Piracy

[ShadowSoldier]

I agree with piracy and here is why:
Piracy is not as damaging as the IP holders make it out to be, in fact, piracy actually helps drive up sells!
Imagine there is a video game that is not released in your country, in order to play the game you must pirate it, because let's face it, would you go out of your way to pay close to $100.00 for a video game to be imported? If you do, then more power to you, as for the rest of us, we resort to piracy.
Not all video games have demos, and with the lack of video game rental stores/services and if your friend doesn't have the game, piracy is the only way to try a game before you buy it. Many people (myself included) have pirated Minecraft before we have later bought it. (I pirated Minecraft mainly for two reasons; to see how well I like it, and to see how well it runs on my PC. As soon as I got a PC that was able to run Minecraft, I bought it.)

Piracy also helps corporations expand their potential sells. If a smart company sees that a specific media is being pirated in a country that does not domestically have access to the specific media, they will see the potential profits. You will then notice that the smart companies will then start to sell the media in that country and because so many people were exposed to it, thanks to piracy, more people buy the media than projected.

Combating piracy is like trying to stop the sun from setting each day. There will always be pirates. When stupid companies try to combat piracy, four times out of five, it inconveniences the end user (Always online DRM, limited installations, Multiplayer passes, SECUROM, etc.) and the end-user then resorts to piracy to be able to use the product that they have bought.

Piracy is not stealing. When something is pirated, a copy of the original is created. A physical stock is not stolen, that physical stock can still be sold, and the money invested in creating that stock can still be returned. Piracy also enables retro gamers to be able to play video games from old consoles without investing a large amount of money. (Some retro games, depending on rarity and condition can be sold upwards of $100.00 or so!) Piracy also allows the ability of fan-hacks and translations, something that allot of members on this forum enjoy. Let's take the recent Fire Emblem game that was recently completely translated into English. You would have had to have pirated the ROM or dumped the ROM from a phyisical copy that you have imported. But according to IP holders, creating a backup copy is just as bad as pirating. (Don't believe me? Take a look at the legal mumbo-jumbo in your instruction books. It will say how creating backups are not needed to protect your game and doing so invalidates your warranty. Also in some countries, creating backups is considered conspiring to commit piracy and is illegal, which I think is completely wrong and unjust.)

Piracy is like recreational drugs in a way, it is only wrong because people in power want to demonize it. People will always do what they want to do, regardless if it is lawful or not. Also piracy does more help than harm and helps drive sells by basically serving as free advertisement. We cannot treat video game and software piracy the same as motion picture and music piracy, because unlike movies, books, and music, video games can offer a different experience to each individual.

That's where people have different opinions though. I mean, if someone is making a game or movie, intending to be paid for it as it's their creation, and you get access to it without paying, it's stealing. But hey, this is one of those subjects where definitions of words change and it'll always be a gray area.

 

[retKHAAAN]

I used to pirate all of my movies/music/games. I'd also rent movies/games from a video store, copy them, return them, and justify it by telling myself "hey, at least you paid a rental fee...".

Then a couple years ago I quit, cold turkey. Haven't pirated a single thing since. Not even an mp3.

I guess it came down to the realization that I'd probably be pretty pissed if I invested a lot of time/money/ideas in something only to have people trivialize and disrespect it by essentially saying it isn't worth any sort of investment on their part to watch/listen to/play it. But the people who want things will always argue that they're "technically not stealing, we're DUPLICATING" or "people are always going to pirate so there's no point in fighting it". No, I don't believe media piracy is "stealing". It's just wiping your ass with someone else's hard work.

Trying to argue that piracy actually helps companies is fucking moot. It is illegal. There's no arguing the legality of something that is illegal in every way, shape, and form. Disagreeing with a law does not make it any less law...

We cannot treat video game and software piracy the same as motion picture and music piracy, because unlike movies, books, and music, video games can offer a different experience to each individual.

And this ^ is just retarded. Different people can certainly take different things away from the same media, regardless of the medium. To say that video games offer a more varied experience than movies, books, or music is not only wrong. It's naive.

 

[Ikki]

I used to be all for it, then all against it, now I just don't care. I don't do it though. Mostly because if I think a game is worth buying I'll buy it, if I'm not sure about it and I download it 90% of the time it turns out to be bland or bad in other ways and I just end up not playing it so I don't even bother anymore.

