Ah, Piracy. The act of free digital distribution of a product that can be bought. Some say should be bought, but that's a bit too much inflection, I will leave it with "can". So, that's what piracy is. Now, what's being stolen?
Piracy, in this context, is the theft of a video game. A video game is the product of time and money. The money is spent mostly on the people who made the game, and some is spent on the act of notifying the rest of the world that the game exists. The time is spent by a collection of creative minds, who each individually produce the small part of a greater whole. A collaboration of artists.
Artist, in this context, referring to the art of engineering (the artistry in a device which performs the most functions with the greatest simplicity). Or of actual art, in the case of the graphic designers. I've done some coding myself, and I currently work as a writer for a small independent game studio, so I understand the general sense of heroic accomplishment of completing a particularly nasty bit of programming. It's very similar to finishing a beautifully orchestrated short story. The artistic connection is hardly a stretch of the imagination.
Alright, so, the makers of the games are artists. The ultimate purpose of the true artist is their art. They require no funds, only the materials to create more art. If you don't believe me, well, then talk to some painters. Or read the play My Name is Asher Lev. (Or see the play, if you're awesome.)
So, if all games are created by artists, then after the point that the artists can finish their next piece of art, piracy is morally correct, right? I mean, the artists ultimately want their art to be enjoyed by as many people as possible, damn the repercussions! Piracy is helping them!
At this point, we re-enter the real world.
Capitalism is a system of commerce in which anything that anyone will buy is a tangible product that can--indeed, should--be sold. In this world, the value of an object is weighed in how much people are willing to pay for it. It is a cold and brutal world at times, because in this world human morality and empathy has a pricetag. You can only convince the powerful forces of Capitalism to humane action by offering tax credits, after all.
Game companies run on Capitalism. The artists they employ are hired by businessmen to create a product. The product's worth is not measured by it's artistic value as a source of entertainment, but it's weight in capital. If a given game is not worth enough cold, hard cash, then the businessmen that allow the artists to produce their art will deem the artists as a source of negative cash flow, and will stop supporting the artists. And the artists NEED their support. They need money, facilities, advertising, and training: their paint and canvas.
At this point, the pirate enters the equation.
The artists have a system of ensuring that their product is worth enough money that the businessmen will keep giving them their support. Pirates subvert that system for whatever reason. That's the pragmatist's prospective, of course. Pirates might have great reasons. But whatever those reasons are, they subvert this system and then the artists lose the support they need, and can no longer produce their art.
In the perfect world, the businessman does not exist. But in the pragmatist's reality, he's there, and he allows what we all have to be. If the artist truly didn't want or need the money that he charges, then he wouldn't charge the money.
So, to the ever-fictional Jack, I say this: your desire to play games is understandable. Games exist to be played. But you must be aware of what your actions are costing the world. We all lose something beautiful when you deny the artists their art.
There are games out there that are free, though. You just have to look for them. They aren't as pretty, or as popular. But they're still created by artists, who care deeply about spreading their art to the world. Try hunting down independent games that you can actually afford. It's not the same, but if you have to make a choice, then remember the pragmatist. Because we all want the perfect world, but the pragmatist is still right.
P.S.(This is running on the assumption that all game developers are working solely because they love games, and want to make the best games ever made. There's a grain of truth to that, but many developers are also businessmen. They makes games because they are a profit. However, they are able to make really great games, regardless of their reasons. But they only make games while it's a profit. So if you want to continue to enjoy great games, you have to support them, or their games get less great, and their systems for ensuring that their games remain profitable become more and more draconian. Best to follow their rules before they stop playing the game, and you lose half your major studios.)
P.P.S. (Yeah, this was an avert for supporting independent game developers, which I am one of. I am utterly shameless and unrepentant.)
and and please show me the ad's of people being arrested by police men while me in my country i see police men beaten mercilessly with crowbars. That will really get me going.
