I would love to interview as much of you as possible for my research paper

[Hells Malice]

*snippitysnip*

Is there a reason you're here critiquing everyones answers? No one gives a shit, you just look obnoxious.


Anyway,

1. How do you describe a gamer?

Anyone who considers playing videogames their hobby (or life). I'm not fussy or exclusionist about who can or can't be a gamer. We have arbitrary titles like "casual" and "hardcore" to deal with that.

2. What exactly do you consider as gaming piracy/who do you consider as a pirate?
Anyone who obtains and/or plays games through illegal means.

3. Why do you think some gamers pirate/turn to piracy? Why is that the reason?
I imagine most do simply because of a lack of funds. I pirated a lot more when I was younger because I couldn't afford every game I wanted to try, but still wanted to play them. Based on what i've seen through the years that does seem to be the case.
Though these days there does seem to be some odd sense of entitlement kids have where they think they deserve everything for nothing.

4. Do you consider a pirate an authentic gamer? Why should this pirate belong or not belong to the gamer subculture?
I don't consider the means through which a person obtains their games to matter at all. If you play games and enjoy them, you're a gamer.

6. Are there any beliefs or ideologies about gaming that differ from gamers and pirate gamers?
I'd say not. There are many, many different kinds and degrees of gamers. I don't think you can really lump all pirates together, because there are plenty of pirates who believe and understand you should buy the games you enjoy to support the industry. I myself pirate games frequently but I also have a massive collection of legit games i've bought with my own money. I try my best to support every game I can with a purchase.

7. Could piracy affect gamers as a whole?
Yes of course. I think we'd see a lot more sequels and localizations to more niche titles if they were pirated less. Piracy doesn't affect the really popular titles, but I guarantee it takes more of a toll on the smaller ones. Of course not every pirated game equals a lost sale, but sales ARE lost to piracy.

8. Do you dislike or like gaming piracy? Explain.
As a whole? No. I do think it provides an opportunity for people who don't have bottomless funds to play a wider variety of games. Not only that but it's possible to 'demo' a game and may even give a title a sale it may not have gotten otherwise. On PS3 one of the first games I pirated was Valkyria Chronicles. I really wasn't sure about it based on what I had seen... well not only did it turn out to be my favorite game of all time, but I immediately went out and bought a new sealed copy of it and continued to support the series after that. At the same time I dislike the "i'm entitled to play this for free and will never pay for anything." attitude. That's something that needs to die.

9. What connotations have gamers been associated with as a result of gamer pirates’ practices?
I really don't think piracy is a well known thing outside of gaming culture, so I doubt many people label or condemn gamers as a whole because of the actions of pirates. Within the gaming culture we're all pretty aware that not everyone is a pirate.

10. Has piracy ever played a role in building a relationship/bond with another gamer in your lifetime? Could you tell us about the experience? If not, do you think it’s possible? Why?
Piracy specifically? Well, no. I don't see how it would. The closest possible example I can think of is meeting several of my friends (and my first girlfriend) via a Ragnarok Online private server. I'm not entirely convinced private servers count as piracy however. That's about all i've got.

11. Does piracy play a role in gamer relationships? How?
Yes actually. My friend is very much against piracy in general and so we do tend to bicker back and forth over the fact I do pirate games. I wouldn't say it plays a huge role but there is that small bit of tension there.

12. Are your bonds stronger with gamers than they are with others in your life? Why? What is the foundation of this gamer-gamer relationship? Are any of these gamers pirates?
Pretty much all of the friends i've ever had have been gamers I met online. Not only that but of the people i've met in real life and been friends with, I can name one person who isn't a gamer, and her and I are just work friends. So yes i'd say my bonds with gamers are much stronger, because I can hardly associate with people outside of that hobby. I don't do a whole lot else.

