Why People Pirate Video Games

When I was a child I couldn't afford any PC software at all, so I pirated everything. From highschool on I moved towards using only legitimate software and by college I was totally legit. I'm not saying it's morally right to pirate software, but a lot of people who did pirate software at one point no longer do once they're making more money. There was also no way that any of the company's whos software I pirated when I was a child actually lost any income, because I didn't have any money at all. This is more of an explanation than a justification.

Right now at least it's quick, easy and cheap to buy games legally. A lot easier than it was back in the 90's. I guess pirating is probably easier too, I wouldn't really know.
 
Quix said:
When I was a child I couldn't afford any PC software at all, so I pirated everything. From highschool on I moved towards using only legitimate software and by college I was totally legit. I'm not saying it's morally right to pirate software, but a lot of people who did pirate software at one point no longer do once they're making more money. There was also no way that any of the company's whos software I pirated when I was a child actually lost any income, because I didn't have any money at all. This is more of an explanation than a justification.

Right now at least it's quick, easy and cheap to buy games legally. A lot easier than it was back in the 90's. I guess pirating is probably easier too, I wouldn't really know.
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If you're wondering how I bought the computer hardware, it was all castoffs from my Uncle or leftover hardware they were getting rid of at my father's work.
 
DPI said:
this thread should be good for a few dozen pages of dumb.

self entitled "cuz greedy publishers and their pre-orders and plus so many games launch broken anyway & that's what I pirate" in 3....2....
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Seems like it's more on the other end of the spectrum with the retarded "pirates have no morals and are basically Hitler" argument... :rolleyes:
 
silk186 said:
I call BS on your moral high ground. When I was a kid and didn't have money I would rent, borrow, play demos and buy second hand. Now I pirate some and buy some depending on steam sales and how my finances are. When I finish school I will buy all my games on steam. It is so much easier. Changes in the market have result in a rise in piracy: imporovements in internet (high speed + uncapped) and limited options (DRM, always online, no demos). The steam refund policy will help with the lack of demos as I think some (not most) pirate to demo a game before buying it. I did buy my favorite games after "trying them out". I'm not saying I deserve it, I'm saying scew you morals high ground, go preach at a church.
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I'm glad you posted this because I think that most people, even if they do pirate games, will present themselves as not doing so and will also act disgusted at the idea of piracy. It's far worse to do that than it is to admit to doing it.

But with that said, I don't think unlimited Internet and higher downstream data rates really have a lot to do with piracy of software. They're really not related since, from what I read, people were burning CDs of games long before it was reasonable to get like an ISO copy of it because of dial up modems and junk. With copy protection and digital stores and stuff, I think that the tendency to pirate games is actually lower now than it ever was in spite of increased bandwidth and stuff like Steam has drastically reduced that kinda stuff.
 
Kueller said:
I'd rather have broke people sitting inside playing games rather than wandering the streets breaking into cars and houses to steal the money to buy games.

Would it be better if they got jobs? Of course, but that's just not going to happen with a lot of these people.
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Why don't we (the working people with morals) give them (the "poor" people with no games) a new apartment, full fridge, new clothes, TV and PC/game consoles along with the free games they so much deserve(!!!), so we can all live happily ever after.... :eek: Hell, why don't we throw in some weed or crack too just to make sure we got all "their" needs covered...:rolleyes:
 
I see this popular argument often:

If pirating was impossible it wouldn't make any financial difference because the people who would pirate would simply not buy the software and go elsewhere to fulfill their amusements.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
But with that said, I don't think unlimited Internet and higher downstream data rates really have a lot to do with piracy of software. They're really not related since, from what I read, people were burning CDs of games long before it was reasonable to get like an ISO copy of it because of dial up modems and junk. With copy protection and digital stores and stuff, I think that the tendency to pirate games is actually lower now than it ever was in spite of increased bandwidth and stuff like Steam has drastically reduced that kinda stuff.
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I remember one of the kids having a special copy program so we could copy various Apple II floppy disks while bypassing their copy protection back in the day. That's the only way we could play Karateka in school.
 
