So what if I pirate games, why should you care?

[DoctorPhil]

Because it decreases the odds that a game like it or by the same studio will be made.

 

[Irridium]

DRM isn't that annoying.

Depends on the DRM.

Steam, disk checks, disk code. Those are annoying.

But forms of DRM that can lock out customers from their games if something bad happens? Thats much worse then simply "annoying".

For example, the 2 Capcom games on the PS3 that require an internet connection to be played? Can no longer be played by the people who legally bought them [http://mmntech.blogspot.com/2011/04/psn-outage-exposed-capcom-drm-flaw.html].

Or a while ago when Dragon Age's servers went down [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/109218-DRM-Server-Failure-Knocks-Out-Dragon-Age-DLC-for-Days-UPDATED], anyone with DLC couldn't play their saves.

Spore's DRM that required an online check at the start, and then an online check every 10 days, and if it couldn't connect to the internet the game wouldn't play. This was also in the PC version of Mass Effect.

And then there's Ubisoft's DRM, which basically screws anyone without a constant, good internet connection.

This isn't even mentioning starforce and other DRM systems from other countries.

So yeah, some DRM is annoying, and some can be outright anti-consumer.

 

[Innegativeion]

Being a mob-thinking band-wagoner isn't the same as a drug addict... They don't need to be lynched for continuing to make bland games that make them money. They ARE a company, after all.

edit: in regards to CoD

 

[Radeonx]

moral asshats

Wait, what? Thinking outright theft is wrong makes you an asshat now?

No, but spouting out that they are automatically a terrible person with no evidence/real points other then "STEALING. MUST DIE." makes them an asshat. I'm not saying everyone is, but I've seen plenty of people show outright disdain and hatred for pirates, and spout on and on about how it is killing the game industry, when they clearly have no idea what they are talking about.
Yes, I'm talking about the idiotic minority, and yes, they are normally the most vocal, so I probably should have worded that slightly better.

And before anyone says that they lose money from pirating; they don't, so don't say "Because it directly harms the industry blah blah blah", because it doesn't. It just causes a loss of a sale that may not have even been a sale to begin with.
DRM isn't that annoying.

So walking into a store and taking all the games I want and walk out without paying is "Causing a loss of a sale that may not have even been a sale to begin with"? Oh and in legal terms, THAT'S STEALING!

That's not a good analogy, because the company doesn't lose product. They lose potential sales, which isn't the same thing as a real sale.

No one should care in the slightest, but people love to be moral asshats and spew their opinions onto others.

And before anyone says that they lose money from pirating; they don't, so don't say "Because it directly harms the industry blah blah blah", because it doesn't. It just causes a loss of a sale that may not have even been a sale to begin with.

The only reason to care is DRM, and honestly, it isn't that big a deal to handle with it.
DRM isn't that annoying.

Of course the industry loses money from pirating, some developers have almost gone out of business because of it and some probably HAVE gone out of business. That's a lot more common with indie developers though so at the very least people shouldn't pirate indie games.

In a lot of cases you are right, there was never going to be a sale to begin with. But there's still a massive chunk of money lost from people that actually would have bought the game.

There are also indie devs whose games have become popular because (A good game is a prerequisite, and it isn't the sole reason anyways) it was massively pirated. It spreads word. Thats not justification, but there is another side to the coin in that situation. (I still understand where you are coming from)

No one should care in the slightest, but people love to be moral asshats and spew their opinions onto others.

And before anyone says that they lose money from pirating; they don't, so don't say "Because it directly harms the industry blah blah blah", because it doesn't. It just causes a loss of a sale that may not have even been a sale to begin with.

The only reason to care is DRM, and honestly, it isn't that big a deal to handle with it.
DRM isn't that annoying.

Well to say it will never lose the industry money is a bit suspect in it's reasoning. You can't declare a sale that was going to happen lost if you don't know about it and I have no doubt people have often pirated a game and never bought it. That's like saying no one who drinks beer ever gets drunk just because you've never met a drunk person.

I suppose saying that it doesn't lose any money was a bit of a hyperbole. Technically, it doesn't lose money, but that is just me being pedantic. It does cause damage to a company, but it isn't nearly as damaging as a lot of people think it is. This is just speculation, but I'm fairly certain that any of the top pirated games of 2010 were also best sellers, so it clearly isn't destroying the industry as much as people think it is. (The small time titles are hurt more by piracy, though, I will admit that)

And before anyone says that they lose money from pirating; they don't, so don't say "Because it directly harms the industry blah blah blah", because it doesn't. It just causes a loss of a sale that may not have even been a sale to begin with.

