Pirating Epidemic?

[Immortal Game]

I bought about 30 DS games and I'm still buying more Wii games... I'm buying Animal Crossing, and there's a few others too.

I just decided that the DS thing was enough... but I'll probably end up buying Platinum, or else I'll be tempted to PokeSav my way through.

 

[xJonny]

I think we had a topic like this before.

My thoughts are that piracy is getting too easy, especially for the DS, where it is literally drag and drop that a young child could do. With modchipping, etc. it is a big reason why people avoid it, but now there are tons of people who will do it for a fee, works out cheaper than buying the games.

 

[jesuschristmonke]

The problem with the above actions is that the game company gets a piece of Customer 1's money, and zero out of Customer 2 because Customer 2 bought it from an unauthourized re-seller, who previously had bought it from Customer 1 with their own money for half the price. Just pretend Customer 1 was the game company and they sold it to an authorized seller. Game company will get a share of what authorized seller makes from customers. But when a second hand shop sells a game it got from a customer to a new customer, the game company gets nothing when they could've gotten something had new customer purchased from authorized seller.

I would like to link to the article, but I've no idea where I saw it. The EA rep then mentioned that one way to avoid the sales of used games is to make better games. With the possibilities of downloadable content, it is then possible to update said good game to keep players from parting with the game. EA's example of this is Burnout Paradise, which from what I've read is enjoying a nice life in the hands of gamers.

My take on eBay, that's another story. But since eBay's not alone in that field, I guess it's hard to stop selling used games in its entirety.

Yeah, just like how libraries and used book stores have destroyed the publishing industry.

And trade-in CD stores have ruined music publishers.

Why should game publishers (esp. the goons at EA) be exempt from the first sale doctrine? They really need to quit whining and quit trying to push a license-only model where you don't actually own what's on the media.

 

[UltraMagnus]

no, why should I pay for games. They call me immoral for stealing, I call them immoral for paying the people that actually make the games a pittance whilst paying the fatcat managers that sit on the arse all day trying to think how to squeeze every pence out of people heinous amounts.

I may be a pirate, but so was Sir Francis Drake
I may be a theif, but so was Robin Hood.

 

[hankchill]

I still support the industry and buy the games I will actually play, such as Rock Band (1, 2 and the ACDC expansion on my 360) or Guitar Hero DS.

 

[ENDscape]

I actually buy games for my PS3 and some games for wii. Im too lazy to dl wii games and burn them.

 

[Licardo7]

I guess I only pirate games to sort of test them. If they are good then I'll probably buy it but if I don't got the money to but it I pirate.

 

[Psyfira]

When an emulator or flash card is good enough to test something I try before I buy because for ages these douchebags have refused to give us a demo to see if it sucks or not like the old PC days where you got 1/6 chapters of say DOOM or Wolfenstein 3D which wasn't gimped at all as a demo.

Pretty much what he said, not knowing which games were worth the money was what got me into this mess in the first place. Hopefully the DSi's online connectivity will help fix that, I know that's what download stations were intended for but seriously, who's going to stand in the middle of GAME for 15 minutes to find out? I buy the ones I absolutely love. Unless I'm already over halfway through it before deciding, in which case I'm likely to get the sequel instead when that comes out. I'm not perfect, there are some games I'll play to the end without wanting to own a copy. It's about 50/50 I reckon.

I always wait for a price drop though, I've never paid more than £20 for a DS game.

I don't pirate on the PS2. I already knew which games I wanted to play on it and they were all in my price range. Advantage of getting a console late in it's life, all the quality titles are either affordable or easy to find in the preowned bin

 

[ojsinnerz.]

I always buy games for consoles. Since I'm still playing games on the ps2, I still buy a few every once in a while. The games on it are dirt cheap nowadays, so I can pick up games from 5 bucks to 20 bucks.

But for handhelds, it really differs.....

