For those of you pining for more "investigative" gaming journalism, Eurogamer posted a fascinating read detailing the infamous Half-Life 2 heist that took place in late 2003.  The story is told from both Valve's (through founder Gabe Newell) and Alex Gembe's, the young German hacker who has since been relieved of probation, perspective. 
 
This article seems especially topical, since both Sony and Crytek have been in piracy-related headlines recently.  For the uninitiated, Sony is suing New Jersey-based hacker George Hotz (aka "GeoHot") for "jailbreaking" and allegedly promoting piracy on the PlayStation 3.  Meanwhile, an unfinished build of Crysis 2 has been released on BitTorrent.  A petition has been set up for gamer vowing to purchase Crysis 2 at retail.

At the risk of plagiarism, here's an excerpt: 
 

"At 6am on 7th May 2004, Axel Gembe awoke in the small German town of im Schwarzwald to find his bed surrounded by police officers. Automatic weapons were pointing at his head and the words 'Get out of bed. Do not touch the keyboard' were ringing in his ears.  Gembe knew why they were there. But, bleary-eyed, he asked anyway.

'You are being charged with hacking into Valve Corporation's network, stealing the videogame Half-Life 2, leaking it onto the internet and causing damages in excess of $250 million, came the reply. "Get dressed.'

Seven months earlier, on 2nd October 2003, Valve Corporation director Gabe Newell awoke in the large American city of Seattle to find the source code for the game his company had been working on for almost five years had leaked onto the internet. The game had been due for release a couple of weeks earlier but the development team was behind. 12 months behind. Half-Life 2 was going to be late, and Newell had yet to admit how late. Such a leak was not only financially threatening but deeply embarrassing."

One of the best articles ever written on eurogamer.net

Great, great read. Thanks for the link.

your title makes it seem that he didn't feel bad about it until just now, but according to the article, he did feel bad like right after it got leaked.

Good to know. Although, I'd be surprised if Hotz does the same in 8 years time.

they could have stolen a better game

FBI got blue balled.

Wow an actual article rather than something PR pushes out the door that seems to plague every video game site ever. It's nice to see there are folks out there at least trying.

" they could have stolen a better game "

By the way, the guy's on Reddit, and he says he's going to do an AMA (Ask Me Anything) tomorrow. 

" @kingzetta said:

" they could have stolen a better game "

Ooh, edgy! "

That was a pretty good article.

" Good to know. Although, I'd be surprised if Hotz does the same in 8 years time. "

I never really imagined they brought heavily armed men to arrest hackers... Thought that was a movie thing. 
 
I always assumed a cop would just knock on your door, get you to admit your name, then promptly cuff you, not this whole raid thing. Kinda ridiculous. Though what he did was wrong. 

Why is jail breaking a ps3 bad again? If I bought something with my money shouldn't I then own that thing and be able to do what I want with it?

i wasnt a gamer when that happened.. 
 
did HL2 not sell well ?

" @Aus_azn said:

" Good to know. Although, I'd be surprised if Hotz does the same in 8 years time. "

I doubt it. Unless he gets jail time or probation of some sort too, he could care less. The YouTube video is proof enough he isn't remorseful at all and I doubt he will ever be. The saddest part of that is he has so many people backing him that would much rather see the PS3 perish than for any harm to come to their "Robin Hood" of hacking.   Pirates in general these days don't care about the other end of the spectrum. Just look at half the comments on the articles Destructoid have been posting regarding the recent rise in piracy. As long as they're okay, they could less who gets hurt. It's sad. "

" i wasnt a gamer when that happened..  did HL2 not sell well ? "

" @Ahmad_Metallic said:

" i wasnt a gamer when that happened..  did HL2 not sell well ? "

yeah they sold like three copies "

