PSP World

Piracy Strikes Again: Rock Band Unplugged Leaked

No longer is it just the Xbox 360 and PC platforms that are subjected to embarrassing leaks prior to release of hit games. Rock Band Unplugged, the upcoming music rhythm game from Harmonix for the PSP, has been leaked onto popular pirate torrent sites, and by some estimates has already been downloaded more than 14,000 times. PSP downloads of pirated games have posed a major problem for Sony in the past, but this is the first time that such a high-profile game has turned up on the net before its retail release. The game is not supposed to reach retail shelves in North America until June 9, more than two weeks from now.

Everything is not plunder and booty for would be pirates, however. The leaked version of the game comes with certain annoying glitches that can cause crashes and even corruption of data on the memory stick. Pirates who have tried the Rock Band Unplugged ISO have complained that after playing, the game wipes the contents of the PSP/GAME folder. Others have complained that the pirate release causes problems while trying to play music on the PSP.

As we have reported many times in the past, Sony must try to find a solution to the rampant piracy problem on the PSP. If this abuse is allowed to go unchecked, it will make it harder for the company to convince third-party publishers to support the system. We encourage all honest PSP owners to pay for their games and support a great handheld device. In this case, as with others, piracy simply isn't worth it.