13. Who do you believe shapes a bigger percentage of gamer population: pirates or gamers?
I would say pirates are very much a minority. Though I would like to say the question should be phrased "pirates or non-pirates" as it currently pushes the ideal that pirates aren't gamers, which is very much untrue.
But anyway, I know many many more non-pirates than I do pirates. While it may seem like pirates reign dominant in places like gbatemp or other similar places, it's simply the scene GBAtemp is heavily involved with. So it attracts plenty of pirates. Hell a lot of us here probably have our first posts or thread being us asking some really stupid piracy related question.

 

[FAST6191]

Is there a reason you're here critiquing everyones answers? No one gives a shit, you just look obnoxious.

Have I done something to get up your snout lately or something? As for why I am querying certain things... if you post something on a public forum then expect to have it queried at some level. It is kind of how this forum thing works. Admittedly the OP is using this thread as a survey but I do not imagine filtering out my later posts will pose much of a problem.

 

[infinete]

1. How do you describe a gamer?
Someone who spends the majority of their spare time, playing computer games.

2. What exactly do you consider as gaming piracy/who do you consider as a pirate?
The playing of games for free, which were never intended to be free, by means which is outside the norms of how the console/device was intended to be used.

3. Why do you think some gamers pirate/turn to piracy? Why is that the reason?
Reasons from finances to "just because I can" to piracy addiction.

4. Do you consider a pirate an authentic gamer? Why should this pirate belong or not belong to the gamer subculture?
I do consider a pirate to be a gamer, as in essence, they are still playing the same games as everyone else.

6. Are there any beliefs or ideologies about gaming that differ from gamers and pirate gamers?
If a game sells well, more of it's kind will appear.

7. Could piracy affect gamers as a whole?
At current, no. If it became as easy as buttering bread, maybe.

8. Do you dislike or like gaming piracy? Explain.
I do not think it currently affects most gamers and so I am not bothered by it and have done it.

9. What connotations have gamers been associated with as a result of gamer pirates’ practices?
Thief, rebelion

10. Has piracy ever played a role in building a relationship/bond with another gamer in your lifetime? Could you tell us about the experience? If not, do you think it’s possible? Why?
Everytime I hacked a psp or set up a flashcart I bonded with those I did it for.

11. Does piracy play a role in gamer relationships? How?
Only for those who are extremely anti-piracy

12. Are your bonds stronger with gamers than they are with others in your life? Why? What is the foundation of this gamer-gamer relationship? Are any of these gamers pirates?
Yes, we have more in common, we spend more time together (i.e online), we can joke around more. some are or have been pirates.

13. Who do you believe shapes a bigger percentage of gamer population: pirates or gamers?
Gamers, by far.

 

[Par39]

11. Does piracy play a role in gamer relationships? How?
Yes actually. My friend is very much against piracy in general and so we do tend to bicker back and forth over the fact I do pirate games. I wouldn't say it plays a huge role but there is that small bit of tension there

Hey, I only complain when you either a) can afford the game since it's really cheap and like it but aren't buying or b) when you have a copy in your Steam Inventory to give as a gift and are still using the pirated version <.< You say you'll buy most of the games you like, I'm just prodding you to get it done.

 

[duffmmann]

Hello gbatemp,
1. How do you describe a gamer?
2. What exactly do you consider as gaming piracy/who do you consider as a pirate?
3. Why do you think some gamers pirate/turn to piracy? Why is that the reason?
4. Do you consider a pirate an authentic gamer? Why should this pirate belong or not belong to the gamer subculture?
6. Are there any beliefs or ideologies about gaming that differ from gamers and pirate gamers?
7. Could piracy affect gamers as a whole?
8. Do you dislike or like gaming piracy? Explain.
9. What connotations have gamers been associated with as a result of gamer pirates’ practices?
10. Has piracy ever played a role in building a relationship/bond with another gamer in your lifetime? Could you tell us about the experience? If not, do you think it’s possible? Why?
11. Does piracy play a role in gamer relationships? How?
12. Are your bonds stronger with gamers than they are with others in your life? Why? What is the foundation of this gamer-gamer relationship? Are any of these gamers pirates?
13. Who do you believe shapes a bigger percentage of gamer population: pirates or gamers?