" @blueduck:   No, you should not.  If you buy a BMW and then go on the road at 110 MPH, you are "doing what you want with something you bought", but we can all see this is not legal, not safe, and may be harmful to yourself and others.  The argument that you buying something gives you the right to do anything you want with it is bogus.  I can think of a million examples.  Buy alcohol and give it to minors, buy a gun and shoot at random cars, buy a taser and shock neighborhood animals... need I go on? "

" @Toms115 said:

" @Ahmad_Metallic said:

" i wasnt a gamer when that happened..  did HL2 not sell well ? "

yeah they sold like three copies "

no seriously   Edit: aight i looked it up and saw it sold well.. nevermind "

" @blueduck:   No, you should not.  If you buy a BMW and then go on the road at 110 MPH, you are "doing what you want with something you bought", but we can all see this is not legal, not safe, and may be harmful to yourself and others.  The argument that you buying something gives you the right to do anything you want with it is bogus.  I can think of a million examples.  Buy alcohol and give it to minors, buy a gun and shoot at random cars, buy a taser and shock neighborhood animals... need I go on? "

" @blueduck:   No, you should not.  If you buy a BMW and then go on the road at 110 MPH, you are "doing what you want with something you bought", but we can all see this is not legal, not safe, and may be harmful to yourself and others.  The argument that you buying something gives you the right to do anything you want with it is bogus.  I can think of a million examples.  Buy alcohol and give it to minors, buy a gun and shoot at random cars, buy a taser and shock neighborhood animals... need I go on? "

" @blueduck:   No, you should not.  If you buy a BMW and then go on the road at 110 MPH, you are "doing what you want with something you bought", but we can all see this is not legal, not safe, and may be harmful to yourself and others.  The argument that you buying something gives you the right to do anything you want with it is bogus.  I can think of a million examples.  Buy alcohol and give it to minors, buy a gun and shoot at random cars, buy a taser and shock neighborhood animals... need I go on? "

" @Ahmad_Metallic said:

" @Toms115 said:

" @Ahmad_Metallic said:

" i wasnt a gamer when that happened..  did HL2 not sell well ? "

yeah they sold like three copies "

no seriously   Edit: aight i looked it up and saw it sold well.. nevermind "

oh, you're serious.  yeah it sold a shit ton. "

" @MrRedwine said:

" @blueduck:   No, you should not.  If you buy a BMW and then go on the road at 110 MPH, you are "doing what you want with something you bought", but we can all see this is not legal, not safe, and may be harmful to yourself and others.  The argument that you buying something gives you the right to do anything you want with it is bogus.  I can think of a million examples.  Buy alcohol and give it to minors, buy a gun and shoot at random cars, buy a taser and shock neighborhood animals... need I go on? "

Apologies, but that is a horrible analogy.  What you're saying is more akin to buying a PS3 and using it to beat someone to death with.  A better analogy would be opening the hood of your BMW and being able to put whatever engine you want in it.  "

" @EvilTwin said:

" @MrRedwine said:

" @blueduck:   No, you should not.  If you buy a BMW and then go on the road at 110 MPH, you are "doing what you want with something you bought", but we can all see this is not legal, not safe, and may be harmful to yourself and others.  The argument that you buying something gives you the right to do anything you want with it is bogus.  I can think of a million examples.  Buy alcohol and give it to minors, buy a gun and shoot at random cars, buy a taser and shock neighborhood animals... need I go on? "

Apologies, but that is a horrible analogy.  What you're saying is more akin to buying a PS3 and using it to beat someone to death with.  A better analogy would be opening the hood of your BMW and being able to put whatever engine you want in it.  "

See once again you've made another poor analogy! The law doesn't want you putting crazy engines in because you again could hurt someone ( now whether you agree with that is a different story) at least that's the logic they made the law with. How could you ever hurt someone with a jail broken ps3? "

" @blueduck said:

" @EvilTwin said:

" @MrRedwine said:

" @blueduck:   No, you should not.  If you buy a BMW and then go on the road at 110 MPH, you are "doing what you want with something you bought", but we can all see this is not legal, not safe, and may be harmful to yourself and others.  The argument that you buying something gives you the right to do anything you want with it is bogus.  I can think of a million examples.  Buy alcohol and give it to minors, buy a gun and shoot at random cars, buy a taser and shock neighborhood animals... need I go on? "

