Kalisto (warez group)

Kalisto is a console warez group established in March 1998,[1] a subsidiary of Fairlight,[2] which specializes in the release and distribution of PlayStation (PS1) and PlayStation 2 (PS2) ISO images, briefly moonlighting on the Dreamcast platform in mid to late 2000.

Kalisto logo by eNf

Kalisto and the Dreamcast

Kalisto entered into the Dreamcast scene on June 26, 2000 with the release of the title Evolution: The World of Sacred Device.[3] By August 19, 2000, Kalisto had determined how to rip and redistribute Dreamcast GD-ROMs as CD-ROM ISOs without the need for a swappable "bootdisk" CD-ROM.[4] A few weeks later, with their release of Ganbare! Nippon! Olympics 2000 on September 2, 2000, Kalisto claimed that Sega provided a financial incentive for them to stop releasing games for the Dreamcast platform:[5]

Sega has offered us stock options to stop releasing DC, so this will be it, our last release. Thanks to all who have supported us throughout our stay in the DC scene. Take note this is NOT a joke. We are really stopping all DC operations with this release. We will continue on with the PSX. Bye.

While the claim of stock options was allegedly a joke,[1] Kalisto ceased all releases for the Dreamcast shortly after and focused on PlayStation games. (although Kalisto did return for one final rip and released the U.S. version of Shenmue on November 9, 2000)[6][7] A new group called Echelon emerged on September 4, 2000, picking up the slack to later become the leading release group for the Dreamcast.[8][9] At the time of this transition, there was much speculation that Kalisto and Echelon were one and the same. On September 19, 2000 Echelon releases the Dreamcast Self-Booting Tutorial with which it was possible to make Self-boot Dreamcast disks that work on the Dreamcast without the need of the Utopia Boot-Disk.[10] It was later revealed on November 15, 2005, in Echelon's Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King American PS2 nfo, that Echelon was indeed Kalisto. The nfo stated "We errr Kalisto released it on November 2nd 2001 as Dragon_Warrior_VII_USA_PS1-KALISTO", referring to the previous game in the series and then the nfo ended with -- the dragon warrior of KALiSTO.[11]

In 2004, Kalisto was named as one of six groups targeted as part of Operation Fastlink by the United States Department of Justice.[12] The group lost a major archive site that was located in the Netherlands.[13] Their supplier Seth "Basilisk" Kleinberg was arrested in the process.[14]

See also

References
  1. KALISTO (2003-02-27). "Xenosaga_Episode_One_5th_Year_Anniversary_Release_USA_PS2DVD-KALISTO". Kalisto started back in March 1998 with 3 core members. [...] Our infamous Sega Stock Options hoax {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  2. Basamanowicz, Jonathan; Bouchard, Martin (2011). "Overcoming the Warez Paradox: Online Piracy Groups and Situational Crime Prevention" (PDF). Policy & Internet. 3 (2): 79. doi:10.2202/1944-2866.1125.
  3. KALISTO (2000-06-25). "Evolution_The_World_of_Sacred_Device_DC-KALISTO". The iSONEWS. Archived from the original on 2005-05-24. Have fun with our first DC release
  4. KALISTO (2000-08-19). "Dynamite_Cop_SELF_BOOTING_DC-KALISTO". The iSONEWS. Archived from the original on 2005-05-24. today we present you the first SELF BOOTABLE game for your Dreamcast
  5. KALISTO (2000-09-02). "Ganbare_Nippon_Olympics_2000_JAP_DC-KALISTO". The iSONEWS. Archived from the original on 2005-05-24.
  6. KALISTO (2000-11-09). "Shenmue_USA_DC-KALISTO". Archived from the original on 2015-12-19. Since ECHELON didn't do this one yet, we felt the need to fill the void. [...] you have to understand that we are retired in the DC scene, and this is out of the ordinary for us.
  7. KALISTO (2000-11-10). "Shenmue_Passport_USA_DC-KALISTO". As promised earlier, here's the Shenmue Passport disc.
  8. ECHELON (2000-07-04). "Flag_To_Flag_Cart_Racing_USA_DC-ECHELON". The iSONEWS. Archived from the original on 2005-05-24. And a new group breaks into the bustling Dreamcast scene. We had the skills to do most things that KALISTO has done while they were doing it, but hey, why bother if they're doing all releases already? Now that KALISTO has stopped, we thought it would be a good time to emerge and start releasing for the public.
  9. Ludibria. "Dreamcast Releases iNFO". Ludibria. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
  10. "Dreamcast Self-Booting Tutorial from Echelon". Neperos. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  11. "Dragon_Quest_VIII_USA_PS2-ECHELON". LUDiBRiA. 2005-11-16. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
  12. "Justice Department Announces International Internet Piracy Sweep". Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Justice. 2004-04-22. Archived from the original on 2009-05-31. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
  13. Craig, Paul; Ron, Mark (April 2005). "Chapter 9: Piracy and the Law". In Burnett, Mark (ed.). Software Piracy Exposed - Secrets from the Dark Side Revealed. Publisher: Andrew Williams, Page Layout and Art: Patricia Lupien, Acquisitions Editor: Jaime Quigley, Copy Editor: Judy Eby, Technical Editor: Mark Burnett, Indexer: Nara Wood, Cover Designer: Michael Kavish. United States of America: Syngress Publishing. pp. 199–200. doi:10.1016/B978-193226698-6/50033-7. ISBN 1-932266-98-4. In cooperation with U.S. customs agents, the Dutch anti-piracy group Fiscal and Economic Crime Service (FIOD-ECD) raided 20 universities within the Netherlands. The groups FairLight and Kalisto had significant European resources and many key sites hosted at technical universities within the Netherlands. The Netherlands is infamous for its fast and abundant bandwidth. Two topsites were detained from local universities along with one major archive site belonging to the Kalisto group.
  14. Craig, Paul; Ron, Mark (2005). "Chapter 9: Piracy and the Law". Software Piracy Exposed - Secrets from the Dark Side Revealed. p. 202. Seth Kleinberg, executive Editor of www.game-over.net, a PC and console game-reviewing Web site, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement. Seth faces a maximum sentence of ten years with additional costs for the damage he caused the software industry. Seth, or Basilisk as he was known in the scene, was a supplier and cracker for the group FairLight and a supplier of console games to another group called Kalisto. Seth was supplying titles that were given to www.game-over.net as review copies. Being able to supply such a large stream of releases helped Seth become a senior member in FairLight and a leading supplier in Kalisto.
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