Singleplayer games with microtransactions.
- Thread starter Dogemon
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Micro-transactions are fucking cancer anyway, though. So, well, moderators feel free to nuke my account:
Fucking DO IT.
Fucking DO IT.
It's an interesting question. I doubt there's any precedent for it, but I'd be willing to bet if such a thing did go to court, the answer would be no.
It would probably get a bit weirder and less certain if you ran around helping other people circumvent micro-transactions, though.
It would probably get a bit weirder and less certain if you ran around helping other people circumvent micro-transactions, though.
Interesting question. If you look at it per agreement upon purchase, then yes it's piracy, it's stealing, yadda yadda. Of course, morally, I consider microfucks a goddamn ripoff and insult to paying customers, BUT, if you bought the game, you entered that agreement.
So there's 2 steps of morals here:
1) to the company to which you agreed to buy their product and use it as you see fit (unless you stole the game itself, in which you would be in breach of a whole different law, and that is definitely stealing from devs)
2) You would be liable to other players, as in any kind of hacking/trainer scenario. But you already pointed out that this is only in single player games, so screw it. Unless you dicked up the leaderboards, which IS rather annoying (lap times in racing games, particularly for me)
The question is interesting because if there were no microtransactions, and you hacked a save in a single player game, then that wouldn't be piracy or stealing whatsoever because the option to do that wasn't on sale to begin with. And I doubt there are many EULAs out there that prevent you from using a trainer in a single player game.
So there's 2 steps of morals here:
1) to the company to which you agreed to buy their product and use it as you see fit (unless you stole the game itself, in which you would be in breach of a whole different law, and that is definitely stealing from devs)
2) You would be liable to other players, as in any kind of hacking/trainer scenario. But you already pointed out that this is only in single player games, so screw it. Unless you dicked up the leaderboards, which IS rather annoying (lap times in racing games, particularly for me)
The question is interesting because if there were no microtransactions, and you hacked a save in a single player game, then that wouldn't be piracy or stealing whatsoever because the option to do that wasn't on sale to begin with. And I doubt there are many EULAs out there that prevent you from using a trainer in a single player game.
On the one hand, the devs want you to pay for that tat, on the other, you already purchased a license to do with the game as you please.
If I buy a 1982 Betamax VCR there's no law that says I *can't* modify it into a VHS player, thus robbing Sony of the royalties that they'd receive from the Beta tapes that I'm not buying. They'd void my warranty, but they can't do anything more.
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Shadow of War has a very special space reserved in my heart as a game that I really want but won't buy on principle. I think it will handle cheating the same way as Phantom Pain does.
If they catch you cheating or hacking staff at FOBs they will ban you from the not really multiplayer but online component of the game, making it a truly single player experience.
That makes SoW a not really single player game, it would be heaps better as a single player game. And maybe they'd even have training orders in the core f***ing game instead of locking them behind a paywall, but there wouldn't be an online component to ban players from if it was single player.
If I buy a 1982 Betamax VCR there's no law that says I *can't* modify it into a VHS player, thus robbing Sony of the royalties that they'd receive from the Beta tapes that I'm not buying. They'd void my warranty, but they can't do anything more.
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Shadow of War has a very special space reserved in my heart as a game that I really want but won't buy on principle. I think it will handle cheating the same way as Phantom Pain does.
If they catch you cheating or hacking staff at FOBs they will ban you from the not really multiplayer but online component of the game, making it a truly single player experience.
That makes SoW a not really single player game, it would be heaps better as a single player game. And maybe they'd even have training orders in the core f***ing game instead of locking them behind a paywall, but there wouldn't be an online component to ban players from if it was single player.
It isn't piracy, but that doesn't mean it isn't illegal. You're still subject to the game's terms of service (because games now are services, remember?). A better choice is not to buy the game in the first place (or buy it used), so you don't give them any money at all.
No. You're paying to follow their terms of service, and breaking them is grounds enough to take legal action against you (if they'd care to do so).Gennadios said:
- Apr 1, 2009
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I guess technically its stealing. Its stealing in the dumbest of way and I seriously doubt anyone would care enough to take you to court unless you were selling methods to circumvent it. But it is probably stealing.
Basically what CaitSeith said. I don't know if you could call it piracy exactly, but they could still take you to court for it. For violating the ToS if nothing else.
American Tanker said:
I'm sure it's against the EULA or some shit but who cares? Micro-transactions are nonsense and you already bought their damn game. Boo hoo I feel so bad for Warner Brothers.
Technically yes, but I'd love to see a dev actually try and make such a claim stick as their justification for micro-transactions every *fucking* time is "Oh, well all of the content can be unlocked via gameplay, we're just offering our fans the opportunity to short-cut this process!" or similar. So, if you are using a hack to give yourself in-game currency then you could argue that all you're doing is bypassing in-game grind for items that are freely available through gameplay, and any dev arguing that you're stealing from them is basically admitting that currency packs are there for the sole purpose of earning them post-sale cash rather than "enhancing the experience for our loyal player-base".
No it's not, it's a "warranty void of seal is broken" sticker on the back of an xbox. Breaking a TOS is grounds for them to suspend service or ban you from the game. They can't take legal action unless you profit from it, such as reselling the method of hacking to others.CaitSeith said:
I'm sorry, but finding a way to get the worthless tat that's locked behind a paywall in-game isn't 'profiting.' If it were, the game's industry would have to admit that the crap in loot boxes has monetary value, which would be them admitting that they're providing a gambling service and invite lots of hot, sweaty, regulation.
Similar rationalizations have come in defense of piracy. But it isn't me who you'd need to convince, it's the judge. Of course, the litigious knife can cut both ways... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayS...are#Class_action_suits_filed_over_update_3.21Gennadios said: