back to article Woeful groans over Game of Thrones' spill on piracy sites

The first four episodes of the latest series of Game of Thrones has been leaked online – with fans reportedly downloading 550,000 illegal copies of the saucy, bloody fantasy drama in just 12 hours. Season 5 of GoT is set to air in the US tonight on HBO, while Blighty fans won't be able to view it over on Sky Atlantic until …

  1. Ketlan
    Pirate

    Not on PB yet

    Interestingly (or maybe not) the four episodes have been on KickAss overnight but are not (as of right now) on Pirate Bay, maybe indicating that downloaders are still wary of the latter after the chaos of a couple of months ago.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Not on PB yet

      They're there all right. The first episode torrents came in over 12 hours ago. Search harder or change your TPB proxy.

      Me? Couldn't care less - I'd rather watch Gilmore Girls.

      1. Afernie
        Coat

        Re: Not on PB yet

        "Me? Couldn't care less - I'd rather watch Gilmore Girls."

        You know nothing, Jon Snow.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          "Me? Couldn't care less - I'd rather..."

          My favourite kind of topic! Can I just add that GoT is boring pablum for the masses, that I have NO IDEA AT ALL who Taylor Swift might be, that I wouldn't have a Facebook account if you paid me, that Charlie Chaplin was quite inferior to Husum d'Archiac, that...

          ...wait! WAIT! I haven't finished boring you yet!

        2. Benchops

          Re: Not on PB yet

          I can't wait for this year's general election coverage. I am CERTAIN that one of the presenters will say

          "You know nothing, Peter Snow" after an early swingometer clip.

          1. Roj Blake Silver badge

            Re: Not on PB yet

            Alas, Jeremy Vine looks after the BBC's Swingometer these days

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Not on PB yet

      Try kickass.to it is better than PB.

      1. Jamie Jones Silver badge
        Facepalm

        Re: Not on PB yet

        " Try kickass.to it is better than PB."

        Try reading the comments you are replying too, Mr/Miss/Mrs/Ms Coward!

  2. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Holmes

    Game of Torrents!

    1) No stress

    2) Wait until you have reached IDLE TIME (will this ever happen? will death come sooner?) and/or everyone has moved on to the next thing

    3) ???

    4) Get the whole block cheap on Amazon or from a sale bin, no hassles (unless the EUR no longer exists by then)

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: Game of Torrents!

      Just to make an observation, people who watch leaked episodes before the official air date, and people who wait for the DVDs at a good price, are missing out on the social aspect of the series. Part of the enjoyment of series like Game of Thrones is talking about it with friends - just as going to the pub to chat after a trip to the cinema is a good part of the evening.

      1. VinceH

        Re: Game of Torrents!

        "Part of the enjoyment of series like Game of Thrones is talking about it with friend"

        You can say that about any TV series - but it doesn't matter one iota to those of us who don't give a rat's arse about "the social aspect" of a series.

        I have yet to see a single episode of Game of Thrones. I probably will see it, eventually, when it really is old news and everyone else is talking about the next big thing (after the next big thing after the next big thing). I couldn't give a flying frig about that.

      2. Vimes

        Re: Game of Torrents!

        Social aspect? But what happens when your friends are just as likely to be downloading it too?

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Game of Torrents!

        Just to make an observation, people who watch leaked episodes before the official air date, and people who wait for the DVDs at a good price, are missing out on the social aspect of the series. Part of the enjoyment of series like Game of Thrones is talking about it with friends

        AFAICT people who download leaked episodes are just as likely and keen to talk about it with their friends (who are more likely to have also downloaded those leaked episodes), as those who watch on the broadcaster's schedule.

        Meanwhile, anyone who is interested and literate just rolls their eyes at the old news.

        1. Lewis Rage

          Re: Game of Torrents!

          Ooooh. Someone read some books, what a hero.

      4. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Game of Torrents!

        The social aspect is why any staggered release is bad... IMHO, all TV should be broadcast in all locations on the same day, i.e. GoT should be broadcast in the UK on the same day as US otherwise people WILL download it, the delay is the prime reason for downloading TV rather than watching it live or on a local On Demand service...

        1. Vimes

          Re: Game of Torrents!

          IMHO, all TV should be broadcast in all locations on the same day

          Putting aside any copyright considerations, how would you suggest achieving this when dealing with countless broadcasters worldwide, with each effectively being a completely different customer and each with different priorities as to what they want to show?

          As for a 'local' on demand service, which one? And how many of those are there spread across the globe?

          For that matter eliminating time differences entirely is probably impossible given the time differences between countries. Taking GoT as an example the first episode was I believe broadcast Sunday night in the US, but even if it was broadcast in the UK at the same time it would have been the early hours of Monday morning.

      5. Indolent Wretch

        Re: Game of Torrents!

        Just to make another observation, one very contrary to those from the MPAA and others, a large percentage of the people who watch leaked episodes ARE the people who wait for the DVDs at a good price and ARE the people who watch it normally and talk about with their friends in social environments.

        There's no mutual exclusivity here.

  3. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. DropBear
      Joke

      Don't even THINK about it. Haven't you seen in Space Quest 4 what a single copy of that game can do in the wrong era?!?

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          >I'm just laughing at the fact that 80% of El Reg readers are too young to realise

          Please don't patronise - I'm certain that 80% of El Reg audience are old enough to remember the games.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    OK if your impatient..

    But by the size of them, they'll be low definition.. I'd wait for the 720p or 1080p, hopefully will be close behind.

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: OK if your impatient..

