Piracy? or Try before you buy? - General

Bah, even Diablo 3 has moved to online-only. I see very few big titles being purely single player in the future. Game companies are smart, they have already seen and will definitely try to copy the success of TF2's mann co store and Diablo's real money auction house.

I prefer 'freemium' games now. Free to play, but pay to win. Basically a free trial, but if you like it, you can support them.

[QUOTE=Obnobs;37095504]I usually like to buy my games from steam, but I do pirate non-steam games and music that isn't on a main album release (EPs, special editions, Japan only, etc). Unless it's indie. It's like saying a fuck you to some rich pigs.[/QUOTE] You like to "borrow" those games from Steam, just as we all do. Last game I purchased was D3, and what a disappointment it was.

[media]http://vimeo.com/45864549[/media] One of my buddies linked me to this video and I think it's good content for debate in this thread. I for one think it's highly exaggerated pro-piracy propaganda.

Some games simply aren't avalible over here. Some games simply don't have a demo. Skyrim for example. You can't get it in Estonia (Atleast not in Steam) And I obtained it, played it a bit and realized that it is boring (Atleast for me) and quited. Now if I would have paid 50€ for it, I would have felt like I wasted a lot of money for nothing. But I didn't and I don't have to have the bad feelings. A lot of Try before buy for me. I completely fail at completing games, I simply quit halfway through anyways. It makes me feel better that I haven't wasted money on the thing I stop caring about a week later.

How do you guys feel about emulation? I personally have no problems with emulating any system that isn't being manufactured anymore because all sales of those system are secondhand anyway. Same with pirating older games.

[QUOTE=milkandcooki;37141577][media]http://vimeo.com/45864549[/media] One of my buddies linked me to this video and I think it's good content for debate in this thread. I for one think it's highly exaggerated pro-piracy propaganda.[/QUOTE] That was quite possibly the most retarded thing I have ever seen from pro-piracy advocates. it's just one big slippery slope argument that would never actually happen. [editline]8th August 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=zakedodead;37142676]How do you guys feel about emulation? I personally have no problems with emulating any system that isn't being manufactured anymore because all sales of those system are secondhand anyway. Same with pirating older games.[/QUOTE] If it's truly out of circulation in terms of the developers making money on it, or just not available retail due to age, I can understand it. Emulation of extremely old systems and games is the only way to play a few of them today, as most of them may not have even had large production runs anyway.

Piracy is just as morally wrong as stealing. But I'm not saying I care much, i'm not committing you guys. It's just the fact that you guys act like you're angels. It's still a asshole move.

If a game I want to try has no demo then I pirate it. Why should I buy a game, not knowing if it's good or bad, and only being able to judge the game by one or two screenshots on the site or box. Game's are way too expensive these days, no point risking £40 for a new game I'll never play...

If i don't own a console, i emulate it for the game(s) i want to play e.g rise of nightmares. it doesn't give me bad feelings because i don't really want to pay the price of the wii+ a game just for that one game

[QUOTE=leontodd;37143475]If a game I want to try has no demo then I pirate it. Why should I buy a game, not knowing if it's good or bad, and only being able to judge the game by one or two screenshots on the site or box. Game's are way too expensive these days, no point risking £40 for a new game I'll never play...[/QUOTE] Why? Well, you should not do such a thing. So then, if you find yourself incapable of figuring out whether the game is good or not, then do not buy it. That simple. Do you have to have a sample of every meal you purchase before you buy it?

[QUOTE=King Tiger;37144259]Why? Well, you should not do such a thing. So then, if you find yourself incapable of figuring out whether the game is good or not, then do not buy it. That simple. Do you have to have a sample of every meal you purchase before you buy it?[/QUOTE] This plus gameplay videos defeats the purpose of "testing it". And most people don't even buy the thing once they pirate it.

