Pirated or Preowned?

[sirdanrhodes]

Last time someone admited to piracy, he saw a hammer coming at him, with the word "ban" on the stick.

 

[Aries_Split]

Oh, and just to make any PC gamers feel included, I pirate PC games as well. I have both KOTRs and Jade Empire on my HD so if Bioware go bust in the near future feel free to hold me personally responsible.

Is it really that hard to walk down to the shops and pay 10 pounds for these games?

Is it really that hard to conceive that some people are unable to do so, for whatever reason?
Not saying that's his excuse, but still.

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

This is an extremely poor justification for pirating games. And that's all it is.

Added: Once I buy a game disc, the developer has received their due and the disc is now mine to do with as I please. This is how it has always been with all simple goods. Video games are no different. There is nothing wrong with giving away a game you paid for, or buying or selling used ones.

This is all just smoke-screen to cloud the fact that piracy = petty theft.

 

[sirdanrhodes]

I HATE piraters, everytime you pirate, you kill a 360, you've killed mine, prepare to die.

 

[Aries_Split]

I HATE piraters, everytime you pirate, you kill a 360, you've killed mine, prepare to die.

Pirates don't kill 360's. Microsofts shitty manufacturing does.

Stfu.

 

[Aries_Split]

So what about pen and paper games like Shadowrun that have like a billion books that you need to pay $40+ for each to play.

Shadowrun is a dying perfection. Spend the money, or I kill you.

 

[ElArabDeMagnifico]

Well, there are those games that are leaked before release, so I'm not sure if you are taking those into account but anyway - but I have a question.

I just bought Beyond Good and Evil on Steam for 5 friggin' dollars over the weekend, does that go to ubisoft?

 

[Mistah Kurtz]

You have a good point, but the entire idea of this debate is illegal. As bad as used games are, they are sadly legal, regardless of the damage they cause

You're saying that buying a used game should be ILLEGAL? Are you out of your mind? That's like suggesting it's immoral to buy clothes at a thrift store instead of paying 20x the amount for the same shirt at the mall. When you buy a game you have the right to sell it if you want to, just like everything else.

 

[black lincon]

i can say that i have never pirated a game but you have a good point that just because i haven't doesn't mean i get to take a moral high ground especially since i buy used games but look i cant work yet the way i get games is to save up my money that i get for lunch. that's right for me i either play games or eat lunch if i can find any way to save money i take it if it means i get to eat one of those days. and one more thing i don't get why anyone could hate Gamestop or the like. yes they sell used games and don't give any money back to the developer but one for every copy of a used game at one point it was a new game its not like they take new games and slap a used sticker on it. and two I guess this is just a reason i have personally but i really like all the guys that work at my local Gamestop when people act like their criminals it just kinda pisses me off.

 

[ElArabDeMagnifico]

I only pirate games that aren't being sold on Steam.

And for some reason, the ones that aren't on Steam tend to almost always be awful anyway.

Aww, no love for direct2drive? I just recently discovered it's awesomeness for non-steam titles, it's like steam only I don't think it has auto updates.

 

[Orlana]

You have a good point, but the entire idea of this debate is illegal. As bad as used games are, they are sadly legal, regardless of the damage they cause

You're saying that buying a used game should be ILLEGAL? Are you out of your mind? That's like suggesting it's immoral to buy clothes at a thrift store instead of paying 20x the amount for the same shirt at the mall. When you buy a game you have the right to sell it if you want to, just like everything else.

So I'm not the only one thinking this? All I do is buy used games. Mostly because every system I have nothing new comes out of it. Though the PS2 still has games coming out for it, but nothing I actually want. ...same goes for the Wii currently. *wince* I've been snatching up Gamecube games left and right here lately because my Wii is BC so why not? Here's my outlook on it. All these GC games I've been buying, I could simply pirate them and say to hell with anyone getting money. However, because I've bought them, Gamestop gets money to be able to keep its doors open so it can continue to supply new games. What is wrong with that?

