friend*, are probably a retarded illiterate. You’re well in competition for worst grammar, spelling and punctuation, friend. Did you pull your statistics out of your ass? Are you trying to mimic Homer Simpsons “Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything. 14% of people know that.”. Why do you think people pirate games? It’s because it’s free, period. Why would you want to pay for something when you have the opportunity to get it for free without having to go through too much trouble. You can be well off and not want to afford $60 for a game. And how can they not have money to afford a game when they own a computer powerful enough to run it? I’m not sharing Invisible Sam’s views but you, my friend, are a downright idiot.
- PIRATE arg…
  
  well, it actually is debatable, and if you don’t think so, NOBODY gives a shit what you think.
CodeDisQus

I bought it…..simply because of the respect they sowed to PC gamers! I hope that PC gamers don’t get all of the blame for this because I’m pretty sure 360 plaers dled this illegaly!
Usrev2

why would you buy a game like the witcher 2 if your not sure your PC could run it? or you will like it? or maybe people pirate for PC and buy on xbox or vice versa.

many people pirate games and later buy them, or at the very least buy the next in the series…
I pirated the Witcher enhanced for PC… i liked it ( didnt run very well but i saw enough to see it was decent) so i will be buying witcher 2 on 360.

you cannot assume pirated games are lost sales most people who pirate games wouldn’t have bought them to begin with anyway
http://twitter.com/TriforcePlayer Jerry

That’s what it gets for having such a weakass final boss.
Squid

they didn’t get sales because the game is shitty.
Abdz

I downloaded the game to check it out, played for 5 mins, then couldn’t be stuffed continuing, its one of those game that you would like to check out but not actually play. Those numbers can’t possibly show how many people actually played it after download, most people use pirated games like I do, to check shit out and decide what its worth (most are worth less than nothing as they just disappoint or waste time like bioware games). Except skyrim, there was never a need to check out if that game would be worth it, preordered immediately, however I still downloaded the pirated version b/c steam was annoying me
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ronny-Søberg/100001884396316 Ronny Søberg

Yaeah I was thinking about that math.. 6 hours on a not so fast connection… Really wish I could do two+ gigs per hour.. That’s about double what I get on my 4mbps line. And around where I live, 4mps isn’t that bad. I think he may overestimate what kind of lines people are sitting on. In addition, LOTS of people throttle their torrents so they can do other stuff while downloading. They might also have a shared internet connection with other people, and that, too, means they’ll have to throttle.

I call bogus on those numbers, but that actually just makes the case more of a reason for optimism. I downloaded it once to see if it ran on my computer (after reading that many people with amd cpu’s were struggling.) It did not run, so I deleted. I would have paid for it if I actually got to play it, because I have massive respect for publishers who respect me as a user. Will be buying it as soons as i scrape some money together, new PC and ready to go. Game looks brilliant.
Daudia

Im tired of buying games that end up sucking ass. The constant push to get them out and make that all mighty $ ruins them more then often. Yet if the game is good often times it is very short. Still this is not true with all games. I did buy the Witcher knowing that a good amount of content would be there. Can not say this about other games sadly. To add to this… Why would I want to buy a game at $60 only to find that its full of optional quests that in order to play I must pay for. Perfect example is many of Bioware’s published games. How about buying a game that is broke? Seems common now. Hope for that patch soon. The first Witcher had this issue of being broke. Still I payed for it. I often times downloaded a game to play it simply to see if it is even worth buying. Most of the time I just toss it out and forget it due to so many issues whatever they may be. I love to game, but I am sick and tired of buying broken or incomplete games that are rushed into the market.
Concerned Sociopath

Considering that this game is M rated (and worth the rating unlike some other M rated games) there probably were a lot of teenagers who pirated this game cause they couldn’t buy this legally due to age restrictions
http://www.facebook.com/people/Curtis-Isabell/1036013363 Curtis Isabell

Pirate game
did it run well?
did you like it?
is it worth the retail price?

if yes to the 3 then buy, if not don’t buy and delete the pirated copy… this is what i did, i pirated witcher 1, liked it, didnt run very well, seemed worth the price, bought witcher 2 on 360 which does run well.

http://onlytruegamers.blogspot.com/
John Q Public

the moon is made of cheese

there, I can make assertions backed up with zero evidence as well
EverybodyPoops

I agree that if they wanted to prevent pirating more they should offer demos. Problem is you can’t bring back a pc game like you can a console game if it sucks. Your out 50-60 bucks. You can’t even buy used games fo 10 -20 at any gamestop like console games yet console games ARE pirated JUST as much. Modchips have been around for years. Atleast most pc gamers ARE willing to pay for the game if they like it. Myself included. I have quite disappointed in alot of the newer games as they just don’t seem very appealing anymore.

I like the good co op games and there aren’t many good one for those. Not going to risk 50 bucks just to find out it sucks. If i like it i’ll buy it, if not i delete it. It has been mentioned too that a good majority if people who do pirate games are people who don’t buy new games anyways. So i guess that could go either way, do they get in the habit of not paying for them or do they actually get interested and eventually do?

The only two games i’m actually looking forward to right now borderlands 2 and Tomb raider
Ronak Jethwa

according to ur numbers…my calculation gives me dat each user gets a 700 KBPS download rate to download dis game..!!!
dude, have u gone mad or wat??
not everyone in every country gets dis much downloading speed to download anything.
im sure it want bt 4.5 million illegasl copies…the number would be very less dan dat..!!
Ayoken

Now you see… it’s Poland.
Guy234

I pirated this for my PC just to check it out. Liked it. Erased it and went and bought it for my 360.

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