Pirating games is arguably more respectful to the developer and publisher than buying them second-hand. Either way they don't make any money off of your consumption, but if you're pirating it, at least no unauthorized middleman is profiting off of their work either. Of course, you'll never see any infographics with "profits stolen via used games sales," piracy is a scapegoat for stricter media control and more expensive entertainment. I say this as someone who is heavily anti-conspiracy. Anti-piracy groups are pretty much the only thing that will get me to wear a tinfoil hat. If you have moral reservations about pirating games but don't think twice about buying a used game you're a hypocrite. [sub][sub][sub]this post is not endorsing or encouraging piracy in any way plz dont ban modz thx[/sub][/sub][/sub]

[QUOTE=cccritical;37144352]Pirating games is arguably more respectful to the developer and publisher than buying them second-hand. Either way they don't make any money off of your consumption, but if you're pirating it, at least no unauthorized middleman is profiting off of their work either. Of course, you'll never see any infographics with "profits stolen via used games sales," piracy is a scapegoat for stricter media control and more expensive entertainment. I say this as someone who is heavily anti-conspiracy. Anti-piracy groups are pretty much the only thing that will get me to wear a tinfoil hat. If you have moral reservations about pirating games but don't think twice about buying a used game you're a hypocrite. [sub][sub][sub]this post is not endorsing or encouraging piracy in any way plz dont ban modz thx[/sub][/sub][/sub][/QUOTE] I don't think anyone's pushing for tighter media control or shit like that. Piracy is just used as a scapegoat to brush off lower profits or a bad game. They'll just blame pirates for their failures. I don't think there's any conspiracy. Why would entertainment companies want tighter media control?

[QUOTE=King Tiger;37144510]I don't think anyone's pushing for tighter media control or shit like that. Piracy is just used as a scapegoat to brush off lower profits or a bad game. They'll just blame pirates for their failures. I don't think there's any conspiracy. Why would entertainment companies want tighter media control?[/QUOTE] ACTA, PIPA, SOPA, most restrictive DRM, etc.

[QUOTE=cccritical;37144352]Pirating games is arguably more respectful to the developer and publisher than buying them second-hand. Either way they don't make any money off of your consumption, but if you're pirating it, at least no unauthorized middleman is profiting off of their work either. Of course, you'll never see any infographics with "profits stolen via used games sales," piracy is a scapegoat for stricter media control and more expensive entertainment. I say this as someone who is heavily anti-conspiracy. Anti-piracy groups are pretty much the only thing that will get me to wear a tinfoil hat. If you have moral reservations about pirating games but don't think twice about buying a used game you're a hypocrite. [sub][sub][sub]this post is not endorsing or encouraging piracy in any way plz dont ban modz thx[/sub][/sub][/sub][/QUOTE] I'm not too sure companies care about what you do with the money that you should have used the buy the product.

A lot of people pirate stuff then buy it I think. Generally though there is no point with Music because there is enough of it around and tools for getting free music, but try before you buy hmm, it is not unreasonable, software can be expensive and it is often an "unecessary" expense. If you start making good use of the software then some people buy it or donate some money whatever. It is good to go back and buy it if you get the money. Or if you have a better financial situation.

I had a situation a while back where my dad bought prototype , we played it once after installing, a few months go by(we were very busy), and I go to play it to actually finish the game, I find out my dog took a nice bite into the disk, leaving teeth marks in it. I didn't attempt to pirate it or anything like that, but yea, my dad payed 60 bucks for it, and the game requires you to have the disk in order to play. All I got out of it was literally 10 minutes of gameplay. Now, I'm not sure what you guys consider stealing, but I would think that pirating it in this case wouldn't be the worst of choices, we supported the developers, nothing is physically lost,etc. What do you guys think about this

[QUOTE=t-man;37157997]I had a situation a while back where my dad bought prototype , we played it once after installing, a few months go by(we were very busy), and I go to play it to actually finish the game, I find out my dog took a nice bite into the disk, leaving teeth marks in it. I didn't attempt to pirate it or anything like that, but yea, my dad payed 60 bucks for it, and the game requires you to have the disk in order to play. All I got out of it was literally 10 minutes of gameplay. Now, I'm not sure what you guys consider stealing, but I would think that pirating it in this case wouldn't be the worst of choices, we supported the developers, nothing is physically lost,etc. What do you guys think about this[/QUOTE] Just get a no cd crack for the game, it's legal to do that since you bought the game and have it installed.

