Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004 video game)

This article is about the 2004 remake. For the original 1987 video game, see Sid Meier's Pirates.
Sid Meier's Pirates!
Developer(s)Firaxis Games[b]
Publisher(s)
Producer(s)Barry Caudill
Designer(s)Sid Meier
Programmer(s)Don Wuenschell
Artist(s)Jerome J. Atherholt
Marc Hudgins
Dennis Moellers
Composer(s)Mark Cromer
Michael Curran
EngineGamebryo
Platform(s)
Release
November 22, 2004
  • Windows
  • Xbox
  • PlayStation Portable
    • NA: January 23, 2007[5]
    • EU: March 9, 2007[1]
    • AU: March 16, 2007
  • Mac OS X
  • August 29, 2008[6]
  • Wii
  • iPad
  • July 21, 2011[10][a]
  • Windows Phone
  • April 11, 2012[12]
Genre(s)Action-adventure, strategy
Mode(s)Single-player

Sid Meier's Pirates! (also known as Sid Meier's Pirates!: Live the Life) is a 2004 strategy, action and adventure video game developed by Firaxis Games. A remake of Sid Meier's earlier 1987 game of the same name, it was originally published by Atari Interactive, but in May 2005 2K acquired the rights to the title from Atari's parent company Infogrames and later went on to publish console and handheld ports of the game.

Overall, the gameplay remains similar to the original game, though it features a 3D game engine (NDL's Gamebryo). Some elements like sun sighting were removed, but other features have been added, such as a ballroom dancing mini-game and an improved turn-based land combat system.

The Microsoft Windows version of Pirates! was released on November 22, 2004, and was also available through the online GameTap video game service before it was shut down. The Xbox version was released on July 11, 2005, and includes some multiplayer capabilities. The Xbox version was re-released on the Xbox Live Marketplace for the Xbox 360 as an Xbox Original on February 11, 2008, as the Xbox version is on the Xbox 360 backward compatibility list in North America and Europe. A version for the PlayStation Portable was released on January 23, 2007; this new version features some modified gameplay mechanisms, and was developed by Full Fat in collaboration with Firaxis Games. The Mac OS X version of the game was released in August 2008 by Feral Interactive.[14] The Wii version was released on September 28, 2010.

A mobile version has been released by Oasys Mobile. The iPad version of the game was released on July 21, 2011. A version for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch was released in April 2012, published by 2K Games. In addition, the game was ported over to the Windows Phone platform in early April 2012.

  1. ^ a b c "Sid Meier's Pirates!". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on May 31, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  2. ^ Adams, David (November 16, 2004). "Grab Some Golden Booty". IGN. Archived from the original on July 3, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  3. ^ Perry, Douglass C. (June 23, 2005). "Sid Meier's Pirates: Hands-on". IGN. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  4. ^ "Sid Meier's Pirates!". Xbox. Archived from the original on May 17, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  5. ^ "2K Announces Sid Meier's Pirates! Now Available for the PSP". Business Wire. January 23, 2007. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2022 – via The Free Library.
  6. ^ Cohen, Peter (August 1, 2008). "Sid Meier's Pirates set to plunder the Mac". Macworld. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  7. ^ Dutton, Fred (September 30, 2010). "Golden Sun: Dark Dawn gets UK date". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  8. ^ Kozanecki, James (October 5, 2010). "AU Shippin' Out October 5-8: Enslaved". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  9. ^ Sinhaseni, Charlie (September 28, 2010). "Set Sail for Adventure With 2K Games' Sid Meier's Pirates!™ for Wii". Pure Nintendo. Archived from the original on July 3, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  10. ^ Davison, Pete (July 20, 2011). "Sid Meier's Pirates returns on iPad Thursday". Macworld. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  11. ^ Calimlim, Aldrin (April 20, 2012). "Sid Meier's Pirates! Finally Sails To The iPhone". AppAdvice. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  12. ^ Suyomizzle (April 11, 2012). "Windows Phone 7 Release: April 11th, 2012". TrueAchievements. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  13. ^ Surette, Tim (May 2, 2005). "2K Games claims Pirates!". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  14. ^ "Sid Meier's Pirates! for Mac Feral Interactive". Archived from the original on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2011-08-18.


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