I don't pirate, I demo these worthless piece of shit games. Helps me determine if it's worth spending my hard earned money on their unfinished product. If it is then I'll buy it. 9 times out of 10 I don't buy the game.

Now you know why they don't release demo's for most games any more. What publisher would actually demo a turd and expect people to still buy it?
 
Motley said:
The younger generation doesn't have any respect for anything.

Just look at how they act online. They don't respect their elders, they don't respect their parents, they don't respect each other. Its all ME ME ME.

And they certainly don't respect the video game industry. They pirate games, then come on forums like this, and complain how awefull it is.

God help us all.
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Sounds all nice and good, but the older generation isn't too much better, don't forget, the older generation is where all the bankers who are screwing people over, the politicians who's involved in all kinds of nasty shit.

Face it, all generations suck to a point.
 
HydroBudz said:
I don't pirate, I demo these worthless piece of shit games. Helps me determine if it's worth spending my hard earned money on their unfinished product. If it is then I'll buy it. 9 times out of 10 I don't buy the game.

Now you know why they don't release demo's for most games any more. What publisher would actually demo a turd and expect people to still buy it?
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This.

With the sorry state PC gaming is in, release a demo is a death sentence.

Now that 2 major digital distribution stores allow refunds we'll probably see better QC.

Lol jk same turds new packages.
 
Motley said:
The younger generation doesn't have any respect for anything.

Just look at how they act online. They don't respect their elders, they don't respect their parents, they don't respect each other. Its all ME ME ME.

And they certainly don't respect the video game industry. They pirate games, then come on forums like this, and complain how awefull it is.

God help us all.
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Funny, your parents said the same thing about you, and their parents said the same thing about them.....and so on and so on....
 
kbrickley said:
The "I can't afford to buy" crowd are scary ... where does that sort of argument end? ... I want to play games so I must steal them since I don't have enough money to buy them ... I want to drive so I must steal a car since I don't have enough money to buy one ... I want to have more money so I must steal it so I don't have to be poor :eek:
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No comparison really, pirating is done from in the "safety" of your home, people see it as zero risk thing to do, they won't get caught et cetera, vs stealing a physical item from a store or someone else.

People do it because they hide behind their computer, people do not necessarily see them do it, and they do not see the direct effect of it because taking a copy is not taking something from someone and denying them access to it so it is less morally frighting i guess than stealing physical items from others.

Also, kids are taught not to steal, physical things, from others, kids are not taught not to pirate yet since it is new to our generation really in the mass form it has come out as as our kids generation, which most parents are too oblivious to the "internet" to even know how to talk to their kids about it or know what is going on.

For most of us, if we have kids, we can easily explain it and even stop it.
 
kbrickley said:
The "I can't afford to buy" crowd are scary ... where does that sort of argument end? ... I want to play games so I must steal them since I don't have enough money to buy them ... I want to drive so I must steal a car since I don't have enough money to buy one ... I want to have more money so I must steal it so I don't have to be poor :eek:

When I was young I had to pick and choose which games I could afford or which I would ask for as gifts ... or I had to rent ... or I had to do without ... the sociopathic socialistic egocentric mentality with some people is just terrifying
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...steal...car analogy...socialistic...

:eek::rolleyes:
 
silk186 said:
This is only true IF the piracy results in a lots sale and this is not the argument people are making. If you can't afford games you don't get games. Meaning that they would not have bought the game. This argument can be brought into the used game market. When I was a kid a bought all of my console games second hand except for the first few marios and a few games at Christmas. Second hand games do not generate any revenue for developers. Second hand sales are not illigal but by your logic they are immoral.
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Although the publishers are attempting to get their hands into second hand sales, there is nothing immoral about them ... the developer was paid for the first purchase so his hard work was rewarded ... piracy, on the other hand, provides no income to a developer, and whether the person who pirates would have ever purchased the title is irrelevant (it still depends on a sufficient number of responsible purchasers to provide income to a developer to stay in business and continue to produce quality items so that the pirate can get them for free)
 
Well, personally I think the issue is lack of demos. Increased price where PC games cost same as console games even though there's no licensing to pay couples with decreasing game quality is a reason people don't want to buy a game to test it. Bad economic conditions also don't exactly help this. I've downloaded games to try them before, some were junk and went in trash and others that were good I've purchased. Back when game demos were around it was much easier to try a demo and then get hooked on it and buy the game. I remember Gothic has really generous demos and it was great. Got me hooked on the sequels which I just bought when they came out. So in a nutshell I think the attitude and direction of game companies have themselves to blame, but I wouldn't be surprised if they make this piracy issue look much bigger than it really is.
 
