Why I Think It Is GOOD To Pirate Commercial Games

[Ykalon]

There are responsible game developers that self publish or uses gog.com or get it greenlit on steam or use kickstarter but I bet all those games still will be offered on tpb.
In those cases you are not hurting gog.com or steam that much since they probably are not gonna lose any investments since they really don't spend mouch money on advertising.
So in those cases it is the game developers we are hurting (say we since I do still download games like that on tpb).

Yes I want the mega-mod but I know damn well that I'm not entitled to it. If I make a mod for a game and only want to offer it to the Pope that's my right.

[Tessera]

So in those cases it is the game developers we are hurting

This is incorrect. The devs are paid directly by whatever publisher they hooked up with. It is the giant publishers (like EA) who are hurt the most by online piracy.

Did you know that Electronic Arts was recently named "The Worst Company In America..?" Do you know why..? It's because EA is a disgusting corporation, run by amoral thieves and slimeballs.

You wanna know who hurts the developers the most..? It isn't pirates. No, the giant publishers like EA hurt them the most... that's who. Thanks to the immoral tactics of giant publishers like EA and ActiVision, many talented and once-independent game studios no longer exist (Westwood Studios, Flagship Studios and Troika Games come to mind). Other once-independent studios have been effectively absorbed by the giant publishers, and then pressured into producing what ends up being inferior content (BioWare is a great example).

So the way I see it, harpooning the giant publishers, via online piracy, is a great way to put pressure upon the devs' worst enemy: the greedy publishers who routinely screw them and us.

[Ykalon]

Well if you read what I wrote I was talking about devs that publish games themselves either through kickstarter, Steam Greenlight and/or gog so EA, Activision etc is getting zero dollars.
The Witcher is one example of a selfpublished game since the developer decided to offer it drm free on gog. In witcher's case there is of course a boxed version published by Atari so if you have to pirate the game get that version, if you actually want to support the devs buy it on gog.

There are alternatives to the big bad publishers now.

So in those cases it is the game developers we are hurting

This is incorrect. The devs are paid directly by whatever publisher they hooked up with. It is the giant publishers (like EA) who are hurt the most by online piracy.

Did you know that Electronic Arts was recently named "The Worst Company In America..?" Do you know why..? It's because EA is a disgusting corporation, run by amoral thieves and slimeballs.

You wanna know who hurts the developers the most..? It isn't pirates. No, the giant publishers like EA hurt them the most... that's who. Thanks to the immoral tactics of giant publishers like EA and ActiVision, many talented and once-independent game studios no longer exist (Westwood Studios, Flagship Studios and Troika Games come to mind). Other once-independent studios have been effectively absorbed by the giant publishers, and then pressured into producing what ends up being inferior content (BioWare is a great example).

So the way I see it, harpooning the giant publishers, via online piracy, is a great way to put pressure upon the devs' worst enemy: the greedy publishers who routinely screw them and us.

[Tessera]

There are alternatives to the big bad publishers now.

Not really. The big publishers have dominated the means of distribution... so even if you decide to strike out on your own, it will be hell trying to get your products into the retail stores... unless you hook up with a big, corporate publisher.

The bottom line is that most people do not buy their games via Kickstarter or Stardock or whatever. Most people buy their games from a retail store. So if your goal is to expose your game to the largest possible market, then you are pretty much forced to go suck EA's cock. Otherwise, you'll have to settle for nothing but online distribution, which only represents about a tenth of the total market.

[Wormphlegm]

Most retail stores don't even carry computer games anymore, and if they do, they only carry the very newest/the biggest name ones.

Steam, Stardock, and GoG are where you go for quality.
You can also buy direct from some indie people(Unknown Worlds Entertainment, for example.)

[Tessera]

That's the way YOU do it, yes. You have taste. 

But the majority of consumers buy their games
through the big retail outlets. That is a fact.

Wal-Mart, Circuit City, Target, the major department stores... all of them do a HUGE business
in the retail sales of video games, including both PC and console games.

And I haven't even mentioned Amazon.com yet. They must sell a billion dollars worth of retail
video games per year. Granted that Amazon is an online retailer, but they effectively function
the same as any other big retail outlet.

