Menu of a pirated Matrix movie.
Piracy is the act of unwarranted and unlicensed trade of media sources, in this case movies. Hollywood movies are often received with hype and gain a cult following around the world. At the same time, in many countries the police and governments are lax at enforcing copyright laws. For this reason, the theater version of the movie, debuting in specific Asian cities, gets recorded and simultaneously distributed across other states and neighboring countries that share the same language, an example being that of Urdu and Hindi in South Asia.
After getting recorded these theater versions are widely distributed in black markets, for getting sold for an inexpensive cost, mostly around $0.5 to $1 in many Asian countries. However, this trend received a major downturn when the use of torrents and peer to peer applications became well known. Furthermore, still large masses of both the public and distributors are involved in this illegal act. One of the major drawbacks of the theater version includes low quality video and audio, that lead the distributors to effectuate the blu-ray and master versions of movies and sell them for a slashed price, however, these versions are available once the blu-ray/DVD/CD/VCD version is released and are used for succeeding years.
The Matrix Series[]
Single editions[]
The Matrix available for just 69 Rs, dubbed in Hindi.
The Matrix[]
At the time of its release in the year, 1999, The Matrix drifted into the likes of the young in Asian cities, leading distributors to sell a large stack of VCR tapes featuring the pirated theater version but the boom of technology in the 3rd millennium largely replaced VCRs with DVD and CD players. The soundtrack of The Matrix was also released on illegal cassettes, mostly to be used in vehicles.
“ Computer Hacker, Thomas Anderson has lived a relatively ordinary life--in what he thinks in the year 1999, until he is contacted by enigmatic Morpheus who leads him into the real world. In reality, it is 200 years later, and the world has been laid waste and taken.
”― The synopsis on the cover
The Matrix Reloaded[]
A pirated version of the movie, The Matrix Revolutions in Hindi.
The Matrix Reloaded, having released in the year, 2002 was available for purchase via DVD and CDs but masses preferred CDs over DVDs at that time due to cost issues. These CDs were sold for $1 at the time of release but this cost fell in subsequent years, being slashed to half prices.
“ In the second chapter of the Matrix trilogy, freedom fighters Neo (Reeves), Trinity (Moss) and Morpheus (Fishburne) continue to lead the revolt against the machine army, unleashing their arsenal of extraordinary skills and weaponry against the systematic forces of repression and exploitation.
”― The synopsis on the cover
The Matrix Revolutions[]
The Matrix Revolutions outplayed the preceding versions in Asian countries, mostly due to the action sequences, to the distributors profit, these action sequences became the principal cause of the widespread of both the pirated theater and DVD versions. This version was largely dubbed in regional languages.
“ In the Matrix Revolutions, the final chapter in the Matrix trilogy, the rebels' long quest for freedom culminates in a final explosive battle. As the machine army wares devastation on Zion, its citizen mount an aggressive defense--but can they stave off the relentless swarm?
”― The synopsis on the cover
Collectors editions[]
Customers tend to purchase the entire trilogy in a single CD/DVD rather than purchasing each of them, these collectors edition are mostly available in a set of five movies, titled Keanu Reeves Collections, with two other movies starring Keanu Reeves along with the Matrix trilogy, completing the set of five. A strange observation is often noted that the synopsis on the cover of these collections are misprinted with the either the synopsis or plot of some other pirated movies. The collectors edition are often available in dual audio with some of the cover text printed in the regional languages including title and star cast names.
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| Regional version with an additional movie. | The 5 movie set of Keanu Reeve's classic movies
including the Matrix Trilogy. |
Matrix video-games[]
Enter the Matrix[]
Enter the Matrix became a known game among masses when it was first released in 2003 but PS2 games weren't as cult as PC games, leading the pirated version to be developed on CD that were easily available within a cheap cost of 50 cents. Over the years, a pirated version for PS2 has become available for sale in black market across Asian countries.
“ Based on the second movie in the trilogy Enter the Matrix features a mixture of gun play and martial arts that bend the rules of the Matrix insane driving and stunts, and the chance to pilot the fastest hovercraft in the fleet. This isn't just set in the Matrix universe, it's designed to be an integral part of the entire matrix experience, with a story that weaves in and out of the Matrix Reloaded, the sequel to the academy award winner. Enter the Matrix is the story-behind-the-story. Features bullet time effects, never-before-seen life-action footage starring the cast of the movie and more.
”― Featured text on the cover.
Path of Neo[]
Similar to other PS2 games that are widely pirated, The Matrix: Path of Neo also falls under this category. This pirated version can be executed with some alterations within a specific PS2 model. In order to play this version, customers modify the lenses to effectuate the version but these PS2 DVDs are short lived and can corrupt within a span of months.
“ The Matrix: Path of Neo will follow the story of the blockbuster motion picture trilogy The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded and the Matrix Revolutions and for the first time allow gamers to play as Neo and become the One. Gamers will play as Neo, but from the moment the game begins, how the situation plays out, how they handle them, how they deal with the events, where they go, how people react to them--it's all up to the gamer. They may win where Neo failed or find another way to solve the problem--the path is now theirs to follow.
”― Featured text on the cover. As Neo, the choices the players make to resolve each scenario and the resulting consequences filled with new characters, content and storylines have all been written and planned by the Wachowski Brothers to expand the Matrix universe and overall gaming experience
Digital piracy[]
Torrents[]
From the year 2005, these pirated hard copies were replaced by torrents at a mass level, mainly due to the fact that these versions didn't cost any money and were available for free, one of the major torrenting websites include The Pirate Bay which hasn't stopped operating despite multiple bans in many states. Movies, games, cracks, special featurettes, making of the film and soundtracks are easily available for both seeding and leeching.
Peer to peer[]
Matrix files in a emule search box.
Prior to the popularization of torrents, peer to peer application and servers such as Ares and Emule were used to download the Matrix media, however, these peer to peer applications didn't trend in South Asia and most of the users were from the west. These files were often viruses or spam, risking users' personal files and some of these downloads were often mistitled, eventuating a major drawback for these P2P applications.
Online streaming []
In recent times, the availability and hosting of online movies has outplayed all the other illegal sources on the web and market. One of these rare sources include dailymotion but one of the drawbacks is specifically low quality.
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