Apologies, but that is a horrible analogy.  What you're saying is more akin to buying a PS3 and using it to beat someone to death with.  A better analogy would be opening the hood of your BMW and being able to put whatever engine you want in it.  "

See once again you've made another poor analogy! The law doesn't want you putting crazy engines in because you again could hurt someone ( now whether you agree with that is a different story) at least that's the logic they made the law with. How could you ever hurt someone with a jail broken ps3? "

that's what the pirates want you to think. "

That was genuinely a good article. One of the best game-related articles I've read.

'Get out of bed. Do not touch the keyboard' 

" See once again you've made another poor analogy! The law doesn't want you putting crazy engines in because you again could hurt someone ( now whether you agree with that is a different story) at least that's the logic they made the law with. How could you ever hurt someone with a jail broken ps3? "

What an asshole, to do something that cool and then not only practically turn himself in but also claim that he is sorry?. 
Also, excellent article.

" @blueduck said:

" See once again you've made another poor analogy! The law doesn't want you putting crazy engines in because you again could hurt someone ( now whether you agree with that is a different story) at least that's the logic they made the law with. How could you ever hurt someone with a jail broken ps3? "

Fair enough, it wasn't worded quite correctly.  I didn't mean that you're able to stick a jet engine in your car and drive it on the street, just that you as a consumer have certain rights when it comes to a car that you own. "

" @Toms115 said:

" @blueduck said:

" @EvilTwin said:

" @MrRedwine said:

" @blueduck:   No, you should not.  If you buy a BMW and then go on the road at 110 MPH, you are "doing what you want with something you bought", but we can all see this is not legal, not safe, and may be harmful to yourself and others.  The argument that you buying something gives you the right to do anything you want with it is bogus.  I can think of a million examples.  Buy alcohol and give it to minors, buy a gun and shoot at random cars, buy a taser and shock neighborhood animals... need I go on? "

Apologies, but that is a horrible analogy.  What you're saying is more akin to buying a PS3 and using it to beat someone to death with.  A better analogy would be opening the hood of your BMW and being able to put whatever engine you want in it.  "

See once again you've made another poor analogy! The law doesn't want you putting crazy engines in because you again could hurt someone ( now whether you agree with that is a different story) at least that's the logic they made the law with. How could you ever hurt someone with a jail broken ps3? "

that's what the pirates want you to think. "

Ha, yeah I know thank god for Sony because at the end of the day I know it has my properties best interests in mind! "

great read

" @EvilTwin said:

" @blueduck said:

" See once again you've made another poor analogy! The law doesn't want you putting crazy engines in because you again could hurt someone ( now whether you agree with that is a different story) at least that's the logic they made the law with. How could you ever hurt someone with a jail broken ps3? "

Fair enough, it wasn't worded quite correctly.  I didn't mean that you're able to stick a jet engine in your car and drive it on the street, just that you as a consumer have certain rights when it comes to a car that you own. "

Yes, but you still failed to prove your point with it. Your right is to do with your property as you please, it's America BRO. If it becomes at safety issue then a law will be passed to stop it. Also I am not attacking Sony's right to ban people from the Playstation network but I am saying they should stfu if I want to jail break my stuff. Also to be fair you can do whatever you want with your own car you just can't take it on public streets! "

Most people who are railing against the concept of being able to "jail break" ( I fucking hate this term) a piece of hardware, in this case a PS3, are associating it directly with piracy. Opening up the possibilities of your hardware really shouldn't be a crime, but taking advantage of it to play pirated games absolutely is.

