What's so weird about it? Many countries had piracy in such levels that most people didn't even know what an original/licensed game looks like, and they only switched later - also mostly due to Steam sales like you. Nothing special about your situation, relax.
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It is wierd because I thought I am done pirate games. There even wad situations when I bought some expensive game at lounch.
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Hm. I kinda get you. First I had no idea how an original game looks like, then, in PC era I started buying some relatively cheap editions, whether in stores or with magazines, THEN I was downloading pirated stuff like crazy, THEN I started to buy DRMed games on GOG & Steam. And again, tell you what, were I to, say, be inclined to go and revisit GameBoy titles, I would certainly just buy a flashcart and cram it full of...found or otherwise homebrew ROMs, see? 'Cos any other way it just seem like sheer madness and throwing money away for the exquisite experience of virtually unmanageable saves, having to replace cartridges' battery, pointless wear of connectors etc~
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I'm in a similar position, I pay for every new game I get, but I end up effectively pirating old Nintendo games since I'm playing emulated modded/translated roms partly that's the only way for me to get them and partly for the sheer convenience of it.
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If you feel weird about doing it, then stop doing it. Then you won't feel weird anymore.
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I am sure I'll find another reason to feel wierd. But seriously I rarely chanche my course of action. So it is unusual situation for me.
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Sounds exactly what my doctor might say. I wish I was lying.
Patient: It hurts when I do this.
Doctor: Well, stop doing that.
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Heh, that's some quality medical care there! :p
But presumably it's easier to stop pirating software if it makes you feel weird than, say, bending your knee or arching your back or whatever it is that hurts.
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That was a good laugh! Pirating pains and physical pains are definitely an apples to oranges scenario but the base context is the same. If it hurts, or you feel guilty or anything similar that's your body/brain telling you something isn't right. Depending on whatever a person's morals are, deciding factors may change drastically.
My doctor though, well, there's a reason why I don't go to him anymore.
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I got back to pirating games because i got fed up with misleading hype and promotions and games that don't deliver.
Even demo's can suck you in just to realize you can't stand full version.
2h on steam is not nearly enough to judge most games. And you can't resell them because you don't freaking own them anymore.
So fuck you publishers, you get my money when I feel you deserve it.
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2h on steam is not nearly enough to judge most games.
That statement is just false, sorry. There may be the occasional game where 2h is not enough, sure. But for for most games that is plenty of time to get a rough idea whether you want to play that game or not. In fact 2h of the full game often provides more insight then a demo.
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So you claim there are no games that seem interesting for lets say first half and then get really downhill?
Is it really ok to charge full price for good half of the game?
There were games i was so hyped for that only after finishing it i realized how bad really game is, and the parts I expected were never really there.
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So you claim there are no games that seem interesting for lets say first half and then get really downhill?
Let me answer this with a question of my own. So you claim it's alright to "test" a game from start to finish, and if you are not satisfied with a small portion at the end you will not pay for it? Sorry, that's not how it's supposed to work.
Is it really ok to charge full price for good half of the game?
Well, yes. It's ok to charge for the game, if you "use" most or all of it. Sure it is. Even if you are disappointed by part of it. There is no guaranteed satisfaction integrated in the price. They offer you the game, you decide (based on reviews, demos, videos or the first 2 hours) if you want to experience it for the amount of money they ask for. And if at some point you realize it's not exactly what you were hoping for - that's really no excuse for not paying for it.
There were games i was so hyped for that only after finishing it i realized how bad really game is, and the parts I expected were never really there.
Ok, so you say you play a game, enjoy the ride, play it to the end, and just because after finishing it you realize it could have been better, that somehow enables you to retroactively get out of the deal you first agreed to? Doesn't that sound strange when you say it out loud? ^^ I get it. if a game truly tricks you. If a game is truly a scam, and promises an amount of content that it doesn't even come close to. That I would maybe understand. But these cases are so extremely rare. We could count No Man's Sky, since they really told lies about it (like the multiplayer part that wasn't in the game). Not many other games I can think of. Most games deliver what they promise, whether you are satisfied with that or not. What you are talking about is if a game turns out to only be a 7/10, while you were hoping for a 9/10. Just an ok game instead of an awesome one. Well, that is not nearly enough to not pay after playing hours and hours of it, sorry. If you're doing that on a regular basis - playing games and then telling yourself that they were not quite worth the money, so you don't buy them - that sounds like an excuse to me.