[perez007usa]

Don't forget you  can also go to your Flea Markets, you can pick up some of the new and old PC games.

[Wormphlegm]

That's the way YOU do it, yes. You have taste. 

But the majority of consumers buy their games
through the big retail outlets. That is a fact.

Yep.
Most people get their games through GameStop, EB Games, or Steam.

Wal-Mart, Circuit City, Target, the major department stores... all of them do a HUGE business
in the retail sales of video games, including both PC and console games.

Maybe it's different in the states, but those stores(I've never actually been into a Target, I can't remember ever seeing one here either) only have a shelf(Or maybe half an aisle) dedicated to computer games, the rest of the section is all console games.

And by dedicated to computer games, I mean lines upon lines of boxes of WoW, Diablo 3, and the newest CoD/BF game.

And I haven't even mentioned Amazon.com yet. They must sell a billion dollars worth of retail
video games per year. Granted that Amazon is an online retailer, but they effectively function
the same as any other big retail outlet.

I've yet to order a thing from amazon.
I always see stuff on there, and I'm like "Damn, that's kinda cool".
I end up spending my money on other things though, like going paintballing(Air, and Paint aren't free), or buying a bag of weed(It's my alcohol, essentially.)

[Tessera]

Most people get their games through GameStop, EB Games, or Steam.

No... most people buy their games through retail stores.

Online sales are significant, yes... but not compared to Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, CompUSA, Circuit City, etc.

Maybe it's different in the states

I'm sure it is.   

[Ratcatcher]

Maybe it's different in the states, but those stores(I've never actually been into a Target, I can't remember ever seeing one here either) only have a shelf(Or maybe half an aisle) dedicated to computer games, the rest of the section is all console games.

And by dedicated to computer games, I mean lines upon lines of boxes of WoW, Diablo 3, and the newest CoD/BF game.

Target bought a bunch of stores recently (Zellers i think), so you should be starting to see them soonish.
As for the others, yeah, its pretty much the way you said.

[Wormphlegm]

Most people get their games through GameStop, EB Games, or Steam.

No... most people buy their games through retail stores.

Online sales are significant, yes... but not compared to Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, CompUSA, Circuit City, etc.

EB Games and GameStop are retail stores.
They used to be separate, but GameStop bought out EB and the name is slowly being phased out.
Either way, those stores barely carry computer games either.

The vast majority of retail outlets either carry exclusively console games, or very very few computer games.

Maybe it's different in the states

I'm sure it is.   

You guys seem to have a bigger selection of everything, everywhere.

I wish our 7/11's sold beer.

Maybe it's different in the states, but those stores(I've never actually been into a Target, I can't remember ever seeing one here either) only have a shelf(Or maybe half an aisle) dedicated to computer games, the rest of the section is all console games.

And by dedicated to computer games, I mean lines upon lines of boxes of WoW, Diablo 3, and the newest CoD/BF game.

Target bought a bunch of stores recently (Zellers i think), so you should be starting to see them soonish.
As for the others, yeah, its pretty much the way you said.

Yeah, I heard about that.
I haven't seen a Zellers in years either.

Then again, I'm in a rural area that does not have a Wal*Mart.

[perez007usa]

Granted, most people do buy from these retail stores.

I was one of them, until I started looking into the local Flea Markets, believe me, they have a very wide selection on every thing, they have new and used games, also the very old games.  Consoles, broad games.  It is  were I have gotten most of my games.  Chances are they may have what you are looking for. Try it, I think you may like it.     

[ChaosArcher]

Granted, most people do buy from these retail stores.

I was one of them, until I started looking into the local Flea Markets, believe me, they have a very wide selection on every thing, they have new and used games, also the very old games.  Consoles, broad games.  It is  were I have gotten most of my games.  Chances are they may have what you are looking for. Try it, I think you may like it.     

I have never been to a flea market before. I guess based on your suggestion, I have to try it.

-ChaosArcher

[Ratcatcher]

Consoles, broad games. 

Can you choose the type of fleas to play a broad game? 

[SlstcZro]

From what I've seen, if a game is pirated a lot, it means it's a good game. That alone should make the devs happy. Granted, I'm not looking at the financial side of it at all.

