Is torrenting ever ethical? - Games

This is a serious question, is it ever ethical to illegaly download? like if you bought a game but lost the disc? or is it still unethical?

It's unethical, in my opinion, in every case other than the one you mentioned, though most games I (and many others) buy now are off of Steam, so you can't lose the disc. It's still illegal in any case.

[QUOTE=Randdalf;28762765]It's unethical, in my opinion, in every case other than the one you mentioned, though most games I (and many others) buy now are off of Steam, so you can't lose the disc. It's still illegal in any case.[/QUOTE] What if i bought a game a long time ago, the disc is either lot or beyond use, cant rebuy it anywhere, but there are plenty of torrents. I would say, its ethical if you lose it. or if its activision.

No. By buying a game you're only entitled to one copy of the game. Downloading another is a second copy, therefore it's illegal. Also with torrents you're also uploading, which is definitely illegal.

[QUOTE=PieClock;28762818]No. By buying a game you're only entitled to one copy of the game. Downloading another is a second copy, therefore it's illegal. Also with torrents you're also uploading, which is definitely illegal.[/QUOTE] This, when you sell your copy of the game, you're supposed to uninstall it.

This is almost like asking is abortion ethical. There are almost as many good points as there are bad even if their are laws against it (and there are laws against both) If I were a developer I would want you to buy the game and enjoy the game. If you were to download the game and THEN my it, me personally would be happy enough. But if i were a publisher I'd just want your money. If you were to use the product without paying for it for any length of time I'd consider it theft of my property and take action. Although here's a tip that applies to most things. When I doubt, Don't.

Torrenting and Pirating are two different things. With torrenting, you can be downloading Ubuntu or something. Which is free. Pirating may use torrents, but that doesn't make torrenting as a whole bad.

Torrents are actually more ethical than downloading stuff from a centralized server, since you're not taking from their bandwidth. [editline]asdfghjk[/editline] Like the humble indie bundle, they actually encouraged people to look for torrents after buying the bundle.

Developers spend a fucking LOT of time making games. They work RIDICULOUS hours close to crunch time, sometimes not going home for 2 or 3 days at a time. And, even then, they only ever see a portion of the money if they're not a self-producing company because the producers take a hefty chunk of the revenue. I can't in good conscience bring myself to torrent a game unless it's a game that's ancient and no longer sold, and, even then, a lot of those are freeware, so I don't have to torrent them anyway.

[QUOTE=PieClock;28762818]No. By buying a game you're only entitled to one copy of the game. Downloading another is a second copy, therefore it's illegal. Also with torrents you're also uploading, which is definitely illegal.[/QUOTE] Uploading/seeding are two completely different things.

Pirating is never ethical. Torrenting is not always the same thing. A cat is an animal. Not all animals are cats.

I torrent old games that are impossible to find all the time, games like Nuclear Strike, Mechwarrior, etc. I've bought most of them, some several times, but occasionally there are a few games that I wanted to play as a kid that I never bought that I'll torrent now. also I download a lot of music released for free (ie. a lot of indie bands put their music up on torrents themselves)

[QUOTE=sltungle;28763081]Developers spend a fucking LOT of time making games. They work RIDICULOUS hours close to crunch time, sometimes not going home for 2 or 3 days at a time. And, even then, they only ever see a portion of the money if they're not a self-producing company because the producers take a hefty chunk of the revenue. I can't in good conscience bring myself to torrent a game unless it's a game that's ancient and no longer sold, and, even then, a lot of those are freeware, so I don't have to torrent them anyway.[/QUOTE] Same, It is a last reserve option when it is impossible to retrieve in any other means

[QUOTE=PieClock;28762818]No. By buying a game you're only entitled to one copy of the game. Downloading another is a second copy, therefore it's illegal. Also with torrents you're also uploading, which is definitely illegal.[/QUOTE] Just because it's illegal doesn't make it unethical. I'd say that particular instance is justified.

Downloading it and not uploading it is only ethical if you never had any intention of purchasing the game. Of course most people will just say that they never would have bought it anyway, so w/e.

Ethics are subjective. Decide for yourself.