What is your stance on piracy?

[twesterm]

madkiller said:

twesterm said:

madkiller said:

twesterm said:

madkiller said:
Piracy does NOT cost the industry any money because most of the people that pirate would not have bought most of the products they pirated anyway.

No. Just no. That's not how it goes.

Do you get to go to a movie for free because it's one you probably wouldn't have watched in the first place? Do you get to eat a fancy restaurant for free because it's one you probably wouldn't get to go to? Do you get to go to a sports game for free because it's a team you don't cheer for?

No on all those.

So why should you get to enjoy a game that you otherwise wouldn't have bought for free? You don't. These people are hurting the industry because they are enabling others and they are getting something for nothing. It is not some clever ploy to get people to buy more games, they actually are hurting the people that make the games you enjoy.

First of all, those examples you gave are completely different and have nothing to do with the issue. Secondly, I already said I don't really pirate games. Once again, it does NOT cost the industry money because they have NOT lost sales. Those sales would not have been there in the first place, they just assume they would. However, I guarantee someone that has 2000 movies, CDs and games pirated would not ahve paid for all of those.

You completely missed what I was getting at: why should somebody get something for free that everyone else has to pay for?

Those people that you say would never have payed for the game still got the game and that's all that matters. They had some reason to want to play it and they are hurting the industry. It's just that simple. If someone wants to play the game, they have to pay for it. They aren't special and they don't get to play for free.

And I have had about 1000+ DVD's (recently sold many of them), about 50 games at any given time, and about 3000 MP3's which are all legal.

Nobody HAS to pay for anything. You can either not have it at all or you can get a pirated version yourself. However, you must also realize that there are many, many people, especially in other countries, that cannot afford to buy all the stuff that you can. I think it is more wrong for companies to take advantage of people than it is for people to take advantage of companies. Don't forget just how much money those companies make (billions) and how all they do is complain that they should be making more. The average person in the world is extremely poor, and the people that run and own those companies are super rich bastards.

You're right that nobody HAS to pay for anything but you're incorrect on your options.  You can either have the object and pay for it or not have it all.  Saying well I wasn't going to pay for it anyways is no way a valid excuse and is very often just something people tell themselves to justify pirating.  If they take the effort to download it and then put the time into it to play it, they want the game.

Now lets pretend that the person *really* wasn't going to buy the game and nothing really wasn't lost because of that person.  You still have to remember that someone did get the game and pirate it to enable jerks like that to download the game.  Sure, that's one copy but since there's a demand someone is filling it and stopping sales of the game.  The people that supposedly would not have bought the game are supporting the people that originally pirate the games.  So yes, even if they really weren't going to buy the game, they are still contributing to the problem and are just as bad as everyone else. 

So why should the people making said media get punished for someone else not being able to afford it?  I'm not being heartless towards people that don't have money, I just believe that people should get payed for their work.  When you pirate (even if you wouldn't otherwise buy-- which is still a bullshit excuse) you are taking money away from the people that put a lot of work into that project.  

People who make games don't live a rockstar life.  Saleries are good but they aren't that good to live the uber awesome life.  I definitely make enough money to get buy and still afford some things like my games but that's because I work pretty hard for it and I save.  That being said, my fiance makes about 2/3 more than I do in an entry level job.  Except for those special people like Cliffy B, developers don't live rock star lives.

If you can't afford a Ferrarri and more than likely never will be able to does that mean you should still get one for nothing?

ArtofAngels said:

twesterm said:
I'm thoroughly against pirate and they can burn in Hell for all I care.

Strong use of words there, so you actually believe that someone who sits at a computer and downloads a song or a game actually deserves to burn in hell? An infinite time in pain and torture just because they downloaded a few things?

Wow, I would of thought that would be reserved for rapists and people who shoot up schools, not 'pirates'.

 There's lots of room there.