[dexter19]

This is one of the most intelligent post that i ever see about the piracy....wow, really smart, i don't know if i have the same idea, but for now is the only way to fight this war against this company, who destroy the other and give to us broken or incomplete games, just for make money, is like to go in a cinema and pay to see half of the film...you made a good point, i cant add nothing , and the thing that is most important is that you are not the only one who looks very smart in this forum....wow this Make me really happy  

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[Shotgunner]

I've been gaming since 1985, with the Atari 2600. I know, I know - this website is more geared towards PC players than console users, but still - here me out, as it DOES apply to both PC and console:

When I first started gaming, games were limited by several things, primarily being the inability to receive updates to correct overlooked flaws in the games. Anyone who is around my age and started gaming around that time, regardless of the platform played on, can rattle off dozens, if not hundreds, of titles they played in the past that has a flaw, a bug, etc. That part will never go away, as bugs and flaws will ALWAYS be present.

Back then, piracy was unheard of - sure, it happened, but nowhere near the extent that it happens today. When it started getting widespread in the mid to late 90s, it was a detriment to the industry, as the argument then was basically "the more we lose via piracy, the more we have to charge per copy to ensure we receive a fair profit." And I can understand that to a point, even today - if you make a product, you SHOULD be able to make a profit from it - or at least make your money back to cover expenses. Piracy is wrong and illegal.

HOWEVER, after a lot of thought, brought about by a post over in the GameFAQs message boards, I have come to realize that many games today are, indeed, released in a "unfinished" state. Or, in the case of downloadable content, sometimes we've already paid for it, as it is on the disc, but the retail version is missing a line or two of code, which tells the game to use that extra data. Forcing us to purchase an unfinished product is wrong. And in the case of "on-disc DLC", tey are basically holding rightfully purchased software hostage - it's already in our possession - do NOT try to tell me that high end graphics can be stored in a 100 kb file that we have to pay $5 or more for.

Then you have platforms like STEAM, which forces you to be connected in order to use your rightfully purchased software. Sure, you can set it up where once you "authenticate" your copy with STEAM, you can play it without an internet connection. However, the point is you BUY the software from STEAM, then you have to "authenticate" it? Why do I have to prove that it is a legally purchased copy when I literally just bought it from you?

And let's not forget the "bait and switch" tactic that some companies have pulled. The most recent one was Gearbox with Aliens: Colonial Marines. We were shown one major, kick ass product at E3, and on February 12th, 2013, we bought our copies and rushed home to play them - only to discover that we were given not only a different product entirely, but it was initially so unfinished it...it was horrible, to say the least.

The industry has evolved(or devolved) into nothing more than a cookie cutter, "let's copy this idea again so we can bang more hookers and do more coke" affair, and yet they still scream about piracy.

And as a result of that, we are given rushed, unfinished and sometimes unplayable products. And after some long, hard thought I've realized that the only way to ensure my hard earned money is not spent on a crap product is to try a pirated copy first - somethign that I still do today.

Please do not think I am being hypocritical - I still think piracy is wrong and illegal, and that it should end. HOWEVER, at the same time, I am tired of being given rushed, unfinished and inferior products for my hard earned dollar. This is why, when it's possible, I will pirate a copy to try it first. If it passes MY judgement, then I uninstall the pirate copy, delete the ISO, and go buy a legit copy.

Is it wrong, what I, and some others do? Sure, it's still wrong and illegal - it is still piracy, any way you look at it - but some of us will still buy a legit copy, if it's worth it. If we, as gamers, don't put our collective foot down and tell the industry to stop shoveling half finished, unplayable, buggy pieces of shit at us, we will continue to get just that. I, for one, am sick of it.

I have never ratted on a software pirate, and I never will - but I no longer dispise them, either. I still say it is wrong and illegal - but I'm tired of wasting my hard earned dollars on a clusterfuck of a piece of buggy software. In short, the industry has lost my trust. And until it regains it, I will continue to try a pirated copy first before I pay good money for a legit copy.

And if the industry doesn't like it, it can suck my dick like a Singapore prostitute.

[Tessera]

They'll suck anyone's dick... so long as you wrap a hundred dollar bill around it first.