Gaming Piracy hurts the pirate most?, yet another piracy discussion

[WiiUBricker]

I admit, I am a dirty hypocrite little pirate who has downloaded roms and played them via an emulator, whether I owned them elsewhere or not doesn't matter. A pirate is a pirate. As such, I also experienced the effect I don't really know how it's called, "piracy syndrom","piracy effect", "you are a hypocrite effect" etc. The effect is that you don't enjoy games anymore because you know you can have them all. In the past, games meant something to you. They were holy and have been worshipped. But now you feel like there is nothing special anymore about games. You feel demotivated to finish a game or even start it.

The DS is the worst of them all. I remember the day when I picked up my first DS prior to anticipating its release for months. It was very special. My first DS game was Mario Kart. You felt excited to hold your first DS case in your hands, open it and sniff inside the case (because it sniffed awesome). Today, DS games are nothing but 128MB of data through your internet connection.

3DS saves gaming?

Then the 3DS arrived at the scene. I picked it up, lost interest in it due to no games and finally sold it. A couple of months ago I picked up a new 3DS (XL) and a copy of Zelda. Then Mario 3D, then Mario Kart, then VLR, then Resident Evil Revelations, then Tales of the Abyss, then Resident Evil the Mercenaries, then Metal Gear Solid 3D, then a couple of VC games, then Gunman Clive etc. For the first time since years I actually enjoyed games. Heck, call me crazy, I actually bought a few games twice, a retail version to worship in the shelf and a download version to play it. What happened?

I realized that the 3DS brought back value to games. You appreciate games more and treat them like your personal treasures. Like in the good old days. Perhaps it's related to how games on the 3DS menu are presented to you. Just a couple of days ago I picked up Mega Man 4 from the eShop (my favorite Mega Man) despite the fact that I own it in the Wii's VC and played it to death. And still I enjoy playing this game and plan to pick up all the other games from the series.

I'm not really sure if I want the device that made me appreciate games again, to be hacked anytime soon. Emulators are available on the DS, Wii, vWii and the PSP, Homebrew applications are available on the DS, Wii, vWii and PSP as well. The only thing that hurts is the region lock, but it's a price I am willing to pay if it means to retain the treasure feeling for games.

That ultimately leads us to this thread's question.

 

[Arras]

Actually Steam and its sales have the same effect. On me at least. But that's actually worse because those games cost money.

 

[PityOnU]

Eh. It's not so much that you don't appreciate a good game anymore, it's that you don't HAVE to appreciate it.

As a general rule, any adult gamer could buy any game they wanted whenever. That's no different. That's why games seemed much better when we were younger - the new game your parents just got HAD to be awesome because you weren't getting another one for a while.

 

[Haloman800]

Even if the 3DS is hacked, that doesn't force you to hack your own and/or pirate games. If it is hacked and that somehow makes you value games less, that's just silly.

I know what you're talking about. I am kind of glad about piracy syndrome, I have more time to do other things now, and I occasionally still play video games.

 

[Cyan]

I buy games, and I don't even play/complete them.
nothing to do with piracy or having lost interest, I'm more in a "I would like to play, but I don't take the time to do it".
I'm doing other things now that I didn't when I was a kid. as a kid, I could play 18h/day everyday. I can't do that anymore.

As I'm slow as hell to play games I own, new one are released that I really want to play before I had time to complete the previous one.
Internet and media is also advertising too many games now. you want to try as much as you can, but in the past you hardly knew about all of the available games if you didn't buy specialized magazines.

In 1990, we had access only to few games (even less in Europe), I had time to complete my games at least 4 times before I could buy a new one. I had time to decide which one will be the next one, and it had to be carefully chosen as you didn't had enough money to make a wrong choice.

Piracy syndrome also exist without piracy. You just have access to a too big library and less time to play them. it's also called making choices and having priorities.


edit:
Also, why the hell do I like Adventure/RPG games? they are toooo long to complete.
If only fighting, racing and sports games were my favorites!

 

[Wizerzak]

I have 164 games on steam. I have only played 66 of those. And those aren't pirated games, I have actually bought them.

To top it off, recently I have pirated quite a few PC games and played them through to completion (Tomb Raider a prime example).

 

[Foxi4]

The price point I have to meet when acquiring games in no way determines my approach to them - if anything, the lower it is the larger the variety, and with a large variety comes a broader horizon and more elaborate expectations.

While it is true that the attachment rate towards pirated games may very well be lower than to storebought ones, but that's only because when the games are literally free, you fish out the good ones and don't waste your time on mediocre titles.

On the other end of the scale are games that you pay a lot for that end up being disappointing to no end. Think about blunders like "Aliens: Colonial Marines" where the final game was literally worse than its demo - imagine you paid money for that.

Gamers generally tend to feel more forgiving for a given game's shortcomings when they bought it, but that's only because they wish to validate that their purchase was a good idea - more often than not, the same game when received for free wouldn't be given much attention. Pirates don't have that problem at all - they don't have to play a game that doesn't fully satisfy them, there's hundreds of other games they can get and the only expense on their end was the waste of bandwidth.

 

[Rizsparky]

Iv'e learnt that i appreciate games much much more when I buy them, its come to a point that I prefer to buy all my games now..

 

[BrightNeko]

I came here expecting a completely different discussion, but this is something not entirely linked to piracy. Games like any form of media can be over done and used letting the user experience burn out. With games it is easier due to the people playing actually having to set time aside and do something. Unlike movies, music, or watching TV where it is in short burst, games take hours up of your time. So with piracy you get more, faster, and harder than before than if you were straight up buying the games. Making that burn out come way faster.