I'll admit that I still pirate a few things, but more or less to use as a "demo" since we don't get those anymore like we did back in the earlier PCGamer days with that awesome disk chock full of demos. And for the ones I play through and really enjoy, I end up buying the game to both support the devs and have it in my Steam library.

I view it as, if you make something I enjoy and I torrent it and like it, you get my money. If you make something that is awful, well, no money for you.
 
Meeho said:
...steal...car analogy...socialistic...

:eek::rolleyes:
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The car analogy was a stretch but the socialistic was dead nuts on if you read the first groups of letters ... they were "entitled" to free software because they couldn't afford to buy it ... that is no different than any other entitlement for someone who doesn't have the ability to get it themselves ... not all the pirates used that argument and they would not be socialists (but anyone who demands something for free is more likely to be of a socialist leaning) ;)
 
MrGuvernment said:
No comparison really, pirating is done from in the "safety" of your home, people see it as zero risk thing to do, they won't get caught et cetera, vs stealing a physical item from a store or someone else.

People do it because they hide behind their computer, people do not necessarily see them do it, and they do not see the direct effect of it because taking a copy is not taking something from someone and denying them access to it so it is less morally frighting i guess than stealing physical items from others.

Also, kids are taught not to steal, physical things, from others, kids are not taught not to pirate yet since it is new to our generation really in the mass form it has come out as as our kids generation, which most parents are too oblivious to the "internet" to even know how to talk to their kids about it or know what is going on.

For most of us, if we have kids, we can easily explain it and even stop it.
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Pirating is not theft. It is not comparable to theft. Comparing it to theft is more morally reprehensible than pirating itself.
 
Jospeh said:
Pirating is not theft. It is not comparable to theft. Comparing it to theft is more morally reprehensible than pirating itself.
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Although you are not taking possession of a physical item you do obtain access to a good or service that you did not pay for ... isn't that by definition a form of theft :confused:
 
kbrickley said:
Although you are not taking possession of a physical item you do obtain access to a good or service that you did not pay for ... isn't that by definition a form of theft :confused:
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That is why it is call copyright infringement.
 
kbrickley said:
The "I can't afford to buy" crowd are scary ... where does that sort of argument end? ... I want to play games so I must steal them since I don't have enough money to buy them ... I want to drive so I must steal a car since I don't have enough money to buy one ... I want to have more money so I must steal it so I don't have to be poor :eek:

When I was young I had to pick and choose which games I could afford or which I would ask for as gifts ... or I had to rent ... or I had to do without ... the sociopathic socialistic egocentric mentality with some people is just terrifying
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This is what happens when we live in a world where religion is all but dead.
The irony I find is that this forum is very anti-religion, specifically anti-Christian, and then they act shocked when people act like this. ;)

Not to get off topic on religion, but really, it is the lack there of which are causing all of these problems.
 
Most PC games are complete shit, even back in the day. They've gotten fairly worse in terms of quality and finish.
There is no moral obligation to pay people for virtual goods.
 
I've just always done it. From "copy that 5.25 floppy" up to Steam (when I stopped). Just the way it was. One person bought the game, and we shared it with others. Photocopied the manual for the copy protection stuff, and had fun. I bought a few, others bought a few, and we just shared. Then, the damn internet came along. Still, sharing. But with strangers. :) It was never right, but it was easy and doable for anyone. It didn't have a stigma on it for the longest time. Now, it's getting to you're a bad guy if you pirate shit. 30 years ago, you were just Average Joe sharing C64 games or early PC clone games.
 