 

[Trolly]

I'm now leaning towards stopping pirating things. Currently, I've stopped downloading PC games, and now I buy them. And I'll buy the Wii games I really want (though the Backup Loader has meant I've given in to downloading a few titles).
As for the DS, I no longer buy any games because it's so easy for me to pirate them.

I'm thinking next generation of consoles I'll have stopped pirating. At the moment I only pirate because it's so easy for me to do so. Without that temptation I'd just as readily pay now.

 

[R2DJ]

I used to pirate DS games but it's just making me spoiled as I can get the games that I want instantly (as long as they're out) and it doesn't take really long to get it working. So I sold my DS since I don't play it that much and even if I have a lot of games, I don't know which one should I play.

As for the Wii, I don't want to bother buying the right blank discs, downloading and patching the games, etc. So I've been buying my Wii games since I got it. I don't think I will get a modchip for my Wii.

 

[VmprHntrD]

Ahh PC warez...I did that like 10 years ago and got so fed up with it I erased it off that pc then and destroyed the backups. I found there was too much crap and too little time to enjoy it which disgusted me as it was a real attention span killer.

 

[Helix94]

Games are way to expensive for a teenager without a job who gets no allowance and lives with a single mother.

^^^+3 brothers that require constant money for things such as car payment, help with rent, etc.

I hardly even get anything for Christmas nowadays.

 

[Raestloz]

I'd really like to, but I don't have the money

kinda sucks, considering I actually would love to spend cash on games, but hell, it's around what? $30? yeah right, my allowance is $100, including food expenses and such, I can't afford to buy one

I can only hope I can support them once I get a job, and a better internet connection...

 

[Sick Wario]

we are still the minority people.

i really only pay for wiiware and virtual console titles. that's the money i feel is the best profit for nintendo and others.
i have not bought a wii game since launch (zelda, excite truck, red steel) EXCEPT for the games that come with accessories, like wiiplay, wiifit and zelda crossbow. i just got the wiispeak today. i have 6 DS games, but have not bought since i got R4s.
the bottom line is until we can emulate complete systems we will continue to buy hardware. software prices just need to come down.

oh and i only have 2 games for 360 amped 2 and forza 2

 

[Radio]

I think there is a growing problem with families pirating games because it is a lot of money to pay £30 to £40 on a "must have" game to keep the kids occupied. I think the temptation for some is too great and families will be a big chunk of the games companies income.

I personally prefer to buy current gen games and support the industry. I have "tested" a few games recently as my money has to go a bit further at the moment and I want to make sure that I spend it on games that I'm actually going to play through but if I am going to keep on playing it to the end I buy the official version.
However I do think using the argument that it's the game industries fault for keeping the prices so high is a weak one. I can't afford a nice car either but I wouldn't steal one just because I'm too greedy to wait.

At the end of the day it is about greed. We have this instant gratification culture where we have this feeling of entitlement just because we really want something that means we should get it by whatever means instead of waiting for it or *gasp* going without. It's why a lot of people get into debt buying things that they "needed" and why the majority of people pirate.

I actually think when you are younger and have less games you enjoy them more because you play them to the end, go back and unlock every secret and challenge. When you have more disposable income but less time available to play you can go a bit nuts buying games and end up not having time to finish a lot of them which I don't know about anyone else but it annoys the heck out of me when I have a list of games that I haven't completed.

 

[Mewgia]

NO I hate game developers

 

[Salamantis]

I'm weird...

I have a good amount of money as a 14 year old and I could afford a LOT of games. I just don't want to for some reason. I like to keep money for in case something I really want gets released or just for later uses (school, etc).

I'd love to support *some* devs but I always go to the store wanting to buy a game, look at the game, go "meh" and return home and play the downloaded version.

D:

 

[Veho]

It seems like music piracy (which is rampant indeed) hasn't killed or destroyed the music industry, so game piracy won't destroy the gaming industry itself. It will, however, flood the hitherto tech savvy forums with n00bs.

 

[da_head]

dude companies aren't losing money. piraters make up a very small fraction of all gamers. though that is beginning to change.