Game Piracy

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Tru
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Game Piracy

Post by Tru »

This is a topic which will probably be debated forever, but it would be interesting to hear the opinions of my fellow Radio Sega comrades!

No judgements here: what are your views on piracy? Is it harming our beloved industry, is it not as bad as some people make out? Have you ever pirated anything or are you really ethical about stuff like that? DISCUSS!

On my game design Uni course, game piracy is an issue we've obviously talked about at length and also written an essay on. This is some evidence to suggest that piracy isn't quite as bad as it's made out to be, or doesn't have quite as bad of an effect, in some cases it 'may' be beneficial. I could probably dig up some references from my old essay. Seems that some companies view second hand gaming as a bigger problem.

When I was a teenager, I pirated some games. Specifically, I pirated Dreamcast games because I was a useless idiot with hardly any money and there was always a bloke down the market selling DC games for a couple of quid. Even better, he was selling imports which didn't even arrive over here until months later. This was how I was able to experience so many DC games as early as I could. I still remember how happy I felt to be able to play the Japanese version of PSO as soon as it came out.

But of course, the Dreamcast died a screaming, painful death and the guilt ate away at me. Ever since then I have personally refused to pirate games. Sega are obviously my favourite company and I was hurting them by effectively stealing. Although, you could argue if I had no money, I would never have played them and become such a supporter in the first place.

Having started my games degree, I've learnt of how much effort actually goes into the development of a game, and thus have more respect for those within the industry. I find it interesting when those on my course pirate games. It feels like they're harming the very industry they want to enter, and it's not like the UK games industry is doing brilliantly right now.

What about you guys?
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Reknoc
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Post by Reknoc »

I used to be pretty bad about it for PC games. I can't say I don't do it now, but I don't do it for new releases. Usually old games that are hard to get and aren't on GOG or Steam.

The biggest problem on the platform where it's thriving is publishers treating everyone like pirates. Except the pirates aren't the ones being punished since the DRM does little to deter them.
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Tru
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Post by Tru »

I agree actually, I do 'pirate' ROM's for older games when they haven't been re-released and are hard to get hold of, for example, Panzer Dragoon Saga on the Saturn. I have a bunch of other Saturn ROM's as well that I play on my PC even though I own a physical copy. I think it keeps the originals fairly safe from damage that way.

And I agree that DRM is a big problem, in some cases it encourages people to pirate, which is obviously not helping anyone.
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Reknoc
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Post by Reknoc »

Another thing to remember that if a game sells 200 copies but is pirated 300 times that's not a potential for the game to sell 500 copies.

It probably doesn't help that the gaming industry is practically hemorrhaging money. So all the big publishers and devs cry about it while the smaller indie devs joke around about it.
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Killer French Bread
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Post by Killer French Bread »

Have a few roms on Mame, that's about it. Can't be bothered to skulk around dodgy sites pirating anything of value; I don't really know what I'm doing. I couldn't even get a Snatcher rom to play last time I tried nicking something.
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Tru
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Post by Tru »

Damn, a Snatcher ROM would be worth the hassle :P I remember going around dodgy shops as a kid trying to find that.
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Killer French Bread
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Post by Killer French Bread »

I've actually got the game, just no Mega CD. So I wasnt being that much of a pikey then.
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Matty
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Post by Matty »

I pirate new games, mainly to see if its worth me spending my money, BLUR, i considered getting that but after playing about 10 mins of it i was bored to hell, the online was broken (thousands of users unable to go online and a few can so it must be the thousands who cant get on fault)

Meanwhile inFamous, i played, i enjoyed & i went out & brought it

People say demos showcase what a game will be like, they do not as all demos say this "this does not represent the final product" i want the final product, also most demos are restricted & don't show the full game (EG a Gran Turismo demo might have 10-20 cars whereas the full game will have 100's)

The main reason people pirate is because they cost so much new, i mean who has £40 (per game) to spend each week? say you get 3 games a week (seems reasonable) thats £120, i dont even get that to myself in a month let a lone have that kind of money to spend on games

So yeah back to the main points, i'll play a game for a few hours, if i like it i'll buy it, if not straight away i will after the price has dropped

Although if the game becomes hard to get/stays at a high price/isn't released in the UK (IE the Persona series/Project Diva) then it stays pirated till the means to get it are available

Also my Ps2 is chipped, i have pirated only 4 games in all its time, KH2 (was rare as shit & still ended up paying £25 from Woolworths about 18 months after release) Persona 3 (FES) + 4 (still haven't played them yet) and MGS2: Substance (again was hard to get, eventually got it round the carboot)

edit: i only really have sonic games/hacks as roms, a few Snes roms (mainly FF etc) but i have about 5gig of fruit machine roms :3 (would be more but i lost the 7 dvd set i had with everything ever released on :/)
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richarddavies
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Post by richarddavies »

I used to pirate as a kid on my psone and Dreamcast but as I got older and started working I stopped really. I'd rather support games where I can. I use some roms though. Speaking of Snatcher I own a copy but whenever I wanna play it I use a rom I downloaded. I just keep the game tucked away safe. (If you ever need help getting it going KFB send us a message). On topic though I would never even think of pirating a current gen console. Most devs are struggling as it is these days without me pirating.
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Reknoc
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Post by Reknoc »

No one forces people to buy every game brand new on release. And the chance that all games released that week even interest the person.

And the Persona series was released in the UK.
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