Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004 video game)

Sid Meier's Pirates!
DeveloperFiraxis Games
Publishers
ProducerBarry Caudill
DesignerSid Meier
ProgrammerDon Wuenschell
ArtistsJerome J. Atherholt
Marc Hudgins
Dennis Moellers
ComposersMark Cromer
Michael Curran
EngineGamebryo
PlatformsWindows, Xbox, PlayStation Portable, Mac OS X, Wii, iOS, Windows Phone
Release
November 22, 2004
  • Windows
    • NA: November 22, 2004
    • PAL: December 3, 2004
  • Xbox
    • NA: July 11, 2005
    • EU: July 22, 2005
    • AU: July 29, 2005
  • PlayStation Portable
    • NA: January 23, 2007
    • EU: March 9, 2007
    • AU: March 16, 2007
  • OS X
  • August 29, 2008
  • Wii
    • NA: September 28, 2010
    • PAL: October 8, 2010
  • iPad
  • July 21, 2011
  • Windows Phone
  • April 11, 2012
GenresAction-adventure, strategy
ModeSingle-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.

Overall, the gameplay remains very 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 minigame 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, since 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 modified gameplay mechanisms and was developed by Full Fat in collaboration with Firaxis Games. The Mac OS X version was released in August 2008 by Feral Interactive. The Wii version was released on September 28, 2010.

A mobile version has been released by Oasys Mobile. The iPad version 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.