(05-25-2010, 11:38 AM)Xtreme2damax Wrote: [ -> ]Well that's what a job is for, and those who like the game should pay for it instead of downloading. If I can't afford something in a store and I shoplift there are repercussions for my actions, just because someone can't afford to pay for something, doesn't mean they are automatically entitled to it via alternate methods other than paying like everyone else does for their games or items. Downloading digital data may not be stealing in the same sense of stealing physical tangible items, but that's money that the developers that create some of these awesome games are losing to those who download for free and never pay for what they are using even if they like it.
Talk about the economy being like shit in Europe these days, piracy's gonna get a lot worse, and not because of not wanting to pay
About shoplifting, I read somewhere about someone getting a couple years of prison for downloading a copy of Windows.
Would have been cheaper (a month if you get caught?) to wear a mask and steal the retail package
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(05-25-2010, 11:58 AM)CacoFFF Wrote: [ -> ]Would have been cheaper (a month if you get caught?) to wear a mask and steal the retail package .
everyone, do not be encouraged by that statement
Well the economy here in the USA is shit as well, with the value of the USD being at a low. I don't have a job right now but get $60 spending money a month, $25 of that goes to pay a student loan, $36 goes to pay my web hosting bill and yet I still find a way to get the money to buy my games. I either scrounge up the cash by helping around my community doing odd jobs or selling things that are of no value to me anymore. I have a library of 100+ legally bought PC games and if I still had my Wii I'd be building up my Wii collection. Unfortunately I don't have enough money else I'd have an Xbox 360, a PS3 and doing the same thing.
(05-25-2010, 09:34 AM)n4ru Wrote: [ -> ] (05-21-2010, 08:21 PM)Ocean Wrote: [ -> ]How hard can it be to buy a wii/gc cabable IDE drive for $10 and copy the games you own into disk images?
The truth is it's harder to pay for games compared to downloading them.
It's also harder to earn money to own a car compared to breaking into an unguarded garage and stealing one. It would be just easier that everything was handed to you free and $5k dropped into your mailbox every month.
A game disk's contents are not 'physical', but it can still be stolen. What about cases where money is stolen out of your bank account in a phishing scam? Can you not get convicted just because the money "doesn't exist"?
What if a patent that took years to develop was stolen & from a company and they lose money due to millions of other companies using it for free?
The argument that you aren't stealing but just "copying" is sad. People who pirate video games already have access to a computer, internet connection, food and housing. Which about 70-80% of the world don't have. They are potential customers for companies like Nintendo that spend huge money on creating content.
When you steal a game in it's virtual form, you just harm the developer. It's counterproductive, because the less a game sells, the less likely it is there will be any good sequels (or good games at all on that platform).
Don't believe it? Look at how the psp turned out.. It has went to crap after pirated games outnumber legal sales by a huge margin. Few, if any developers even make games for it anymore. Only because it's "easier to steal" for these people.
And for that reason... The majority of good games are released on 360 and ps3 and not the PC. The very reason why god of war 3, alan wake, heavy rain, uncharted will never be on the PC.. The very reason why Rockstar's newest game, Red Dead Redemption isn't available at all on the PC, and probably wont be until it's old and offered in sales bins. You can only blame yourself.
Reason why internet company's need to disable torrents or other download shit! I know there will be a time that they stop making games because they are being 'copied' anyways...
Sorry for the bad English!
Well you gotta admit piracy goes perfect with communism
*Not mentioning how communism goes*
Anyway, the companies adjusting their financial models in the "buffet" direction, (have all you want for a constant price,) seems to do much better. I think there's 2 political parties in my country wanting taxes to cover for digital products (they only have like 8% votes total, but that's mostly because they're also very enviromental and my counrty is rich on oil)
In my opinion, if something isn't good enough to buy, then it isn't good enough to pirate either and can be equated to wasted bandwidth and time. See if a friend or family member has the game, ask to borrow it briefly or go to their house to play it. If anyone likes the game, go out and buy it to help support the developers and publishers who made such a great game. If anyone doesn't like the game, then they shouldn't waste their bandwidth and time to download it either.
(05-22-2010, 01:03 AM)Ocean Wrote: [ -> ]I don't think anyone 'really' minds people who download atari games, titles that are absolutely impossible to find for nes etc..
You're either against piracy or you're not. You can't say that "you don't think anyone minds". It doesn't matter how old the content is, what matters is that content was not created by you and you have no right to use that content unless you either buy it or ask the owners for their permission. You are not allowed to or are capable of coming to the conclusion that some game content is too old, too hard to find or that it is not worth anything anymore and so that makes it alright to then go ahead and steal it. You have no idea what plans the game developers have for their games in the future and you shouldn't make up your own rules to justify pirating games. I'm surprised at you, Ocean, for all of your anti-piracy posting, this is the very same concept and It kinda makes you look like a hypocrite.
I don't care for old atari, nes etc. games.. I was using it as an example. Since some of them are literally impossible to find even in 2nd hand markets and auctions, I can see the logic in why some people would download them, as there is literally *zero* alternative.
For example a lot of shareware PC video games from the 80/90's that required payment to unlock full versions, have been dumped online by server hosts and companies for free.. Simply because the companies have ceased to exist and there is no way you can even purchase the full version anymore. It would be absurd to hunt down the owners of the defunct companies and pay them for a product that they are no longer selling, or the developers might be even dead since it's been over 15-25 years since the game was developed.
Say you are trying to play Artillery Duel for atari 2600. It can't be physically obtained from anywhere except maybe ebay if you are lucky, and the company that developed it (Xonox) has no successor and declared bankruptcy over 20 years ago. You can't say this is not different than downloading a ps2 or wii game which are still sold in stores and generate revenue & jobs for existing companies.
http://www.copyright.gov/1201/2003/index.html
Quote:On October 28, 2003, the Librarian of Congress, on the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, announced the classes of works subject to the exemption from the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. The four classes of works exempted are:
(3) Computer programs and video games distributed in formats that have become obsolete and which require the original media or hardware as a condition of access. A format shall be considered obsolete if the machine or system necessary to render perceptible a work stored in that format is no longer manufactured or is no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace.
So no, I don't think it's hypocritical at all.. Comparing 30 year old nes/atari cartridges to modern wii game piracy (which hurts game developers financially) is like day and night. If the game is in an obsolete format and the parent company doesn't exist, it's not even illegal. Wii (and xbox/ps) game piracy on the other hand directly deprives the current developers of revenue.
Why did I even post this at all? Because if you get a 30 year old atari rom from your friend's usb drive or from a website, it literally hurts nobody. There is zero economical impact no matter how you spin it. If you get an illegal copy of modern video game roms/iso images, you are depriving money from retailers, shippers, developers, publishers and advertisers that currently gain revenue from the end product.