      They are low resolution, but the audio is in sync and they are perfectly watchable. The production values are such that a high quality version is worth paying for.

      Some other news outlets say they were not review copies, but copies for subtitle translators - which makes a bit more sense, because a) one would want reviewers to see a good quality versions, and b) reviewers were treated to a screening of the (not disappointing) first episode some weeks ago at the Tower of London, with after-party.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Easy solution for HBO

    Just tack on an extra minute of gratuitously nekkid bewbs to the final broadcast. (Tip o' the hat to Screen Junkies' "Honest Trailers: Game of Thrones.")

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Easy solution for HBO

      Or a few 1/6 screen ads every few minutes.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Deliberate leak

    This has clearly been leaked to generate free advertising in tomorrow's press.

    The opening four episodes will work as a teaser - people will subscribe to see the rest of the series.

    1. Ol'Peculier

      Re: Deliberate leak

      Not too sure. One episode, yes. Two, possibly, but 40% of the forthcoming series?

      There's a SNAFU somewhere.

      1. Dave 126 Silver badge

        Re: Deliberate leak

        >Two, possibly, but 40% of the forthcoming series?

        It worked for iDSoftware and Doom! : D

        If it was a cock-up, then the fact that only four episodes mighyt be a sign that HBO half expected a leak somewhere - otherwise they would have released the whole series to translators/reviewers.

      2. jason 7

        Re: Deliberate leak

        Then you find out....14 episodes!!!!!!

        Mind blown!

  7. Anonymous C0ward

    And now it's in the news

    Even more people will download it?

  8. Sgt_Oddball

    Hodor

    Hodor, hodor...hodor hodor hodor!

    Hodor.

  9. king of foo

    it's silly

    I'd pay twice retail for the full boxed set of series 5 right now. Before it airs on subscription TV that I don't have. I don't want to subscribe to a service.

    They can't want my money...

    Also, this is all I can hear now...

    1. Zot

      Re: it's silly

      We don't wish to know what goes on in your head all the time.

      1. king of foo

        Re: it's silly @zot

        Joffrey, is that you???

    2. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: it's silly

      Haha, how did I guess what your link would lead to? I was right! : D

  10. tkioz

    Weeelp here's guessing that press screeners are going to be done differently next year.

  11. NomNomNom

    huh I thought sky and sunday times were both owned by murdoch. well part owned anyway.

  12. thexfile

    The media leaked GoT to make news.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    as good as the rest

    except for a teeny watermark/blemish in the lower left corner, they are as good as anything else at these file sizes (240 mp4, 350 avi)

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    GoT, meh, costume drama

    If it was the next series of The Walking Dead, now we'd be talking!

  15. Richard Lloyd

    I'll wait...

    Let me see, it's an SD copy in stereo with a blurred watermark in the corner and if you watch all 4, you'll have to wait another month to see episode 5 (unless 5-8 are leaked soon too!). I think I'll wait for the broadcast version thank you very much...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I'll wait...

      Unfortuantely I'm on Virgin so don't have Sky Atlantic. The only way I get to watch it legally is to wait for the dvd/blu-ray.

      I can't imagine why anyone thought putting it on a channel half the country don't get was a clever idea!

      Can't imagine how I'd be able to watch it... Yarr...

      1. montyburns56

        Re: I'll wait...

        "I can't imagine why anyone thought putting it on a channel half the country don't get was a clever idea!"

        HBO did an exclusive deal with Sky a few years ago, so they are the ones to blame.

  16. RainForestGuppy

    Spoilers

    I found all the spoilers for series 5 and 6 neatly printed out and bound in handy paperback size at my local WH Smiths.

    1. Alistair
      Coat

      Re: Spoilers

      Actually - you have the spoilers for season 5 only. Season 6 will run off the cliff of spoilers, since he hasn't finished the next book, and the TV series will consume both book 5 and book 6.

    2. JLV
      Joke

      Re: Spoilers

      Eh, don't brag too much.

      At the rate he's writing, pretty soon the TV will be the spoilers for the books.

  17. Jedihomer Townend

    Obligatory Oatmeal Link

    http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Shit program anyhow...

    Nuff said.

  19. Swarthy

    Game of Thrones Experience (without HBO)

    To get the same feel of GoT, I just watch C-SPAN (I guess watching the Houses of Parliament could work; and with the occasional fist-fight, it might be better), flipping randomly to the Playboy channel, and any of the Saw movies.

    It consists of horrible people doing horrible things to each other in the name of gathering and keeping power. (Plus boobs).

  20. crayon

    "At the rate he's writing, pretty soon the TV will be the spoilers for the books."

    I finally made an effort to get into GoT at the beginning of the year (I had watched the first few minutes of Series 1 Episode 1 several times in the past but didn't get any further than that), watched all 4 series, then started on the books. Finished the first 4 books and just started on the 5th, and realised that there was a gap of 6 years between 4th and 5th books. If the 6th book takes as long to appear and if the TV series continue to rely on that as source material then by the time it appears the fickle fans and producers of the TV series might have moved on to the next "big thing" and have forgotten about GoT.

    Apart from a few deviations the TV series seems to follow the book pretty closely, a lot of the dialogue are almost word for word. It is a much more faithful adaptation than the abysmal "Legend of the Seeker" TV series portrayal of "The Sword of Truth" series of books, which turned out to be more like a comic book version aimed at a pre-adult audience. Eg in the books, the Mother Confessor is supposed to be reserved, dignified and cautious, in the TV series she becomes headstrong, reckless, dual dagger wielding brawler always seeming to be spoiling for a fight.

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