My reasoning used to be that it hurt the industry but with games getting worse and worse as they try to approach the mainstream audience I can't even blame piracy with a straight face anymore. Now if someone would ask me why I don't pirate games I'd say "because it doesn't feel right", which may seem like a terrible answer but it's true. If someone would ask me why I buy games, I'd just say "because I think they're worth it".

The industry is better and worse than ever, but you can't blame piracy for either.

No, I buy used games, but at least you paid for them legally. I'm just saying, either way, money isn't going to developers for work they've done, when it should be.

I miss your Layton avatar.

 

[Xenirina]

I agree with piracy and here is why:
Piracy is not as damaging as the IP holders make it out to be, in fact, piracy actually helps drive up sells!
Imagine there is a video game that is not released in your country, in order to play the game you must pirate it, because let's face it, would you go out of your way to pay close to $100.00 for a video game to be imported? If you do, then more power to you, as for the rest of us, we resort to piracy.
Not all video games have demos, and with the lack of video game rental stores/services and if your friend doesn't have the game, piracy is the only way to try a game before you buy it. Many people (myself included) have pirated Minecraft before we have later bought it. (I pirated Minecraft mainly for two reasons; to see how well I like it, and to see how well it runs on my PC. As soon as I got a PC that was able to run Minecraft, I bought it.)

Piracy also helps corporations expand their potential sells. If a smart company sees that a specific media is being pirated in a country that does not domestically have access to the specific media, they will see the potential profits. You will then notice that the smart companies will then start to sell the media in that country and because so many people were exposed to it, thanks to piracy, more people buy the media than projected.

Combating piracy is like trying to stop the sun from setting each day. There will always be pirates. When stupid companies try to combat piracy, four times out of five, it inconveniences the end user (Always online DRM, limited installations, Multiplayer passes, SECUROM, etc.) and the end-user then resorts to piracy to be able to use the product that they have bought.

Piracy is not stealing. When something is pirated, a copy of the original is created. A physical stock is not stolen, that physical stock can still be sold, and the money invested in creating that stock can still be returned. Piracy also enables retro gamers to be able to play video games from old consoles without investing a large amount of money. (Some retro games, depending on rarity and condition can be sold upwards of $100.00 or so!) Piracy also allows the ability of fan-hacks and translations, something that allot of members on this forum enjoy. Let's take the recent Fire Emblem game that was recently completely translated into English. You would have had to have pirated the ROM or dumped the ROM from a phyisical copy that you have imported. But according to IP holders, creating a backup copy is just as bad as pirating. (Don't believe me? Take a look at the legal mumbo-jumbo in your instruction books. It will say how creating backups are not needed to protect your game and doing so invalidates your warranty. Also in some countries, creating backups is considered conspiring to commit piracy and is illegal, which I think is completely wrong and unjust.)

Piracy is like recreational drugs in a way, it is only wrong because people in power want to demonize it. People will always do what they want to do, regardless if it is lawful or not. Also piracy does more help than harm and helps drive sells by basically serving as free advertisement. We cannot treat video game and software piracy the same as motion picture and music piracy, because unlike movies, books, and music, video games can offer a different experience to each individual.

Wow.

 

[TripleSMoon]

i only use piracy on systems that can be hacked.

"I only pirate on systems when piracy is possible." XD

 

[Jehuty25]

I pirate games, movies and software. I don't care if people call me a thief.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

I pirate games, movies and software. I don't care if people call me a thief.

I think you're missing the point of the thread dude..

 

[Latiken]

Piracy can never actually be justified. Unless Romney was president...
Anyways... I don't really know how to say this, but if you pirate something then buy the copy, I think it's considered okay. However, if you pirate something and don't buy the copy later, it's wrong. Lol, I'm such a hypocrite. Maybe once I get a job, I'll get the copies.

@ShadowSoldier
Amen.

 

[DiscostewSM]

The only time I feel pirating has any merit is when the product has been phased out and is not selling anymore. Now, games that are selling, but are not being localized in your region, I can understand that. What I don't understand is people feel they deserve to pirate, like those that say "I don't have the money" or "There's no demo to try it out". Very few people actually buy a game/movie/etc after pirating it, because....why pay for something you already have for free? We even got people here who are convinced that the only way they'll ever get such-and-such system is if it is hacked. I highly doubt they're in it just for the non-emulator homebrew.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

I wish people would just pirate, realize it's morally wrong, but be as morally ignorant as I am.

