Support NeoGAF

[switchback27]

Looking at the Shenmue 3 thread, I came across an idea I had run into before:

"You paid for it with the Kickstarter, pirate it." (paraphrasing)

I had the same idea before, when I bought PES 2018 on Steam. The whole reason I bought PES was to play single-player (yeah, yeah), but the Steam version would not work while Steam was on offline mode. I found this out the hard way when I tried playing it on a 12-hour flight.

Needless to say, I was peeved, although I stopped short of actually getting a pirated copy.

So, GAF, if you've already legitimately purchased a game, do you believe you have the right to acquire and use a pirated copy for whatever reason? I'd say yeah, but if you disagree, I'd love to hear why!

 

[Cattlyst]

I'm inclined to say yes. If you've paid money but can't play it for whatever reason in it's original form, then pirating it so you can play what you paid for is acceptable to me. Also, there's nothing wrong with playing PES in single player. Master League FTW

 

[FranXico]

DRM is a cancer and needs to die.

It punishes legitimate users, with little to no inconvenience to pirates.

G.O.G. is fighting piracy the right way.

And to answer your question, I patched quite a few of my PC games with No-CD patches already over the years.

 

[nkarafo]

AFAIK, to avoid DRM, you don't need to download the whole copy of a game you already have, you just need a crack of the same build version.

 

[AV]

The "right"? Probably not. But no one gives a shit, and you've already paid money to the developers, so go wild. It's hurting no-one.

 

[switchback27]

I'm inclined to say yes. If you've paid money but can't play it for whatever reason in it's original form, then pirating it so you can play what you paid for is acceptable to me. Also, there's nothing wrong with playing PES in single player. Master League FTW

I'm a Become a Legend guy myself. Although it got ridiculously easy after a while. Messi couldn't lace my boots in BAL, let me tell you

 

[Doczu]

AFAIK, to avoid DRM, you don't need to download the whole copy of a game you already have, you just need a crack of the same build version.

Correct, but it still stops you from playing multiplayer (most of the times)

 

[Soltype]

I don't know the legal boundaries of it, but I know I don't feel bad because I already supported the developers.

 

[Tesseract]

 

[Grinchy]

I'd have no moral qualms with it.

 

[Joyful]

I think its ok morally speaking

 

[daninthemix]

I quite often download cracked EXEs for games I own so I don't need to launch through e.g. Origin.

 

[lifa-cobex]

You have a right to nothing in life.
You get no medal or prize on your last day of life.
Just do it and do it with a smile.

 

[JORMBO]

I doubt it would be legal, but I personally would not see an issue with it. Everyone already got paid.

 

[MilkyJoe]

Free for all.

 

[Winter John]

I don't see why not. You already paid for it. I've owned copies of Physical Graffiti on LP,cassette and cd. There's no way I'm paying for the mp3 version. Ironically though I've been buying more vinyl and cds than ever because of mp3s.

 

[Boss Mog]

Game publishers wouldn't hesitate to screw their customers if it meant getting an extra penny out of them.

 

[alabtrosMyster]

Yup, sometimes you need to go that way. This is obviously not legal advice.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

i pirate my 3ds and i earn a lot of money for my vacations xD

 

[Keylime]

Just a quick reminder before anyone gets themselves in trouble:

D. Emulation/Piracy

The topics of emulation and piracy in the context of the technical nature of emulators and ROM images, hardware modification technology, as well as their effect on the industry as a political topic are deemed to be generally acceptable.

Linking to pirate download sites, directions on how to get pirated software to work, reviews or impressions of pirated software, and livestreams of pirated software play are all strictly prohibited.

Everyone's cool so far...

Spoiler

SO FAR....

 

[MiguelItUp]

Your money has already gone to the source/product. I think it's more than fine.

 

[M0G]

If we're talking about removing DRM so you can access your already paid for content then hell yes. Those DRM blocks are there to stop people who haven't paid and I see no reason why a paying customer must keep the DRM intact when a pirate won't be lol.

Some older games even need the DRM stripped off them to even work now and others need it removed when applying mods etc. So many reasons to crack a game that you already own, it's a shame DRM is even a thing.

 

[Kadve]

My thought process is that if i have bought i game, i have the right to make back ups of it, and it doesn't really matter if i get those backups from other people online or make them myself as long as i don't distribute them.