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I do not say its ok, I also did not say its just small portion. I do not believe I am that demanding when it comes to game quality. There are a lot game that have its issues but i enjoy them non the less
I am fully charged if I "use" 2h of the game wether its just running in background, loading, or outright crashing (patching in case of some online ones?)
I never said i enjoyed the ride, I was waiting for things to pick up, get to the part i expected never to be seen.
I do not believe game should be simple that you can know what to expect after just 2h experience. I give games a lot of benefit of doubt. Try to learn them, see what developer intended it to be, not just judge it at first impression.
Like I said, its not perfect solution, but one that is available. I do not believe i overuse it But then again its my personal choice
I get the feeling you blow this thing out of proportion just because you believe its the devs that should get paid for their work no matter what, and if customer fails to judge game based on reviews that may or may not show important parts, 2h of gameplay that may or may not be enough, its his problem and he should be more smart with his money.
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while ive never pirated an actual game I do it with my stories. most arent on steam so its my only way but some are on steam. its not out of disrespect or cuz i dont want to support them but more of i cant afford to spend like a tener on each game for a couple of hours of content. if i like it while pirated ill keep it on wishlist to support them in future since i like to reread everything so it wont be that much of a waste but it is alot easier to download a bunch of parts so i can try it out straight away instead of buying it and realising yeah i dislike it which is very rare but if i did it that way id be waiting months or years before i got to most especially with so many new ones coming out or old ones that i cant pirate. just remembered 1 for example lonely yuri. i played it way before it came onto steam, since i played it seeing it was like £7 for me was insane cuz it took me like an hour. So i cant see myself thinking thats worth it even If i want to support it. Unless it goes on sale for cheap or i get gifted/win it I dont see myself being able to splash out that much for 1 hour 2 at most if i really take my time.
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Eh, I feel indifferent because Australian game and tech prices are an actual joke considering we're usually not even the ones making them, no way I can buy things legit, not local anyway. Seriously, an 800 USD laptop would easily sell for about 1800 USD here, it's insane :|
Last game I pirated was a while ago, though. And it was probably something too much effort to get a hold of, like AAI2, or to test on PC to see whether I should buy a console ver. instead. AH! Rune Factory 4 I think I pirated last. Because I could easily work around that NA region restriction by pirating, and the only other way I'd buy it would probably be secondhand. The money wouldn't be supporting the devs so I figured don't bother. A bit amoral, I know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Well, if stuff is not made in Australia, it kinda makes sense it should be expensive since it has to he transported to a very far place... full of deadly creatures at that :P
But seriously, that difference is insane.
Then again, in Poland we earn about 5th of what German counterpart makes, and still have to pay similar prices for many goods, including games. And you don't actually have to travel across ocean to see it.
World economy is crazy shit
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Oh yeah, true the deadly creatures especially XD -- I meant it as more: "They don't even make it, and yet they're crazy desperate to profit off of it." :S
That sounds tough, though. I guess money makes the world go round... at a weird uneven pace.
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In Serbia, where lot's of people make around 200-250€ a month and the average is around 500€, we get the same prices that the US get. Makes sense, right :D
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Ok, we get bit better, I didn't get my first pay from current work, but expect around 500€ equivalent, and it is below what I believe is average.
I wonder if there's any slav country that isn't similar in that regard...
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Just use pirating games as a demo, if you feel that game is great - buy it and transfer you saves
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Pretty sure the overwhelming majority of pirates does not buy the full versions of the games they play. And the reason is not that all those games suck. If you pirate a game, play it to the end, and then make up a reason that "allows" you to not buy it, then that was regular piracy and nothing else. I believe it's exactly like that with most pirates. Even if almost all of them tell us that they're using it as a demo and that they will buy the games they enjoy. But the numbers tell a different story (multiple pirated copies for every bought copy for basically all games).
Just to be clear - I am talking in general here, not specifically about you.
And all that being said, I am not completely against piracy. In some cases I feel it can be justified. If your decision is to either heat your appartment or buy a new game - well, then obviously heat your appartment and play a pirated copy. If the game isn't sold in your country and there are maybe even region locks preventing you from importing it - go ahead.
