let's debate piracy and the hypocrisy behind it

[numaiomul]

I am not gonna talk about piracy because I may get banned/probation and stuff so I'm gonna talk about a fictional character [named Jack] that pirates games.
First things first:jack does not sell/trade/inform games to make a profit, only personal pleasure just like a full-game demo.
secondly: jack's family doesn't have enough money a month to give him food at school [not the cordon-bleu type, i mean bread and some butter].
thirdly: jack is testing for the last 2-3 years EVERY ptc/ptr site that has the minimal references so he can payout money so he can properly buy a game [currently he has about 5-6 original games]
fourthly: the economic state in jack's country is in a full turmoil, adults are so desperate for a job that they are willing to work extra hours for no money at freaking mcdonalds as a toilet washer or stuff like that so jack has no way of getting a job [not including the extreme work-load a school from jack's country necessitates.]
5: jack knows that original games ROCK because the few of them he has he plays till exhaustion because he can go multiplayer with no problem.
6: jack earns about 30 dollars a month for his personal needs.
so with all those things taken into consideration why are people so hateful on people like jack? :-/
and a second issue: jack thinks that most game companies are idiots or they believe that gamers are idiots. jack says that most games are cracked in max 24 hours and the claims of guys like ubisoft are fails. jack also knows that a lot of torrent trackes are public so ANYONE with at least a dial-up connection can check if a game that freshly released has been cracked or not.
my third issue: jack thinks piracy is like pleasing yourself in the way most people do it but when asked in public everyone says no. that a lot of s***. piracy EXISTS and if we're not open to discussion about it and treat it like a virus it will be forever there to haunt us because it's always easiest to break a protection then to build one.
so that is my FICTIONAL character jack what do you think about him? :-/

 

[atomictoast]

Your fictional character can afford a computer and full speed internet?

I see some contradictions in this testimony.

 

[Danglybits]

Stealing is wrong. Piracy is stealing. /thread.

 

[Cherry Cola]

Okey, this is pro-piracy propaganda. You try and paint up a worst case scenario so your point is more valid.

Guess what? It isn't. It's just pathetic. Have a real discussion about Piracy instead of trying to paint up a biased picture of it.

Piracy is bad for the gaming industry. That's a fact. If not because it lowers sales, then because it increases paranoia with companies like Ubisoft (Read: Latest DRM) If you support it or not is a matter of morals.

And arguing about morals is like an argument between a left-handed and a right-handed person over which hand is better.

 

[chronobreak]

I think Jack is an arse, personally. There is nothing stopping Jack from working under-the-table or better allocating his resources to afford what he wants. Jack should realize games are not a necessity to life, and therefore are in no way alright to be stolen. If Jack is healthy, has a television and internet to play games on, and obviously has a roof over his head, he should be happy he has it better off than most people who would have to worry about stealing food for their families, not video games.

 

[Baby Tea]

so with all those things taken into consideration why are people so hateful on people like jack? :-/

Because Jack doesn't have any right to games.
They are a fluff 'extra' in life, and if Jack can't afford them, then too freaking bad.
There are plenty of things I would like that I don't have, but you've got to live within your means. It doesn't give Jack, or anyone else, the right to just steal something they'd normally have to pay for.

Poverty isn't an excuse for things like video games. You don't need them to live, and the fact that Jack might be able to afford 1 after 5 months of working should only make him thankful that he isn't one of the thousands dying from preventable diseases and starvation every day.

Jack can't afford games? Well boo-freaking-hoo. I can't afford a BMW. Oh well, life goes on.
Jack: Get a new hobby, or treasure the few games you can afford. But you aren't 'owed' anything, you don't 'deserve' games, and you have no 'right' to them. Either pay for them like a regular person, or do without.

 

[numaiomul]

@atomictoast:my fictional character has an download speed of about 300kb/s and he got it thanks to his mother which "convinced" some staff people to throw some internet his way.
the computer is a 3 year model mostly comprised of gifts/thrash from friends for which jack will be forever thankful.
@sober thal: pirates aren't stealing from you and piracy doesn't affect sales in the least. If people can buy a game they really want they will because they know it will be better having all the features and stuff except some rune down broken pirated copy. if people won't buy a game they MIGHT buy it after really enjoying it after pirating it and probably buy it afterward.

 

[DreadfulSorry]

But Jack doesn't need video games for survival. Sure they're entertaining, but there are plenty of other ways you could find entertainment, like getting a book from the library, playing football or basketball with friends, or listening to the radio, all of which are free.