1. Anyone who genuinely enjoys playing video games and does so regularly.
2. Playing any game that you downloaded for free (that wasn't available for free) or copied that you never owned to begin with.
3. Absolutely. Multiple reasons, low on money, game looks fun but not for the amount of money they're requesting, and often to try out the game (if demos aren't offered) to see if they actually do want to buy it.
4. Of course, the fact that you priate a game, doesn't mean you enjoy the game any less, can't be any less invested in the game, or should be seen as less of a threat in multiplayer games. There is no correlation between whether a person is a gamer and the means by which they are playing any game in question. This kind of comparison would be like trying to say that someone who stole money unbeknownst to any of us and is by extension a millionaire. We may not want to acknowledge that person is a millionaire, but you can't deny what they are. Furthermore, just like many pirates you may play an online game with, you likely have no idea that the way they achieved their riches wasn't genuine.
5... err 6. Probably. Pirates probably for the most part don't see the harm in obtaining digital content for free. Doesn't help we live in an age where the lines are being blurred thanks to services like Spotify and Netflix offering all the music and movies for free/at a very low monthly fee.
7. Could, but I don't see it happening. Fact is, piracy typically doesn't impact projected sales in the slightest. The amount of pirates there are versus people that buy the games genuinely is very very small, and doesn't seem to be growing a rate of concern. Not yet anyway, maybe in another decade or two there could be a shift here, but I don't see it happening.
8. Neutral. Pirates don't affect the quality of a game or affect the content of someone else playing with them who obtained their game legally. Cheaters and hackers do, and often these groups can overlap, but they are not directly related.
9. Are there any? I'm sure if I looked around, I could find a small group of people that somehow thinks piracy is affecting their reputation as a gamer, but I've not seen it. Fact is, the majority of casual gamers are likely unaware that piracy is even an issue to begin with for video games.
10. Can't say it has, and I don't really see how much it could. Most pirates know what they're doing or are following some sort of tutorial so they can know what they are doing. They may have a few questions at first, but beyond that, the pirate operates alone in what he does to play his games. Sure they may be thankful for help online and even offer some in turn later, but I don't see how much of a relationship or bond that can form beyond being friendly in a forum to each other. But I wouldn't complete discount the possibility of the idea either though.
11. No. It really doesn't. In fact there is no reason why a gamer who paid for their game legit and playing online with a gamer who pirated their game should even know that the person they're playing with pirated their game to begin with. If they made a point to tell them, then sure, it could have a role on a relationship, but inherently, no.
12. This question seems dumb to me. I have bonds with many people in my life for many different reasons, all of them are different degrees of being a strong bond. While my bond with one person who happens to be a gamer may be very strong, I may also have a bond with another person who happens to be a gamer that is very weak. It's not a matter of gaming being the only way to bond with a person, relationships are fare more complex than that. We can bond over anything and everything. I love to death some people in my life that don't game, while I hate people in life that don't game, but the same is true for people that do game as well.
13. This question is null and void because you assume that my answer to question 4 would be that pirates aren't gamers. But my answer to question 4 is that pirates absolutely can be gamers. So your choice is what makes a bigger percentage of gamers: gamers or gamers. I'm gonna go with gamers for that one. Now if you're trying to ask pirates or those that bought the game legit. It's those that bought the game legit, I mean there are stats that back this up big time. The number of people that pirate games versus buy them is significantly low (I already said this, but it again applies here).

 

[placebooooo]

Have I done something to get up your snout lately or something? As for why I am querying certain things... if you post something on a public forum then expect to have it queried at some level. It is kind of how this forum thing works. Admittedly the OP is using this thread as a survey but I do not imagine filtering out my later posts will pose much of a problem.

No worries. Not a problem at all

 

[Hyro-Sama]

1. How do you describe a gamer?

A hobbyist.

2. What exactly do you consider as gaming piracy/who do you consider as a pirate?

Anyone who circumvents legal avenues of acquiring games.

3. Why do you think some gamers pirate/turn to piracy? Why is that the reason?

Lack of service and/or unreasonably expensive services.