Obviously that's not how it works legally, but that's how i tend to see it

Then there are off course situations where the game i bought simply doesn't work because of the GFWL shutdown or similar things. In those situations i have no qualms whatsoever 'pirating' it, since i already paid them for it and their product wouldn't work otherwise.

 

[Ulysses 31]

Nothing wrong with acquiring a copy of a game your legally own.

 

[Nymphae]

I've owned copies of Physical Graffiti on LP,cassette and cd. There's no way I'm paying for the mp3 version.

But I mean, why not? You paid for the first three versions, but the last one is easier to steal so all of a sudden we're all like "yeah this isn't stealing"

 

[Lucumo]

Absolutely ok. I own the game already after all and I'm just getting/creating a safety copy.

 

[brian0057]

In my case, it's usually the other way around.

But I have a friend who paid for Assassin's Creed II when it came out and the DRM was so bullshit he actually had to crack the game to play his legitimate copy.

As Gabe Newell said: "Piracy is mainly a service problem."

 

[zcaa0g]

It's not actually pirating since you bought a license to play the game, not to actually own the game. The source of the material is not of consequence.

 

[Whitesnake]

100% Okay

I am of the opinion that if you buy a game once through legitimate means, you have free reign to pirate that game forever.

Obviously that’s not how the law feels about the subject. And this ideology can be abused to be scummy if you define remakes, updates, or updated rereleases as “the same game” to pirate those new releases without ever intending to pay for them.

But for the most part, if you buy software once, you should own that software forever.

 

[ultrazilla]

I own the physical version of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Switch.

After seeing the emulation on computer where it could do 4k/60fps, I couldn't resist getting it "elsewhere".

And after getting it running on my comp, it's breathtaking(no pun intended....well maybe).

Anyways, the shit the Shenmue developers and company are pulling is pretty much criminal imo so do what you
gotta do.....

 

[dorkimoe]

I see no issue with it, the same goes with Tv Shows. I own the box set of the office, but it was easier to download it and put it on a plex server than switch discs, same with multiple tv shows I own.

I have bought Warcraft 3 and CnC red Alert 2 about 20 times, I dont need to buy it anymore. And before Steam there was no way to get some of these games I owned in the past, if developers dont make their entire backlog of games available they cant be mad when someone pirates it.

 

[Chairman Tickles]

Hey more power to you. It's not like you didn't pay for it.

 

[somerset]

Conceptually, if you *own* a *single* use game (I mean only one copy runs at only one time), having another copy from *any* source that you only intend to run in its place is *not* piracy. Given that the copy doesn't have things like DLC you didn't pay for in the earlier copy.

Of course, 99.9% of publishers will happily break the law if they think there won't be significant downwind consequences, and actually do so. Like Hollywood 'accounting' that was designed to make a studio look like it was on ther permanent edge of bankrupcy so the owners could *steal* all yearly profits, the big publishers pay those at the top mega-obscene amounts in salaries, bonuses, 'loans' (that do not need to be repaid), and 'handshakes. 99% of the talent working for them are on modest salaries and irreleant 'bonuses'.

Indy devs on Steam are a whole other kettle of fish.

The real morality is whom you choose to support and how.

 

[Stuart360]

If you have legit bought the game, then i have no problem with it. In fact it shouldnt make any difference as long as you have bought it, download the game off Steam, Uplay etc, or download a iso that you could keep on your PC so you dont have to keep downloading the game again when you want to play it.

 

[Noboru Wataya]

I don’t have the morals that most of the posters here have. id Pirate away without even a second thought.

 

[Trogdor1123]

As long as it's the same platform, I'd think it would be ok wouldn't it?

But, as posted above, wouldn't a crack be a better way? Then your not pirating, really only modding?

 

[Mihos]

I don't pirate, but I will mod the absolute living hell out of games.

I ripped Twisted Metal 2 for PS1 and replaced the soundtrack with all Beastie Boys songs, for example.

 

[kingbean]

I do this all the time. Mostly loading old games onto everdrives.

 

[ExpandKong]

Back in 2011 I preordered and paid in full for the collector's edition of Skyward Sword. Then the game leaked online like a week and a half early, so I pirated it and got a headstart on it.

I wouldn't say I had the right to do it, but I didn't feel bad about it. I didn't cancel my preorder and get my money back or anything like that.

