Why do people think it's ok to pirate games?

[wilted_orchid]

It's wrong to pirate anything, to be honest, so I don't understand the big emphasis people put on games pirating. A movie or album had just as much, sometimes more effort and heart put into its creation and its just not fair. A jeweller would be livid if you came in and stole one of their pieces, not just because they're losing out on profit, but also because that's their livelihood. So I don't see any difference between, say, pirating The Orange Box and stealing from Argento. It's all wrong in my book.

Reviewers like Yahtzee and others at Escapist are here to try and let people know about games before they purchase them, so no one can say they pirated the game to see if it would be rubbish or not - there are other ways to get that information.

 

[Claptrap]

The only thing I can think of that I don't think anybody has said is they might be incredibly psyched up waiting for a game (can't wait to play), and when it comes out they haven't got enough money or it might of went out of stock. The mind set usually there is angry or upset and if they know how to download games then they can fill up that emptiness and feel happy about it.

The others are usually
- Games at unreasonable prices
- Can't afford it
- DRM sucks ass
- Don't care mind set (also easier)
- Game broke (not buying another)
- Heard bad things about it
- Company's making dick moves

Not great excuses but sometimes they fit the bill, especially the DRM one, no matter what you say it's always bullshit.

But the thing is, If you pirate it because of drm, You make companys make MORE drm to stop pirateing.

Here are my two cents

As long as companies are (albeit inadvertedly) portraying the unlicensed obtaining of intellectual property as cool by misnomering it as Piracy there will be no end to it.

DRM is not an obstacle, it's a challenge

Copying is not a crime unless you make a profit from selling the copy and claiming it to be the original.

I've got a longer rant on the subject but I thought I should ease you into it.

By what your saying, You think its legal to pirate because it was copyed? The law disagrees,
Theres something called copyright.

 

[Babitz]

Reviewers like Yahtzee and others at Escapist are here to try and let people know about games before they purchase them, so no one can say they pirated the game to see if it would be rubbish or not - there are other ways to get that information.

That is true, but you cannot be sure even then. You have to try it for yourself to know whether you really like the game or not. Everyone said WoW was awesome, but it wasn't as good for me. Many other games also.

 

[asgardmothership]

If it has already been said then my post serves to reiterate it. Whichever way you look at it, pirating is a crime - it is obtaining an object (namely the game) without paying for it, something people have invested time and money in creating. if it was a wicker chair in a big warehouse full of wicker chairs you might say, oh no one will be hurt except the money grabbing company huf huf. Yet, would we deny it is stealing? No. Nothing annoys me more however than this justification:

"Well, I have no respect for the money grabbing developers, "forcing" me to buy a game when I dont even know if its any good, I could waste £45! If I like the game, I will go out and buy it anyway."

Ooo this one kills me, If I like it, I will buy it. As if this is gloriously commendable - "You WILL buy a game you played? Oh, well done you." Games, films, like anything else, is a roulette whether you'll like it when you get it home. As a little boy you bought a toy car in a shop, but when you got it home you realised it wasnt quite what you wanted! Oh no! Disappointment!

If you don't like a game when you BUY it, trade it in, sell it on ebay, give it to your friend. Stealing it off some sleezy website is disgusting. Any argument that even touches on the fact that the they have enough money and you have not alot, what a sad arguement. If you are stealing food in order to survive till tomorrow, you might have my sympathy, but to get Splinter Cell Conviction for nothing? GO AWAY.

 

[DayDark]

There's basically two forms of pirates:

Immoral, but Honest Pirates:

This is the real pirate, he doesn't try to rationalize, bend, stretch, find loopholes, in logic to get some form of moral justification. He knows what he's doing is wrong, he just doesn't care.

Moral, but dishonest Pirates:

This is basically a normal pirate with a conscience, he's uncomfortable with being in the wrong, so will rationalize any way possible to get some moral background, anything that will justify continuing pirating, seemingly without sacrificing morality. you can see this behavior in religious apologetics as well, when supposed infallible books conflicts with reality.

 

[C117]

Only valid argument I can think of: "because that's the only way to get it."

This applies to abandonware and games that never will be released outside a certain country.

 

[zombie711]

they want to see what ubisoft will do next

 

[Gunner 51]

There was a time back in the late 80's/early 90's when I was a pirate. (Back in casette days) But I didn't do it because I was a bastard, but because I wanted to share the games I liked with the friends I loved.

But these days, the only reason I can think of that pirates do the things they do is...

1.) They don't want to pay full price and can't wait for a pre-owned version.
2.) Publishers put DRM which makes a proper version a pain in the bum to run.
3.) They already have the game, but it broke. So why pay twice for something you legally own?
4.) Game is no longer sold in the shops.

 

[Nazulu]

The only thing I can think of that I don't think anybody has said is they might be incredibly psyched up waiting for a game (can't wait to play), and when it comes out they haven't got enough money or it might of went out of stock. The mind set usually there is angry or upset and if they know how to download games then they can fill up that emptiness and feel happy about it.

