What do you do when people you know pirate games?
Obviously most of us (hopefully all!) here are opposed to piracy, but what would you guys do when you see your friends happily trading downloaded console games between each other all the time? I don't just mean 1 or 2 people, more like 15-20.
I took a firm stance against it, and tried to talk about it from my side but the general message I got back was "so what, I'm getting the game for free" or "it's not worth buying this game".
I was just wondering if any of you guys have talked friends into being guilty enough to start buying games again or have a similar experience.
I took a firm stance against it, and tried to talk about it from my side but the general message I got back was "so what, I'm getting the game for free" or "it's not worth buying this game".
I was just wondering if any of you guys have talked friends into being guilty enough to start buying games again or have a similar experience.
Replies
And now - I read people saying (like for L4D2) things like, "Cool video but definitely not worth buying this time. A torrent will do fine
As for friends, most of my friends buy their games. In fact, I don't know anyone who still pirates a game.
I'm able to convince pretty much all of my friends to buy games with strong online multiplayer.
I guess id pirate a singleplayer game but i dont have any on my list.
Mostly i play steam onlinegames and pirating isnt really an option there
unless you want to play on some shitty russian server full of
hackers.
I've seen my own iPhone game pirated now. Live and let live.
Best thing you can do is set an example.
shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame them
if they're not physical copies, then delete them from their machines on the sly... don't forget about that saved game data backup
edit: you may need to invest in some sweet ass mission impossible style gear to pull this stuff off with the right flair
oh, and words are useless at this point... hence the need to act out irrationally to get your point across
Actually, thats pretty funny. I'm curious what a hardcore gamer with tons of pirated games would do if you just deleted everything they 'owned' and 'worked for'. Irony is awesome!
Just before you back over them for the 4th time, ask out loud:
"why are you taking food out of my mouth?"
bump bump
"Why are you forcing work over seas?"
bump bump
"Keep it up slackers and there won't be an industry for you to join once you get done half assing your way through clown college. You're only hurting your own future mother f*ers!"
bump bump
"Ok who's next?"
I found that if you do this to one person in plain view of your other friends they all stop pirating games.
I have a binder full of games i bought legit when i had a job though! But i dont play them either.
I'd say it's because most single player games haven't got the replay value of a multi-player game.
I rent single player games I want to play usually, go through it once on hard difficulty for some extra game time and give it back when I've completed it.
I always buy stuff now, on steam if possible. its just so damn handy.. If I see others doing it though, I turn a blind eye. It sucks, but I'm not going to start preaching- at most I'll say something like 'looks sweet, I might buy that looks like they deserve the cash'. I would just turn down or throw out any disks that came my way nowadays
this makes me less angry if I have to delete the game (and see my money flying out of the window) bc of an bad mod support
better are games like homeworld or Dawn of War where it is possible to test mod-stuff already with the demo.. these are the best games imo and I really love studios who are so fair.
I buy all games that pass this test though.
I knew someone who downloaded "every" game just bc he was able to.. he never really played them.. so I think, well...
Hardly know any people who do not buy their games.
I obviously jumped in and disagreed with doing it, but they straight out just didn't care. I went down the whole pre-owned market with them and how that works, and I know that both often buy pre-owned games so the issue with where their cash ends up if going that route is kind of the same.......as in developers don't see a penny.
One of them did use an example of pirating a game and realising that said title is so good that it deserved a purchase entirely instead of getting it for free. So in that sense maybe it does get people playing titles they usually wouldn't, and then sometimes spur them on to purchase it. I'd still imagine the percentage of this scenario happening to be extremely low though.
Theres a lot of games I'd like to try or am doubtful that i'd buy at their fullprice - the kind id probably pirate, find out I was correct in my assumption and not really play much of them. Still, if I saw them on offer (without having pirated them) id be quite happy to buy them.
I dont think im pro piracy as such, as I dont really like to see it used as a complete alternative to buying things. I do however REALLY like the freedom and access it allows to things you are unsure about or arent definate purchases - I think molyneux's recent comment on what he'd do differently to demos would be applicable here. However Until ive actually had something stolen from me I dont think my opinion really counts. Id like to know what people like 2DBoy feel on the matter
(to add to that final paragraph, if i had friends n shit near me i could borrow / rent games and experience them that way)
I try to explain to friends about pirating and the whole used copy empire of Gamestop. That's about all I can do.
I've never pirated a game and never will.
I think it's just a teen rebel with a cause thing, mainly with consoles. A stupid notion that your somehow getting back at society and those big faceless corporations. When you get older you start to realise the big picture that when you deprive an industry of money you are literally fucking up the economy and your possible future, your childrens future. It AINT worth it.
I buy games so hard now I can afford it, I feel guilty for even getting games on the cheap when they haven't sold so well.
edit: to keep on topic and not derail, I don't really know anyone who pirates games any more either. I know one guy who plays homebrew on psp (does this count???) but as far as I know, no one who is an avid pirate.
-Games that I already own for the console, but I want to play it on PC (Fallout 3, I wouldn't buy a game twice anyway)
-Games that don't have demos (There's no reason not to have a demo GTA4, especially when you don't know how well it will run on your PC)
I don't buy used games since you aren't paying the people that made the game, your paying the guy that traded it in and a store chain.
I'll never buy a song from an artist on a label that's part of the RIAA, (Yay for independent labels). I have a dislike of organizations that charge poor college kids $17,000 per illegally downloaded/shared song for "damages"
I believe you shouldn't charge someone for the same data over and over, you saw the movie in theaters, you bought the VHS, and then the DVD? Companies are just milking you. I do like add-ons and expansions they do with games, it allows you to enjoy over again.
I think there's a difference between pirating 3ds Max and photoshop in order to learn the program, and pirating games.