4. Do you consider a pirate an authentic gamer? Why should this pirate belong or not belong to the gamer subculture?

Yes. If gaming is their primary hobby, they will most likely pirate. Arguably, pirates are more "gamers" then supposed gamers.

6. Are there any beliefs or ideologies about gaming that differ from gamers and pirate gamers?

Not sure. Maybe they would have differing opinions about consumerism? Since gamers will bite the bullet and pirates don't.

7. Could piracy affect gamers as a whole?

Yes. For example, anti-piracy measures like DRM affects everyone. Not just pirates.

8. Do you dislike or like gaming piracy? Explain.

I like piracy because it's free and easy most of the time. I can play the games that I want when I want whenever I want to.

9. What connotations have gamers been associated with as a result of gamer pirates’ practices?

Not really sure. Thieves, I guess? Although, piracy isn't thief.

10. Has piracy ever played a role in building a relationship/bond with another gamer in your lifetime? Could you tell us about the experience? If not, do you think it’s possible? Why?

I've put in a lot of hours in my Wii with friends that I wouldn't have originally if it wasn't hacked. Any time we wanted to play a different game I could just download it with ease.

11. Does piracy play a role in gamer relationships? How?

Of course. Two people sharing similar interests and hobbies are more likely to connect.

12. Are your bonds stronger with gamers than they are with others in your life? Why? What is the foundation of this gamer-gamer relationship? Are any of these gamers pirates?

I wouldn't say my relationships with gamers are stronger than others, but they are easier to talk to since we share similar interests. I only know of two other people in my life that use piracy on a regular occurrence. Others are legit.

13. Who do you believe shapes a bigger percentage of gamer population: pirates or gamers?

Gamers. Piracy isn't all that common. Most gamers I know in real life don't pirate at all or even know it's out there.

 

[Ashtonx]

When I can play a full native version of final fantasy 6 on my phone/tablet
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.square_enix.android_googleplay.FFVI&hl=en
ditto an entry in the broken sword series
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.revolution.BSII

(this could go on for a while)
Plus emulators that can run games from consoles and PC

Given that how does a phone/tablet represent a "weaker" option in this?

Phones have no buttons

Seriously though all the games you've mentioned are ports, ofcourse everyone has a phone, everyone will play on it. What we mean is games oriented towards phones are 90% crap, and the good ones that are actually playable usually are hidden in tons of crap

Phone ain't a platform for gaming, just cos you can use it for gaming doesn't mean it's fit for gaming. I play puzzle gamesm on my tablet from time to time. Doesn't change the fact it's a crap platform with no proper game culture and majority games are microtransation farmvile clones made to leech on idiots and children.
Calling a cellphone player a gamer is no different than calling a facebook user a gamer. Let's accept they're people who play games. However if someone actually spends a lot of time on those games he's no gamer, he's an addict that never actually played any real games. It's same as not calling those casino games addicts who keep losing money gamers.

Oh, and phones have no buttons.

 

[FAST6191]

I have no particular objection to ports, I mainly chose them there as few would object to calling them games and if they can run natively (though I would also hold being able to emulate them counts). There is a fair bit of original IP as well in the phone world, not that it matters that much. Likewise if we go by previous records you might be surprised just how many GBA and DS devs both were swayed by IOS at the end of the DS' lifetime and make android stuff today. Indeed that exodus of devs pretty much gutted the 3ds for me -- the 3ds has an incredibly weak library when compared to its predecessors.

Volume wise it could be 99.99% junk for all I care -- volume of "shovelware" makes little difference. If my arcade platform can count by virtue of having less than a dozen games but said games being "good" then it does not matter if there is a lot of junk elsewhere, well it probably does matter if you are the one running a store but at this point I am not wearing an investor hat. Alternatively in terms of pure volume of junk the PC has surely got everything else beat.

Games have actions that do the same things (a test of some kind of skill -- physical speed, physical reactions, mental acuity/tricks, some combination of the lot), even if such things can occasionally have a random element that may change things. I do not see any functional difference between a lot of facebook, android and general web games. In these cases I usually point at something like http://www.illyriad.co.uk/ and also say something like I do not see an awful lot of difference between various shmups and various tower defense games.