[QUOTE=Hellborg 65;37158115]Just get a no cd crack for the game, it's legal to do that since you bought the game and have it installed.[/QUOTE] Fair enough, and I've thought about doing that for a while, I hope my dad didn't uninstall the game though, if so I'm screwed.

[QUOTE=t-man;37158245]Fair enough, and I've thought about doing that for a while, I hope my dad didn't uninstall the game though, if so I'm screwed.[/QUOTE] Then pirate it. If you own the game, there's no possible moral objection anyone can have to you doing so. Or contact customer support. Maybe they'll send you a new disk. Usually they just ask for a photo of the old one, assuming you still have it around.

Pretty much all points here are valid, and when I Pirate games it's because of three reasons: [B][U]Paypal[/U][/B] The main way I get games now (legitimately) is through online sources, well, just Steam. If the game's on Steam, then I'll buy it (See my next point though) But when game's are not available on Steam, and only sell through their own website, they normally only accept Paypal. And since my mothers Paypal is broken now (Ebay, forgot to pay for something) I cannot purchase those games, like Cortex Command (Coming to Steam soon), Minecraft, and so on. [B][U]Computer Specs[/U][/B] My current specs aren't very good (I'm on a laptop) and they are as follows: [I]Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 370 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.4GHz RAM: 6GB (5.68GB Usable) Graphics Card: Intel(R) HD Graphics (Core i3) OS: Windows 7[/I] Obviously, my GPU is terrible. And therefore I cannot play high end games such as Skyrim, GTA IV, Arma II and so on. So therefore, I pirate them to see how well they run, and how I can make them run better. Currently I've got GTA IV (Pirated) to see if I can get it to run better, I've downloaded Game Booster 3 and Intel Display Adapter Management Tool, to raise the FPS. And it has, alot, but it's still not as good as I'd like it to be. So I'm still looking for more methods to improve game-play performance. Also I've bought GTA IV twice on the Xbox 360 (I want it on PC because modders have ruined the online gameplay), that's my morale excuse. [B][U]Price[/U][/B] Games like Spore (Which I bought multiple times on disc) are priced way too high! Spore + Spore Galactic Adventures cost £44.98, and considering the game was released in 2008, that's a pretty high price. And since I'm only 13 (Don't mistake me for one of those whiny, high pitched morons that ruin multiplayer games) the only income I have is birthdays and christmas, so I need to preserve my money wisely. I've bought the Spore games and Spore Creepy and Cute Parts Pack now though. Those are my reasons for pirating games, if you disagree with any of my points, I'd be glad to hear your opinion.

[QUOTE=Vasey105;37174584]Pretty much all points here are valid, and when I Pirate games it's because of three reasons: [B][U]Paypal[/U][/B] The main way I get games now (legitimately) is through online sources, well, just Steam. If the game's on Steam, then I'll buy it (See my next point though) But when game's are not available on Steam, and only sell through their own website, they normally only accept Paypal. And since my mothers Paypal is broken now (Ebay, forgot to pay for something) I cannot purchase those games, like Cortex Command (Coming to Steam soon), Minecraft, and so on. [B][U]Computer Specs[/U][/B] My current specs aren't very good (I'm on a laptop) and they are as follows: [I]Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 370 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.4GHz RAM: 6GB (5.68GB Usable) Graphics Card: Intel(R) HD Graphics (Core i3) OS: Windows 7[/I] Obviously, my GPU is terrible. And therefore I cannot play high end games such as Skyrim, GTA IV, Arma II and so on. So therefore, I pirate them to see how well they run, and how I can make them run better. Currently I've got GTA IV (Pirated) to see if I can get it to run better, I've downloaded Game Booster 3 and Intel Display Adapter Management Tool, to raise the FPS. And it has, alot, but it's still not as good as I'd like it to be. So I'm still looking for more methods to improve game-play performance. Also I've bought GTA IV twice on the Xbox 360 (I want it on PC because modders have ruined the online gameplay), that's my morale excuse. [B][U]Price[/U][/B] Games like Spore (Which I bought multiple times on disc) are priced way too high! Spore + Spore Galactic Adventures cost £44.98, and considering the game was released in 2008, that's a pretty high price. And since I'm only 13 (Don't mistake me for one of those whiny, high pitched morons that ruin multiplayer games) the only income I have is birthdays and christmas, so I need to preserve my money wisely. I've bought the Spore games and Spore Creepy and Cute Parts Pack now though. Those are my reasons for pirating games, if you disagree with any of my points, I'd be glad to hear your opinion.[/QUOTE] You don't have the right to play any of those games for any reason. You did not purchase a copy of them. Therefore, you should not be able to use them. [editline]10th August 2012[/editline] Also, if you don't have the money for something, why should you be able to use it? And your excuse for "seeing how well the game runs" on your computer is useless because every game posts minimum specs which you an use to see if your computer can run it.

