PC Gaming Is Dying

[jfrost]

Would you like it if you are employed by someone, you do a lot of hard work, and then he says "screw it I don't feel like paying you"?

I'd quit. I've said before: if things I pirate disappeared, that's okay. I don't feel I have any right to them anyway.

BTW, I too pirate TV shows, but only cause they are originally free to broadcast, but if I want to see it on my local TV channel I might have to wait 3 years for them to sub the current season, and since studio executives are idiots who won't allow me to see that video online, with ads on the side (so they can make some money), I'm left no choice.

But as I said, it was only I was left no choice.

Yeah, I pirate TV shows as well. They take years to get to my country and are broadcasted for free in the US. I'd love to watch Hulu, but they don't allow me. I watch the Colbert Report and Daily Show almost every day using Modify Headers. I even watch their ads for products I've never seen in my life. If I waited for Breaking Bad, it would be two years before watching the first season.

It's just that the anti-piracy screeds of people around here (and elsewhere) sometimes scream of spoiled American syndromme. Yeah, America is amazing and you do not pirate anything ever. Yeah, entertainment is not necessary; fine, neither are most things you do in your life. You only need shelter, a couple of clothes and food to live, not much else.

I can't even get too angry when people pirate new games around here (something I don't). They cost 150 fucking dollars and never drop in value because there's no used market due to extremely low sales. And that's because our currency is "overvalued" and the government is doing everything in its power to debase it.

It's great that most guys around here don't pirate. I just wish people would stop painting this issue in such a black 'n white fashion.

[ZeroAX]

Ok, I understand where you are coming from. Thing is, 90% of piracy is because people are cheap. I didn't know games in your country are that expensive. And I don't think any developer should mind their game getting pirated in Russia or China.

[Breetai]

I can't even get too angry when people pirate new games around here (something I don't). They cost 150 fucking dollars and never drop in value because there's no used market due to extremely low sales. And that's because our currency is "overvalued" and the government is doing everything in its power to debase it.

This is a good point. I've only bought games in Canada, US, Japan, Korea and...ummm.... China.

In the first four, game prices are all reasonable (US$60 or so for a new game). This is a standard price in the main gaming countries of USA/Japan (UK is higher I think?). If games were $150 where I live for a game because of "overvalued" currencies, then yes.... I think pirating is justified. Same in China. In the average Chinese city, the Chinese gov't has decreed that games from outside China are illegal (PS3, X360, Wii, etc.). If I lived in Beijing, I would have no choice but to either pay import prices (thereby adding costs that should never be there in the first place) or pirate. It is not piracy to steal, but it actually an act of protest against the government's decision.

In this, I DO agree with you.

For someone in a country where game prices reflect the economy (priced FAILY, as in the USA, Japan, etc.), then I do believe that piracy of new media is completely wrong.

[AppleQueso]

I like TV show box sets

[BlackDS]

Wrong. Console gaming is dying as consoles are becoming glorified PCs
PC gaming will last forever.

[the7k]

Wrong. Console gaming is dying as consoles are becoming glorified PCs
PC gaming will last forever.

Console gaming isn't dying. It's just moving to the portable systems.

Portable gaming isn't dying. It's just moving to smart phones.

Mobile phone gaming isn't dying. It's just moving to Facebook.

[Ivo]

Mainly, I have a bunch of old roms and some abandonware. It's hard to feel like I'm stealing something that isn't even available in the retail market.

I feel the same way.

Sorry to spoil it to you guys but... This is a common misconception I see and it is not going deep enough. It goes very similarly to the misconception that the used games market does not support the industry - it DOES.

The point for the used industry goes as follows:
1. used games were purchased new before being sold used (with possible exceptions that are not significant, statistically).
2. Even if a used game is purchased and re-sold - even if several times - some of the price of the used sale reverts to the original buyer of the game when it was new (the re-selling is often by a used game store, but this does not affect the point).
3. Therefore, the used game market is effectively distributing (in a time-delayed manner) the cost of the "new" game through more than one person. This is VERY similar to two or more persons (e.g. siblings) pooling together resources to buy a "new" game - which I'm sure you will agree, supports the industry.