Not a platform for gaming, certainly not a dedicated one but neither is my PC. Not an ideal one either, at least if we come at it from the angle of traditional computer games, however not all that much is and basic industrial manufacture will probably see that be the case for decades yet.

"no proper game culture"
What does that mean? Also you might be surprised what is going on in the schools around the place. To come at it the other way what is game culture normally -- I go for literary or film criticism/culture and those in it know the field/technical side of things reasonably well, in games I often find it a significantly smaller percentage that are able to talk about an area, much less go into proper detail of something like game theory.

Buttons are but a means to an end and a tool to help things, they are certainly a good one (they are cheap, reliable, effective at the task, well understood...) but they do not change much of anything really.

 

[zeello]

If it is legal (first sale doctrine and whatever rental requirements there might be) then is it the same at a practical level?

legality matters, but whether something is illegal or not is arbitrary. Thays the way i see it, i think. It can be okay to smoke inside a restaurant in one city but not ok in another city. Even though it is the same act committed in both places. The first and foremost reason used games is OK and piracy is not is because one is legal and the other is not. Which is an important distinction. But if both were legal then it would be up to gamers how they choose to support the industry if at all.

What about emulators?

What is the difference between emulators and pirating which you are trying to invoke here?
a) the games are older
b) you presumably own the games and made backups
Is there something else I may be missing? Emulation is essentially pirating, unless its an official feature of a console such as Virtual Console.

 

[SSG Vegeta]

2. What exactly do you consider as gaming piracy ? I consider people that download current games without consent or don't plans to buy what they take as people who pirate

 

[Rocc0]

I am currently working on a research paper on gamers for one of my classes at my university. To tell you more, I am researching how piracy plays a significant role in the gamer subculture (hurts it, benefits it…etc). I would greatly appreciate it if you could answer the following interview questions below.

You might want to read this blogpost, assuming you have not already. I think it is relevant to this discussion and could be useful to your research paper.
https://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/2012/09/22/gaming-piracy-separating-fact-from-fiction

 

[FAST6191]

legality matters, but whether something is illegal or not is arbitrary. Thays the way i see it, i think. It can be okay to smoke inside a restaurant in one city but not ok in another city. Even though it is the same act committed in both places. The first and foremost reason used games is OK and piracy is not is because one is legal and the other is not. Which is an important distinction. But if both were legal then it would be up to gamers how they choose to support the industry if at all.


What is the difference between emulators and pirating which you are trying to invoke here?
a) the games are older
b) you presumably own the games and made backups
Is there something else I may be missing? Emulation is essentially pirating, unless its an official feature of a console such as Virtual Console.

That is an odd way of looking at things, I guess it will work OK (if you never break the law then you are not going to get in trouble with the law, barring misunderstandings of course, however I like to think about the base logic for them and what may modify things; there are many laws on the books that when tested in court would fall apart owing to them going against say the constitution. Usually the law is formed in response to a problem or an anticipated problem (or because of historical/religious reasons, because fines bring money or because someone made a sizeable donation to the right people, however I will leave the cynicism out of this one for now) so it can be somewhat flexible.

On smoking in a restaurant it may not be the same act in terms of the damage caused -- if I have to clean it up then I may increase my prices (or decrease an expense somewhere else) in anticipation of this expense.

The second hand games thing is in response to laws that say you can resell stuff you own, it may or may not be modified by laws regarding intellectual property but we don't have a clear ruling on the matter. Every game developer knows this when they go in so basic logic would say they can not complain about it. Piracy, by definition, is going against the license under which you can use an intellectual property and thus can be considered a loss of some form, what kind of loss is a matter for debate.

The emulators thing was in response to apex. He said you had to buy the system ("To pirate on a system, you must first buy the system") and emulators were the obvious counter to that. Another might be unlicensed clones but that gets into very odd territory.

