Piracy Poll

[dowekeller]

I voted option 1, but I really have a problem with the phrase "down with piracy". First off, I have a problem with the word "piracy" in association with illegally copying copyrighted materials. A pirate is a thief and a murderer. Piracy is, and should be, a capitol offense. Illegally copying software however is not a violent crime, and isn't really theft. For instance, if I steal your car, you don't have a car anymore, but if I illegally copy some game, nobody has lost the game. It only approaches the level of theft if I otherwise would have purchased the game legitimately. Illegally copying software for personal use should be a misdemeanor.

That said, I don't illegally copy music, movies or software. I only have one store-bought game (The Sims 2 (worth every penny)), I mostly use free software and games and find that they can be quite enjoyable.

In closing, let's try not to confuse people who illegally copy copyrighted material (a little bit bad) with people who murder, rape, and steal on the high seas (way bad), Mkay?

[KrazyKain]

I used to be quite the pirate but i've changed my ways... i used to think piracy hurts nobody then the guys who released Titan Quest closed down due to piracy...

altough piracy on big publisher like EA doesnt bother me (I dont do it tho), its when independant devs are pirated that i really get pissed off.. world of goo.. 2 developers worked their asses off on that game, and they are asking for 10 euro... buy it you cheap bastards!!

i chose the second option however because i used to pirated DS games alot..and theres many which i like enough to not be able to delete but not enough to buy... so i still have them

[onikrulz]

I think piracy's just a matter of availability and affordability. It started from developing countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Norway etc. There are many countries where original copies of games aren't distributed.

When imported, those games cost a lot more in converted currency. Hence, when people see a pirated dvd of the same game they go for that cheaper copy. Obviously we all know there are gamers across the globe from Asia to South America. The best thing I liked is Zeno Clash's developer's approach.

He said 'If you like this game please buy it' to torrent sites. Most developers make more and more protection measures that sometimes make hardware crash or malfunction or perform poorly. Thing is developers can overcome it if they distributed to more countries at those countries' affordability range. Imported copies conversion etc lifts the price bar making pirated copies look like gold (pun).

Piracy isnt the problem, gamers across the globe being able to afford the games is the problem thats where Piracy is like Robin Hood. I voted for 3rd option I do have pirated software. Piracy isnt really taking someone else's property, pirates are basically providing the same product for cheaper and getting the money gamers keep for developers.

The replies to Zeno Clash at torrent sites were tremendously positive, many users who downloaded the pirated copy for free replied back saying they bought the original copy of it.

[AlazarRamir]

Aaarrr me hearty.

I tend to buy independent games if they are really worth my dosh. I figure companies such as EA games won't mind a tiny hole in their pocket.

[Thund3rball]

I think it's very hard to argue with "try before you buy"... If that's how torrented games are being used. Studies have been published showing that in the music industry, the people doing all the "pirating" are also the people spending the most money on music. So ... what does that tell you? It says that they are the most dedicated enthusiasts. They are the music industries most loyal customers. They know there shit and they aren't going to shell out cash for crap. IMO, this is likely the case for game piracy too.

Publishers release less and less demos and game review sites are notorious for printing advertorial style reviews. The only games that get a fair review are the ones that don't prop up these sites with advertising dollars. Piracy is the crutch the publishers are using to:

1. Eliminate the used game market, not piracy.
2. Pass off poor game sales to piracy as opposed to lack of the game actually being good.

Having said all that I am not a large perpetrator of piracy. I do my research and pretty much know which games I will like which I won't and the ones that slip through cracks... oh well lesson learned and I will be twice as vigilant with that developer and/or publisher next time.

Torrent sites are digital media consumers best tool for caveat emptor (buyer beware) and THAT"S what is pissing the content creators off. We don't have to buy the crap to find out it's crap.

[onikrulz]

I wrote an article on Piracy and what I think about it over here:

http://onikrulz.gamerdna.com/game_post/Mnk8mc/piracy-2

It kind of emphasizes on how piracy can be overcome. Its from personal experience.

[redknightalex]

I do admit that I've pirated games in the past, and I still do today, but by far the majority of games I play and love are ones I have bought myself. Usually I need to wait for a price drop but it always feels a lot better buying the games I really like than just downloading them off the internet. Steam has made it much easier to buy games too. They have great sales, sometimes games going for only $10 US apiece, and I never need to worry about losing a disc or having it in the drive.

I'm not sure what has changed in my pirating practices. I did it a lot a few years ago then I guess I started to question the morals of it. At first I didn't think twice about it, I was a kid (younger than 18) who didn't have a job to pay for these things. And, most of the time, I never played the game longer than an hour. I just wanted the novelty of trying out a new game, especially one that had just come out. I suppose, as I got older, I realized that piracy is stealing. I consider myself a good person, one with principles, and this, as you can imagine, didn't go down well for me. I haven't stopped piracy altogether because of an argument I heard some time ago (and, sometimes, I just want to be selfish).

The argument goes like this: when someone pirates a game the publisher doesn't get any money. When someone buys a game used the publisher doesn't get any money from the second person to own the copy, just as if the second person pirated the game. Where's the difference? I understand the different in buying a used copy of a game and pirating, one is legal the other isn't, but how does the game companies profit from a used game? Should I feel just as bad about buying a used game as from pirating? Logically, no, but in terms of giving the creator his/her due, yes. Where is the line drawn in respect to giving due (which is the whole purpose behind buying a game as opposed to pirating it)?

Yes, I understand that this is just another justification for pirating however I find it an intriguing argument that is fun to play with. And I just like being devil's advocate sometimes. I like buying used games, it's easier on my wallet and very legal, except the game companies hate it. It's almost like used textbooks. When it comes to textbooks, however, I wouldn't mind pirating those things if I could. 7th edition of a calculus book when the sixth came out six months ago?! Calculus hasn't changed in hundreds of years. Ugh!

[KrazyKain]

I noticed you mentioned the PUBLISHERS getting the money.. now you see that is why i prefer independant games..

personally i would rather pirate the game, then donate money direct to the developers because they deserve the money, not the publisher.

in fact.. with the ease of digital distribution nowadays i'm wondering if video game publishers will ever become obsolete

[redknightalex]

Originally Posted by KrazyKain

I noticed you mentioned the PUBLISHERS getting the money.. now you see that is why i prefer independant games..

personally i would rather pirate the game, then donate money direct to the developers because they deserve the money, not the publisher.

in fact.. with the ease of digital distribution nowadays i'm wondering if video game publishers will ever become obsolete

Mmm, you're right. I meant to say developers except it's the publishers that get most of the money (or the retailers in the case of buying them at stores like Best Buy. When I learned how much of a share they get whenever I purchased a game from them I got really mad. I don't want BB to have my money!) The whole system is much like the music industry, an annoying system if I ever saw one.

A lot of people are talking about donating the money direct to the developers. This is the first time I've heard of such a thing. How do you go about doing this? Is there an easy way to find them?

[Thund3rball]

Buying 2nd hand games should be as natural as buying anything else 2nd hand (books, furniture, DVDs etc etc etc). The fact that publishers are trying to kill that market speaks volumes about THEIR morals!