Demographics: Pirating
- Thread starter Gilgamesh
- Start date
- Status
I could possibly be convinced to pirate a game/movie/whatever if it's something that somebody owns but is actively refusing to reissue. If you pick up ownership of something just to sit on it when there are plenty of Fry's begging you to take their money, your lost revenue is your own damn fault.
--Patrick
--Patrick
GasBandit
Staff member
At some point, I've done all of the above. When I was 18, I was of a mindset that said "only suckers pay for computer software." Now I'm more along the lines of "only suckers pay full price for software, and I've got more reasonably priced software than I can possibly play." Hell, just yesterday I bought Crysis on steam for 5 bucks. Will I ever play it again? Who knows! But I am willing to pay 5 bucks to have a legit copy available to me with a click if I do decide to play it again.
The gateway to my "going straight" was probably GOG.com. Started innocently, picking up some old favorites like Interstate 76 and Freespace 1&2. My mind said, hey, these guys put in the extra effort to make these old games work on modern OSes, that's worth a few bucks... so I'm paying them for THAT, not "buying the game." I've still got street cred!
Fast forward a year or two later, and here I am trawling the steam sales with the rest of you schnooks and dropping Benjamins on cut rate games. Of course, the surge in free-to-play gaming fare (notably TF2, League of Legends, and the like) also had a hand in that... but really... GOG set me up.. Steam smashed me to bits. I still haven't played all the games I have legitimately bought, and I continue to buy old games I'd previously pirated whenever they go on sale on steam.
I'm actually slightly disgusted with myself sometimes for going legit, actually... but I comfort my demons by telling them I'm only paying for the convenience provided by the steam platform - not because I suddenly developed scruples.
The gateway to my "going straight" was probably GOG.com. Started innocently, picking up some old favorites like Interstate 76 and Freespace 1&2. My mind said, hey, these guys put in the extra effort to make these old games work on modern OSes, that's worth a few bucks... so I'm paying them for THAT, not "buying the game." I've still got street cred!
Fast forward a year or two later, and here I am trawling the steam sales with the rest of you schnooks and dropping Benjamins on cut rate games. Of course, the surge in free-to-play gaming fare (notably TF2, League of Legends, and the like) also had a hand in that... but really... GOG set me up.. Steam smashed me to bits. I still haven't played all the games I have legitimately bought, and I continue to buy old games I'd previously pirated whenever they go on sale on steam.
I'm actually slightly disgusted with myself sometimes for going legit, actually... but I comfort my demons by telling them I'm only paying for the convenience provided by the steam platform - not because I suddenly developed scruples.
As a kid, I used to pirate because hey, free games! Now that I'm an adult, and have a job, I can afford to buy games. And for the vast majority of games, this is what I do. I greatly enjoy video games, and want to show my support to my favorite developers buy actually paying for the games they produce. Of course, I don't always pay full price, some are definitely worth waiting for a steam sale.
The times I pirate are when I can't get a game any other way, or at least not without great difficulty. I pirated Silent Hill 2, because I don't have a working ps2 to play the ps2 version on, and the only copies I could find of the PC version were going for over $100 on amazon.
The times I pirate are when I can't get a game any other way, or at least not without great difficulty. I pirated Silent Hill 2, because I don't have a working ps2 to play the ps2 version on, and the only copies I could find of the PC version were going for over $100 on amazon.
Games? Don't think I've ever pirated a game.
TV Shows/ movies... yeah, sometimes.
TV Shows because I disagree with the way TV is sold to us nowadays. IE: I watch TSN and CBC when hockey's on, TMN/HBO, AMC and Discovery. So why I am forced to pay for TLC, HGTV, Teletoon, Space, A&E, Showcase, FX, etc, etc,etc, just to get them? (The CRTC has ruled that providers have to start offering channels a la carte, so I might actually get myself television service when that comes to fruition). So where possible, I will watch TV online legally (Comedy Network , you rock). If that option is unavailable, I'll pirate. But if I like a show enough that I'm willing to do that, that means I'm buying the show when it's on DVD.
Movies almost never. I've been given pirated copies of movies by my teachers for use as reference, and have since purchased every one of those. And I once downloaded Plan 9 From Outer Space, but couldn't make it all the way through it.
TV Shows/ movies... yeah, sometimes.
TV Shows because I disagree with the way TV is sold to us nowadays. IE: I watch TSN and CBC when hockey's on, TMN/HBO, AMC and Discovery. So why I am forced to pay for TLC, HGTV, Teletoon, Space, A&E, Showcase, FX, etc, etc,etc, just to get them? (The CRTC has ruled that providers have to start offering channels a la carte, so I might actually get myself television service when that comes to fruition). So where possible, I will watch TV online legally (Comedy Network , you rock). If that option is unavailable, I'll pirate. But if I like a show enough that I'm willing to do that, that means I'm buying the show when it's on DVD.