As for appreciating games less, experiencing more doesn't do that. Not paying for them has a hand in it, but the lack of appreciation usually comes from taste changing over time. It may also come from burn out, variety is best. This all is however just what I think, for you I could be completely way off base.

Keep in mind though that not all aspects of piracy are bad. Plenty of games never come out in X language, translations are always awesome, and region locking is a horrible thing.

 

[Foxi4]

Iv'e learnt that i appreciate games much much more when I buy them, its come to a point that I prefer to buy all my games now..

It's a mental thing. So you're at the register, you dish out $60 for a brand new game (or whatever amount of money you're willing to spend on a game tops) and you have the mindset of "this better be good cause it cost me quite a bit" and... well, it does, because that's your mindset. You have a horizon of expectations prepared for enjoying the game and if the game so much as meets it, you're happy... unless the title is literally abyssmal.

With piracy, you expect nothing, you value the game upon its own merit, not the price point you got it for. You don't have the "this better be good" thought on your mind because deep down you don't particularily care whether it's good or not unless you were waiting for it, and even then it has lesser value to you because you didn't pay for it.

You're enjoying the whole ritual of buying rather than the game proper.

 

[FAST6191]

Whether a cure or that I am just immune remains to be debated but I have never had this (and I have had basically unlimited/more content than I have hours in the day* levels of content since forever). My secret as it were -- learn how things are made, learn how games are put together, learn how effects in film are done, learn how storytelling works, learn how maths plays into your games and so forth. Consider everything from those perspectives and yeah, I should also note that I have basically never bothered to learn names of artists, directors, musicians, authors, developers.... despite liking a lot of their works.

*then and now a not inconsiderable amount of a time.

The only downside thus far is I am so very far from arbiter of good taste that I can not be relied upon for such matters, this is not to say I can not pick good things but it is about a 70/30 split at this point. However as "good taste" seems to be defined as "I will know it when I see it" then all is good.

 

[Clydefrosch]

i had that problem for about 2 days.
then i just played my games like i always did

 

[chyyran]

Like others said before, Pirate's Syndrome doesn't have to be actual piracy. Of course, my first bout with it was with DS Flashcarts, then Steam, with legit games.

It also happens with things like TV Shows and Movies as well. I've downloaded about 30 shows, have yet to watch more than half.

 

[DS1]

Great discussion, I've often thought about this and how it affects people's (specifically rom communities) reactions and opinions of certain games.

Honestly, the only way I've been able to gain an attachment/appreciation to/for some of the more mediocre DS/PSP releases is by writing translations and guides for them. As for those that are truly great, I bought real copies of them. Not brand new, because it's way too late, real copies nonetheless because I really wanted to own them. Ditto games on GOG or Steam, where my purchases actually (supposedly?) help the original developers. Hell, even though Steam games never work for me, I'll drop 10-15 on it if it's something I enjoyed in the past and want to support.

And then comes the PS3, the big boy adult system I got for busting my hump for the man. Honestly most of the games I've bought for it I only enjoy marginally more (sometimes less) than those I've pirated but that really makes the stand-out games... stand out. Sure, you try to appreciate the games you paid for more, but when you've got the money to spare, it's no better than piracy (see PityOnU's post).

 

[tbgtbg]

Sounds like having too much available is the only "hurt" here, piracy is just the means by which one may acquire "too much".

 

[Ra1d]

Frankly for me neither piracy nor buying the game matters.

I play my games only after i see the gameplay on youtube or something like that,I don't go to a store and buy a random game or just download any game,this game has to be worth my time.
I played lots of games and i can see what based on my taste will be entertaining and what not.

 

[dickfour]

Maybe it's all in your head. I enjoy games movies music books and programs a lot more when I don't pay for them and my wallet is fatter but I'm disciplined when it comes to picking a game and finishing it

 

[Wizerzak]

It's a mental thing. So you're at the register, you dish out $60 for a brand new game (or whatever amount of money you're willing to spend on a game tops) and you have the mindset of "this better be good cause it cost me quite a bit" and... well, it does, because that's your mindset. You have a horizon of expectations prepared for enjoying the game and if the game so much as meets it, you're happy... unless the title is literally abyssmal.

With piracy, you expect nothing, you value the game upon its own merit, not the price point you got it for. You don't have the "this better be good" thought on your mind because deep down you don't particularily care whether it's good or not unless you were waiting for it, and even then it has lesser value to you because you didn't pay for it.

You're enjoying the whole ritual of buying rather than the game proper.

Yep, refer to this Wikipedia article - Post-purchase rationalisation. People tend to enjoy things much more / feel the need to justify their choices if they have purchased the game instead of obtaining it for free.

 

[RedCoreZero]

When I buy a game I play it.I pick games I like,only one purchase made me regret it,Mario Party 9.I don't complete games 100% because I would need a guide to do that and that ruins the experience, right?

 

[Harsky]

In my opinion I think what has changed the most is the spare time I had compared to my highschool years. There was a time when I could play legit GBA games, then jump onto a SNES/NES emulator and then play some Gamecube games or PSX ISOs on my PSone within the same weekend but nowadays it's mostly restricted to something I can manage an hour or two a week. Piracy syndrome hit me hard on the DS. At first it was me playing games that interested me but never really had me reaching the wallet but then it got to a point where if it doesn't entertain me after 30 minutes, then I'm moving onto the next one. This meant that I missed out on a few RPGs because I was too eager to see what the next rom is like.

The 3DS has kinda revived my interest in actually reading up and researching on what I want to buy and wondering which one is worth buying at my local gamestore. As ISOs are getting bigger and bigger but my internet speed is stuck at 3Mb for the past 8 years with fibre broadband not on the card anytime soon, I think I might as well atone for all my past piracy habits and actually go legit.