Game publishers are locked in an eternal battle with pirates who seek to illegally download free games. In a light hearted article Andrew Heaton looked at some of the funnier ways that publishers have tried to combat piracy:

• Pirates who played Crysis Warhead found that instead of bullets their guns shot (harmless) rubber chickens.
• Grand Theft Auto IV loads up normally for pirates but slowly, over time, the camera begins to shake uncontrollably to the point of making the game unplayable.
• Spyro: Year of the Dragon had several layers of anti-piracy protection. After pirates figured out how to crack the first layer, subsequent layers would trigger. At various times the game would show the menus in German, randomly delete saved files, and more.
• Game Dev Tycoon is a game where the player is a game developer trying to make good games and a profit. Those who pirated the game found that over time, their in-game profits would evaporate because…pirates would illegally download it, forcing the company into bankruptcy, and the game to end.

The full article is funny and informative, and contains many more examples. Read it here.

Source: Cracked