Movies almost never. I've been given pirated copies of movies by my teachers for use as reference, and have since purchased every one of those. And I once downloaded Plan 9 From Outer Space, but couldn't make it all the way through it.
GasBandit
Staff member
Heh, when it came to movies, my father was cold dead certain he was going to get his money's worth out of being "tricked" into signing up for HBO back in the 80s... so he got a VCR. At last count he had some 1300 movies on VHS, most recorded 4 or 5 movies to a single cassette. You might understand I have no issues with pirating a movie.
That said, I like the "theater experience" and honestly, I can't remember the last time I downloaded a movie. Oh wait, yeah, I downloaded that one animated batman movie with the death of robin in it. But apart from that... I think... saving private ryan maybe? But that doesn't count, I actually owned a legit copy of that on VHS. Hrm. This is a toughie.
Anyway, I download the hell out of TV shows. To me, it's a logical extension of existing tech. No more "stealing" than tivo, since I have cable.
That said, I like the "theater experience" and honestly, I can't remember the last time I downloaded a movie. Oh wait, yeah, I downloaded that one animated batman movie with the death of robin in it. But apart from that... I think... saving private ryan maybe? But that doesn't count, I actually owned a legit copy of that on VHS. Hrm. This is a toughie.
Anyway, I download the hell out of TV shows. To me, it's a logical extension of existing tech. No more "stealing" than tivo, since I have cable.
I don't have much of a choice in the matter.
For PC games, I don't pirate. If I can buy it digitally, then I'll buy it.
For Wii/Xbox/Whatever console, I have no choice but to pirate. As far as I know, consoles are not sold legitimately in China so they're simply sold pre-chipped. My Wii comes from Korea and my Xbox from Japan. You CAN find original copies of games but
1. It's hard
2. What's the point at this point? Buy an original copy of Halo 3: ODST and then not be able to play it online because hey, my Xbox is chipped and gets banned if I try to get on Xbox live?
I actually had my brother bring an original copy of Final Fantasy XIII when it first came out and he was visiting me in Shenyang only for my Xbox to tell me it's the "wrong region".
Well, I tried.
For PC games, I don't pirate. If I can buy it digitally, then I'll buy it.
For Wii/Xbox/Whatever console, I have no choice but to pirate. As far as I know, consoles are not sold legitimately in China so they're simply sold pre-chipped. My Wii comes from Korea and my Xbox from Japan. You CAN find original copies of games but
1. It's hard
2. What's the point at this point? Buy an original copy of Halo 3: ODST and then not be able to play it online because hey, my Xbox is chipped and gets banned if I try to get on Xbox live?
I actually had my brother bring an original copy of Final Fantasy XIII when it first came out and he was visiting me in Shenyang only for my Xbox to tell me it's the "wrong region".
Well, I tried.
I honestly stopped pirating games right about the time Steam started having sales. The realization that I could eventually get any game I wanted (on PC) for the price it was actually worth basically ended my downloads. I may have to wait a year or two but basically any game I want will go on sale.
Oh! No I did pirate console games back in the day. On my original Playstation. I was like, 11 and didn't even know it was illegal. A guy we knew who worked at Sony got another guy at Sony to chip it, and bought pirated games from that guy so I got like 6 games for about $2 a piece. Most of 'em I didn't even ask for. I think my dad asked the dude to get them for me. I can't even remember what games I got except for Knockout Kings and Army Men: Sarge's Heroes.
Pretty much this along with demoing games that I feel might be iffy about.
*cough* Dragon Age 2 *cough*
I've not pirated games in at least a decade. Once I was out of college I bought whatever I wanted, I had the cash, and I felt the developers were due their money.
Now I do share disks to old games from time to time, strictly speaking that is piracy too.
Now I do share disks to old games from time to time, strictly speaking that is piracy too.
I used to pirate SNES and genesis games before they became widely available on Wii VM and PC. I really had no problem with pirating games where there was no way to legitimately buy them. Same with the out of print games that are now on GoG. If the copy-write holder doesn't want to take my money, screw em. But if there is a legitimate way to get something I love to play, I'll definitely support the publishers that make the smart decision to make them available to those who want them and are willing to actually pay for them.
It's a great idea, but the execution leaves MUCH to be desired.
I can cite specific sources if you would like.
--Patrick
Just because you don't agree with how TV is distributed /sold, doesn't mean you have the right to pirate it. Pirating TV is fundamentally different than TIVOing, since you skip the commercials.You can buy a Season on iTunes without commercials, or buy the DVD/Bluray without commercials. While it's on TV normally you "pay" by either watching commercials live. OR fast forwarding through commercials. FF-ing through commercials is still "paying" since commercials are designed to get their message / logo / whatever across even when someone is fast forwarding.