Even if you didn't before, the moment you start having aspirations of breaking in the industry you start buying games thinking "I wish people buy my games when I get them out there.
I've got a couple of friends who still pirate games and never buy any (except for wow, bleh) and one of them (his parents actually) is filthy rich too, which pisses me off. He once told me he'd never buy a game I worked on and that he'd pirate my shit and I'll never make money off of games. Come to think of it, I've not seen that douche since. Good ridance.
I remember past conversations on pirating games. Lots of people still pirate them on here.
Its just not cricket
And if any of my mates pirate anything them im all like
[ame]
Altho, average joe's actually lose jobs because of it.
Damn it.... DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!
Lets all start independent studios!
How many people have roms of NES/SNES/Genesis games on PSP's/R4's/PC's? Who has a Mame cabinet packed with roms?
I thought average joes lost their jobs because: of crazy spending, pissing off the publisher, bad deals with publishers, bad planning (taking too long at times), not having much capitol to go a stretch w/out payment from a publisher, knee-jerk reaction to market and stocks plummet (so the company who borrowed money has it just vaporize).
I don't think I've ever seen a studio close because of rampant piracy. Well, I base this on GameBiz and Gamasutra articles about closures, and no one has come out and blatantly say it. So I could be wrong, if I am just post the article. What about games that sell boatloads (GTA4/GoW/Madden/Anything with Mario/Pokemon/"Fit" on the cover)? I KNOW those games sold tons, and I KNOW they must be pirated like mad.
A few years ago someone wrote in an article "We lost X amount of dollars due to piracy.". If you printed 20 games, sold 10, and found out that one person copied it and 8 people are playing from that one copy, how can you count that as a "loss"? You still have 10 physical copies on the shelf for people to buy later. Let's just say these people were NEVER going to buy it. And now someone comes in and buys the remaining 10. Is that a bonus? Does the bottom line only show 2 pirated games? You sold through all of them ever made. Does that fill the hole of the pirated games? Is piracy an issue only when your game doesn't sell bucketloads? Would every unsold game be considered a pirated copy? Is Psychonauts one of those pirated games?
No I don't pirate games. Was actually a collector with 900 games from Oddessy (1st 100 made boxed with all parts) to PS3, and 100+ PSN/XBL/Steam/WiiStore games. Sold them all when I moved, and back up to 300 again :P.
[ame]
Borrowing a game or buying it used doesn't help pay the people that made the game, just a fyi.
First you argue that average joes lose their jobs for other reasons, therefore piracy is not to blame.
Your second point is that you've never seen a studio close because of piracy. Have you ever seen one close because of low profits? Do you think there might be some sort of factor that affects this? Could it be, that even though other factors affect low profits, piracy could contribute?
Your third point, is that someone once said an incorrect statement about every pirated game being a lost sale. For some reason you then talk about unsold games being lost sales. This has what to do with anything? Nothing. It's the type of shit glenn beck says when he wants to win an argument.
but that was just on principle.
I know this is an open forum, but don't be an asshole. All I did was make some very valid points to something that I've talked over with friends.
To say a studio closed 100% to piracy is retarded. I said and I quote: So go out and prove me wrong. I don't care for game piracy, and to show actual facts of people loosing jobs because of it, is damn sad.
I take that back Aesir, I apologize for calling you an asshole. Your argument was in no way a personal attack, I read the first line wrong.
To the Google!!
From 1Up article: But you still want some form of entertainment?
From the Gamasutra article:
It seems to be a 3 pronged reason for Iron Lore to close: Street date piracy which contributed to bad flack from forum members, the there were stupid reviewers and stupid customers.
This is shocking for me as it's a game I didn't even remember coming out. The only way I remember is because this article is what got us talking about it.
The reason why I buy my games.
It is an uphill battle for people who don't have Madden sized budgets for advertising their game. Game piracy no matter how you try to justify it in you head is like kicking you brother in the balls and taking his money.
If you had known me back in 1997~2000 you would have seen a massive binder with a few dozen burned PSX/DreamCast games in them. Then one day a little empathy kicked in and I got rid of all of them. Every game I had pirated, I bought retail, not used over the years. Because I don't want that shit to happen to me.
For a person to work in this industry or want to work in this industry and pirate games is just shooting yourself in the foot.
as an example:
evolution is immoral, prove me wrong. Find an article that proves that evolution is moral.
Nobody has ever died from mosquito bites (in the absense of any disease such as malaria). Prove me wrong.
cupcakes are responsible for over 100 deaths a year. Prove me wrong.
Prove yourself right.
I work in a computer lab at school and somebody left their flash drive in one of the computers a few minutes ago. It's standard practice to look through stuff on flash drives until we find the name of the owner and then attach a note to it with their name and put it in the lost and found in case they come looking for it.
Anyway, I sat down to look through their stuff to see if I could find anything with their name and saw that they had a folder titled "Adobe CS4 crack". I opened up the folder and saw that it had some sort of crack and keygen stuff. So I renamed the folder "don't be a dick - stealing software is stupid" and I renamed the readme file "i could've deleted all this stuff". Once that was finished, I went back to looking for the person's name. Not ten seconds after I renamed those files, some guy walked in the door to get the flash drive.
I hope shame works as well with these things as I've heard.
So I am now DL'ing the Titan Quest demo off Steam to see what the hub-bub is about.
I pre-ordered brutal legend, intend to pick that up when I have money
and will probably start actually playing video games again when I have money (that's what keeps me from playing them, is that I can't really obtain them) until then, i'm waiting for the new Dwarf Fortress build and playing more Dungeons and Dragons.
Games are in a different ocean.
now movies are a different story..
in oslo btw, we do have problems with people just walking into stores and just taking whatever they feel like. stores go bankrupt because the police isn't doing shit about it.