If you prefer, you can also consider that the person that has purchased the "new" game that got sold used is likely to reinvest some of the money he got from selling it used towards the purchase of other "new" games (this is typically the case when there is a store as a mediator), AND/OR that he may not have purchased the game in the first place if he knew from the start that he would not be able to recoup some of the invested amount back from selling it used (which would be the case if there was not market for used games).

Now if you accept the reasoning above, used game market does supports the industry (as does buying a game new even if you share the price with someone else).
So in this point of view when you pirate an old game you are still not 100% clear in terms of conscience. You may certainly choose to ignore this as borderline irrelevant and I think it is correct that it is less damaging than pirating new games.

Note I did not even go into the other issues: if you pirate old games and you are limited by your free-time, you may now be less inclined to buy new games (but then, you could also play free games and so on). And other stuff like that. Sometimes it just isn't that simple when you (over)think about it



Also, pirating is not stealing, if it was stealing then there would be no need for separate laws for it and so on. Why so many insist that pirating is stealing when there is a specific term widely used I do not know. Pirating is pirating. Stealing is stealing. People discussing the issue should know what each of those means with more precision. There are important differences (as Aaron's funny example demonstrates clearly). The usage of figures of speech such as "stealing an idea" makes it a bit confusing, but you guys are smarter than that!

Ivo.

[Limewater]

Also, pirating is not stealing, if it was stealing then there would be no need for separate laws for it and so on. Why so many insist that pirating is stealing when there is a specific term widely used I do not know. Pirating is pirating. Stealing is stealing. People discussing the issue should know what each of those means with more precision. There are important differences (as Aaron's funny example demonstrates clearly). The usage of figures of speech such as "stealing an idea" makes it a bit confusing, but you guys are smarter than that!

Also, robbery is not stealing, if it was stealing then there would be no need for separate laws for it and so on. Why so many insist that robbery is stealing when there is a specific term widely used I do not know. Robbery is robbery. Stealing is stealing. People discussing the issue should know what each of those means with more precision. There are important differences. The usage of figures of speech such as "I was robbed!" makes it a bit confusing, but you guys are smarter than that!

I'm glad we're maintaining these high standards of discourse, here.

[Flake]

Pirating is pirating. Stealing is stealing. People discussing the issue should know what each of those means with more precision.

From Webster's:

Stealing:

Definition of STEAL

intransitive verb
1: to take the property of another wrongfully and especially as a habitual or regular practice

Taking the intellectual property of a game developer and not paying for it would definitely qualify as stealing. If you want to be precise about the meaning of these words.

[Ivo]

Also, robbery is not stealing, if it was stealing then there would be no need for separate laws for it and so on. Why so many insist that robbery is stealing when there is a specific term widely used I do not know. Robbery is robbery. Stealing is stealing. People discussing the issue should know what each of those means with more precision. There are important differences. The usage of figures of speech such as "I was robbed!" makes it a bit confusing, but you guys are smarter than that!

I'm glad we're maintaining these high standards of discourse, here.

I think you at least suspect that I am right in this one

That there are different types of stealing does not mean that pirating is a type of stealing. Mugging, pickpocketing, burglary all are stealing and because of different aspects (e.g. mugging involves violence) they are distinguished in the law. Stealing requires the removal of the stolen good - the victim has lost property of it.
Murder involves someone becoming dead. Maiming is bad, but it is not murder because the victim is not dead. Certainly manslaughter is different from pre-meditated and so on.

If you want to say that piracy is similar to stealing because of X, or that piracy is like stealing an idea, fair enough. But stating "Piracy is stealing" is factually wrong according to the semantic definition that I think nearly everyone uses - so why waste our time with it. Just say "Piracy is piracy", it is about as useless, but at least you are not incorrect so you won't get to put up with a rant like this (warning: you may get a shorter rant about your Lapalissade)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Palice#Lapalissade

I am not bothered when I see this bandied about in random comments to an article, but in the forums here I do thing we have higher standards of discourse and I like it that way, which is why I wrote the comments. Nobody is forcing you though, not the moderators and certainly not me.

Ivo.