The fact is, it might have been a sale. If the person would have bought a game if they hadn't pirated it, it's a lost sale

But that's besides the point. Why should pirates have to pay for something that a team has put a lot of time and effort into creating? Regardless of whether or not they would have bought it, they did not buy it, and therefore are getting a product for free that should have cost them money

A think that a lot of the reason that people dislike pirates is the sense of entitlement. Why should anyone get something for free that others have had to pay for, and that a team has spent a lot of time and effort creating?

I'm not saying it is morally right in any way shape or form, I'm just saying that people who think they are superior because they don't pirate is stupid and they shouldn't care nearly as much as they do.

"wouldn't have bought it anyway" is an awful, awful excuse.

Like I said before, pirating is outright theft. You're using software owned by someone else, who is registered to sell it, without permission and without paying. So, the above excuse would in theory be applied to any other form of theft, right?

Somebody shoplifts and the freaking alarm goes off. Mall security or something surrounds you. "Oh it's okay, I wasn't going to buy this thing if I couldn't steal it anyway, so it's okay."

How do you honestly think that testimony would go down in a court of law?

I see what you are saying, but considering that what is being stolen is computer files, you are in a whole different ballpark. You aren't stealing a shirt, or something else that is tangible, you are stealing a copy of something. I'm not saying an excuse, but comparing it to losing something tangible doesn't really work.

 

[Thaa'ir]

I'm not particularly zealous about wiping it out because I view it as thievery, and it's as simple as that. I don't care about the economics; to me it is simply wrong because it is stealing.

EDIT: Before someone tries to use some example of an orphan boy stealing food to feed his starving family, piracy is not comparable to that, so please do not try to make me look like a cold, unfeeling monster, because I am not.

 

[Innegativeion]

I see what you are saying, but considering that what is being stolen is computer files, you are in a whole different ballpark. You aren't stealing a shirt, or something else that is tangible, you are stealing a copy of something. I'm not saying an excuse, but comparing it to losing something tangible doesn't really work.

I would disagree with that, but you see where I'm coming from... I guess that's all I can ask for.

 

[Radeonx]

And before anyone says that they lose money from pirating; they don't, so don't say "Because it directly harms the industry blah blah blah", because it doesn't. It just causes a loss of a sale that may not have even been a sale to begin with.

Wait a minute.

And before anyone says that they lose money from pirating; they don't

It just causes a loss of a sale that may not have even been a sale to begin with.

So it just causes them to lose a sale (see: money) that may not (see: may have) have actually been that money. So how is it that it is definitively not losing them money?

It is a loss of a potential sale.
Since you are copying something that isn't a tangible item, they don't lose money.
The code is already written and can be copied/pasted anywhere, meaning that there is an infinite supply.
Let's use t-shirts. If each t-shirts cost $10, then each shirt stolen is $10, directly causing the company to lose $10.

When a copy is made of an item, there isn't something tangible being taken from them. They aren't losing a $10 shirt, they are losing a copy of a shirt that they didn't spend any extra money making.

The only thing lost is potential sales, and while it still does hurt the game industry, it isn't directly causing them to lose $14123512363216 dollars every time someone pirates a game (This isn't directed at you saying it, just general opinion on how much they think is lost from pirating).

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

This feels like a pure capitalist statement x).

I am a pure capitalist, after all.

 

[bob1052]

and while it still does hurt the game industry

So you are saying that it does hurt the industry but because it doesn't take money from them, it only stops them from making money, it becomes ok?

 

[b3nn3tt]

And before anyone says that they lose money from pirating; they don't, so don't say "Because it directly harms the industry blah blah blah", because it doesn't. It just causes a loss of a sale that may not have even been a sale to begin with.

The fact is, it might have been a sale. If the person would have bought a game if they hadn't pirated it, it's a lost sale

But that's besides the point. Why should pirates have to pay for something that a team has put a lot of time and effort into creating? Regardless of whether or not they would have bought it, they did not buy it, and therefore are getting a product for free that should have cost them money

A think that a lot of the reason that people dislike pirates is the sense of entitlement. Why should anyone get something for free that others have had to pay for, and that a team has spent a lot of time and effort creating?

