Pirrrrracy in Video gaming

[Dustmop]

The Gamecube came out almost 13 years ago. We're as far away from it as the Wii was from the N64.

Still, can't you play those games on the Wii/U?

My last Nintendo console was the GC, so I'm not really sure about the backward compatibility. :v

 

[Oryx]

Still, can't you play those games on the Wii/U?

My last Nintendo console was the GC, so I'm not really sure about the backward compatibility. :v

Well then ignore the Majora's Mask example. It really doesn't matter, this is nitpicking and ignoring the question I was trying to raise.

 

[Banjora Marxvile]

Wii U can only play Wii games, not Gamecube, as the Wii had a Gamecube emulator within itself, from what I have heard, and the Wii U doesn't, but meh :P

I only emulate games that I own nowadays. It's just easier to do that as it means I can mess around with cheats and stuff without messing up my good saves. I don't pirate at all, I'm opposed to it for the simple reason of it being theft, which is wrong. If you spent ages doing something (regardless of how big you are as a company), would you like it to be stolen by a lot of people? I treat things by how I like to be treated, and that includes no stealing of intellectual property.

In my opinion, emulators should be used for those that are past their date. Games that are no longer in production anywhere, on consoles that no longer exist and may not be rereleased (I still would buy it if it was rereleased though, like Kirby 64 on Nintendo 64). Emulating current generation of games I would only do if I own it as a messaround save (or to record, as have you seen the price of that Nintendo 3DS recording software?!) as I would own it anyway, so I already paid the price for it.

 

[Dustmop]

Well then ignore the Majora's Mask example. It really doesn't matter, this is nitpicking and ignoring the question I was trying to raise.

I wasn't nitpicking -- I was genuinely curious as to why MM was used as an example because I figured it was still somewhat easy/affordable to get your hands on a copy and compatible console. :p

Though in regards to your question, I don't see how either is a legitimate 'ethical' reason to pirate/emulate. If you don't own the system it's on, then buy it. If it's a rare, hard-to-find copy, you should feel that much better when you finally get your hands on a copy.
But I don't see any 'ethical' reasons for stealing in general. Far as I'm concerned, you're not entitled to have something -- anything -- just because you can't afford it or it's hard to track down.

Wii U can only play Wii games, not Gamecube, as the Wii had a Gamecube emulator within itself, from what I have heard, and the Wii U doesn't, but meh

Ooooh. Well that's still just last gen! And thank you. :3

 

[Polar Spectrum]

Two Cows - hah sorry mate, I did read through your whole post, but I'm a bit distracted and preoccupied at the moment, and frankly while I respect you for the very valid points you brought up - I don't think I can continue to debate / discuss this on a high enough level as it deserves :P Maybe I'll come back to this later - but right now I'm doing way too many other things to give this the thought it warrants. Sorry again mate.

 

[Dream Operator]

I'm not sure you can ethically argue that. If you aren't willing to spend the money on it, by what ethical logic should you be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor?

I mean, I'm not exactly criticizing because I'm kind of in the point in my life where by my ethical standards it's unethical to download games but I do it anyway, but I'm always interested in the idea of it still being ethically sound due to the company not working "hard enough".

You download games too, so it's not as though you can ethically argue your point either. I don't care about games like Call of Duty and things like that in terms of downloading because I know that the money that I'm not paying is being made up for by the fact that millions of suckers pay $65 for their games when they're just putting out the same game every year. As I said, many indie game designers aren't making a lot of money off of their game and if I'm playing it, I'm willing to pay $20 for a game that I know they worked hard on.

 

[Oryx]

You download games too, so it's not as though you can ethically argue your point either. I don't care about games like Call of Duty and things like that in terms of downloading because I know that the money that I'm not paying is being made up for by the fact that millions of suckers pay $65 for their games when they're just putting out the same game every year. As I said, many indie game designers aren't making a lot of money off of their game and if I'm playing it, I'm willing to pay $20 for a game that I know they worked hard on.

I admitted that I don't think my actions are ethical and am working to find ways around them, especially now that I have a job where I can afford video games - I moved to Steam a year or so back and haven't pirated PC games since, but I'm still working towards an ethical solution to GBA and such.

So are you in the same boat as me - you feel what you're doing is unethical? Because that's what I was saying, but you still seem to be arguing that it is. ed: I really hope the argument isn't "it's ethical because they make money and it's not much in the grand scheme of their profits" like it really seems to be...

 

[Dream Operator]

I admitted that I don't think my actions are ethical and am working to find ways around them, especially now that I have a job where I can afford video games - I moved to Steam a year or so back and haven't pirated PC games since, but I'm still working towards an ethical solution to GBA and such.

So are you in the same boat as me - you feel what you're doing is unethical? Because that's what I was saying, but you still seem to be arguing that it is. ed: I really hope the argument isn't "it's ethical because they make money and it's not much in the grand scheme of their profits" like it really seems to be...

I'm not saying that it's ethical, but I certainly don't feel any remorse or regret for doing it.

 

[Oryx]

I'm not saying that it's ethical, but I certainly don't feel any remorse or regret for doing it.