 

[Shifty]

Legally speaking, I doubt it flies. You don't have the license to the game until it's delivered, and in the case of Shenmue 3 that license would be tied to EGS.

Morally speaking is obviously down to the individual.

Ethically speaking? Fuck 'em.

 

[Nymphae]

There shouldn't be a need to steal something or make duplicates of a thing you already have. There are lots of products you buy that you don't get "backups" of (buy 2). If you want a thing in different formats, usually you have to pay for that.

I mean I don't care if people are ripping their SNES carts and playing them on a PC or whatever, but it has never felt right to me.

 

[Hendrick's]

I say go for it. There are zero legal real world repercussions for doing so right now, and if you did buy it, I'd say you are in the clear morally as well.

 

[Neo_Geo]

You have every gray area right in the world to magically conjure digital data into existence.

 

[jakinov]

I don't think it's too harmful. I'm pretty sure it's illegal still. I think the greater issue for the publisher/developer is that the pirated copy exists in the first place.

 

[Sqorin Hammerfarf]

Morally, it's fine - except in cases where you are pirating more than you own. For instance, I own a Japanese SFC cart for Seiken Densetsu 3, and US carts for Final Fantasy Adventure and Secret of Mana. It would not be appropriate for me to pirate the Collection of Mana due to the English translation of SD3 (Trials of Mana) being not just new, but also the main selling point of the entire product. But morally, I would not consider downloading the Japanese ROM to Seiken Densetsu 3 as overstepping my boundaries as a consumer and gamer.

Legally, I'm not sure you can judge right or wrong based on IP laws, as they are hopeless one sided in favor of corporations, to the point where they don't even consider you to even own the things you own. I own the SFC cart of Seiken Densetsu 3, not the game on the cart. And that's six kinds of bullshit. Chances are, I've broken the TOS agreement on every game I've ever owned just by owning and playing them normally. But legally, they can go after you for such things, and in Texas, they'll win.

When it all comes down to it, do what you think is right by you. If it is not right by others, don't brag about it or criticize those who disagree with you. It's good to have a healthy respect for the things you purchase and enjoy, and if you ever lose that respect, you should stop purchasing and enjoying them. And if you do have a healthy respect, I can only assume that you'll want to reward the developers in the most fair and appropriate manner possible, and I don't think anybody who didn't go to business school is really asking for anything more.

 

[Psydonk]

Legally, I'm not sure you can judge right or wrong based on IP laws, as they are hopeless one sided in favor of corporations, to the point where they don't even consider you to even own the things you own. I own the SFC cart of Seiken Densetsu 3, not the game on the cart. And that's six kinds of bullshit. Chances are, I've broken the TOS agreement on every game I've ever owned just by owning and playing them normally. But legally, they can go after you for such things, and in Texas, they'll win.

is this the case in the US? Most places in the west have actually sides more with the consumer that your copy of the game is actually your property, hence why Steam has been getting hammered by Australian and European Consumer agencies in recent times.

 

[Deleted member 752119]

I've never had moral qualms about getting Roms of old games for emulators, including stuff I never owned. It's mostly not available for purchase, and if it was (and I was aware) I'd buy it as I prefer that to hassling with roms and emulators. I wish Switch had a Wii-like vitual console as retro games look WAY better in portable mode on a small screen than blown up on a big HDTV (I barely play retro stuff, so no desire to make space for a CRTV).

I'd never pirate a current game I have on say PS4 on PC though. I have no arguments to make these two stances logically or morally consistent, so I won't even try. That's just the sense of personal right/wrong I have about the issue. And I've never been one to admonish people for having different views/practices on things like this.

 

[ExpandKong]

is this the case in the US? Most places in the west have actually sides more with the consumer that your copy of the game is actually your property, hence why Steam has been getting hammered by Australian and European Consumer agencies in recent times.

It is (thanks, Disney).

 

[deriks]

It should be this way. You bought it, you can play.

I pirated Devil May Cry 5 because it was delayed here [in Brazil], but I traded my money with the publisher and developers, so no guilty on my back..

 

[jadedm17]

We all have our own moral code; Personally if you paid for it and just want to play it better on the platform you paid for then I see no issue. Again, personally speaking.

I always took issue with music albums I loved hitting torrent sites a week or more early than release date so I'd often pirate music I would later purchase. The sad truth is a lot of these systems in place to fight piracy often effect the consumer just as much.