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

[SoranMBane]

Because if people are simply stealing games, the developer makes less money from that game. If the developer doesn't make enough money from their game, they won't be able to follow up with another, possibly even better game which I might have very much enjoyed playing. Also, it's just WRONG, regardless of how it affects me personally. If the people who made the game aren't giving it away for free, the people who still want the game should pay for it (barring cases where there's no possible way that person could obtain the game legally where they live).

 

[Pig Mazurka]

The only game I ever pirated was the first Left 4 Dead, and immediately after I did that I bought it on Steam. It was really only to check if it'd work on my computer, seeing as how it's a pile of crap.

I don't like pirating games, because it makes me feel as if I'm stealing (which, you know, pirating is.)

 

[Arcane Azmadi]

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.

I like that. I like it. We have a winner right here, folks.

To my mind, there's only one ironcast unshakable justification for pirating a game and that's if the game is literally impossible to buy any more. If you want to download copy of, say, Mechwarrior 3 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechwarrior_3] I'd say go for it as the game is not only completely awesome, it has also been out of print for MANY years and as far as I know is not available on Steam, Impulse or any other digital download network. Fortunatly I picked up a preowned hard copy several years ago, so I don't need to.

Incidentally, apropos of nothing, my first example here was going to be Sacrifice [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacrifice_%28video_game%29] but then I remembered that Sacrifice is available on Steam for $10. [http://store.steampowered.com/app/38440/] Go buy it. Now.

 

[XandNobody]

Mostly, because I hate thieves, honestly. They do so love to justify it, but that doesn't change what they are.

My uncle says he only drinks because his work is hard, doesn't change the fact that he is an alcoholic. Justification, even the word realizes you need to do justify it because what you are doing is wrong.

 

[Verkula]

Noone cares until you start showing off about it like its a good thing.

 

[rankfx]

Why should I care? Because I pay money for games. I buy my music. I buy my movies. It's not just game piracy, it's just plain piracy that annoys me. The people who are saying that "people just love to get on their high-horses" are right, but that doesn't mean that piracy is okay. Pirates are theives.

I love it when game developers find ways to punish people for stealing their games, like in Arkham Asylum and Earthbound. The fact that the developers hate it, should be enough evidence that it is wrong. There is a victim, it's not a victimless crime.

It's like cutting in line- it's not against the law, but that doesn't mean people don't hate you for it. If you think that "just because I can do something and get away with it means it's ok for me to do" then you're like the muggers that beat up Kick-Ass.

 

[Hawgh]

Because pirating a game that I would like to see a follow-up to may cause the developer to consider it too ungainful an investment, and therefore decide not to develop such a follow-up.

Also. Simplistic as this may be; You should reward people when they do good. Pirating the good games is not the way to do that.

 

[ManOwaRrior]

The question posed by the TS was not why piracy is bad.
It was, why I in particular should bother, if someone else pirates a game.

There is a really simple reason, why I, as a person would care: Someone else got something for free, which I had to pay money for. That is one of the most basic examples of "unfair". It's bugging because whenever I thought of it, I'd think that I could have saved money myself, had I been more ruthless. So if You pirate a game that I paid money for, You are making me feel bad for it. That is a reason why I, personaly, could care.

Also, for those of you who like to think, google up the prisoners dilemma and find out, how it relates to the issue of piracy.

 

[adderseal]

Thanks to Android, TehCookie and Generic Gamer. Always good to hear several different answers to a question.
I would have quoted you all for thanks but quoting more than one post makes my head hurt.

 

[UnmotivatedSlacker]

My rule for pirating is if its a small company making decent games that aren't just re-copies of the last game in the series (like most FPS[COD]) then buy it to give them support to continue making good games. If its the other large companies that are raking in tons from fans re-buying the next version of the same game I really doubt it would matter if half the people already buying games from them started to pirate their games; they don't put much work into the games (usually) and they already have massive amounts of income from the repeat sales.

Doesn't matter if they're making alot of money, that's no excuse to pirate.

 

[Dango]

Because I dislike the idea of stealing a game that a group of people sinked months of their lives into.

 

[Android2137]

As Extra Credits pointed out, even if you claim you wouldn't have bought it anyway, the fact that you pirated the game means that it IS worth playing.

Err..how do you know if the game is worth playing, even if you pirate it?