 

[zeello]

Every game developer knows this when they go in so basic logic would say they can not complain about it.

Think of gaming industry as a ball game between two teams, consumers and companies. Each side has ways of getting an upper hand. Things like piracy however is against the rules of this ball game and therefore is cheating.

Piracy, by definition, is going against the license under which you can use an intellectual property and thus can be considered a loss of some form, what kind of loss is a matter for debate.

Whether its a loss is perhaps aside the point. Every time you borrow a game or rent it or buy it used, but end up really enjoying the game, its a financial wasted opportunity. Without money involved, that game essentially doesn't exist. The market of games is decided by money.

The emulators thing was in response to apex.

oops, my bad.
But many times the company takes a loss on system sales. So buying the console doesn't help them out much!

 

[Ubuntuの刀]

1. How do you describe a gamer?
Someone who plays Video games. Alot.

2. What exactly do you consider as gaming piracy/who do you consider as a pirate?

Someone who plays a game they didn't pay for.
EDIT: Wasn't really thinking when I answered this question. When someone obtains a game they do not have rights to owning. That seems better.

3. Why do you think some gamers pirate/turn to piracy? Why is that the reason?

Because they are broke and want to have fun now.

4. Do you consider a pirate an authentic gamer? Why should this pirate belong or not belong to the gamer subculture?

No, because an authentic gamer would pay for the rights to play that game. Even though you aren't "stealing" from the developers, you aren't contributing to the developers needs, and they need money to pay for things to live, just as much as you do. No, this pirate should not belong in the gamer subculture, for reasons stated earlier.

5. Am I going to ask a 5th question?

I think you just did.

6. Are there any beliefs or ideologies about gaming that differ from gamers and pirate gamers?

Well, no. You don't know how they got the game, and it really shouldn't matter how they got it(unless of course, they bragged about pirating the game).

7. Could piracy affect gamers as a whole?

I mean, it can to a certain degree. Piracy can slow down development of games in general, but not completely stop them.

8. Do you dislike or like gaming piracy? Explain.

I dislike piracy in general because I witness firsthand how much time and effort is required into developing each and every program created. It's not a walk in the park. You have to put hours and hours on top of hours. And it's not even just your time, it's your energy, brain power, willpower, etc. Making a game takes a lot out of you, ESPECIALLY if it's one of those fancy 3D video games where you have to put in tons of characters, monsters, items, set a theme, etc.

9. What connotations have gamers been associated with as a result of gamer pirates’ practices?

I don't understand this question.

10. Has piracy ever played a role in building a relationship/bond with another gamer in your lifetime? Could you tell us about the experience? If not, do you think it’s possible? Why?

I mean pirating a game.... Well, it isn't THAT much different from buying the game and playing it with someone else. Although I could argue that if you pay for something, you're willing to put more time and effort into that very thing you are using and that's because you don't want to feel like you've wasted your time. But if you are playing a pirated game with a friend and you both are having a jolly time and building a bond, I don't see how that could be strengthened by buying the same game and playing with a legit copy.

11. Does piracy play a role in gamer relationships? How?

I don't think it does to an extent. If you feel strongly against piracy(like how I feel), then you probably wouldn't want to surround yourself with those types of people. So yeah, I guess it would play a role in gamer relationships in that sense.

12. Are your bonds stronger with gamers than they are with others in your life?

I don't think so.

13. Who do you believe shapes a bigger percentage of gamer population: pirates or gamers?
Gamers(the ones who buy their games with their hard earned money). Companies, teams, and individuals still earn a lot of money off of their games, so I'm pretty sure it's from those who support them and are willing to spend 20-60$ for each game released.

But seriously, how could you miss question 5???

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Hello gbatemp,
I am currently working on a research paper on gamers for one of my classes at my university. To tell you more, I am researching how piracy plays a significant role in the gamer subculture (hurts it, benefits it…etc). I would greatly appreciate it if you could answer the following interview questions below.

