Whenever you release a new game out into the wild, pirates are always a concern, especially if that game is part of a beloved and hugely successful franchise. As a game developer, you of course want to dissuade people from pirating the game so you can make as much money as possible off your creation and also so people can experience the game the way it was designed to be played.
However, dealing with piracy is a tricky situation. Anti-piracy efforts can sometimes backfire, either upsetting the gameplay of those who actually did purchase the game or the efforts are not strong enough, and pirates learn how work around the restrictions.
The developers behind The Sims 4, which was released about a week ago, have implemented an anti-piracy strategy that just might work. If you're an avid Sims player, you're well aware that the game pixelates when your Sim changes clothing, uses the toilet or showers. But usually, once your Sim is done with those activities, the pixelation goes away. This isn't the case if you're playing a pirated version of The Sims 4.
The first time your Sim does something that the game usually pixelates, the blurriness won't go away. In fact, it'll continue to get bigger and bigger and bigger until it overtakes the whole screen and all you can see is basically a Sims mosaic. It would actually be pretty if it wasn't preventing you from enjoying the game whatsoever.
Plenty of games over the years have included glitches to ward off pirates. Pirated versions of Grand Theft Auto IV had a "drunk wobble camera" that made it really hard to complete missions. Batman: Arkham Asylum had bugs that made the Scarecrow level impossible to beat. The songs in Michael Jackson: The Experience were accompanied by vuvuzela noises. "Billie Jean" never sounded so wrong.
In a bizarre turn of events, players have taken to The Sims 4 official forums to vent their frustration and seek advice about what they have perceived as a bug that needs fixing, effectively outing themselves as playing a pirated version of the game, according to Player Attack. Electronic Arts, the publisher behind The Sims 4, told Joystiq it doesn't plan on helping those users who are playing a pirated version of the game, except for giving them the advice to go out and buy the full version in order to avoid their pixelation troubles.
But it looks like pirates have indeed figured out how to get rid of the pixelation bug in the game, which everyone expected them to do. Oh well. You gave it a good shot, Electronic Arts.
