You can't do this in a cracked version of the game
The illegal copying and distribution of software, or piracy, costs the video game industry billions of dollars each year, and even threatens the future of game production.
However, one British-based video game publisher, Eidos, has hit back at the pirates in a novel way by not only spoiling their game-playing, but also shaming them on the internet.
Pirates who are playing illegal copies of Batman: Arkham Asylum find that crucial control functions in the game have been disabled, rendering the game unplayable.
Players using a ‘cracked' version of the game discover that the glide function in the game does not work, causing the Batman character to fall to his death.
One such player complained about the so-called ‘bug' on the support forum pages of the developer's website."I've got a problem when it's time to use Batman's glide in the game. When I hold, like it's said, to jump from one platform to another, Batman tries to open his wings again and again instead of gliding," complained the pirate.
But instead of receiving sympathy and support from other community users and the game's development team, he received a stern ticking off from the forum's community manager.
"The problem you have encountered is a hook in the copy protection, to catch out people who try and download cracked versions of the game for free," wrote the Eidos community manager.
"It's not a bug in the game's code; it's a bug in your moral code," he added.
It appears that the Caped Crusader's war on crime extends beyond characters like the Joker to cheeky software pirates worldwide.
GLOSSARY 词汇表 (收听发音, 请移到小喇叭上)
piracy 盗版bug 病毒
video game publisher 电脑游戏出版商
support forum 提供支持的网上论坛
hit back 反击
platform 平台
novel 新颖的
community users 同社团的使用者
shaming 稀落，嘲讽
stern ticking off 严厉的斥责
crucial control functions 主控功能
copy protection版权保护措施
disabled 失灵的
catch out抓住
rendering 致使
moral code 道德准则
cracked 破解的
Caped Crusader 披篷骑士
glide function滑行功能
cheeky 厚颜无耻的
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