Piracy is not so bad

[dlmvii]

Yeah, the creators shouldn't care about people pirating their stuff. They shouldn't be making games for the money, they should me doing it to create great games. I don't have any PS1 or Dreamcast games that aren't backups. I also have a modded Xbox and I had a modded Wii with only backups.

I really hope this is some sort of thinly veiled sarcasm...

[Reverend]

I don't support the piracy of games new enough to hurt the developer's chances of making a sequel. I still support the mass piracy of Spore. That message had to be made.

[Veno]

I also think that piracy is ok as long as it's an old game that won't really affect the company. And shouldn't it make the developers a little happy that even if people didn't buy their game, a whole grip of people downloaded it? It means people still wanted their game, right?

[Limewater]

Looking back at history, the easiest(or most pirated) console is the one with the biggest sales. PSX, PS2, NES, and now the Wii.
They even scores highest game sales .

I disagree with you pretty strongly. Others have already responded to various parts of your post, but I wanted to specifically respond to this part.

You are correct that, historically, the most pirated console is the one with the biggest sales. However, I think you are confusing cost and effect. It has not been shown that piracy boosts console sales noticeably (except in the case of the Dreamcast). Additionally, as Hobie-wan pointed out, consoles are usually sold at a loss. Finally, I think you are overlooking the real cause-effect relationship here.

These consoles are heavily pirated BECAUSE they are so popular, not the other way around.

[aaron]

all i know is i got a little bummed out when my band played a show, two kids came up, one bought a cd and the other said "dude can you burn that for me?"

on one hand i'm glad someone liked my band enough to want the music even though they possibly didn't have enough money to buy one, but on the other hand i'm kinda bummed out that i have to hear that immediately, because i spent my own money and time writing the songs, recording the record, paying for it to be pressed, etc.

so i can see why it's a bummer. which is also why i don't pirate new systems, at all. except the psp, i think that doesn't really matter, because i don't think the psp should exist. personal opinion. hah.

[Inazuma]

Piracy in general is a bad thing, however there are 2 situations where it becomes acceptable.

1. Someone who would have never purchased a product normally for whatever reason, but chooses to pirate it instead of passing on it altogether. In this case, the developers don't lose any money, but potentially could gain money thanks to the spread of popularity for the product.

I am one of these people, by the way. I gladly purchase and support products that I feel are high quality. However, I refuse to support DRM or ads or overpriced DLC, etc. so I can easily pirate on a clear conscious.

2. Try before you buy. Interested in that new game but unsure if it's really worth buying? Pirate it so you can make sure. If it turns out to be a great game, go out and buy it.

As long as people honestly follow these rules and aren't just lying about it, piracy would be a good thing. And while many people do, there are also many people who don't. Some people don't give a shit about supporting the company who makes the products they love, which ruins it for everyone else. Piracy itself isn't the problem here. The assholes who don't care about anyone but themselves are the real problem.

[t0yrobo]

These consoles are heavily pirated BECAUSE they are so popular, not the other way around.

Not necessarily, the PSX was by far the most popular system pretty much everywhere outside of Europe, the US, and Japan because CDs are really cheap to make, and cartridges aren't. It had more to do with money than anything else.

[vash23n]

I've yet to see compelling proof that piracy was a main cause of the DCs death. CD burners were still rather expensive back then and not that many people had them.

If pirating was a main cause of the death of the DC with CD burners still expensive and slow, I can't understand why current gen systems are still afloat considering how easy it is to burn CDs, DVDs, and how easy it is to emulate games on the computer - why buy if you can burn, why buy if you can download. If piracy killed the DC, then they current gen consoles' days are numbered.

[Breetai]

CD burners were still rather expensive back then and not that many people had them.

What are you talking about? Burners were as common as cows in India back then. I worked at a computer store at that time and it was one of the most popular options in PCs. I can't think of one friend who didn't have one then.

Piracy on the DC was HUGE, and that pretty much kills the whole thesis of the OP.

The NES was also huge in North America, but piracy was not much of an issue there; nor was it in Japan. The Playstation was popular BEFORE mod chips became common for it. Heck, the Saturn also had mod chips readily available... but that didn't help it much in the western market.

[Limewater]

These consoles are heavily pirated BECAUSE they are so popular, not the other way around.

Not necessarily, the PSX was by far the most popular system pretty much everywhere outside of Europe, the US, and Japan because CDs are really cheap to make, and cartridges aren't. It had more to do with money than anything else.

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