Jospeh said:
Pirating is not theft. It is not comparable to theft. Comparing it to theft is more morally reprehensible than pirating itself.
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This has been beaten to death. No, it's not physical. But, I'm taking something that isn't mine that I didn't pay for. What am I taking? Those files (bits). By themselves they are nothing. Together, they are a product that someone else created. Copyright infringement technically. I still equate it to theft. It's not an idea, it's not a secret. It's a non-physical product. I'm not taking it from someone else to transfer ownership, but I'm taking a product that does not belong to me. That's just my opinion. Many others vary, though.
 
silk186 said:
In addition since downloading = downloading and not theft most people don't expeirence a moral conflict. It's not like stealing a chocolate bar from a mom and pop corner shop. "No animals were harmed in the pirating of this game" Support that delevopers if you can afford to, enjoy the game for free if you can't.
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What about the thousands of hours of labor everyone put in to making that game for you? You realize stealing a chocolate bar isnt just stealing the value behind the chocolate in it. Someone had to make that bar.
 
Ur_Mom said:
This has been beaten to death. No, it's not physical. But, I'm taking something that isn't mine that I didn't pay for. What am I taking? Those files (bits). By themselves they are nothing. Together, they are a product that someone else created. Copyright infringement technically. I still equate it to theft. It's not an idea, it's not a secret. It's a non-physical product. I'm not taking it from someone else to transfer ownership, but I'm taking a product that does not belong to me. That's just my opinion. Many others vary, though.
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Yup, pretty much this stuff.

I think that arguing and getting all slappy-face with each other over the terminology used to describe it only diverts people away from actually talking directly about it. I don't wanna assign motives or anything, but usually people who do that kinda diversionary stuff are doing it on purpose specifically to avoid addressing the problem.
 
Kueller said:
I'd rather have broke people sitting inside playing games rather than wandering the streets breaking into cars and houses to steal the money to buy games.

Would it be better if they got jobs? Of course, but that's just not going to happen with a lot of these people.
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Well this is a new one, so being a worthless leech on society is now justification for pirating games?
 
MrGuvernment said:
Also, kids are taught not to steal, physical things, from others, kids are not taught not to pirate yet since it is new to our generation really in the mass form it has come out as as our kids generation, which most parents are too oblivious to the "internet" to even know how to talk to their kids about it or know what is going on.
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This is a good point. I did pirate when I was in my teens in the 90's. My family didn't' understand anything about computers so didn't know I was doing it. In my circle of friends it wasn't even really talked about, we figured out we could copy games for each other and just did it. I got civ and warcraft copied for me from and friend, I didn't ask he just brought them over. Later I went and bought the games because I wanted the manuals. It wasn't until my late teens I started to think about it. Even then it took several years for my thinking to come around. I pretty much stopped pirating when I was 21. I can afford to buy any game I want now, easy to buy as well, and I do think the devs deserve compensation.

I think the more interesting thing about the write ins were people who are in other countries. Some said pirating was the only way to get anything in where they live, there were no other options to get things legally. One said they didn't even know about pirating till later in life because everything was pirated and original things were not sold there.

Also older games just not available to purchase anywhere.
 
Jospeh said:
Pirating is not theft. It is not comparable to theft. Comparing it to theft is more morally reprehensible than pirating itself.
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It absolutely is theft, you are stealing the manhours of labor that went into producing the game. It's like telling a graphics designer who whipped together a logo for you in 15 minutes that he doesnt deserve $1000 for his fee. You arent paying $1000 for the logo, you are paying $1000 for the 4 years of education he had to go through and the 10 years of experience he had to build to reach a point where he could whip together a logo for you in 15 minutes.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
I'm glad you posted this because I think that most people, even if they do pirate games, will present themselves as not doing so and will also act disgusted at the idea of piracy. It's far worse to do that than it is to admit to doing it.

But with that said, I don't think unlimited Internet and higher downstream data rates really have a lot to do with piracy of software. They're really not related since, from what I read, people were burning CDs of games long before it was reasonable to get like an ISO copy of it because of dial up modems and junk. With copy protection and digital stores and stuff, I think that the tendency to pirate games is actually lower now than it ever was in spite of increased bandwidth and stuff like Steam has drastically reduced that kinda stuff.
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I used to bring a floppy disc to a friends and copy games or share games with friends to play on the school computer but it is far more accessible than it was in the past.