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overwhelming majority of pirates does not buy the full versions of the games they play
I totaly agree with that, but I was just proposing solution for Andeneya :)
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Sure, I was not addressing you personally. Just giving my comment on pirating games as demos. :)
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Have you ever really downloaded something and experienced the "decision process" behind it?
You go to a warez platform and you download what's there, just because it's there.
Hardly anyone says "ohh the new game from Square Enix is released, have no money or whatever I pirate it now"
People who do that anyway would never buy the game and it does not matter if it costs 60 or 2.50$ and that's exactly the absolute minority. All others download simple everything because the possibility is given.Not because they are looking for a "specific title"
The most downloaded Games will never be played, like we all do on steam buying buying buying and finish maybe 2 out of 50.
Games warez is dying since years ...makes also no sense anymore, premium accounts are more expensive than the games in sale / bundle or wherever
But the numbers tell a different story (multiple pirated copies for every bought copy for basically all games)
Since when does piracy have any statistics? which are not based on any estimates which are simply invented because there are not even samples,source? ;o
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Have you ever really downloaded something and experienced the "decision process" behind it?
You go to a warez platform and you download what's there, just because it's there.
Hardly anyone says "ohh the new game from Square Enix is released, have no money or whatever I pirate it now"
People who do that anyway would never buy the game and it does not matter if it costs 60 or 2.50$ and that's exactly the absolute minority. All others download simple everything because the possibility is given.Not because they are looking for a "specific title"
The most downloaded Games will never be played, like we all do on steam buying buying buying and finish maybe 2 out of 50.
What are you saying? That many pirated copies basically don't count? Sure, I guess that makes sense in a way. But see it the other way around. Someone who just pirated everything, also pirated the games he is really interested in. So he even though he downloads some stuff he never even plays, he also pirates stuff he would have otherwise bought. Still means some (or even many) of the downloaded copies have no impact whatsoever. I can agree to that.
Since when does piracy have any statistics? which are not based on any estimates which are simply invented because there are not even samples,source? ;o
I don't have a specific source at hand right now, but we had reports of that several times. Publishers claiming that there are 4 pirated copies for every legit copy, or something like that. I am sure you've read similar reports. I do not claim to know how exactly those numbers came about. I am just working with what I've heard.
Games warez is dying since years ...
Now it's my turn ( ;) ) - do you have a source for that?
makes also no sense anymore, premium accounts are more expensive than the games in sale / bundle or wherever
When I still pirated, I didn't just pirated older games that are already on sale or bundled. It was mainly about getting the latest AAA games. The ones that cost 60 bucks and don't go on sale anytime soon. So, I have to disagree here. A premium filehoster account costs what - maybe 5 bucks, if you subscribe for a longer period? And even less if you share it with people? You cannot claim this is more expensive than paying for your games. Definitely not in case of new games, and not even if you reduce it to sales and bundles. 5€, that's maybe one Humble tier 2 bundle, if you're lucky.
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I will only answer for the last section.
i should have written better in most cases not that it makes no sense anymore.
Sure if you subscribe for 1 Month (costs normally ...no long time subscribtion 9-13€ per month)
(just talking about EU/US and stuff other countries other rules ^^ ) and then you download the latest top games...then you get away pretty cheap. But how long can you do that, there aren't releases of top games every day/week/month... that mean at some point you start downloading "random" stuff as i said above..."you download what's there, just because it's there." And even new games... we have all the Keyseller etc. there is no reason to wait for sales etc. Especially for a bit older Games why wasting Traffic+money+premium download time for a idk a pirated copy of Tomb Raider 2013 which is worth 2-3€ ^^ also HDD Space is limited especially nowadays where AAA Games will waste your space extremely fast.
about the "dying warez source"
I don't want to write this here I had to link or name something to answer and we certainly do not want to advertise warez here
You are on my friendslist, contact me on steam and i'll write it to you ;O
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I agree in case of older games. Once they cost ~3€, it's really easier to just buy them. But as far as new games go - still stand by what I said. If I just look at my own purchases, the money I spent for new games during the last 2 months would probably have been enough to get 2-3 years filehoster premium time. So while I am clearly against pirating games, I can definitely see why some people do it. Because it's without a doubt a lot cheaper than buying games yourself. You only need to play one new AAA game per month, and it's already "worth it".
