PC games are always the ones that are the most pirated compared to console games and 2011 was no exception. TorrentFreak reports that in the past 12 months, the game that was downloaded the most by BitTorrent users was the PC version of Crysis 2, the sci-fi first person shooter from developer Crytek and publisher Electronic Arts.
A full beta version of Crysis 2 actually leaked out to the Internet in February, several weeks before the final version was released in March. The story said that while the beta version was downloaded quite a bit, it was actually the final version that caught the pirates' attention, resulting in 3,920,000 downloads in 2011. Coming in second was the PC port of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 with 3,650,000 downloads, and the PC version of Battlefield 3 with 3,510,000 downloads came in third. The PC ports of FIFA 12 and Portal 2 were in the fourth and fifth positions on the list.
Gears of War 3 was the most pirated Xbox 360 game but at 890,000 downloads it was well behind the many PC games that were downloaded illegally. Super Mario Galaxy 2, a game that actually came out in May 2010, was the most pirated Wii game on the list at 1,280,000 downloads. Other console game downloads, including those made for the PS3, are apparently not downloaded nearly enough to be included in the story's list.
(NW)
The data for these estimated download numbers is collected by TorrentFreak from several sources, including reports from all public BitTorrent trackers:PC Game Downloads on BitTorrent in 2011.:
1. Crysis 2
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
3. Battlefield 3
4. FIFA 12
5. Portal 2
Wii Game Downloads on BitTorrent in 2011.:
1. Super Mario Galaxy 2
2. Mario Sports Mix
3. Xenoblade Chronicles
4. Lego Pirates of the Caribbean
5. FIFA 12
Xbox 360 Game Downloads on BitTorrent in 2011.:
1. Gears of War 3
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
3. Battlefield 3
4. Forza Motorsport 4
5. Kinect Sports: Season Two