I want to do online interviews here specifically since these forums are open to piracy, well sorta. I really love the forums and regret not joining them earlier from before. Most people are very friendly and are open to help every time I have a question to ask. So, I came with my questions here first.
I am counting on these forums as well as reddit (not sure how helpful reddit will be). So I really do appreciate the time taken in answering these. I will take every response with deep thought and consideration in meaning.
Thanks!

1. How do you describe a gamer?
2. What exactly do you consider as gaming piracy/who do you consider as a pirate?
3. Why do you think some gamers pirate/turn to piracy? Why is that the reason?
4. Do you consider a pirate an authentic gamer? Why should this pirate belong or not belong to the gamer subculture?
6. Are there any beliefs or ideologies about gaming that differ from gamers and pirate gamers?
7. Could piracy affect gamers as a whole?
8. Do you dislike or like gaming piracy? Explain.
9. What connotations have gamers been associated with as a result of gamer pirates’ practices?
10. Has piracy ever played a role in building a relationship/bond with another gamer in your lifetime? Could you tell us about the experience? If not, do you think it’s possible? Why?
11. Does piracy play a role in gamer relationships? How?
12. Are your bonds stronger with gamers than they are with others in your life? Why? What is the foundation of this gamer-gamer relationship? Are any of these gamers pirates?
13. Who do you believe shapes a bigger percentage of gamer population: pirates or gamers?

1. Someone who enjoys gaming enough to make it part of their daily routine and to want the latest and greatest.
2. Anyone downloading a game for free without buying the game after trying it.
3. Money, and convenience. Games are expensive, it's an easy way to save a lot of money, and that's probablyh the main reason. But it's also much more convenient to have all your games stored on a hard drive/memory card and not have to swap cartridges/discs all the time.
4. I don't think it makes a difference. They aren't paying for the games but they're playing them just the same.
5. You missed a spot.
6. A lot of pirates try to justify downloading games for free and think that it's OK to do. A lot of non-pirating gamers will strongly disagree with that.
7. In some way, most likely, for better or worse. Some say it helps, some say it hurts. I think it can go both ways, it may hurt certain games but it helps people discover lesser known gems and creates new fans of series.
8. I like it. I can't afford to buy every game that I fancy, and there have been a lot of great games I would never have discovered if piracy wasn't a thing.
9. I don't really know.
10. Not really, but I guess it could happen.
11. No idea.
12. That's for sure, online gaming is how I met my best friends and how I got to know them over the course of several years before finally meeting them. I have a hard time getting to know people in real life, it's a slow process. Online I feel like I can be much more open and it's much easier to talk.
13. On PC, I'm not sure, but on consoles it's definitely the gamers. Pirating on PC is a lot easier and I think that most people have done it at some point.

 

[The Catboy]