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I don't think game pirating is that big of a deal to be honest.
it all depends on your own moralities
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If you can't find a game you're looking for legally then...
I am not encouraging piracy but at the same time, I know that some games are really hard to come by, like PS1 pr PSP titles for example and I bet Xbox 360 you're talking about is no exception. It publisher's job (yeah, it's literally their job) to make their games accessible.
Personally, I pirated a lot of games in my youth simply because it was near impossible to purchase legit copies. However, now that it is possible I buy the games that I liked and played before even if I'm not planning on replaying them. It's my way of saying 'Thank you' and doing what I can to pay back the developers. Perhaps you could also do it like I do?
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If you can't find something you want to buy LEGALLY and it's not just because you're being a cheap peasant, then pirate away..
I'm totally anti piracy in about 99% of the cases, the few times I don't feel like piracy is wrong is...
When you have the money for a product but you can't buy it, because it's been banned and or no longer being sold.. If Developers/publishers no longer wish to support or sell their products but the demand is still there for the product I say have at it..
I haven't personally pirated anything since way back in the days of Napster before I understood what piracy was and how it affected businesses and the artist/developers who create content.. Once I saw the way piracy hurt the industries I loved, I stopped being a pirate..
BTW using piracy as a demo is a cheap excuse, you have many avenues to check out just about every game out there to see if you want to buy it or not.. Being too lazy to watch a 5 minute gameplay or review video on youtube isn't a good enough excuse..
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There is no reason to pirate games. It's a luxury item. You don't need it to live. There are enough other games out there available for next to nothing in bundles etc. Or even videos on yt if you want to see how a games story progresses.
If you feel weird, that's your guilty conscience saying "stop doing that".
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Piracy discussion is beaten to death by now... on one side its luxury item, on other, companies do not exactly lose anything when someone makes a copy because original remains unchanged...
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stealing is wrong on any level,,,, whether or not the issue has been beaten to death.. one side is right the other side is wrong..
As I pointed out above, only reasons to legit consider piracy is if the game isn't available for purchase, because it's not for sale, removed, or banned..
Anything else and you're wrong no matter what kind of flimsy logic you use to disguise your lack of morals..
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You're not actually right. Companies do actually lose money since instead of paying for a product you like (and if you're playing a game, you like it obviously), you're taking it for free. If you like it, you should always buy it so that the company that made that product is encouraged to make more. It's a win-win situation.
Besides, if you can afford a machine that can run the game, you can afford the game as well, especially nowadays when there's always a sale somewhere.
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But HE is actually right.Publishers DONT lose money.
I'm sick & tired of people saying every pirated copy=lost sale.
It does not work that way(and there are numerous studies just proving that).Lets take Just Cause 3 for instance-game has not been cracked for 2 years after release.Did it sell millions & millions of copies?No it did not.Why?Because people did not care.
And 1 more thing @Pucker
Sorry,m8,but copying≠stealing
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I see it like this;
You're consuming the product that is not free for free. You're choosing to enjoy it fully but refusing to pay the asking (or reduced for that matter) price. You're not supportive therefore you're harmful.
In any case other than not being able to get it in your country (which is a rarity nowadays), piracy isn't justified.
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I am not saying that piracy is justified,all I'm saying is that publishers ARE not losing money from pirates,because if there isn't a cracked version of some game(whatever it may be),people WILL NOT buy it instead.
Did ALL those games that were not cracked sell millions of copies?
No,they haven't & never will.
If ALL pirated software disappeared over night,people still would not buy overpriced trash(most games nowadays)
They would use free software,play free games(like path of exile).Been playing that game for 6 years & it doesn't cost a dime
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I am positive that you're wrong but we're all entitled to our opinion.
And just for the record, not all games sell millions and usually it's exactly that same overmarketed, overpriced annual trash that you're talking about that sells the most anyway. Pirating is mostly hurting small and mid sized indie studios.
Also, if the game is not pirated, it's usually not because the developers make it crack-proof but because of an overall low interest (or no interest) for the title to begin with.
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You are positive I'm wrong?
About what?Care to elaborate?What did I say is wrong according to you?
I will admit that piracy hurts small indie studios the most,but-is Square small indie studio(publisher of Just Cause 3)?
And-low interest?What about Tomb Raider,Doom,Prey & all the others?I dont think those games had low interest
And,for what?I should pay full price(atleast 60€,but mostly over 100€ if you want the somewhat complete game)so that big publishers could fuck me in the ass with their loot-boxes?!?