Actually, you don't. You make your own judgement beforehand based on what you have seen and heard from other people. So if you believe it isn't worth your time, you have come to the conclusion that it isn't worth playing. If you pirate it anyway, that means you think it is worth playing and it was worth your time.

And let's face it. Even if the person playing did end up liking it, what are the odds that they'll buy a legit copy?

OffTopic:
People need to stop referring to Extra Credits...

Sorry. I like that show.

So either buy the game you think you will dislike but want to play anyway out of morbid curiosity (or whatever) or save your time, money, and mental health and just don't play it.

Thats pretty bad mentality. Just saying.

It's much like the person who rents a bad movie just to laugh at how bad it is. They don't like the actual movie, but they have fun pointing out what makes it so bad.

If you want a healthier approach, then think of it as a learning experience. You learn more from bad movies and games than good ones. When you find a mistake, you pinpoint what makes it a mistake to begin with and various means of correcting or avoiding it. In good ones, you're likely to forget about examining what makes it good in detail. (Or at least, that's the problem I have.)

 

[nifedj]

Most games wouldn't exist at all if there weren't people who bought them. Hence, when someone pirates a game they are taking advantage of the fact that other people actually pay for stuff. Do those pirates deserve the game for free when others do not? Of course not. I find it ridiculous that pirates complain about other people hating piracy - pirates wouldn't have games to play if not for the people they are complaining about. They should be thanking them, not moaning.

At the end of the day, I guess I don't like piracy because I think fairness is a good thing. I accept that not everything in life is fair - but that's no excuse for abandoning the idea of a society which is as fair as possible.

 

[Woodsey]

"Also no matter how rampant piracy on a console, they cannot put any DRM that's comparable to the ones on the PC."

Actually:

http://mmntech.blogspot.com/2011/04/psn-outage-exposed-capcom-drm-flaw.html

As for piracy: if you want it, you pay for it. If you want to "punish" the developers/publishers, you don't buy it. And then you don't play it.

 

[LitleWaffle]

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?

Playing the devil's advocate here, but they didn't have to pay for it. They could have pirated too.

In all honesty, I dislike certain piracy, because if they are so willing to pirate a new game, they probably would have bought it had that option not been avaiable to them, and I believe that it would then be a lost sale.

However, if you want to play an SNES game or something that was never made in America, or just isn't sold anywhere. Then I really don't care if you pirate that game. Not really a potential sale anymore, really. Doesn't go into their calculations for DRM.

 

[Aris Khandr]

I care because I don't want to associate myself with thieves. Justify it however you like, you still show me exactly where your character is lacking. I hold my friends to the same standards I hold myself, so blatant and unapologetic theft shows me that you're not someone I want to be around.

 

[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?

Playing the devil's advocate here, but they didn't have to pay for it. They could have pirated too.

It comes down to why some people pay and some don't. The people that pay do so because they want to reward the people who put their time and effort into creating something for entertainment. The people that don't pay do so simply because the don't want to pay. If everyone pirated, the games industry would die overnight. There is no way of justifying piracy, and that is why many many people don't do it

 

[Popido]

So either buy the game you think you will dislike but want to play anyway out of morbid curiosity (or whatever) or save your time, money, and mental health and just don't play it.

Thats pretty bad mentality. Just saying.

It's much like the person who rents a bad movie just to laugh at how bad it is. They don't like the actual movie, but they have fun pointing out what makes it so bad.

If you want a healthier approach, then think of it as a learning experience. You learn more from bad movies and games than good ones. When you find a mistake, you pinpoint what makes it a mistake to begin with and various means of correcting or avoiding it. In good ones, you're likely to forget about examining what makes it good in detail. (Or at least, that's the problem I have.)

Well you could take it that way. But thats still like hitting yourself with hammer and learning that you shouldnt hold on to the nail till the end.

I was thinking more of judging the book by its cover approach. Buy a game that you think might be good and be disappointed how badly and rushed it was made. You learn how to not make games and the publisher learns how to cut more corners to create more profit next time.

Buy bad looking game from unknown developer while wasted and be pleasently suprised how great it was. Convince your friends to buy it and they laugh it off and invite you to play BlackOps with 'em.

 

[ProtonGuy]

I actually have a legitimate reason, well 3 actually: Earthbound, Terranigma, and Magical Chase. 3 amazing games that were either never released in America originally, or have not seen a legal downloadable release since. (Side note, those curious about what these games are may want to be sitting when they see the ebay prices).