I bought games when I was working and pirated far less. When I'm studying it is the opposite, my student loan is going to take long enough to pay off as it is. It did not help that for a while I was in China and was not going to import boxed copies of games just to get them in English. If a game has too much DLC crap and I want to support the developers I will wait for a game of the year addition. I bought Half-Life and I bought the orange box as well. I feel no shame in pirating as it doesn't hurt the developers. I will either buy or pirate a game depending on the quality, price and more importantly my financial situation. If anything my pirating is good for sales as I will tell friends about the game and if it has good multiplayer/online support I will eventually buy a copy.
 
McFry said:
It absolutely is theft, you are stealing the manhours of labor that went into producing the game. It's like telling a graphics designer who whipped together a logo for you in 15 minutes that he doesnt deserve $1000 for his fee. You arent paying $1000 for the logo, you are paying $1000 for the 4 years of education he had to go through and the 10 years of experience he had to build to reach a point where he could whip together a logo for you in 15 minutes.
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Or the fact that my g/f operates an MRI machine. It takes like 30 minutes and they charge the customer $4000. Guess what, that machine costs like 8 million dollars so they have to charge you 4k each turn to pay for it. Some here would try to use the machine for free and act like there's nothing wrong with that because the machine is still there doing what it does after the fact.
 
McFry said:
It absolutely is theft, you are stealing the manhours of labor that went into producing the game. It's like telling a graphics designer who whipped together a logo for you in 15 minutes that he doesnt deserve $1000 for his fee. You arent paying $1000 for the logo, you are paying $1000 for the 4 years of education he had to go through and the 10 years of experience he had to build to reach a point where he could whip together a logo for you in 15 minutes.
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Laughable. You can't steal labor. Labor that has already been compensated for is already paid for.
If someone lets you borrow a dvd and you watch it, are you obligated to pay the studios for that viewing?
Which game developer companies have went under due to piracy? None? Sounds to me like making games is profitable and they're not having a problem making money. Arguing that a 9 year old kid without a job pirates and should pay for the game is stupid. It's the same people who believe that if someone makes 25$ selling something on ebay that they should claim it as income and be taxed on it on their return.
 
mzs_biteme said:
Why don't we (the working people with morals) give them (the "poor" people with no games) a new apartment, full fridge, new clothes, TV and PC/game consoles along with the free games they so much deserve(!!!), so we can all live happily ever after.... :eek: Hell, why don't we throw in some weed or crack too just to make sure we got all "their" needs covered...:rolleyes:
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stupid argument is stupid... why don't you ban libraries as they allow the poor to read books, listen to CDs, borrow DVDs and *gasp* computer games. What is the world coming to. I suppose that you are against free (outdoor) public swimming pools in the summer as well. Poor teens should be getting pregnant and living off of welfare instead of downloading games which does not equal a financial loss.

Steam has provided an excellent market place for people that can afford games. It is far easier to buy a game than it is to wait for patches and new crack for pirated games. The steam sales allow for people have large backlogs of games to play as well. If someone can't afford to buy games on steam than they have bigger problems to worry about beyond your seance of morality so go be SJW for a cause that actually matters.
 
Azphira said:
The excuses people concoct to justify their wrongful acts.
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You make it sound like gay marriage or flying the confederate flag. I have pirated games on my computer... oh my GOD I'm living in sin, I should run to the church to confess and get jerked off.
 
I've only downloaded one game, Dragon Age Origins. Because it was SOOOOO much easier than logging into Biowares site and re-downloading then installing all their goddam DLC files that I'd paid for :mad:
 
Red Falcon said:
This is what happens when we live in a world where religion is all but dead.
The irony I find is that this forum is very anti-religion, specifically anti-Christian, and then they act shocked when people act like this. ;)

Not to get off topic on religion, but really, it is the lack there of which are causing all of these problems.
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The worst people I know identify as baptists. They believe in Jesus as god/son of god, heaven, hell, demons, angels and all that, and then go around getting drunk, getting into fights, going to the basement to get high while their under 10 year old kids watch tv upstairs, etc. So don't even try to talk about how a lack of religion is causing these problems.
 
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