Those of you who think it's such a horrible thing to buy preowned, remember this. I make about $1000 a month after taxes are taken out. My rent's $400, my car note is $280, and my car insurance is $122 a month. I'm left with roughly $200 a month for food, gas, and entertainment. I can't afford the newest release at $50+ a pop. There's PLENTY of gamers like me in the same boat. It's ridiculous to chastise someone for going a cheaper route. I, and other's like me, am still supporting the industry in buying preowned from businesses like Gamestop. There is nothing wrong with what I'm doing. It's not "moral high ground", it's called being able to do what I love and still have a roof over my head and food to keep me alive.

 

[Ixus Illwrath]

You have a good point, but the entire idea of this debate is illegal. As bad as used games are, they are sadly legal, regardless of the damage they cause

Downloading torrents isn't illegal, countries that host the sites hold different international laws, being on the receiving end of a download isn't even illegal in the US.

 

[Altorin]

I have no moral qualms about buying used, however, my fastidious nature makes buying new almost mandatory, (I HATE blemishes on my game boxes, so paper labels ripped off = automatic pass for me.) I find it really strange that there even is a moral issue against buying used games. Yes, developers don't see any extra money from used games, however, the companies that are SELLING YOU CHEAP GAMES does. They continue to get money, expand, be able to SELL YOU EVEN MORE CHEAP GAMES. What's the moral dilemma? The developers got their piece of the pie, and MANY people buy new, like me. Some people don't trust used, they might not be available (if you want to get an early jump on a new game, new is usually the only way to go), you don't get any of the extra bells and whistles that might come with a new game, you might not have a booklet, might not have a clean case, LOTS of reasons to buy new.

Then once we've all bought new, the industry gets its share.

Do you have moral dilemmas over renting as well?

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

I don't pirate games unless you can't find them anymore (i.e. emulators). However, I have no qualms about buying used. Why should I? Obviously, someone bought that copy of the game and put it up for sale. That's like saying that buying games at a flea market should be illegal. After all, your money is only going toward the person selling the game...

 

[poleboy]

You make an interesting point. I had never actually considered that the money I spend on used games at games stores go right in their pocket with no advantage to the developers of the product. I'm not sure I would consider it wrong, since the stores do provide various services such as guaranteeing that the game works (usually), collecting the games and displaying them for you in a rented, heated store and so on... but I have no doubt that they make a lot of money this way with little effort.

As for piracy... it doesn't really interest me anymore. Most of the good reasons for pirating games are beginning to diappear. I've never pirated console games, so I'm talking about PC games here. Services like Steam, Direct2drive and Gametap offers the same basic services as a torrent with guarantee that you get the right product and that it works. They also finally figured out that you don't have to charge people through the nose for a product a few years old, which I personally welcome. New games are still pretty expensive, but as electronic distribution becomes more common, I'm sure the prices will drop since the companies will save tons of money in that area.

 

[Stooman]

I would love to be able to always buy new copies of games all shiny and fresh. But while the old ?new games are too expensive? tune is an old one, I have to play it again. I wasn?t well off before the British economy decided to stagnate like Brown?s Premiership and rise the combined cost of utilities by 100% and basic food by some 20% in 10 months (thank god I don?t operate a car); to be blunt disposable income is becoming disposed of in my little enclave of Southern England at least.

At the weekend I went in search of a copy of Katamari for the ps2. I had been told good things about its uniqueness and so I wanted to see for myself. The only options available to me were to buy it new for £40 (75USD) or buy it 2nd hand for £14 (25USD). Not only then is my money not going to the makers, but the copy is an import from an ex-pat in the USA, thus my money isn?t even going to the same economy!

I do try to buy games new when I can but I can?t justify paying full ticket price when I can either wait six months for the price to drop substantially, or get it from a different source for a fraction of the price.

 

[shatnershaman]

Pirated-One bought copy,almost infinite number of possible users
Used-One bought copy,one user at a time

Used does see to more money to developers because it requires one bought copy per person while pirating requires one bought copy per any number of people.