Pirating old games?

[The Spilly]

It really depends. I have pirated copies of Nocturne and Revenant only because they are imposible to find copies of. (Nocturne having its website shut down and Terminal Reality not even listing it as one of their games anymore). If I could find a copy of these I'd definitely buy them legit even though I already have a pirate copy simply because I support the game's creators.

I have actually bought a CD version of DOOM2 and Alien: Trilogy. (Seriously, who has a legit copy of doom?)

I also have bought games after pirating as well. Dawn of War, DArk Messiah, Oblivion, etc. On the flip side its saved me from buying a totally crap game such ad Prey and many others (most of which were so bad I didnt even bother playing more than an hour or two of the pirated copy they were so bad).

Hell, downloading has even helped me find bands I would NEVER have found otherwise (Tarras, Reflexion, etc). So I say if you buy the product and only use downloading to test the product its okay.

Although I may be a rare breed. >_>

 

[Xaryn Mar]

Hell, downloading has even helped me find bands I would NEVER have found otherwise (Tarras, Reflexion, etc). So I say if you buy the product and only use downloading to test the product its okay.

Although I may be a rare breed. >_>

I kind of agree with you, but then agains we both might be part of the same dying breed.

 

[Wewt]

I think its awwwwright. I pirated descent freespace last year. Couldn't find the damn thing anywhere, and found out later that the company (volition) Doesn't exist anymore. Year later and i found aout about freespace source. Dickfuck.

 

[Flunk]

Morally I think that if you can't get the game anymore it should be alright to pirate it. But saying that I believe that legally you have to wait until copyright runs out (something like 50 years but it differs depending on country) or the company does belly-up and no one retains the copyright.

I have a legit copy of Doom (and Doom 2) on diskettes.

 

[Smells Like Muff]

Usually there are guidelines people use for software...

If the game is 7+ years old.
Not being sold directly by the creators or their distributers.
Not being actively supported (considered dead).

Most pick just one of the above and go with it. Technically it is illegal to do it but since the companies that own the rights dont care about the dead games they dont push the issue.

Think Wing Commander or Commander Keen and such.

Another good site for what they accept as uploads as well as an extensive listings of everything old is [link]http://underground-gamer.com/browse.php?search=[/link]

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-Muff

 

[Dudemeister]

I think it's fine to have, say, emulators which are just old games nobody buys anymore anyway.
When was the last time you went to a shop to buy a NES game anyway ?

 

[Flour]

I have 1,2GB of NES and SNES roms, about 1800 games. I will never find these games in stores so why should I care how I get them?(not buying a game doesn't hurt the company that doesn't sell the game anymore)

If I can't find it, I download it, I also refuse to pay more than half of what the game originally cost, when buying a game used.(I didn't even pay half price for my copy of FF9, and that was a sealed copy years after production stopped)

There is a single "retro gaming" store where I could buy some NES or SNES games and it's on the other side of town. The prices are also higher than if I bought the games when they were released, so excuse me if I refuse to pay two or three times the old price for a used game released 10-20 years ago.

 

[nightfish]

What about people like Sega and Capcom who are now releasing their old games on advanced consoles? I guess thats why they like to keep the rights, to make more money further down the line as we go all misty eyed over retro.

 

[Padfoot13]

ROMs are a great way for new age gamers to see what things were like. but it technically is pirating since a lot of these games are coming back on virtual markets, and compilation disks.

 

[Therumancer]

I do not consider Abandonware (or AbandonROMS) to be Piracy in any way, shape, or form. I see it similarly to Fabsubbed Anime/movies/whatever. Basically if something is up for sale and easily availible to you from the creator then it's wrong to obtain it for free. On the other hand if the product is not availible from the creator due to age, or simply it not being released to your market, then it's fair game.

Honestly though I think it's a matter of time before creators/owners of games begin to realize that there is money to be made by fixing them to run with modern hardware (including profesionally made versions of Slomo and Dosbox already running for the game or something). You see it to an extent with the old Retro-game collections for things like the PSP (EA Collection, Genesis Collection, etc..) I figure it's a matter of time before Abandonware becomes touchier when companies start selling compilations of a lot of their older former properties.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

There are some games released into the public domain; Ur-Quan Masters (neé Star Control 2) for instance. I download those ones without blinking.

The other stuff, though... I downloaded an old MB/Games Workshop game, Space Hulk, because I thought it had been released as freeware only to find it taken down by DCMA request a couple of days later. You never know.

-- Steve

 

[Amplify]

If a game is old (Snes and before) but was at some time or another sold in the UK, then I'll tour the various shops I know 'till I find one selling it.

Generally the only time (with very rare exceptions) that I download a game I don't already own, is if it's next to impossible for me to get my hands on. For example, just try buying a copy of Chrono trigger, Earthbound, FFVI or Super mario RPG from a shop in England. It would be easier to buy Plutonium over the counter of my local Boots pharmacy.

 

[Syber_Sid]

IMO if the game in question is no longer produced then it's fairgame.

 

[Ixus Illwrath]

I think the only games you can download legally are ROMS from the SNES era or older. This is pretty much things from 1995 to lower. The games industry seems to agree with me.

You can download anything you want legally. Find me a statute that exists anywhere that says otherwise. The gaming industry/RIAA/MPAA might disagree, but when did we make them lawmakers?

 

[Amplify]

I think the only games you can download legally are ROMS from the SNES era or older. This is pretty much things from 1995 to lower. The games industry seems to agree with me.

You can download anything you want legally.

A rather bold statment, I must say.

 

[Crofty]

Regarding how legal ROMs of old games and the like are, why is it that if having the ROM is illegal unless you own the game, that sites like emuparadise haven't been closed down years ago? From what I know it's not exactly difficult for police to locate a server and who it's hosting, so why haven't they?
(not that I'm complaining, I'm too skint to hunt down old games and consoles and don't think there should be anything wrong with downloading games that publishers haven't marketed since I was young, just wondering why I can with seemingly no consequences)

 

[Slycne]

Regarding how legal ROMs of old games and the like are, why is it that if having the ROM is illegal unless you own the game, that sites like emuparadise haven't been closed down years ago? From what I know it's not exactly difficult for police to locate a server and who it's hosting, so why haven't they?
(not that I'm complaining, I'm too skint to hunt down old games and consoles and don't think there should be anything wrong with downloading games that publishers haven't marketed since I was young, just wondering why I can with seemingly no consequences)

Because if it's hosted overseas you have little to any jurisdiction, and I think for most law enforcement it's simply not worth the time. I think your common person would rather a cyber crimes division's resources going towards catching child predator's then shutting down a ROM site.

 

[B4D 9R4MM3R]

I have two rules when it comes to piracy:

1. If I still have the software after six months and still use it then I will go and buy the real thing.

2. If I cannot find the software or I know that it has been discontinued and unsupported then I will keep it without paying for a copy.

There are some exceptions, like when the pirated version is glitchy but I really enjoy the game so I will go and buy a copy immediately.

Rule 1 is very rare. Rule 2 is not as rare, but still uncommon.

 

[Drednought1]

I have to admit i pirate old games too, like the very first Decent game, i couldnt find copies anywhere that wernt being sold for a stupid amount even for todays games, so i found a download for it and just ran it on an emulator.

Id challenge anyone to find most games from eras before and including the PS1 etc... that were rarely played, because it becomes a near impossible task. At times like that, i dont really feel I have any choice but to DL it.