I pirate TV and movies, but I know it's really wrong and I am a jerk. For a combination of price and ease. My theater hopping is also technically stealing the Theater Experience(TM). I still spend a shitload of my entertainment dollars on TV and Movies, even with that being said. Just ask my large blu-ray / DVD shelves and Netflix subscription and times I impulsively hit up Redbox, etc etc. But I fully admit it's a shitty thing to do and I'm hurting the industry I love.
I pirate TV and movies, but I know it's really wrong and I am a jerk. For a combination of price and ease. My theater hopping is also technically stealing the Theater Experience(TM). I still spend a shitload of my entertainment dollars on TV and Movies, even with that being said. Just ask my large blu-ray / DVD shelves and Netflix subscription and times I impulsively hit up Redbox, etc etc. But I fully admit it's a shitty thing to do and I'm hurting the industry I love.
I've never pirated a game unless you count having people make me copies of Doom, Duke Nukem and Tie Fighter back in the 90's when I first got a PC.
See, the problem I have with the whole "paying by watching commercials" issue is... I'm already paying for the privilege of watching those shows. I was fine with commercials back in the broadcast days, when I didn't have to pay for the broadcast, because they had to make money somehow. Now they're double dipping, though. I pay Comcast $100.00 a month, and then on top of that I have to watch commercials or fast forward through them. And don't start* with the "all of that money to Comcast just covers the equipment and the signal" garbage, because if that were true I wouldn't have to pay even more if I wanted to also watch HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, NFL Network, etc. since signing up for those channels doesn't require them to make any changes to the cable/fiber between their closest descrambler and my TV.
*You can start all you want, but I'm not gonna pay attention.
The only games I ever pirated were ones I could no longer find, such as adventure games from Sierra and LucasArts. I knew some people that would play on burnt copies of PS1 games, but I never did that. Buy used, sure, but that's it.
Since Steam (and to a lesser extent, GoG.com), that's the only way I purchase my games, now. Same for PSN and its deals on PSN Plus. And I prefer it that way, because I enjoy having my games as a digital library.
TV shows, I've mentioned before: I don't see it any different than having a friend tape it off TV for me. Honestly, if there was a similar way to have digital copies of the shows, but in a way that I could back them up on my external HD. I know there are ways to digitally get TV shows - and sometimes even pretty recent - but it's still not as great a service as some of the sites I can get them sooner. I've bought some mp3s on Amazon and I can do with them as I wish. I don't know if such an option is available for TV shows.
Movies? Similar. Though most of the movies I have backed up are ones I've paid for, sometimes several times. Especially the much older ones. I've seen them in theatres, bought the tape, then the DVD, then the BluRay. I'm tired of buying the next format and the next format. I like having a drive of movies to watch at my pleasure.
Since Steam (and to a lesser extent, GoG.com), that's the only way I purchase my games, now. Same for PSN and its deals on PSN Plus. And I prefer it that way, because I enjoy having my games as a digital library.
TV shows, I've mentioned before: I don't see it any different than having a friend tape it off TV for me. Honestly, if there was a similar way to have digital copies of the shows, but in a way that I could back them up on my external HD. I know there are ways to digitally get TV shows - and sometimes even pretty recent - but it's still not as great a service as some of the sites I can get them sooner. I've bought some mp3s on Amazon and I can do with them as I wish. I don't know if such an option is available for TV shows.
Movies? Similar. Though most of the movies I have backed up are ones I've paid for, sometimes several times. Especially the much older ones. I've seen them in theatres, bought the tape, then the DVD, then the BluRay. I'm tired of buying the next format and the next format. I like having a drive of movies to watch at my pleasure.
GasBandit
Staff member
Yeah, I remember when having cable TV meant no commercials. I don't buy that "you pay for watching by commercials" bulshoi. Plus, the fact that DVRs let you skip them invalidates the entire argument. If it's on a network I have access to, and could DVR it, there's absolutely no difference between that and torrenting it.
I haven't pirated games in a long time. I still on occasion pirate older TV shows when I get the urge to watch them if they're not on Netflix and I can't find the episodes on youtube. For the most part I still pirate books, mostly software tutorials and other textbooks. I don't directly pirate novels/fiction, but my sister downloads huge quantities and I usually get copies of what I want to read from her.
Once in a blue moon I might download some software I want to try, but hasn't been necessary too often since Autodesk now releases the student edition of all of their software for free and I've been intentionally moving myself to open-source whenever I can.
Once in a blue moon I might download some software I want to try, but hasn't been necessary too often since Autodesk now releases the student edition of all of their software for free and I've been intentionally moving myself to open-source whenever I can.