 

[Foxi4]

I wish people would just pirate, realize it's morally wrong, but be as morally ignorant as I am.

Agreed. I pirate, I know it's "wrong" to do so as it's practically leeching off the hard work of the artists involved in the making of whatever media I pirate, but my appetite for media is far larger than my capacity to pay for it - it's as simple as that. If I earned enough to satitate this appetite, I probably wouldn't pirate, but I don't, so yeah.

 

[retKHAAAN]

Agreed. I pirate, I know it's "wrong" to do so as it's practically leeching off the hard work of the artists involved in the making of whatever media I pirate, but my appetite for media is far larger than my capacity to pay for it - it's as simple as that. If I earned enough to satitate this appetite, I probably wouldn't pirate, but I don't, so yeah.

You should get out more. I don't know how pirates even find the time to play all the games or wat ch all the shows/movies they "duplicate". I know when I was downloading shit, only like 1/4 of it even got watched or played...

 

[the_randomizer]

What's worse, spending exorbitant prices on used and collectors games alike, or downloading said game when you don't have the means of purchasing said game?

 

[Guild McCommunist]

What's worse, spending exorbitant prices on used and collectors games alike, or downloading said game when you don't have the means of purchasing said game?

Having priorities and realizing gaming is a luxury?

I can't really see people justifying their piracy based on prices. This isn't bread, water, or electricity. It's a complete luxury. You don't need video games to survive, it's actually one of the most useless past times to have.

Also, accounting for inflation, aren't game prices back then more than they are now?

 

[Foxi4]

You should get out more. I don't know how pirates even find the time to play all the games or wat ch all the shows/movies they "duplicate". I know when I was downloading shit, only like 1/4 of it even got watched or played...

I rarely download stuff that I have no intention of using "right now" and I don't store my downloads. I really don't understand people who download a film just because it's "new" and leave it on the drive to gather dust - I download my films, watch'em and remove'em, so no, I don't have that problem.

 

[the_randomizer]

Having priorities and realizing gaming is a luxury?

I can't really see people justifying their piracy based on prices. This isn't bread, water, or electricity. It's a complete luxury. You don't need video games to survive, it's actually one of the most useless past times to have.

Also, accounting for inflation, aren't game prices back then more than they are now?

What about those that never get localized?

 

[Guild McCommunist]

What about those that never get localized?

Then import them or don't buy them.

 

[Foxi4]

Yeah, I think it goes without saying that piracy is naughty.

Someone dished out cash, resources, manpower and dedicated time to produce media with the intention of selling it that you, when you pirate, get for free even though you're not entitled to a copy. That's a very simple concept and if someone doesn't get it then said person was probably never involved in the production of... anything. Don't even try to find any explaination for your actions as there really is none - whenever you do, you're being delusional.

In any case, it's only "stealing" if you'd buy given media if you couldn't pirate it, and in most cases that is not true - I know that I wouldn't buy 99% of the media I pirate, and I know it for certain. It is wrong though as you're seizing the results of someone's hard work without being entitled to them in any way. It's not a morally-grey area - it's wrong, plain and simple. There is no gradation here whatsoever, and it doesn't matter if the media is coming from a bigger or smaller studio - the constituents are the same - hard work -> result -> will to sell result -> as*hole downloading result for free, the issue here is whether you're bothered by petty offenses or not.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

Having priorities and realizing gaming is a luxury?

I can't really see people justifying their piracy based on prices. This isn't bread, water, or electricity. It's a complete luxury. You don't need video games to survive, it's actually one of the most useless past times to have.

Also, accounting for inflation, aren't game prices back then more than they are now?

In all honesty, a person with a minimum wage job could easily afford a game a month. So prices are a moot argument to use.

 

[Foxi4]

In all honesty, a person with a minimum wage job could easily afford a game a month. So prices are a moot argument to use.

The video game industry is a particularly difficult area due to the fact that the target audience is likely to be underage and studying, and thus in most cases not working, or at least not professionally, so they don't reach "minimum wage" yearly. It's funny when you think about it - the gaming industry hangs on very thin strings that parents could cut any moment, really. Adult gamers are in the minority, people often forget about that.