I'm not saying it is morally right in any way shape or form, I'm just saying that people who think they are superior because they don't pirate is stupid and they shouldn't care nearly as much as they do.

I agree to an extent about the superiority thing, although I do think that someone who doesn't pirate has more right to a moral high ground than someone who does

But again, I think people get annoyed by the sense of entitlement. Why should pirates get the same experience, for free, that someone else has paid money for?

 

[barash]

Piracy on the 'net does not exist. Copyright infringement does - but it is not stealing, it is COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.

Piracy is what goes on outside Somalia. Just because a word is misused a fuckton, even by media, doesn't make it okay to misuse as well.

 

[JoJo]

"wouldn't have bought it anyway" is an awful, awful excuse.

Like I said before, pirating is outright theft. You're using software owned by someone else, who is registered to sell it, without permission and without paying. So, the above excuse would in theory be applied to any other form of theft, right?

Somebody shoplifts and the freaking alarm goes off. Mall security or something surrounds you. "Oh it's okay, I wasn't going to buy this thing if I couldn't steal it anyway, so it's okay."

How do you honestly think that testimony would go down in a court of law?

I really agree with this. I should care because pirating harms the gaming industry, one which happens to provide entertainment for a reasonable amount of my spare time.

 

[SovietSecrets]

People love feeling better and more valuable then someone else.

 

[Tupolev]

And before anyone says that they lose money from pirating; they don't, so don't say "Because it directly harms the industry blah blah blah", because it doesn't. It just causes a loss of a sale that may not have even been a sale to begin with.

That's certainly occasionally true on a case-by-case basis, but as a whole you're still winding up with some sales being cut. Sure, pirates maybe wouldn't have purchased some of the games that they pirated anyway, but if you have a whole library of pirated games floating about, there's less incentive to add fairly purchased games to it.

 

[The .50 Caliber Cow]

Because there's no justifiable reason to do so, being a self entitled douchebag has no excuse.

Hint: "I don't have enough money so I'll pirate the game" is not a valid justification.

This, a hundred times this.

You may be able to convince yourself that stealing is perfectly acceptable but the vast majority of the world will disagree.

 

[adderseal]

Could somebody please explain this scenario:
You borrow a friend's physical copy of Dragon Age 2 (or whatever) that has been legitimately bought. You play it through without having payed a penny for it.
You pirate a cracked digital copy of the same game. The uploader has payed for a legitimate physical copy. You play it through without having payed a penny for it.

Now I know that a torrent distributes it to thousands, whilst a friend may lend his copy once or twice.
But for you personally, what's the difference? Why is borrowing from a friend OK and 'borrowing' from an uploader wrong?

 

[badgersprite]

It is a violation of the law, though.


Like it or not, most people in society obey the law, and getting one over on hard working people who actually pay money for things and who most likely have far less money than pirates just isn't cool. Everyone else seems to be able to participate in trade, which is kind of the backbone of society in case you haven't noticed, and losses from piracy are going to be passed onto those people who are actually paying money for things. So, yeah, non-pirates kind of do have a right to care.

2.

It DOES hurt the industry. Just because they are making a lot of money already, doesn't mean that they deserve to lose potential profits. Those potential profits could fund a riskier less-main stream title, too.

To be honest, I wouldn't mind making some companies lose "potential profits."
For example, Call of Duty.

They earned their success, regardless of your personal opinion on the company or quality of the CoD series. We can't make exceptions just because you don't like the company policies.

Thank you! And moreover, the reason I hate this line of thinking is because it isn't going to punish the people who came up with the idea, the company or the CEO. The people who are going to suffer for it are the low-paid wage slaves who are easily replaceable and will get fired for doing their job as they were told because the company can't be arsed to keep them on staff.

 

[rokkolpo]

People dislike thieves.

It's really as easy as that.
A lot of people seem to think thievery is unacceptable.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

So why do you care (or hate) if other people pirate games on the console?

Because I work 40 hours a week to buy the things I want. You want to know why I care? From the money I take home at the end of the month a small chunk of that will be used to purchase a game I'll enjoy. Yet any pirate around the world can take that game that I purchased it and claim it illegally for free. All because they didn't want to pay for it. That's what pisses me off.

Yes there's the bigger picture, those lost sales will hurt the industry in the long run. So the pirate can't afford the game, they have no right to it then. Also the whole point of calling it a 'potential sale' is equally as crap. Do they want the game? Then it's a lost sale.