Piracy is not so bad

[Inazuma]

I can either not buy Spore and the devs get nothing or I can play an illegally downloaded version and the devs get nothing. There is no stealing being done since you can't steal something that doesn't exist. Also, there is no harm done to the game devs since it doesn't take anything away from them. Everyone keeps ignoring the most important point.

Of course if the options are to pay for the game or pirate it, that would take money away from the devs. But if your options are:
- Do not pay the devs
or
- Do not pay the devs

I don't see how the devs are having money stolen from them in this situation. Please someone explain to me how to steal something that doesn't exist.

[pepharytheworm]

Think of it as the possibilty of money being lost. You say that you wouldn't buy it but can you honestly say you wouldn't buy it if there was no way to pirate games.

the easiest way to understand is to put yourself in the other persons shoes. If you spent a year creating a game then some one said your game isn't worth buying so I am going to pirate it, how would you feel? Think of it as not stealing a physical game but the idea and concept which are there intellectual rights. Lets say I come up with a great idea and my friend over heard and acted on it and made a lot of money. He might not be stealing a physical item but he is stealing something. An idea/concept is still a thing thats why its considered a noun. Now I am not telling you what to pirate and what not to because earlier I admited to doing just that. Would I rather be mugged then my game pirated? No. I think most would agree on that. Thats why pirating laws aren't as strict as other types of theft in most places.

[Limewater]

I can either not buy Spore and the devs get nothing or I can play an illegally downloaded version and the devs get nothing. There is no stealing being done since you can't steal something that doesn't exist. Also, there is no harm done to the game devs since it doesn't take anything away from them. Everyone keeps ignoring the most important point.

Of course if the options are to pay for the game or pirate it, that would take money away from the devs. But if your options are:
- Do not pay the devs
or
- Do not pay the devs

I don't see how the devs are having money stolen from them in this situation. Please someone explain to me how to steal something that doesn't exist.

But Spore has since been released with much more reasonable DRM via Steam.

[equalsign]

But Spore has since been released with much more reasonable DRM via Steam.

And a thousand arguments shatter like glass. Happy to hear it !

[MrPopo]

I can either not buy Spore and the devs get nothing or I can play an illegally downloaded version and the devs get nothing. There is no stealing being done since you can't steal something that doesn't exist. Also, there is no harm done to the game devs since it doesn't take anything away from them. Everyone keeps ignoring the most important point.

Of course if the options are to pay for the game or pirate it, that would take money away from the devs. But if your options are:
- Do not pay the devs
or
- Do not pay the devs

I don't see how the devs are having money stolen from them in this situation. Please someone explain to me how to steal something that doesn't exist.

This is the part you're not getting. There is a third option: buy the game. You've decided to pirate the game instead of buying it or not buying it. The fact that you've decided not to purchase the game due to its DRM does not change the fact that buying the game is an option.

[gtmtnbiker]

Another option is to not buy the game and not pirate it but send an email/letter to the company explaining that you're interested in the game and why you don't plan to buy it.

[Gamerforlife]

I'll make it simple to understand Inazuma. When you pirate a game your stealing money the game could be making. Companies kinda need this money for things like development costs, profits, future game R&D. So your stealing money, simply put.

I know I'm going to piss some people off here. Not my intention, just speaking my mind. First of all, the whole money the game could be making statement makes no sense. If the person downloading the game didn't want to buy it then the game COULDN'T have made any money from that person. So going by what was said in this post I quoted, NOTHING is being stolen.

Also, and this is just how I view things, if you take a game off a shelf and run out of the store, you just stole that game and you're probably going to be in deep shit for it. You're also really fucking stupid. However, if you download a copy of a game someone owns off of the internet. it's really no different from someone back in the old days copying tapes for their friends or people loaning someone pretty much anything that they own. Someone uploaded a copy of THEIR game for others to play. It is NOT stealing. Not in my world view anyway

Let me present a scenario for you. You're at the library and grab a copy of volume E of the encyclopedia. You then got to the complementary photocopier. You then spend the next several hours copying every page in the encyclopedia and take your big stack of papers home. And just to avoid confusing the issue let's say you also brought your own paper and toner. Do you think this is wrong?

Legally, it's wrong but ethically no. Because I have a membership the library lets me use books I never bought and paid for. If someone else checked out volume E and let me borrow it is that wrong? Or if they simply let me borrow something that they own is it wrong? Most people would say no. You guys aren't thinking outside the box. My whole life people have let me borrow books, movies, music, etc. Things that I got to use but never paid for. Are they all thieves and criminals? It's not about stealing people, it's about sharing, but big corporations who are already filthy rich hate that word, because there's no money to be made there.

[Ack]

Since most libraries are paid for by tax dollars, technically you and your family have paid for those services, but libraries allow non-taxpayers to use their resources because they feel knowledge should be publicly available.

That said, you won't necessarily get in trouble for photocopying works like that, but the library can(and some have been sued over similar situations in the past).

[MrPopo]

I know I'm going to piss some people off here. Not my intention, just speaking my mind. First of all, the whole money the game could be making statement makes no sense. If the person downloading the game didn't want to buy it then the game COULDN'T have made any money from that person. So going by what was said in this post I quoted, NOTHING is being stolen.

Also, and this is just how I view things, if you take a game off a shelf and run out of the store, you just stole that game and you're probably going to be in deep shit for it. You're also really fucking stupid. However, if you download a copy of a game someone owns off of the internet. it's really no different from someone back in the old days copying tapes for their friends or people loaning someone pretty much anything that they own. Someone uploaded a copy of THEIR game for others to play. It is NOT stealing. Not in my world view anyway

Let me present a scenario for you. You're at the library and grab a copy of volume E of the encyclopedia. You then got to the complementary photocopier. You then spend the next several hours copying every page in the encyclopedia and take your big stack of papers home. And just to avoid confusing the issue let's say you also brought your own paper and toner. Do you think this is wrong?

Legally, it's wrong but ethically no. Because I have a membership the library lets me use books I never bought and paid for. If someone else checked out volume E and let me borrow it is that wrong? Or if they simply let me borrow something that they own is it wrong? Most people would say no. You guys aren't thinking outside the box. My whole life people have let me borrow books, movies, music, etc. Things that I got to use but never paid for. Are they all thieves and criminals? It's not about stealing people, it's about sharing, but big corporations who are already filthy rich hate that word, because there's no money to be made there.

The big difference is that when they lend you a book no one else can use it. When you pirate there are now two copies where there once was one.

[RCBH928]

I always thought that, developers should get paid for as much s the game is being used and sell it for cheaper .

For example, I honestly think that most games are not worth $60(Unless its 100 hours, online multiplayer, something that will last for years, usually sport games and halo likes) .

If they sold them for like $30 , then for every second hand sale they earned something out of it I think they will make huge bucks.

I know for sure, the winning 11 example I gave, if every time the guys I knew paid 25C a game(or 2), the developer will be kajabilliionzillionairs . They don't have to sell it for $60, let them give it for free, I bet each copy will make like $500.

I know you are probably asking how will they do it, thats not the point, point is more people enjoy an original game for reasonable price and the developer enjoys high profits. Problem is how will they do it.