NO,FUCK 'EM!
if they are going to put that crap in their games,they will not see a dime from me(I'll pirate their games with joy)
But,I do agree that small indie studios deserve their money,but even that is becoming hard with so much trash & asset-flips being released on Steam
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Just please remember, I'm not looking to argue especially not withing this great community that we have here. With that being said...
Are you really asking me to point out why piracy is wrong? :)
First of all, 'Square' is not just a game studio but also a major publisher. Pirating games like Just Cause 3 isn't hurting them primarily, it hurts Avalanche Studios, the developers (not the publisher) of that games. Same goes for other game's you've listed.
Square Enix, as well as any respectable business (and that is what games are for those people, business) will not compromise their company by giving a 'second chance' to a game that didn't sold well despite it being well received. They don't care if it's a good or a bad game, they only care how much money it makes them. Piracy directly impacts sales in a very negative way usually resulting in a beloved franchise being discontinued.
At the end of the day, the game failed to make enough money, they shut the series down possibly disbanding the studio and go back to something that actually makes money like mtx ridden mobile games or MMO's.
Next, I don't know why you're listing day one and 'deluxe edition' prices. Those are clearly privileged editions usually not worth the asking price with a sole purpose of backing the devs and franchises you really like with a couple of extra bucks. Now I get that it doesn't feel like 'a couple of extra bucks' for me and you considering where we live but, that's the purpose of those editions. Personally, I rarely get those unless they're on a discount and I don't remember when was the last time that I played a 'Deluxe Edition' that made any significant change to my gameplay experience.
Best course of action? Wait for a couple of months or a year, the game prices will be cut in half at least
Also, lootboxes? I thought we were talking about video games here, not 3D gambling :)
On a serious note, games providing lootboxes are usually multiplayer games which cannot really be both pirated and played anyway. So yeah, kind of an invalid argument there (or am I just missing on a good single player - lootbox infested game?).
As for the games you've mentioned and how overpriced they are:
- DOOM was discounted to less than 10€ on Steam. GMG had it for $8.47 USD.
- Tomb Raider is 7.49€, GOTY edition or in case you were referring to the Rise of the Tomb Raider, I got it for 12€ bundled with a lot of other games (it's meh btw,).
- Just Cause 3, again with all of the DLC is 6.49€ on a discount. Again, GMG had it for a smaller amount in $USD.
- Prey went as low as $8.47 USD.
- ...
...so on and so forth. Not to mention that those are the prices from online stores and that some community markets usually sell much cheaper keys for those willing to obtain them that way.
Seriously man, if you can justify piracy, I think you're just trying to and lying to yourself looking for an excuse. Personally, as someone who lives in a country where roughly 413€ (I just checked) and probably less is considered mid-range pay (but a lot of people struggle with much less), I say that in 2018 there is no excuse for piracy unless you are unable to obtain the game legally or are going through an existential crisis at which point the games should be the least of your concerns.
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You misunderstood me
Where in my replies did I say that piracy is OK?
Could you point that reply from me.NO,you can't
All I said was that publishers are not losing money from pirates-that's it
Also,you want an example of single-player loot-box infested game.
How about-Middleearth-Shadow Of war or NBA 2K19?
Monolith had to re-balance the whole fucking game after the loot-boxes where removed(because Nemesis system was such a fuck-fest when loot-boxes we're removed)
And 2 more things:
You are mentioning me prices of games after they we're heavily discounted.I was talking about their prices when they we're released.
And,seriously man,FUCK GMG,kinguin,G2A & all those grey-market sites where the money is NOT going to publisher/developer but to some asshole that got the keys with stolen credit-cards & now is reselling them for profit
Loot-boxes?Why would I not mention loot-boxes-they are in GAMES-are they not?
Yes,I mentioned loot-shit,because,they are everywhere.Could you point me 1 major publisher that doesn't have them?
Activision-call of duty,Ubisoft-assassins creed,EA-Star Wars(even tho EA would sell millions of copies they had to put P2W shit in that game),2K-GTA V(even tho that game earned 1 billion dollar in few days),Konami-Metal Gear(pay 10$ for a FUCKING save slot).