" I never really imagined they brought heavily armed men to arrest hackers... Thought that was a movie thing.  I always assumed a cop would just knock on your door, get you to admit your name, then promptly cuff you, not this whole raid thing. Kinda ridiculous. Though what he did was wrong.  "

" @CrazyChris said:

" @kingzetta said:

" they could have stolen a better game "

Ooh, edgy! "

POW! "

I've read about the Half-Life 2 theft so many times now and I still find it fascinating. 

" @blueduck:   No, you should not.  If you buy a BMW and then go on the road at 110 MPH, you are "doing what you want with something you bought", but we can all see this is not legal, not safe, and may be harmful to yourself and others.  The argument that you buying something gives you the right to do anything you want with it is bogus.  I can think of a million examples.  Buy alcohol and give it to minors, buy a gun and shoot at random cars, buy a taser and shock neighborhood animals... need I go on? "

" @blueduck:   No, you should not.  If you buy a BMW and then go on the road at 110 MPH, you are "doing what you want with something you bought", but we can all see this is not legal, not safe, and may be harmful to yourself and others.  The argument that you buying something gives you the right to do anything you want with it is bogus.  I can think of a million examples.  Buy alcohol and give it to minors, buy a gun and shoot at random cars, buy a taser and shock neighborhood animals... need I go on? "

" @blueduck said:

" @Toms115 said:

" @blueduck said:

" @EvilTwin said:

" @MrRedwine said:

" @blueduck:   No, you should not.  If you buy a BMW and then go on the road at 110 MPH, you are "doing what you want with something you bought", but we can all see this is not legal, not safe, and may be harmful to yourself and others.  The argument that you buying something gives you the right to do anything you want with it is bogus.  I can think of a million examples.  Buy alcohol and give it to minors, buy a gun and shoot at random cars, buy a taser and shock neighborhood animals... need I go on? "

Apologies, but that is a horrible analogy.  What you're saying is more akin to buying a PS3 and using it to beat someone to death with.  A better analogy would be opening the hood of your BMW and being able to put whatever engine you want in it.  "

See once again you've made another poor analogy! The law doesn't want you putting crazy engines in because you again could hurt someone ( now whether you agree with that is a different story) at least that's the logic they made the law with. How could you ever hurt someone with a jail broken ps3? "

that's what the pirates want you to think. "

Ha, yeah I know thank god for Sony because at the end of the day I know it has my properties best interests in mind! "

SONY: striking fear into those bastards who want do shit with the things that they bought.   what a bunch of fucking heroes. "

I just wanted to say  this was an awesome read thanks OP.

" @Toms115 said:

" @blueduck said:

" @Toms115 said:

" @blueduck said:

" @EvilTwin said:

" @MrRedwine said:

" @blueduck:   No, you should not.  If you buy a BMW and then go on the road at 110 MPH, you are "doing what you want with something you bought", but we can all see this is not legal, not safe, and may be harmful to yourself and others.  The argument that you buying something gives you the right to do anything you want with it is bogus.  I can think of a million examples.  Buy alcohol and give it to minors, buy a gun and shoot at random cars, buy a taser and shock neighborhood animals... need I go on? "

Apologies, but that is a horrible analogy.  What you're saying is more akin to buying a PS3 and using it to beat someone to death with.  A better analogy would be opening the hood of your BMW and being able to put whatever engine you want in it.  "

See once again you've made another poor analogy! The law doesn't want you putting crazy engines in because you again could hurt someone ( now whether you agree with that is a different story) at least that's the logic they made the law with. How could you ever hurt someone with a jail broken ps3? "

that's what the pirates want you to think. "

Ha, yeah I know thank god for Sony because at the end of the day I know it has my properties best interests in mind! "

SONY: striking fear into those bastards who want do shit with the things that they bought.   what a bunch of fucking heroes. "

I don't think anybody is in any kind of clear right or wrong here. I don't support Geohotz on this battle because i see nothing good coming out of this for gamers. All i see if Sony wins they  fine the butt off geohotz and goes back to normal while piracy continues. Or Geohotz wins and Sony puts some crazy DRM program on the system. In both cases gamers will suffer and Geohotz started this. "