The others are usually
- Games at unreasonable prices
- Can't afford it
- DRM sucks ass
- Don't care mind set (also easier)
- Game broke (not buying another)
- Heard bad things about it
- Company's making dick moves

Not great excuses but sometimes they fit the bill, especially the DRM one, no matter what you say it's always bullshit.

But the thing is, If you pirate it because of drm, You make companys make MORE drm to stop pirateing.

That's not fact yet. I'm hoping they'll just give up that shit and treat customers normally.

 

[Ewyx]

drm is to stop second hand sales. Sheesh... doesn't no one get it? Piracy is just an excuse.

Also NO ONE HERE BUYS A GAME! You buy a license that allows you to play it. Not that anyone listens.

 

[loremazd]

I really love the logic behind alot of the common excuses for that, the two chief ones i'll lay out here.

1: "Copying isn't wrong! You aren't taking a product!" Yes, you aren't taking a product, you're depriving a sale. People get hired, fired, get raises and cuts on sales. When you're taking a free copy of something, especially close to the release of said product, you're basically telling someone you want to make their lives harder. Anyone who says this is basically just hiding in the logistics and making excuses for preforming a morally bad act. There is a -huge- difference between loaning something to a friend and going to a store, buying something, and copying it to distribute on a massive scale.

2:"It's not affecting sales because people pirate games they weren't intending to buy anyway." I can understand this point, to a degree, and who knows, you may be telling the truth. However, this is really doubtful as the norm of the practice. Big PC hits of recent have hundreds of thousands of downloads on release day, and I bet every one of them would pay full price were it not for the alternative.

There are a few good reasons to pirate, the second example, if sincere being close to one. Testing compatability with your system is fine too, especially with almost no retailer offering money back for PC games. Usually I pirate if the only place I can get it is ebay or used.

 

[Ewyx]

Out of curiosity? What if a friend loans me a game? Is that illegal? I am depriving them of a sale and all?

 

[Babitz]

Out of curiosity? What if a friend loans me a game? Is that illegal? I am depriving them of a sale and all?

Well, you ARE depriving them of a sale because they would probably want you to buy the game instead so they can make more money.

 

[loremazd]

yes you are not removing it but you did manage to get something, that someone else made and you put zero resources into, for nothing and that is stealing.

You like drawing. You draw a copy of a famous painting worth $1M and hang it on your wall. You just stole $1M.

You like cooking. You look up on the web and find the recipe for the 300$ steak from the restaurant next door. You cook it. You just stole 300$.

You like digital data. You look on the web and you find a digital copy of a 60$ game. You copy it to your pc. You just stole 60$.

Same situation on the 3 cases, yet people only find something wrong with the third, why?

Case 1: You didn't copy the painting, you did work and made a new painting. That's like performing a cover song at a bar. What you made is different than the original.

Case 2: Other than the fact that there's no such thing as a 300 dollar steak outside of charity events, you're still producing your own steak. To be like case three you would have to sit outside their store and give free steaks to everyone who wants one.

Case 3: Someone makes an exact, direct copy of the original work, and gives it away to anyone on the planet with an internet connection who wants it.

You figure out why people get testy about case three yet?

 

[Nazulu]

2:"It's not affecting sales because people pirate games they weren't intending to buy anyway." I can understand this point, to a degree, and who knows, you may be telling the truth. However, this is really doubtful as the norm of the practice. Big PC hits of recent have hundreds of thousands of downloads on release day, and I bet every one of them would pay full price were it not for the alternative.

There are a few good reasons to pirate, the second example, if sincere being close to one. Testing compatability with your system is fine too, especially with almost no retailer offering money back for PC games. Usually I pirate if the only place I can get it is ebay or used.

I don't see that 2nd point as a good excuse at all, in fact it's probably worst than all the rest because how can you tell who wasn't intending? It's like saying their special because of whatever.

Also with the testing compatibility excuse, you can just look on the net for the requirements or look at the back of the box and compare it to your computer specs.

Just some challenges that may come your way.

 

[cuddly_tomato]

Because of the way they treat their customers. DRM, blatant ripping off, releasing products still in beta and unfinished, and the general behaviour of some of the gaming CEOs...

...all give some gamers the impression that developers are behaving unethically.

 

[loremazd]

Out of curiosity? What if a friend loans me a game? Is that illegal? I am depriving them of a sale and all?

Well first of all, it's a loan, and your friend can do whatever he likes with the physical copy of the product he bought. When it becomes wrong is when he copies it and distributes it to anyone who wants it. That's just bootlegging without charging for it.

 

[Nazulu]

Out of curiosity? What if a friend loans me a game? Is that illegal? I am depriving them of a sale and all?

Depends what the license says or whatever you agree to. Some of the early games I bought for computer didn't even bring it up.