The problem with piracy IMO is that someone (or in the case of video games, MANY someones) put a lot of hard work into creating something, and therefore deserves to have their work rewarded. If they didn't get paid for what they were doing, who in their right minds would want to put that many hours into anything? Money isn't everything, but it's also necessary to feed your family.

 

[numaiomul]

i didn't try to justify what jack does and that wasn't the worst case scenario. that was a real scenario of at least 40 of my high-school colleagues. we live in an underdeveloped country where hard work does not guarantee money.
secondly WHY THE HATE?. did they steal from you? it's important to care but not for every little thing. i'm not trying to justify piracy i'm trying to tune down all the collective hate because i understand. i don't agree but i understand.

 

[Cabisco]

A man works for his new car, he's proud that he's been able to save up and afford it. A poor man sees the car and steals it, he can never afford this car so it's okay that he stole it.

This would be an alright arguement if you where entitled to games, but your not, they are a nessessity. Someone stealing drugs to save his daughters life is wrong even if his reasons are right, it's a tragedy but it's life. Someone being poor therefore stealing games is just a crime, and jacks a douche because of it.

 

[RathWolf]

Hmm, let me introduce you to another character named Ian.
1. Ian works for a game development company.
2. Ian has worked for 4 years on a game, with long working hours.
3. Ian, as a gamer himself, works hard to make the best game possible.
4. During crunch time, Ian works 7 days a week for upwards of 16 hours a day, and is not paid overtime.
5. Ian has an average salary during this time, but knows that once the game is published, it needs to sell well, or his company will not be contracted to produce another title.
6. Due widespread piracy, sales for the game Ian and his company created plummet.
7.When looking online at people's reaction for the game, Ian finds several self-righteous pirates like Jack bragging that they were in the right for stealing because of the publisher-mandated DRM.
8. Due to low sales, the company Ian works for is forced to shut down, and he is left without a job.

 

[Jandau]

i didn't try to justify what jack does and that wasn't the worst case scenario. that was a real scenario of at least 40 of my high-school colleagues. we live in an underdeveloped country where hard work does not guarantee money.
secondly WHY THE HATE?. did they steal from you? it's important to care but not for every little thing. i'm not trying to justify piracy i'm trying to tune down all the collective hate because i understand. i don't agree but i understand.

Don't bother. While I like the Escapist, the general rule of thumb here is to bash anything related to piracy on a general basis and an objective discussion on the subject isn't possible. You will get flamed, insulted and any valid arguments you make will be ignored. Save your energy and don't bother.

 

[sephiroth1991]

Have you not see those piracy videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MM0VO3slK8&feature=related

 

[MBergman]

so with all those things taken into consideration why are people so hateful on people like jack? :-/

Because Jack doesn't have any right to games.
They are a fluff 'extra' in life, and if Jack can't afford them, then too freaking bad.
There are plenty of things I would like that I don't have, but you've got to live within your means. It doesn't give Jack, or anyone else, the right to just steal something they'd normally have to pay for.

Poverty isn't an excuse for things like video games. You don't need them to live, and the fact that Jack might be able to afford 1 after 5 months of working should only make him thankful that he isn't one of the thousands dying from preventable diseases and starvation every day.

Jack can't afford games? Well boo-freaking-hoo. I can't afford a BMW. Oh well, life goes on.
Jack: Get a new hobby, or treasure the few games you can afford. But you aren't 'owed' anything, you don't 'deserve' games, and you have no 'right' to them. Either pay for them like a regular person, or do without.

Pretty much this! The 'games are too expensive' argument is used far too often despite being retarded.

 

[DrHoboPHD]

Piracy is a crime, you are stealing, end of story.

I am not asking you to stop doing it, I am just saying stop making up ridiculous half-asses excuses to pretend what you're doing is perfectly okay.

I mean why do you care so much about the fact that it is considered theft? Is it some kind of immature interpretation of guilt? You feel slightly bad for pirating things and you think that if you can keep making up paper thin rationalizations it will be okay?

Piracy is theft, it's a crime, and it's wrong. if the fact that we acknowledge it as a crime bothers you so much I suggest you stop doing it.

 

[Jandau]

A man works for his new car, he's proud that he's been able to save up and afford it. A poor man sees the car and steals it, he can never afford this car so it's okay that he stole it.

The man who bought the car lost the car due to theft.

Do Pirates break into your house and take your games? Actually, that would be kinda cool... Maybe they'd be real Pirates then...