If you were in a Walmart, with low-quality goods everywhere, would you feel no remorse for stealing something? Or, to give a more service-oriented example since video games are a cross between the two, if you agreed to pay a big company for a consultation and then left without payment would you feel no remorse? I don't understand the logic, can you expand on why you think it's okay a little more than "they don't deserve my money but I deserve to play their game"?

 

[Dream Operator]

If you were in a Walmart, with low-quality goods everywhere, would you feel no remorse for stealing something? Or, to give a more service-oriented example since video games are a cross between the two, if you agreed to pay a big company for a consultation and then left without payment would you feel no remorse? I don't understand the logic, can you expand on why you think it's okay a little more than "they don't deserve my money but I deserve to play their game"?

That's completely different. I'd be stealing a single item. That single item could have been purchased by someone who needs it and not me, assuming that I don't need it. That item is no longer available. This game is online and is also a file that can be downloaded between everyone on the planet that has internet access.

 

[Oryx]

That's completely different. I'd be stealing a single item. That single item could have been purchased by someone who needs it and not me, assuming that I don't need it. That item is no longer available. This game is online and is also a file that can be downloaded between everyone on the planet that has internet access.

You're stealing someone's work. There's a reason why it's illegal to use someone's copyrighted photography and other art without their consent. I notice you also ignored the service example, which is not a single item at all.

edit: or, if you snuck into a movie theater that had open seats. You didn't steal anything, but it's still illegal and unethical.

Are you sure you actually think it's unethical? Because I'm pretty sure that's not what you're arguing here.

 

[Dream Operator]

You're stealing someone's work. There's a reason why it's illegal to use someone's copyrighted photography and other art without their consent. I notice you also ignored the service example, which is not a single item at all.

edit: or, if you snuck into a movie theater that had open seats. You didn't steal anything, but it's still illegal and unethical.

Are you sure you actually think it's unethical? Because I'm pretty sure that's not what you're arguing here.

The services that a worker is doing is a part of their job. They get paid to serve other people. I think it's unethical, but like I still do it and I don't feel bad about it. I've also gone into a movie theater that had open seats and I didn't feel bad about that either. Unethical isn't a feeling. It's a demonstrable fact. Sneaking into a movie theater and downloading $400,000 worth of video games off of the internet is definitely unethical, however I'm not going to feel bad about it.

 

[«Chuckles»]

Tell me, would you walk into a store and steal a game if you could get away with it?

Honestly probably not. If I liked the cover art then thats a possible yes but if I don't then no because the only thing care about when going retail is the hard case because it looks nice. I bought Sleeping Dogs purely because I liked the cover art and guess what the game was fantastic.

 

[TY]

I do not pirate because I for one support the developers for what they do and have created. Plus good luck trying to get the newest games to work online if you have pirated them :P

In short: I do not steal games, because pirating = stealing.

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

Tell me, would you walk into a store and steal a game if you could get away with it?

This sounds tempting actually... xDDDDD

 

[«Chuckles»]

I do not pirate because I for one support the developers for what they do and have created. Plus good luck trying to get the newest games to work online if you have pirated them :P

In short: I do not steal games, because pirating = stealing.

LAN Party's are and always will be FUN

 

[bobandbill]

I pirate some stuff, but it's mostly older games that are no longer sold since ages (except at places where you can find used games, and if that is an reliable, accessible option for me like markets or virtual console then I'll consider that too) and/or on consoles I just don't have (so older ones). Or Pokemon, just because that while I have the games myself, when say I want to do a monotype run I'd rather not delete my save file for that.

Another case I plan to do with the Ace Attorney series. I've rommed some of those games ages back (talking the earlier titles) just because I wanted to try them out and they were nowhere to be seen in Australia stores. (And as someone else said, they are pretty expensive here! 3DS games can go for $60, Wii U stuff up to $70-80. Wii games can still be seen at $99 as well, go figure.) Now that they announced the original trilogy will be sold on the 3DS (while there is iOS I don't have such a phone), I'm going to pick that up when I can, because I enjoyed the heck out of those games and want to show my support for the series.

On the flip side, there is a fan translation of the AA:Investigations 2 game that I will pirate. Why? Because there's no such thing as an official English version of the game, with no official release in sight. In this case I make no apology for downloading.

 

[Candy]

I'll be ashamed to say that I pirate most of my video games. It's not that I'm the type that wants it for free, that's just wrong. But considering that most video game stores here sells DSes with flash carts and even in video game stores, most, if not all of them are bootlegs anyway, I honestly don't have much of a choice. Even in PC stores where they sell some games, they're still bootlegs.

I actually did find a video game store that sells legit video games, but that was just last year when I got my 3DS (and a legit copy of both X and Y, yay!), and dang they're hella expensive. :'<

If I pirate GBA, DS and PSP games, it's because honestly, I'd prefer pirating it myself than pay to get those roms. If I pirate PS1 and PS2 games, it's because I can't find them anywhere (despite searching through the game shelves for weeks if not months).

All in all... I really want more video game stores that sells legit games around here. :<

 

[Yukari]

Well I'm going to give my opinion on the subject.

I don't pirate games. At one point in time I did, but that was only games that were no longer being distributed as that would not cause harm to the developers. If I like a game then I'll buy it instead of stealing it. And If I didn't like the game I would just return it or give it to someone else. Really you can't justify pirating, and in my eyes it's no different then walking into a store, stealing a game off the shelf, and walking out.