The list could go on
To summarize:
Piracy is not OK,but to say that publishers are losing money,even tho it has been proven otherwise,is bullcrap
Buying cheap keys from grey-market sites where your money IS not going to the developer,but to some prick,is also bullcrap
And lastly,loot-boxes-even tho publishers are making MORE money then ever,they had to put glorified gambling in the games.Also-bullcrap
I just hope that the whole EU follows Belgium & bans that shit alltogether.Lets see big publishers try to keep them in their games if they lose 30-40% of market
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Well you keep saying that they don't lose money because of pirates which implies that piracy is not harmful so I presume you see it as a valid practice, no?
Personally, games that I'm playing have no lootboxes. You're right about Shadow of War but that game is one of it's kind as far as I know. I didn't like the idea so I passed on it. Easy really, and I still have more games that I can get to finish despite letting that one go.
As for the NBA 2K, it's (arguably) not really a game like other games are but rather an annual cash grab aimed mostly towards non-gamers that play only that one game and usually don't have any idea what a lootbox is so they don't mind being milked.
And yeah, I'm mentioning games that are discounted, why not? Games have no 'best before' date, right? :)
Your argument is based on single player games so you don't really have to worry about the community getting smaller and having no one to play with so, getting it at a release date or a year from then (which is how I get most of my games) really makes no difference. It won't spoil and it will be the same (even better actually, all patched up and usually with extra content). Playing deluxe edition at day one is a luxury in my book.
As for the games you've mentioned, it seems to me like you handpicked the most blatant money-grab titles just for the sake of proving a point (except the GTA; even though I don't play or plan on playing it ever, I respect it for being a quality title). I could fire a counter argument but meh, I think you're aware of it :)
And once again, I'm not emphasizing that publishers are losing money (even thought they most certainly are not earning as much as they potentially could thanks to piracy practices), but that the developers are the ones that lose and suffer the most because of the piracy-is-not-hurting-the-sales mindset.
Think of if what you will, I won't try to convince you otherwise anymore. Although I will say that denial is the first stage and acceptance comes later on :D
P.S.
Regarding gray markets;
I don't like them either but consider this:
If you're buying a key from someone (whatever you wanna call them) it means that they have previously bought the key from the publisher or a re-seller and in either case, the game has been paid for as far as I know. Keys are distributed by the publisher and can't really be stolen, can they?
As the name implies, they are re-selling the keys meaning that the key had to be bought previously form a legit source in order to be re-sold , for whatever reason.
If you ask me, community markets are a front for money laundering but the keys bought there still had to be paid for by the person laundering the money, no? Not to mention that most of the keys sold there are bundle leftovers...
As for the GMG they are authorized re-sellers working directly with many publishers and the only reason they're cheaper is because they're localized. Check their 'About' page.
Anyhow, let's not make this any more complicated than it already is, we're knee-deep in off-topic waters here already so let's just put a stop here, alright? :)
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How,the hell,is Shadow of war a one of a kind when ALL games I mentioned had loot-boxes.
Want more examples?Overwatch,Fifa series,Dota 2,Counter-strike,Forza,Gears Of War,Halo 5,Injustice 2,LOL,PUBG...
And,how are developers losing money if a game is pirated when the net is full of stories where a developer is fired by the publisher as soon the game is released.
10(I think)development teams had to close their doors this year alone.Was it because piracy?I don't think so.Did Telltale,Capcom Vancouver & Visceral close their doors because of piracy?
And,how come that,only the big publishers are bitching about piracy when there are more gamers then ever before(steam alone grew 3 times in the last 6 years & God only knows how many PS3,PS4,Xbox360 & XBONE are there in the world),how come that-1 of the best selling games(Witcher 3)doesn't have any protection at all
Yeah,let's blame it ALL on piracy
And also P.S.
regarding your take on grey-markets
You say,that somebody had to buy those keys.With what?With whose money we're those keys bought?The net is FULL of people loosing their games because the keys that we're being sold on those sites we're bought with stolen credit cards & had their keys revoked because of that
Keys can't be stolen?People laundering money?Do you really think they are purchasing the keys with THEIR money?
Let me explain-credit card gets stolen,that person A buys a shitload of keys,dumps them on grey-market sites with cheaper price then on Steam,other people(B,C,D...) buy those keys,credit card company revokes that money from person A & then Steam takes the keys from person B,C,D....(because they don't have the money anymore)& that leaves person B,C,D without their money & games-only person A profited from it.