1. How do you describe a gamer?
An individual who enjoys gaming as a routine hobby.
2. What exactly do you consider as gaming piracy/who do you consider as a pirate?
Downloading copies of copyrighted materiel for any number of reasons and a pirate is the individual doing so.
3. Why do you think some gamers pirate/turn to piracy? Why is that the reason?
There's a number of reasons really, one of the most common being money. Games have started to cost upwards to 60$ to 70$ where I live and not a lot of people have that kind of money. Mix it with a gaming market that has started to produce games of questionable quality and you have people don't want to pay 60$ for a game that might not be very good.
4. Do you consider a pirate an authentic gamer? Why should this pirate belong or not belong to the gamer subculture?
In sense, they are still enjoying their games and more often then not, they pirated the games to enjoy them, so they are still gamers. They should belong, because the gamer subculture shouldn't be so willing to exclude someone.
6. Are there any beliefs or ideologies about gaming that differ from gamers and pirate gamers?
I actually don't think there's a whole lot different.
7. Could piracy affect gamers as a whole?
It can be used as reason for game prices to go up, as well could in a small run effect the quantity/quality of games being released on a system. So that does have an effect on gamers.
8. Do you dislike or like gaming piracy? Explain.
I'm on the fence. Because I understand the complications piracy creates, but at the same time it's because of piracy that I was exposed to some of my favorite games of all time. Because I didn't have to pay for them, I was willing to take the risk and play them. Now I own all of games the Shin Megami Tensei games and Phoenix Wright, two games I've seen before, but wasn't willing to pay their large price tags. So I want to dislike it for the damages to the market, but then I want to thank it for introducing me to games I would have never tried.
9. What connotations have gamers been associated with as a result of gamer pirates’ practices?
I've heard terrorism has been funded through piracy, so there's that connection.
10. Has piracy ever played a role in building a relationship/bond with another gamer in your lifetime? Could you tell us about the experience? If not, do you think it’s possible? Why?
Actually yes, after meeting my boyfriend, I had pirated games so I could play with him online. I didn't have a lot of money and I was still in school, I met a boy online and we both enjoyed gaming. He had tons of DS games, I didn't, so I would pirate them and that allowed us to game together. I know we still would have built a relationship, but the games helped us and piracy was there to provide the games.
11. Does piracy play a role in gamer relationships? How?
If you use my example I just gave, I think it can. It helped me get games to play with my boyfriend.
12. Are your bonds stronger with gamers than they are with others in your life? Why? What is the foundation of this gamer-gamer relationship? Are any of these gamers pirates?
Since 90% of the people I know are gamers, I guess I would say my bonds are stronger with them. Why? Oddly enough, I didn't know they were gamers until later, so I guess it's just an unspoken bond, something that just happens. My foundation is just based on enjoying hanging out and gaming becomes the middle man to that. Some are pirates.
13. Who do you believe shapes a bigger percentage of gamer population: pirates or gamers?
That's a mixed bag of thoughts. If you include music, movies, tv shows, ect. pirates into the bag, pirates win over gamers. But otherwise, gaming pirates are a rather small community within another community, so I say Gamers are a larger percentage.

 

[placebooooo]

Everyone, I want to thank you all very deeply. Your responses are very much appreciated. I have not had a chance to read through all of them, but I am very eager to do so.
As expected, reddit criticized my questions the first time I posted them (I deleted my thread and posted it a few days after). The second time, I only got two responses.
I am glad I came here first. Thanks to all once again

 

[Ubuntuの刀]

Everyone, I want to thank you all very deeply. Your responses are very much appreciated. I have not had a chance to read through all of them, but I am very eager to do so.
As expected, reddit criticized my questions the first time I posted them (I deleted my thread and posted it a few days after). The second time, I only got two responses.
I am glad I came here first. Thanks to all once again

I mean..... It's reddit. You can't expect legit responses from reddit lel.

 

[Elrinth]

When I can play a full native version of final fantasy 6 on my phone/tablet
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.square_enix.android_googleplay.FFVI&hl=en
ditto an entry in the broken sword series
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.revolution.BSII

(this could go on for a while)
Plus emulators that can run games from consoles and PC

Given that how does a phone/tablet represent a "weaker" option in this?

Remember I wrote "ONLY". If you ONLY play tablet or phone games I don't consider you a gamer. This is my personal opinion. If you are a gamer, then you have genuine interest in games. Meaning: You should probably know about the history of games. Knowing that games have generally been played on either a console or on a PC.
Say you started on tablet or phone but you're really into games, then at one time you'll start exploring pc or console games. If not, well then, you're not a gamer!

I didn't write that phone/tablet represent a "weaker" option. I wrote that "Casual gamers" play simpler and less impressive games.. Because that's what casual games are. They should be quick to get into and have simple rules. Tetris is a good example of a casual game. Word-games... Guess the song-games. These kind of games.

The FF6 for tablet/phone is an abomination for the eye to behold. May it get remade in a better fashion one day I hope.

Any real gamer should have a little interest in seeing what the next Doom looks like, what the next Warcraft looks like, what the next Super Mario looks like. All of these games are not available on phones or tablets for the reason that they simply aren't powerful enough and the fact that the they don't have the necessary input devices out of the box which a console or a pc usually has. I'm sure this can change in the future, but I don't see it changing anytime soon.

Then again, I'm an old fart enjoying retro games