I'll admit, if I had a kindle or other eBook reader, I would be sorely tempted to pirate books. The prices of major releases are just ridiculous... if I wanted to pay full price, I'd have just bought the physical book.
It's really looking like price is my main trigger.
It's really looking like price is my main trigger.
I see zero difference between what you just said and what I just said.
Same as
Same as
same as
and
I think you thought I was trying to justify piracy, when in fact I see a small distinction between trying to explain something and trying to justify it.
In the frontier days of the digital high seas, FnordBeard the Pirate would take no prisoners and haul a mighty booty of games. Now days FnordBeard limits his piracy to Roms and Emulators for old console and handheld games that he plays on his droid devices. Steam has calmed FnordBeard with it's selection and reasonable prices. The sorcery of GOG also aids him in the acquisition of lost treasure.
I pirate movies a lot. It happens. When they're not available on shitty on-demand or shitty Canadian Netflix my only other choice to buy them outright or pirate or drive a half an hour to the nearest rental place (nearly all movie rental shops have shut down).
Shittiest part is from what I understand from a friend who managed the local Blockbuster is Blockbuster Canada was doing gangbusters business with not a lot of competition and shitty alternatives (Netflix Canada is ass compared to the US Netflix) but was outright liquidated (or something akin) to funnel some cash back into dying Blockbuster US.
I used to pirate games like a maniac. I didn't buy any, like, ever. Steam and GoG reformed me by making it easier to buy games than to pirate. They win.
I still buy music from acts where I know none of my money will be used by the RIAA or any of it's awful compatriate orginzations (CRIA, etc). That whole deal where the European version won some huge settlement from somewhere that was ordered to be distributed amongst those they represented but instead they found a loophole where they could keep it all for themselves as long as they were using it for further litigation made me fucking sick. How Sweden managed to convince Cambodia to deport the Pirate Bay cofounder after a 59 million dollar aid package to the country. 59 million fucking dollars. How the taxpayers of Sweden aren't burning the country to the ground over that is beyond me. That much taxpayer money squandered to appease corporations to bring ONE guy to "justice". Though, who am I to talk, the Canadian government is no better.
I ain't gonna rationalize most of my rampant piracy.
Hey look, policeman doesn't give a shit about copyright laws.
I don't.
Boom. Deal with it.
You know how many people have been rejected from admittance into the RCMP for admitting during the exhaustive personality interview that they've downloaded music, movies or games?
Fucking zero, zilch, nada, not a God damn one.
You know how many for admitting they've done something sexual with an animal?
All of them, 1/10 interviewees in fact. That's a true, completely not made up number. Literally 1 in 10 people that try to become cops have at some point have had a dog lick their balls, have fucked a horse or sheep etc. This number is true for most metro police too. Their numbers match ours.
HOW FUCKED UP IS THAT?
Shittiest part is from what I understand from a friend who managed the local Blockbuster is Blockbuster Canada was doing gangbusters business with not a lot of competition and shitty alternatives (Netflix Canada is ass compared to the US Netflix) but was outright liquidated (or something akin) to funnel some cash back into dying Blockbuster US.
I used to pirate games like a maniac. I didn't buy any, like, ever. Steam and GoG reformed me by making it easier to buy games than to pirate. They win.
I still buy music from acts where I know none of my money will be used by the RIAA or any of it's awful compatriate orginzations (CRIA, etc). That whole deal where the European version won some huge settlement from somewhere that was ordered to be distributed amongst those they represented but instead they found a loophole where they could keep it all for themselves as long as they were using it for further litigation made me fucking sick. How Sweden managed to convince Cambodia to deport the Pirate Bay cofounder after a 59 million dollar aid package to the country. 59 million fucking dollars. How the taxpayers of Sweden aren't burning the country to the ground over that is beyond me. That much taxpayer money squandered to appease corporations to bring ONE guy to "justice". Though, who am I to talk, the Canadian government is no better.
I ain't gonna rationalize most of my rampant piracy.
Hey look, policeman doesn't give a shit about copyright laws.
I don't.
Boom. Deal with it.
You know how many people have been rejected from admittance into the RCMP for admitting during the exhaustive personality interview that they've downloaded music, movies or games?
Fucking zero, zilch, nada, not a God damn one.
You know how many for admitting they've done something sexual with an animal?
All of them, 1/10 interviewees in fact. That's a true, completely not made up number. Literally 1 in 10 people that try to become cops have at some point have had a dog lick their balls, have fucked a horse or sheep etc. This number is true for most metro police too. Their numbers match ours.
HOW FUCKED UP IS THAT?
Hey now, statistics on the hygenic habits of those sheep aren't available. Let's not jump to conclusions.
- Status