I pirate quite a bit. I'm not particularly proud of it but it is what it is. I've played a ton of awesome games thanks to it and I admit that those companies deserve to have gotten my money for the awesome time I spend playing then.
...But I'm a gamer on a budget.
OT: I don't see a downside to torrenting games other than the lose of Multiplayer. I'm not much for multiplayer (except for MMOs) so it doesn't bother me.