About GMG-you check Google & steam's own forums about how legit we're they before(not talking about now)
But you are right,this has gone long enough & you & I will probably never agree on this,so-END
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I'm still glad we were able to exchange some mind juice.
Have a nice day and a lot of fun with your games man ;)
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I don't know what to say man. I know about the struggle, I see it often where I'm from however, I have to just comment on what you said.
If you need to hoard for a long time for a laptop/desktop and worry about paying the electrical bill it's usage will cause, perhaps your money is better spent elsewhere until you get on your feet and be able to write off that existential crisis thing off of your list, no?
Of course, if you happen to somehow have a decent gaming PC and still struggle with food and clothes but don't want to sell it for some much needed money despite those facts then yeah, by all means pirate the game. I'm pretty sure the devs would not want you to starve because of their games.
In other words, playing games when you're facing an existential crisis is probably not the smartest course of action, respectfully.
P.S.
On a side note, a gaming laptop will require roughly the same amount of power that a gaming desktop with the same hardware would so, a desktop is always a cheaper solution :)
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Now I'm thinking publishers do lose money.... all that cash thrown away at shitty drm that only hurt paying customers hehe
I know about one case where piracy of books actually increased its sale... Would not be surprised if this happened for games as well.
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They have increased opportunity cost/ lose potential revenue, not actual money.
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I pirated my last game over 20 years ago.
I think that say enough.
When you want buy games and they are not to get it is one thing.
But the most people that pirate games have very strong and expensive PC's at home and pirate games only to save money.
Each one that can pay for such a Pc can pay for the games too.
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There's only one way to make up for this: make lots of awesome giveaways!
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+1 to anyone who mentioned convenience.
I still believe that Steam converted many pirates simply through being convenient and easy to use.
Buy, download, install, and it works (usually), doesn't take up any hard drive space when you're done, and you can reinstall it later whenever you want and it'll still work (usually). However, publishers still seem to enjoy adding additional hoops to jump through like extra account sign ups and DRM install limits.
But it removes the piracy-associated hoops of finding a good release, hoping it's not a malware crack, browsing questionable websites with hostile ads, doing manual configuration edits (such as local redirects via the hosts file), missing DLC, patches, & updates, and just generally wasting time with an installation process that's more time consuming than clicking a single Install button on Steam.
So, @ the OP: the games you find yourself "acquiring" now -- are you acquiring them in the most convenient way that you've found? If so, that may be why you're tending toward acquiring them that way now (be that acquisition through Steam, another digital storefront, a brick & mortar store, or... other means).
P.S. The developers, assuming they still get any pay from it, probably appreciate you feeling weird. The publishers... should too, but if they aren't providing a convenient acquisition method... they should do something about that.
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I used to pirate back in high school as well, now it's pretty much only Sims because of their massive scam with absurd amount of overpriced dlcs.
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As a gamer I am in wierd situation right now. I started play games back in mid 90th. Until 2013 I played mostly pirated games. At first I can get my hands only on elligal copies. I simply can not find enough licensed games. Later there were more published games in my country but it was at that point just to play pirated game. And when internet became more common in my life I complitely stoped purchase licensed games.
It was until 2013 when I whithout any good reason started use Steam. And then boom! I alredy have thousends games on steam, about hondred on gog and many other platforms - and not only on PC.
About year ago I got tired to buy games and not play them . I created new accaunt on steam and start treat every game from now on whit some gaming respect. You know... buy only games you will play, do not rush yourself to finish it and so on. And I like play games that way! I feel satisfaction from every my purchase. Even after registering on this great site I managed not to hoard games ( because frankly it is not hard to get free game here).
So after all this time I feel no desire or need to go back to pirated games. It was law obediense or respect to developers. I was just simple andcommon like with pirated games in 90th and early 2000th.
It was like that until I bought xbox 360 with freeboot. I started to play every game I want from oldest. I do not mind to buy licensed games but firts - again I can not find every title I want and second - I tired to spend money on games... And there are other reasons conserning my real life.
So in conclusion - I pirated games in my youth, then I stoped doing so and now I am doing it again. And I feel myself wierd about all this situation.
Thank for reading. Subject bother me for some time and I incredibly bored right now.
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