Quite frankly I do not see why I should purchase the games if I cannot play them, I'd pretty much just be donating to the game company. Besides, I've spent around £4000 pounds in the gaming industry; so I'm not going to feel morally challenged. (If that even makes sense) And my point on the not being able to run it thing is perfectly logical, because I do not meet the requirements for Amnesia: Dark Descent. But now with the help of certain software I can play it without many FPS drops. Although I do respect your opinion and I do see why you have them.

[QUOTE=Vasey105;37175275][b]Quite frankly I do not see why I should purchase the games if I cannot play them[/b], I'd pretty much just be donating to the game company. Besides, I've spent around £4000 pounds in the gaming industry; so I'm not going to feel morally challenged. (If that even makes sense)[/QUOTE] Haha wow. Do you not see what you're saying right now?

[QUOTE=King Tiger;37175297]Haha wow. Do you not see what you're saying right now?[/QUOTE] Yeah, I've only just noticed how much of an idiot that makes me sound, what I meant to say, was that if I cannot get the game to run properly (Like what I'm doing with GTA IV now and already have done with Amnesia: Dark Descent) then I won't buy it. There'd be no loss to the development company either, because I wouldn't be playing the pirated version of it lags too much. Also, the minimum requirements for games sometimes are false, because I shouldn't be able to play Star Wars Battlefront II, but I can, on high settings, with no lag/FPS drops.

Spending some time to develop a demo of your game = a much better solution, if only a partial one, to piracy than carpet-bombing everybody with lawsuits.

[QUOTE=Strongbad;37175439]Spending some time to develop a demo of your game = a much better solution, if only a partial one, to piracy than carpet-bombing everybody with lawsuits.[/QUOTE] Demos that are the full game but with a time-limit are the most satisfying ones to me.

[QUOTE=Vasey105;37175342]Yeah, I've only just noticed how much of an idiot that makes me sound, what I meant to say, was that if I cannot get the game to run properly (Like what I'm doing with GTA IV now and already have done with Amnesia: Dark Descent) then I won't buy it. There'd be no loss to the development company either, because I wouldn't be playing the pirated version of it lags too much. Also, the minimum requirements for games sometimes are false, because I shouldn't be able to play Star Wars Battlefront II, but I can, on high settings, with no lag/FPS drops.[/QUOTE] That sounds like a fluke to me. But your example is irrelevant because you can still play the game. If a game's minimum specs were not enough to play it, that would be a relevant example. The entire point is irrelevant because you are still stealing the game. [QUOTE=Vasey105;37175526]Demos that are the full game but with a time-limit are the most satisfying ones to me.[/QUOTE] Probably because they are the easiest to pirate.

[QUOTE=King Tiger;37175571]That sounds like a fluke to me. But your example is irrelevant because you can still play the game. If a game's minimum specs were not enough to play it, that would be a relevant example. The entire point is irrelevant because you are still stealing the game. Probably because they are the easiest to pirate.[/QUOTE] I can assure you it's not a fluke, I've recorded a video of me playing a match of CTF 2-Flag too prove it. [video=youtube;7Pus50xvxJo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pus50xvxJo&feature=youtu.be[/video] And also, I have no idea how to actually crack a game myself. I've only ever downloaded pirated contents from Pirate Bay. And I've pretty much bought everything I've ever pirated. And how is my point irrelevant? It's completely relevant, it shows that the requirements for the game are in-correct and I would never have know that had I not pirated it. An if I couldn't play it, how woul that be a relevant example, exactly? Do you mean that if I did meet the requirements and it did have bad FPS it would be a good example?